Reducing the Risk of Food Allergies in Babies
When my oldest son was a little baby, I remember how excited I would get every time he would hit a new milestone. I remember his first few smiles, the first time he rolled over, watching him learn how to wave, etc. One of my favorite memories was watching him take his first bite of baby food. The surprise and wonderment on his face was SO adorable. Although introducing your little one to solid foods can be extremely exciting, it can also be a little nerve-wrecking. What if this food hurts my baby’s tummy? What if they don’t like this food? What if they develop food allergies? With food allergies so prevalent in today’s society, these few simple tips are great ways to help reduce the risk of food allergies in your baby.
I received samples and compensation in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.
Reducing the Risk of Food Allergies in Babies
Don’t start solid foods until your baby is an appropriate age. It’s important that when you feel your baby is ready to start eating solid foods, that you consult with your doctor. Most doctors recommend waiting until your baby is around 4-6 months before introducing solid foods.
Start with the right kind of food. When you do start feeding your baby solid foods, it’s important that you start with foods that will be easy on your baby’s tummy. I always start with liquid cereal, then move up to pureed fruits and veggies. Once your baby has teeth, you can move on to soft fruits and veggies, etc.
Introduce a variety of foods early, regularly and quickly. Both of my babies had super sensitive stomachs. That’s why I decided to introduce solid foods to my babies one at a time. If your baby doesn’t have any sensitivity, then doctors recommend that you start introducing new foods without haste once your baby shows interest in food. Keep at it and keep re-presenting foods to babies each day; over time most babies will eat most of what you offer. Since 77% of allergies are caused by foods other than peanuts, it’s important to introduce a diversity of foods early and often.
Mix SpoonfulOne into your baby’s food. SpoonfulOne is a great way to safely introduce your child’s immune system to diverse foods that could potentially cause food allergies later on in life.
Created by a pediatrician, allergist, and mom of 5, SpoonfulOne is a daily wholesome protein mix-in containing small amounts of peanuts, milk, shellfish, tree nuts, egg, fish, wheat, and soy. Because it’s been shown that avoiding these potential allergens increases the risk of food allergies, SpoonfulOne helps prepare your child’s immune system at an early age by introducing them to such foods in very small amounts. This early exposure helps your child’s immune system to recognize these foods, thus reducing the risk of food allergies in adulthood.
The best part of SpoonfulOne, is that it’s super easy to use. Once a day, empty one packet of spoonful into whatever your baby is eating. Plus, the fact that it’s contained in packets, makes it perfect for on-the-go situation. Talk about a simple solution to helping your little one reduce the risk of food allergies. Who knew that one simple spoonful could make all the difference?
While I don’t have kids, I found this interesting to read because I had never heard of a product that could be used to help allegedly reduce the risk of food allergies. Definitely interesting!
Thanks for the great information. When my children were younger they started at an early age. I know now they recommend babies to start later which I think is a great idea.
Great tips. My son was allergic to strawberries as a baby. It is scary.
We had a food allergy experience when one of my son’s was younger. These are all great tips. It’s not fun dealing with allergies.
Great tips. I don’t have babies any more, but will be passing on the info.
I’m going to be honest here, this kind of makes me nervous. It’s something I would definitely talk over with babies doctor before introducing potential food allergens.
I say this as we are currently going through the food allergy journey with my 5-year-old son. It’s a scary experience. On top of his facial swelling, when we introduced our 6month old to solids this year – rice cereal – we discovered his tummy couldn’t handle even that!
Anyways, I guess I just want to say be careful, and always talk over things like this with a doctor first. I’m definitely going to see what my doctor says though, because if it can help my 2nd son avoid food allergies, I’ll definitely want to give it a try.
If we ever have more babies I will have to keep this in mind. Definitely a great list.
These guidelines should be helpful. I would definitely want to introduce a wide variety of food early on. I think using SpoonfulOne could be a really simple solution for that.
We’ve always pushed a variety of foods on our girls, not just as babies. It helps them develop more mature tastes – much more so than their peers.
I will have to share this with my friend. Her little one is going to start eating baby food very soon. SpoonfulOne sounds like a fantastic product.
I will give this info to my sister in law who has a baby just right for this! She is just starting with solids and they already know she has a few food allergies!
I do not know if this helped, but I ate peanuts while pregnant and introduced my kids to all foods really early on. So far, they can all tolerate most foods.
This is really interesting. What an easy way to introduce allergens to your child.
I have never heard of Spoonful, but it sounds like a great concept for babies!!! I will share it with friends!
It is very reassuring to know that there are some steps to take that can help with food allergies. What an AMAZING idea it is to create SpoonfulOne to help with this.
I love this so much. I think it’s important to do everything we can to ensure that our kids are as healthy as they can be from the start.