XP: Do you wait 3 days to introduce a new food? (BLW)

welly01 · April 2013

I already posted this in 6-9 months, but I thought maybe someone here would have some suggestions.

For those doing BLW, how often do you introduce a new food, particularly when you first started? Our pedi recommended to wait 3 days between foods but I swear I've seen something related to BLW that said that's no longer considered necessary. Something about if an allergic reaction is going to happen, it will only take a short time, like within an hour?

Does anyone doing BLW (or not) know of a resource that says its okay to give a new food every day and maybe even two foods at once?

We sort of started solids yesterday by giving LO a fresh carrot to gnaw on (for teething). He was having a lot of fun, so I gave him a small piece of steamed broccoli. DH was irritated because he wanted to wait 3 days between foods.

I feel like its a little silly to be concerned about being allergic to broccoli and carrots. We don't have any allergies in our family. Of course when we introduce foods that are more likely to cause an allergic reaction, I would want to be really careful...but just regular veggies?

ILoveRunning · April 2013

We didn't, but that was because we do not have a family history of food allergies and felt comfortable forgoing the precaution. The only recommendation I followed was waiting until he was 12 months to introduce peanuts (peanut butter). I never hesitated for things like veggies or grains.

mexicolombiana · April 2013

Well, I never did any waiting. I fed my baby avocado and sweet potatoes then fed her everything at once. Again, we don't have any family history of allergies. I did w/both my girls. I didn't have the patience or time to be waiting 3 days to introduce new foods. I think it's silly to wait 3 days to introduce food (if your family is fine and has no allergies). Also it's unheard of in the "Latin" culture to wait to introduce foods. My girls eat pretty much everything now.

tokenhoser · April 2013

I did not wait. I have no food allergies. Neither does DH. No one in our blood-related family has any food allergies.

And DS has no food allergies.

kjsmith9 · April 2013

No experience here, but we're going to start BLW in a month and I have no intention of waiting 3 days between every single food. We don't have food allergies in our families. I definitely will pay close attention to the more allergenic foods though when it's time to introduce them... Things like peanut butter, eggs, etc.

welly01 · April 2013

Thanks for the response ladies! Does anyone have anything, like an article, I could show DH to let him know we don't have to be so careful? It's kind of taking the fun out of BLW.

mandy522 · April 2013

This isn't specific to BLW, but it's about the AAP's current recommendations on introducing solids and allergies. You have to scroll down to the comments, but the doctor who writes the blog does say you don't need to wait between new foods. https://pediatricinsider.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/introducing-solids-to-baby-which-ones-and-when/

tokenhoser · April 2013

Do you have the BLW book? There is some info in there.

Really, it's just a personal call. If your LO has a reaction, it is easier to pinpoint if you're only doing one food at a time. Introducing foods faster doesn't cause an allergy, it just makes it more complicated if you discover one and you're not sure to what.

honkytonk_kid · April 2013

I didn't give LO 2 new foods on the same day... for the first 2 days... lol. After that it was a bit of a free for all. For highly allergenic foods like eggs, peanut butter, strawberries, etc I did wait at least a day between. We have no family history of any significant allergies, so I was comfortable with that.

jasminelorraine20 · April 2013

ILoveRunning:
We didn't, but that was because we do not have a family history of food allergies and felt comfortable forgoing the precaution. The only recommendation I followed was waiting until he was 12 months to introduce peanuts (peanut butter). I never hesitated for things like veggies or grains.

This for us too.

perfectlove09 · April 2013

tokenhoser:
Do you have the BLW book? There is some info in there.Really, it's just a personal call. If your LO has a reaction, it is easier to pinpoint if you're only doing one food at a time. Introducing foods faster doesn't cause an allergy, it just makes it more complicated if you discover one and you're not sure to what.nbsp;

We haven't started yet. Baby girl is 19 weeks. But I agree with the above post. It's more to easily narrow down what might be causing a problem. I think it could go the same with a constipation or change in behavior that you might be able to look back and say "well we fed her X for three days and we noticed Y changed about her"
We do have family allergies so we'll be following the 3 day rule. I'm really not in a rush though to have her the everything at once. She has her entire life to eat all the foods lol

blu-eyedwife · April 2013

tokenhoser:
Do you have the BLW book? There is some info in there.

Get the book. It has VERY detailed information about introducing foods re: waiting and allergies.

It traces the entire history of feeding infants in this country. The waiting of 3 days only refers to introducing food before 6 months. Basically, the reason for introducing foods that early was because before formula was what it was today babies were getting really sick and malnourished when the mothers were loosing their supply. A 4 month old can't eat regular food. They have neither the physical development nor has the digestive system matured enough to handle it. So purees were introduced. And one food at a time, to make sure the immature, undeveloped system could handle it.

If you're waiting until 6 months when the digestive system is developed, and letting your child control their own intake, then you don't need to worry about whether the digestive system can handle it or their physical development. Which is why BLW doesn't do purees AND why you can introduce multiple foods at once.

TexasMom7137 · April 2013

We did not wait 3 days between with DS1 but I would try to only offer one new food at a time. We have no food allergies on either side but DS is allergic to strawberries. Allergies can develop and are not always immediately there so trying the same food by itself several times can help for pinpointing. DS did not have a reaction to strawberries the first time we offered them but then he had a reaction when he ate them again the next day. Do not assume that just because a food is fine the first time that it is not a trigger for your child. We watch for several tries of any new foods now before we are comfortable with it.

SweetPeaK26 · April 2013

The only thing we waited on was eggs. But, my cousin developed an egg allergy from being given them too early. Otherwise, we started everything between 4 and 6 months, even peanut butter... But my family has a serious addiction to peanut butter, it was practically impossible for them no to get ahold of some!

XP: Do you wait 3 days to introduce a new food? (BLW)

Re: XP: Do you wait 3 days to introduce a new food? (BLW)

Choose Another Board

Search Boards