On phone, so apologies for weird spacing from copy and paste...
Weaning
Weaning a baby who has a cow’s milk allergy should be the same as weaning a non-allergic baby,
except that you must not give any foods that contain cow’s milk or dairy products (e.g. yoghurt,
fromage frais, cheese, cream or butter). You should aim to start giving solid foods at around six
months but not before four months (17 weeks). If your baby was premature, check with your
Dietitian about the best time to wean. As your baby grows, you should keep offering different
textures and flavours to help your baby learn to like a wide variety of foods. See the examples
below for some suitable meal and snack ideas.
Begin weaning with low allergenic foods such as pureed rice, potatoes, root and green vegetables
and fruit. Use a little of your baby’s usual milk (breast or hypoallergenic formula) to mix the food
to the desired consistency. There are still uncertainties about the best time to introduce other
common allergenic foods (e.g. egg, soya, wheat, peanuts and other nuts, sesame seeds, mustard
seed, celery, fish and shellfish) into the diet of a baby with cow’s milk allergy. These foods do not
usually need to be avoided once your baby is over six months old. If you are advised to start
giving allergenic foods, introduce one new food at a time. This will help you to identify any
foods that your baby reacts to. It is important that this weaning stage is done under the guidance
of a Dietitian.
Meal and snack ideas suitable for weaning your baby
Stage One - (First Foods should be pureed or mashed):
• soft fruits and cooked vegetables (e.g. cooked apple or pear, avocado, banana, carrot, parsnip,
sweet potato or yam)
• milk free baby cereals made with your child’s milk substitute (e.g. baby rice, baby porridge. Please
note some of these products may contain milk so carefully check the ingredients list on the label)
• pureed or mashed up meat, chicken or lentils.