The eagle has landed – or in this case, your baby’s spoonful of baby food as it reaches the final landing strip (his mouth). You have reached that certain age – stop breastfeeding, or stopping it is a surety, even though it broke your heart when he accepted solid food easily. But you took on a new role – as a “cook” to a little one with a seemingly insatiable appetite. So far, so good, no hassles yet.

But beware; there are certain foods that you must not give your child until he reaches his first year. This is especially so if you have an extensive family history of allergies and/or respiratory illnesses – simply put, if you have allergies, it means that you may have passed it on to him too. Unfortunately, it is part of genetics so there’s nothing we can do about that.

But we can do something about what we are feeding him. Here are 5 trigger foods that you don’t want to give your child for fear of starting an allergic reaction:

1. Cow’s milk. An infant who is fed cow’s milk at an early age may not be getting the necessary vitamins and minerals he needs for growth and brain development. This type of milk lacks the iron, vitamin E and essential fatty acids a baby needs for proper development and instead is getting too much protein, potassium and sodium that hinders the growth of a child. This is especially so with milk protein that is difficult for a baby to digest. Should you decide to feed him cow’s milk, start out with small servings of dairy products at 9 months and regular cow’s milk when the baby turns 1. If the baby can already drink cow’s milk, avoid using skimmed or low-fat milk, since babies still needs fats and other nutrients for brain development.
2. Whole nuts (peanuts, almonds, cashew, etc.). There are 2 reasons why this is a no-no: one is that nuts are possible allergens (especially peanuts); and two, your baby may choke on them since they do not have a full set of teeth yet to properly chew the nut. Speaking of nuts, let’s include peanut butter here as well for the same reasons.
3. Honey, corn and maple syrup. Although studies have shown that there are only rare cases of this, bacterial spores may possibly be found in honey. These spores are dangerous as it may cause infant botulism – a very rare disease that paralyzes the infant from the neck down. It always pays to be safe, so to be sure, never feed your baby any honey until the baby is a year old.
4. Fish and shellfish. These are definitely allergenic; sometimes, even adults develop an allergy to them. Check with your doctor first before giving anything of the sort. Should you decide to feed him fish, start with those such as flounder, haddock, sole or cod as these fishes are considered to be the least allergenic.
5. Wheat. A condition called gluten intolerance (or celiac disease) is usually inherited. It is a disease that damages the small intestines and hinders the absorption of nutrients from the food your baby eats. The safest, recommended route is usually to delay the feeding of wheat until your baby is a year old.

It is best to consult with a doctor or your child’s pediatrician, especially if your family history has a lot of markers for possible inherited diseases. Weaning baby to different types of solid food is fun, but my motto always is “if in doubt, do not give baby that food”.

Weaning from breastfeeding? Click on the link for more info.