Introducing peanut butter

[jgenie]

DS has his 2 year appointment today. We haven't given him peanut butter yet. I was thinking of giving him some just before we go to his appointment so that he's at the doctor office if he has a problem. We don't have any history of allergies on either side and he hasn't had any allergies so far. We had planned to introduce peanut butter on a Saturday morning so DH could be home to help in case there was a problem. Thoughts? TIA

[JBaxter]

Well my older 3 all had peanut butter by about a year. Jack was about 9 months when Nathan gave him bites of his PB&J. Like anyother food that there could be an allergy with you just need to give it to your child and watch.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I didn't anticipate any problems so I didn't do anything special. We started pb around 12m. eta could have been even younger.

Beth

[viba424]

Do you think there is any difference between commercial brands like Jif and Skippy, and natural peanut butter with no added sugar and other ingredients in terms of allergies? I would be curious to see if either one is safer, though obviously the natural is better for you overall.

[BarbieSmith]

Another early pb starter here, to hopefully prevent future allergies. We did the same (in the presence of a doctor, who happens to be conveniently available a lot, since she is my sister). But my sister said it is not necessarily the first exposure that can be problematic, but the 2nd/3rd (when the body "recognizes" this foreign substance from the 1st exposure and can better mount a "defense").

[billysmommy]

We had planned to wait until ~2 years with both boys since I have 2 cousins with peanut allergies but they both ended up having peanuts just after 1. I didn't realize until a few hours later with either of them that they had eaten peanuts (one was peanut m&ms, the other was a bite of pb&j) but they had no reactions

[MoJo]

My 19-mo DD has already had a few tastes (no allergies in the family). I just made sure I tried it during the week (instead of a Saturday or Sunday) so I could get her to the Dr. if needed.

I'm not sure what the official age is to intro PB (because I think it's a choking hazard even for those who aren't allergic).

[khalloc]

I gave peanut butter to both kids when they turned 1. From what my pediatrician told me she wouldnt really be concerned if you have no family history of food allergies. I cant imagine waiting till 2! I think kids need to have the item more than once to develop an allergy to it though. So it would be highly unlikely for him to have any reaction the first time he ate it.

[mommylamb]

I waited until age 2... but there wasn't really a reason other than I was afraid. I have a family member who is alergic to strawberries, but that is the only food allergy in my family. He was fine. I was so relieved though.

[sarahsthreads]

We were planning on waiting until 3 for DD1 (our pediatrician at the time recommended that) but she got a "chocolate chip" cookie for dessert at Perkin's one day when she was not quite two and after she'd already eaten some DH and I had a bit (it was a huge cookie) and we realized it was a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie. Gah! (I went up one side of that waitress and down the other I was so mad!) Luckily she was fine. (And it *was* a very yummy cookie!)

DD2...well, we were out at a chinese restaurant for lunch and got spring rolls with that yummy peanut dipping sauce. She loves to dip things so much I let her try it. That was just a couple of weeks ago, so just about 18 months.

I felt like you, that I'd want to be at the doctor if anything happened, but the reality is that if he's seriously allergic you're probably going to need to call an ambulance instead of drive to the doctor, kwim?

Sarah :)

[newg]

We did it just after DD turned one...........I was told by someone that you don't have an allergic reaction to something until the second time you've had it.........the first time your body makes the _________(not sure what the word is) and it's the second time you eat it that your body reacts to those ________________.......

maybe call your ped. and ask what they recommend? a reaction may not show it self right away either......it may take a few hrs.

[ourbabygirl]

No advice, just writing to add that our ped wants us to wait to give DD (15 months) peanut butter. Not sure if he's thinking to wait until 2 (hard enough) or 3 (yikes! I don't know how I'll do it!). DH had peanut and other allergies as a kid, but he's fine now. I really wish there was a definitive answer as to when it's o.k. to give kids peanuts & peanut butter; some say it's better to give it to them early to build up their tolerance & others say to wait. I just don't want to do the wrong thing that would end up with my kid having allergies to certain things. DH also had cat allergies, but we have a cat, & DD's fine so far, so hopefully it'll stay that way!

[AnnieW625]

I think we first tried peanut butter at somewhere between 9 and 12 mos. if I remember correctly. By then we'd already had one little friend (a year older) be diagnosed with peanut allergy so I knew what to look for. Like Jeana said with everything you need to take a chance and just try it.

[Mamma2004]

DS had severe allergies when I was nursing so we waited until age 3. He is not allergic to it but after loving it for two years, he'll no longer eat it!

[Tondi G]

the 1st time isn't usually the problem... usually 2nd or 3rd time! Have some childrens benedryl close by just in case you need it... only thing I did was make sure I had some in the house so I wasn't running to the store.

[brittone2]

With DS we waited until he was over 3 as that was the wisdom at the time. He actually never really got into PB as a result until he was probably 4.5. I think because it wasn't something he ate much as a younger kid he didn't acquire a taste for it for a while.

With DD we waited until she was about 2...sort of splitting the difference between "introduce early" and "wait a long time".

DH has had several episodes of hives and throat swelling that we can't identify a trigger for. We had some allergy testing done on him and he tests with highish numbers for dairy, although seems asymptomatic to it. Our doc suggested he may have had a childhood allergy that was outgrown, which is interesting as DS was *very* sensitive to dairy through me while BFing until he was over a year old (we didn't know about DH's test results at the time).

So since we *may* have some food allergies in the family (and I have seasonal allergies), I don't introduce super early. I'll likely wait until baby #3 is 2yo as well, unless I come across compelling evidence otherwise.

[jayali]

I never spoke to my ped about it and quite honestly DS 1st, 2nd and 3rd instance of peanutbutter were unbeknownst to me. I believe that ended up on the bitching post 5 years ago. We were extremely lucky. I did have a follow-up conversation with my ped, after the fact, to let her know that apparently DS did not have a peanut allergy. She said "in the future . . ." - basically she said that around 1 year to 15 months she suggests rubbing a little bit on the inside of their wrists twice, with a day in between. If nothing she suggests to rub a little bit in the corner of their lips - again same timing. Then if nothing to introduce a small amount to be ingested. She also said that the allergy can present after the first few times as well.

If you haven't introduced yet then I would definitely ask the ped advice before doing so. They clearly all have their own views.

[wimama]

We waited until my DS was 3 years old before introducing peanut butter. My nephew and DS first cousin has a nut allergy, so our pediatrician wanted us to wait. I am glad I did, because our DS does seem to have some food sensitivities, but he is fine with peanut butter.

[Ana72]

It’s very nice and interesting to know that you do not encounter problems regarding to peanut butter. Because I heard a lot about it and some cases they encounter such allergies. And they are tending to refuse consuming peanut butter. This is not usual in a person.

[jgenie]

Thanks for all the replies. I ended up giving a bit to DS yesterday. I plan to buy some Benadryl this weekend and will try again one day next week.

[wellyes]

My ped said wait until 2.


I cant imagine waiting till 2!

It's really no big deal. I give DD sunbutter instead.