Potential Allergies
80% of food allergies are caused by the following foods:
- Cow's Milk
- Egg
- Soy
- Wheat
- Fish
- Shellfish
- Peanuts
- Tree nuts (e.g. walnut)
If your baby is at high risk for food allergies, for example one of his parents has a food allergy, delay the introduction of these foods until baby is one year old. For the rest of us, we recommend that you wait until at least 8 months old before you introduce any of these foods. Your baby's digestive system needs to be mature enough to handle these foods to decrease the risk of a food allergy. If you are concerned about food allergies, introduce new a new food and then wait 2-3 days before introducing another one. Finally, if your baby drinks formula then he has already had the potential cow's milk allergen and there is no need to worry about milk allergies.
BabyFood101's e-mails are designed to ensure that you don't give an inappropriate food too early to your baby. In addition, we suggest you introduce just one food at a time so that you are aware of which food may be causing problems for your child. We have organized our suggested food for the week in age order to help you introduce the right foods at the recommended age for that food.
How to diagnose a food allergy
The most common food allergy symptoms are:
- hives
- rash
- sores around the mouth
- eczema
- trouble breathing
- vomitiing
- diarrhea
- severe diaper rash
- gastrointestinal distress (bloating, gas)
It may take up to 2 hours for symptoms to present themselves, and the symptoms may be so mild that it is hard to tell if it is related to the food you gave your baby. If you think your baby is having a serious allergic reaction call your doctor. We suggest you keep a version of children's Benadryl in your medicine cabinet. Call your doctor to ensure the correct dose for your baby.