Peanut butter Introduction?

[readyin07]

Ds’s pedi mentioned recently about introducing peanut butter. When my other two were older the rec was at like 2 Years. Ds3 is 6 months so...eek. It does make me a little nervous. So far he has eaten cereal, carrot, sweet potato, green beans and apple sauce. Should I give it a try? Should I have Benadryl on hand?

[macmars45]

Unless you have a history of peanut allergies I wouldn't worry about it. The trend seems to be introduce it earlier so it decreases the chance of peanut allergies. We gave DS some at 5 months (he's currently 20 months).

ETA: I don't have a history of food allergies in my family and neither does H.

[linz]

Our pedi told us to give everything except honey before a year. I think mine were around 8 mos when we did pb? I just put some on a spoon and put it in their mouth. 

[dcn]

I just watched them closely after they had it.

[mccallister84]

We did a tiny bit of peanut butter mixed in to her oatmeal around 6 or 7 months. The recommendation recently changed to introduce allergens early. Now she eats a peanut butter waffle every day for breakfast.

[boiler717]

I would do PB in oatmeal asap. Also tree nut butters.

[lessel]

We started pretty early with Bamba, a peanut butter puff snack. Can find it on amazon. DS loved them. I’d say we did it around 6-7mo when he started eating finger foods.

[spk926]

I did peanut butter at 6 months. I do remember doing it on a Saturday morning so if there was a reaction I was with them all day and we could get to the ER quickly if needed. There is no family history though so we didn't need to and had no problems. I think I put some on a banana at first.

[gerberdaisy]

I need to do this with DS, but am so terrified of food allergies. We have no family history and DD eats it all the time around him, but have a serious fear of all allergens

[pooh8402]

I think we waited until 12 months, because both DH and his dad have tree nut allergies (DH is allergic to Brazil nuts, FIL to walnuts). I made sure it was on a weekday when I was home with him all day and I had benadryl handy.

Our doctor said to give everything else early (except honey of course) but he advised to wait on the nuts.

[estrellita]

I think E was around 9 months when we did it? I just made sure not to introduce anything else new around the same time and just watch for a reactions.

[joy]

We did it really early - maybe 5 months? I melted peanut butter and mixed it up with her oatmeal. I wanted it over with as soon as possible.

We had benadryl handy. Both my husband and I were home. It was a weekend. All was fine and she lurves peanut butter now.

[devonpow]

Yep, with DS1 they said to wait until at least 2, maybe 3. With DS2 I was told it could be one if his first foods. The research totally changed things! I honestly wouldn’t be nervous unless there is a history of allergies. Also remember that with all things it’s more likely to see a reaction on a 2nd/3rd exposure than a first.

[Susie]

Jan 8, 2018 17:54:06 GMT -5 linz said:

Our pedi told us to give everything except honey before a year.

Same.

I don't remember exactly how old Hobbes was for each one, but we did all of peanut butter, almond butter, and baked items with walnuts the summer she was about 7-9 months old.  I wasn't worried about peanut or almond, but my brother has anaphylactic reactions to walnuts so that one we were more vigilant about, and did on a weekend when we could watch her like a hawk afterward.  All good.  We also gave her Nutella around 1, to see if she was good with hazelnuts.  My brother is also allergic to those.

[janegold]

We started PB around 5.5 or 6 months. We started just making a slurry with about 1/2 tsp of PB with a bit of formula, per our pedi’s suggestion.

We gave him some of the PB mixture every few days. Once he started eating finger foods, we gave him Bambas as occasional snacks.

[felicity]

Just FYI, Benadryl will not stop an anaphylactic reaction. If your child is breaking out in hives or vomiting after eating a potential allergen, at the very least you should call your pedi emergency line. It would not be an overreaction to go immediately to the ER.

[clseale]

I think dd was around 6.5 mo when we tried PB. Our doctor told us anything except honey and shellfish. We just put the PB in with a little bit of banana. Joke’s on us, she has a mild allergy to bananas. LOL I need to make sure we introduce the other nuts soon.

[readyin07]

Jan 8, 2018 19:07:58 GMT -5 gerberdaisy said:

I need to do this with DS, but am so terrified of food allergies. We have no family history and DD eats it all the time around him, but have a serious fear of all allergens

This is how I feel. We have no allergies with our other kids but I feel like we have gotten really lucky. Food allergies are a nightmare to me. Also bc it was such a thing not to introduce peanut butter with the other two it just seems weird to me to give to my defenseless baby lol.

I do have some PB2 powder. I should try that maybe.

[lolo]

Give them pb in the parking lot of your Dr office before the 9m well check.

[y4m]

Don’t just try pb once and check it off. Research is starting to suggest that the best thing you can do is regularly expose to all the top allergens (wheat, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, dairy) regularly starting as early as 4-6 months. These may be a preventative effect. Because she’s high risk given my history, we try to hit things like peanut and tree nut weekly.

[steamboat185]

We offered Bamba puffs too around 5-6 months. They are great finger foods that dissolve really easily. Once we knew she wasn’t allergic they became a favorite snack and are even subscribe and save eligible.

[catbear]

When you introduce, have Benadryl on hand and know the appropriate dose for your baby. We gave DD peanut butter at 6 months and she had an allergic reaction - hives and wheezing. We took her to ER and later an allergist confirmed the allergy. No family history, her big brother has no issues. She does have pretty bad eczema (which can correlate with allergies).

[jewel]

Our pedi also suggested introducing all foods, except honey, before a year. I don't recall exactly how old he was for PB, but it was before 9 months. I put it in oatmeal, on waffles, on his teether cracker sticks, etc.

[BeagleMama]

Jan 8, 2018 22:22:39 GMT -5 catbear said:

When you introduce, have Benadryl on hand and know the appropriate dose for your baby. We gave DD peanut butter at 6 months and she had an allergic reaction - hives and wheezing. We took her to ER and later an allergist confirmed the allergy. No family history, her big brother has no issues. She does have pretty bad eczema (which can correlate with allergies).

Exactly the same for us (minus big brother . Introduce now (and eggs and tree nuts) and watch carefully. And, do it on a week day so you have pedi office hour options. DD’s peanut allergy was able to be swiftly diagnosed with a referral to an allergist. I’m glad we didn’t wait.

[luckyno7]

We have a family history of a peanut allergy. My allergist also recommended giving it early to our newborn. Well put it on the back of his hand first. (Mines allergic by touch). Then if I don’t notice anything we can try a little bit.

[undecidedowl]

If you are nervous, you might try putting some on his skin first. It won't rule out an allergy, but it could indicate one. In DS2's case, he was confirmed to have a peanut allergy before ever tasting it. Any PB contact to his skin would give him hives.

[knx9211]

I did it yesterday for the first time. I put it in with smushed bananas and warmed it up then added his oatmeal. I held my breath as I fed it to him. I don't know why I was so nervous, no one in our family has food allergies (well, I'm lactose intolerant but I don't really count that).

I should be doing something with tree nuts too?

[icedcoffee]

We did it around 6 months. I melted some PB with some smashed banana on a Saturday morning when I knew the pedi was open. Once he was better at eating we added Bamba and peanut butter crackers to his snack rotation.

A few weeks later we were at Costco and they were sampling these almond butter cookie things so I made sure to grab one and hand it to DS to suck on.

I already kind of figured he'd be ok because I used to eat trail mix while nursing him MOTN and the dust got everywhere. Science. I've made a point of introducing a lot of high allergen foods as often as possible--sesame, strawberries, nuts, etc. so if the latest studies are wrong we are screwed.

[patches31709]

Jan 8, 2018 21:15:48 GMT -5 lolo said:

Give them pb in the parking lot of your Dr office before the 9m well check.

This is what I did. 

[melsbels]

My boys are 7 months and I’m planning on giving them PB next week. I hadn’t thought to try other nut butters too, but I’ll plan for that as well.

We don’t have any family history of food allergies but my Dr did say if we were really worried then we can always go to the cafeteria at the Children’s hospital for lunch and try it there lol. Seems like overkill, so I’m sure they’ll be ok.