Introducing peanuts/Peanut butter
"The National Institutes of Health announced Thursday that a panel of allergy experts recommends that parents introduce peanut-containing foods into the diets of babies as young as 4 to 6 months." Am I the last to know?
@goodle:
Please don't fee guilty about sensitizing in the womb!!! My 5 yo has tree nut allergy, but not peanuts. I eat a PB&J about every day, did so while pregnant, too, and she's not allergic to peanuts. Her allergists says it likely doesn't matter either way. Also, she encouraged me to continue doing that with this pregnancy, as well as consuming tree nuts in hopes the new baby maybe wouldn't be allergic. We'll see. I guess they'll do allergy testing when she's 6mo old? And then if negative, have me start giving her as much peanut/tree nut paste as I can safely squeak into her meals to try to keep her from developing the allergies, too.
Must say, I did not consume many tree nuts while pregnant this time. It gave me palpitations and anxiety attacks thinking that the residue might stick to my hands and accidentally harm my 5yo. Tried to eat cashews at work, and just stopped as I was too anxious about it.
Your child is in no way an annoyance to me and I apologize for making that comment. I myself buy sunbutter so I can still eat pb&j sandwiches at my job. That's awful your daughter feels this way and I hope as she grows up she can feel better about it and those around her can become more aware and understanding. Maybe you can speak with the school and have some type of assembly or just a meeting with her class to help them learn just as you have done here.
@goodle you might have misunderstood me. She is not annoyance to me. There are clearly allergic kids in Poland - but our schools are not nut free - and as far as I know there haven't been any accidents.
You also have to look at it the other way. The children I babysat have their lunches thrown away because "the cookies look like they might have nuts in them". On more than one occasion they had their lunches thrown away and were hungry - no substitute was given. And there were no nuts in their food - because I do take the rules seriously.
As far as your daughter goes - it is heartbreaking she would say she wants to die - if you aren't already I would take her to psychologist so she can talk thru her feelings. It's absolutely astonishing to me a small girl would say and think such things.
She was born allergic to casein, whey, peanuts, wheat, and later developed allergy to eggs. She was swollen, rashy, covered with hives, and vomiting profusely until she was diagnosed at 6 months old and I removed those things from my diet. We've always avoided tree nuts, fish and shellfish because of her history. She's just started eating fish sticks and hasn't been reacting to eggs or milk lately. She has no issue with strawberries but that is a huge allergen.
@goodle That's so sad I'm sorry she had to go through that. I never knew allergies was something kids got picked on for, that's horrible. I know what it's like to have a child who is picked on and it hurts me as week to think of any child going through that especially over something life threatening. Thank you for sharing though, I'm definitely gonna think twice from now though about certain annoyances. I also never knew about developing sensitivity in the womb, I definitely have a lot of research to do now. You're a great mom for advocating for her. I do a lot of advocating for mental disabilities, but never thought of an allergy as a disability though it makes sense.
Not to pry, but does she have a strawberry allergy as well? I never knew it was an allergy until I started working at the school I'm at now.
@goodle awww I've never thought of that side of it-that a child would feel guilty over the rest of kids not being allowed to have peanut butter sandwiches. I'm glad that it's banned from every school so now they shouldn't have to pin point who is allergic. I guess though that it becomes known anyways due to carrying epi-pens and for extra warning to keep those products away. I'm sorry your child experiences this.
Thing is, I can take these comments about the annoyance my kid's life is to other people. What sucks is my beautiful 8 year old has been picked on and made fun of and been made to feel guilty for her safety being an inconvenience her whole life. Imagine your kid feeling guilty for being alive. Like crying every night apologizing for being alive because the other kids can't eat a sandwich. Wishing she was just dead so the other kids wouldn't be inconvenienced anymore. Imagine a 6 year old wanting to do the world a favor and just die because she overheard a classmates mom say something to another mom. Kids hear everything. Please advocate for the disabled. Allergies are a disability. We didn't choose to have them. I ate peanuts while pregnant with her and she was sensitized in the womb. She was born allergic. I feel guilty every single day. So does she.
I was a baby in the era before car seats. I sat in a basket on the floor until I could sit up. I still remember the time I was in the middle seat at the front and dad had to hit the breaks fast and I face planted into the radio controls on the dashboard. Probably one of my earliest memories. If that could happen just from hitting the breaks I dread to think what a real accident could have caused. Very thankful we take our children's safety more seriously these days. Allergies are annoying for the other parents, but not as heartbreaking and stressful for the actual parents of the children with them. There is plenty of easy alternative sandwich options. :)
Isla
Alt12 Mod.
That's too funny. I had no car seat when I was a kid. I'm 28. My little brother who is 18 had car seat - but they would put him in without buckling. Weird lol.
As far as allergies and peanuts go - that research came out couple of years ago but the recommendations always come afterwards.
I find it ridiculous that American schools are "but free schools". There is no such things in Poland. Hopefully USA will change hobby the time Madeline goes to school :)
@fountata. Yea, the allergy things is crazy. One of our classrooms is even strawberry free. I'll probably introduce peanut butter. They suggested mixing 1 teaspoon with warm water so it's easier to eat.
This is news to me as well. Our doctor hasnt said anything though so we will probably wait like we did with the boys. I have certain things I like to wait to feed baby and I try to make them special treats! Also that nuts that you guys can't pack peanut butter in your kids lunches! Our schools even sell peanut butter and jelly as a lunch option. There is a special area the peanut free kids have to sit at during lunch at my boys school.
I asked her and back then (early 80s) carseat laws were just starting. I was cracking up cause they wouldn't swaddle babies for fear of sids yet my mom breastfed me in a moving vehicle. Again I ask.. how am I alive. I'll post a picture of the carseat my mom had told me about.
I definitely agree with it from an allergy standpoint I work in a classroom also and it's a small classroom but one of my students has an allergy to every food. I always felt bad too cuz when a kid sent in something for their birthday everyone else got to eat chocolate cupcakes while this poor boy had to eat a wheat free peanut free dairy free Fruit free cookies and of course that didn't make him happy.
And with my son being older at 12 it does get really annoying when you can't send them to school with a peanut butter sandwich.
I was just talking to my mom the other day about how much things change and she told me about how when I cut my head open at 9 months she breastfed me in the front seat while they were driving to the hospital I'm like how am I not dead they didn't even have a car seat for me. Also back then they didn't swaddle so every time she sees pictures of Damian swaddled she starts to hyperventilate LOL. I told DH by the time we have another one things are going to change again
This is great!! Finally they are changing this. Introducing peanuts at a later age increases their risk of an allergy. Being a teacher, the peanut allergy is basically an epidemic in this country. It's scary having kids in your class that have EpiPen's that you may have to use one day because someone walked into your classroom after having just eaten a peanut butter sandwich or snickers. And on a sidenote as a parent now it's kind of annoying that I can't send one of the cheapest meals with my kid for lunch.
My son's Dr told me that too about sunscreen, same with bugspray. It's amazing to me in just the 12 years since my son was a baby how much things have changed.
Wow that crazy it used to be peanut butter, honey, eggs, seafood not sure of the others but that's crazy all these new things their coming out with. Kinleighs dr told me i could use sunblock on her because shes so fair skin and where going camping and stuff and that used to be 6 months but he said they changed that to
I guess it was decided earlier this year that as long as their isn't a family history of allergies, or other signs of food allergies in the baby you can start introducing peanut foods around 6 months with your Drs knowledge. I also read that now the only allergen food to avoid until past 1 year is honey.

Introducing the newest avenger
PEANUTS
Have you introduced peanuts to your baby yet? How are you doing it?
How did you introduce peanut butter to your kids? Slowly or did you just go for it?
At what age did you first give your kids peanuts or peanut butter!?
I'm totally asking at 4 month check up and if I get the ok it's peanut butter jelly time at 6 months!