Peanut butter

[cbell]

I recently tried peanut butter with my 19 month old DD and she appeared to like it. She is a bit of a picky eater and I have been reading different opinions on when I should try. Anyways I did and I think she is ok. I am just wondering if and when I would see a reaction how long it would take and does the amount matter. She had a wee bit of a cracker and she would have eaten the whole cracker but she choked on it and that was it. But she was licking her fingers so I think that was a good sign. What are the immediate symptoms and or do they take time? She is fine so far after about 30 min.

Thanks

[aisling]

The first signs of an allergic reaction can be a runny nose, a skin rash all over the body, or a tingly tongue. The symptoms can quickly become more serious - including signs of anaphylaxis (a sudden, potentially severe allergic reaction involving various systems in the body), such as difficulty breathing, swelling of the throat or other parts of the body, a rapid drop in blood pressure, and dizziness or unconsciousness. Other possible symptoms include hives, tightness of the throat, a hoarse voice, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and lightheadedness.

The extreme would happen almost instantly.  Other milder allergy or intolerances like a rash etc...would be to watch for up to 3 hours. 

I think she is fine, IMHO. I would still follow the 3 day rule and then you know for sure she is good to go, sounds like she likes it.  We have it everyday (all natural ground up peanuts nothing else added) great protein for my DS.

A x
ps. yes it is dry, so loads of water with it or we sometimes put some no sugar added jam or honey on top. I find the all natural is much smoother, we get it ground smooth as possible.

[swiper]

My little girl loves peanut butter.

Is there anyone in your family with a peanut allergy?

[cbell]

It has been almost 3 hours so far and no sign of anything so I think we are good... whew. One more thing to add to her very short list of foods. But yest I will try it over 3 days and see what happens.

Luckily there are no peanut allergies in either family so thats good. And she has had granola bars before that have small traces of peanuts in them so I am pretty sure we are in the clear... just a little paranoid. :-)

Thanks for the reassurance!

[aisling]

Sounds good to me. 

[Jimbob]

It sounds like your dd will be ok with peanut butter especially as there is no history of peanut allergies in your family.

Kelly

[~S~]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I think a big reason they tell you to wait with PB is b/c they can choke on it, I know it is a huge allergen but if no family history....

I try to keep different nut butters and some are tastier than others, so on the ones that my lo isn't crazy about I put a tiny bit of Agave Nectar or maple syrup, just a tiny bit and it she eats it fine, we usually put it on rice cakes.

[aisling]

~S~ you are correct.  It is pretty dry and thick and easy to choke on.  We spread a thin layer of the all natural which is quite runny.

A x

[Mydreamcametrue]

I am  little late to this post, but wanted to add some encourgement that my son eats peanut butter every single day.  We actually live off it. 

When he was between 15 and 18 mos. we tried PB and within 30 minutes he had diaherra (looked just like the PB).  Every time he had it. 

Just in case your lo does have a reaction like that, we actually gave him SUNBUTTER.  He could handle that and loved it.  It actually has a lot more nutrients in it. 

Then we tried All Natural PB for a month or so and then went to regular old JIF PB and he is fine.  He is now 2 years old, but has been eating is for months.

[aisling]

Just bear in mind that all natural peanut butter is just ground up peanuts and nothing else added.  Store bought branded PB tends to have loads of salt, sugar and preservatives.

HTH,

A x