Intoducing solids to MSPI baby

[chars mum]

Hello,
My DS is intolerant to dairy, soy, beef and legumes.  We are introducing solids very very slowly and as such, rice cereal is the only thing we have tried.  Really want to try new foods as he LOVES his cereal and always tries to reach out for the food we are eating.  Also need to increase his calories during the day so he doesn't wake up so ravenous at night.  I have been expressing some breast milk so think that mixing it with any and all solids will help in this regard.  Any experienced mum's have any advice and suggestions?

[scarlettsmom]

You have the right idea taking it very slowly.  We did one food a week.  (sometimes 2 weeks if I was a little unsure).  Since you can theoretically be allergic to ANYTHING, I would pick things you think he'd enjoy, that you eat yourself, and that is nutrionially dense.  Avocado is always a nice one to start with, pears are good - sweet and low allergen.  Perhaps avoid the top 8 allergens (dairy, soy, wheat, tree nuts, peanuts, fish, shellfish and egg) and go from there.

It can be scary introducing solids to a baby with allergies, but it is SO great when you start getting a baseline of safe foods for them. 

Good luck and please let us know how it goes!

[chars mum]

Thanks for the advice!    It is a little unnerving, that's for sure.  We have been giving him rice cereal for 3 weeks now and the only reason we haven't tried another food is because he had a reaction to something after the first week and I wasn't certain if it was the rice or something I had accidentally eaten.  I didn't really think it was the rice so we carried on with it and the reaction stopped a few days ago; as such, I am definitely leaning towards the latter being the cause. 

Anyway, the specialist we have been seeing suggested we introduce fruits last.  I'm guessing the reason is that there is more chance of having a reaction to them.  I would love to offer avocado, it is so good for you (one of my fave's too!) but it is a fruit so perhaps we should wait a bit yet.  I bought a sweet potato today and am considering mashing it up with breast milk and giving that a go.  What to offer after that is the question.    

[scarlettsmom]

Sweet potato is a great one!!

Ok, so if no fruit - how about squash, peas, carrots? 

[chars mum]

Squash and carrots yes, peas no as they are technically a legume.   Which other nutrient dense foods should we consider?  How about the cereals?   Is there one that is better in this regard than the others?

[ireneee]

Hi,

I was given the following list of foods as dd is allergic to dairy, eggs and soy.
The list goes from least likely to cause a reaction to most likely. You will need to ignore the legumes and the beef for your LO. I hope it helps!!!
Also avoid honey until LO is older and I would also avoid strawberries and kiwi fruit for the first year or so.

Least likely to cause a problem: baby rice
potato, carrot
swedes, turnip, green beans
parsnips, cabbage, broccoli
cauliflower
apple, pear, banana
oats, wheat
chicken, turkey
beef, lamb, pork
fish

From here on, the reaction potentially worsens and the last items are potentially capable of causing a severe reaction;
tomatoes, citrus fruit
strawberries, raspberries
marmite, honey
cows milk, goats milk, cheese, yoghurt, eggs, shellfish, kiwi fruit, peanuts, tree nuts.

[chars mum]

Thank you very much!  We are still on rice cereal but I recently introduced oatmeal cereal and he LOVES it    Tried sweet potato and got the thumbs down right away.  On the third day of offering, he had a bad afternoon - LOADS of crying and screaming for no apparent reason.  I chalked it up to the sweet potato and have abondoned it since.  Our doc mentioned that we should offer vegetable before fruits so perhaps I will give carrots and regular potatos a shot next. 

[ireneee]

Good luck!
We didn't like normal potato very much for ages - until we could mix it with something else but yours might be different!
Butternut squash was a fave