How daring/brave/carefree are you when you introduce new food to your DC?

[garliclover]

I'm asking because there are loads of foods we'd like to introduce, as DS's diet is so limited. So, for example, mustard (so he can have the free from Sains fish fingers), rye (for bread), barley (for cereal), chick peas, butter beans (he's already allergic to lentils and peas) and the list goes on.
But the only days I can do this is when he's not at nursery and when he's well and tbh this is hardly ever at the moment! Plus we often go backwards, seeing reactions to things he's so far been ok with and having to confirm our theories about suspect food, or introducing a new medication (e.g. calcium supplements, asthma treatment, new vitamins, etc.).
So at this rate he's never going to have any new foods! Unless on a good day we could try him with a little bit of two new foods, rather than just one.
WWYD?

My mum advised me to just try a little of what I'm trying to introduce at meal times, just a little and see how he goes with it, maybe try the rye bread and some thing that he can eat

Might help...

I am not at all daring, brave or carefree

For example, DS has had reactions to lentils and peas. I am (right now!) in the middle of trying to feed him baked beans on toast. I have smeared a crushed baked bean on his cheek and nothing has happened, apart from a very minor red mark, but he is now refusing to eat the damn things (despite begging to try them when shopping earlier!) and I am still too nervous to force the issue.

I could scream with frustration because I really, really want to know that baked beans are okay.

I have never dared to try any kind of seed yet. And have not got around to peppers, even though I'm sure these would not be a problem any more.

Maybe it's natural to be scared, but I wish I was braver because DS's diet is v. limited.

I know what you mean about 'waiting until he's well' (i.e. not busy visiting a new place, not got a cough/cold/tummy bug etc.) There never seems to be a really 'good' day to risk making DS poorly and spending the day in A&E, so I tend to keep putting off trying new foods ad infinitum.

Just put any worries to one side, maybe your fears are being picked up by your DC?? I don't know, I'm not an expert on this, I'm afraid.

What might be an idea is to (I don't know how old your DC is and if this might help) just put the food you are trying to get him to try in front of him and let him get on with it! While you get on with a job, like the washing up or something in the same room, just an idea to try and help hun x

sigh, just wrote a long reply and then lost it!

Essentially, I'm not brave or carefree at all. We recently introduced baked beans by rubbing a little on his hand, then his cheek, then his lip, then allowing him to eat one. We waiting 48 hours and, when there were no issues, proceeded to a full tin . Oh, the excitement of baked beans!

However, his consultant gave us a right bollocking and told us not to introduce any new foods outside of a controlled hospital environment. Right...he's had 1 food challenge in 4 years. It's going to be a very limited diet for him if we stick to that.

Baked beans.... such a thorny and fascinating subject to us dwellers in the allergic world...! What confuses me is that the ingredients list on the Heinz tins just says 'beans'. I thought they use haricot beans, but greenbananas, your DS has reacted to those, so it can't be. So what kind are they, do you think?
They're such a useful food. My DS loves them, and in fact 'bean' was one of his first words. He still goes around carrying tins of them about and saying 'beans! beans!' It breaks me that he may one day end up allergic to them (like he did with lentils and peas ). Oh, and greenbananas, have you tried your DS with them again today? Is he ok with the tomato element?

Thanks, babyb for your advice. Very wise, as usual. Fortunately there is a very nice park next to our hospital, so we'll wrap up warm and take something exciting like rye bread sandwiches. Oh god I feel so nervous. It's horrible when he reacts to stuff! sasslejaney, I try not to communicate my fears to DS, and I think it's worked so far because he is a great little eater. That's partly why I'm so keen to try new things, and make the most of his good appetite while it lasts! I like your idea of doing something else while he's eating -- it's certainly worked in the past to encourage him to feed himself (hovering over him seems to put him off). But when it comes to a possible anaphylactic reaction, like he's had to wheat and lentils ... well I just can't help hovering a little bit with epipen at hand!

Likeaninja -- interesting you've been so cautious with pulses too. What do you think your next home challenge will be? Our consultant also advised great caution at home but I feel, like you, that we have to take calculated and well-thought-out risks, just sometimes...

garliclover I understand completely!! I'd be the exact same in that position!! My DSD (she is 18 month) is a VERY fussy eater as her mum only ever seems to feed her chicken nuggets (or similar) with chips!! She wouldn't even eat bread when she started on proper food!! Got her out of that now though!! She makes funny faces when something new is put in front of her but when she sees the others digging in she's ok! Have you tried eating with your DC?? Whatever you are getting him to try?? Possibly an idea to try?? That way you can be near him with the epipen and he can try new stuff???

Hello...I'd just like to let you know that my now 11 year old stopped being allergic to all the previous things she'd been allergic to since birth about 18 months ago (eggs, milk, dairy, lentils which have a similar protein to dairy apparently, that boggled me in the early days WTF reaction on feeding her lentil soup which I had no idea about..."oh yeah" said the consultant "I'm not surprised!") just to give you some reassurance that it can happen that they outgrow the allergy (round about every 7 years the body changes I've been told) my friend's son had the same thing happen too...so after years of being scared to death of birthday party spreads and restaurants, taking pack ups wherever we went, that was suddenly changed overnight which was weird. I never believed it could happen and we attended the hospital regularly and had the MMR done under hospital supervision (vaccine grown in egg) My heart goes out to you all with children allergic, thank God my child was never anaphylactic, that must be terrifying...my daughter was very accepting and good about not being able to have stuff and these days there is so much more choice than in her early days too. She still won't eat certain things like cheese or baked beans and still has soya formula as a bedtime drink..but she's grown from a 4lb 11oz early baby into a 5ft 1" size 8 with a liking for blue steak so I wouldn't worry too much about having a relatively limited diet as long as they're eating happily and definitely don't change more than one thing at a time. And good luck. I used to carry Piriton everywhere and had a massive argument with airport security when they tried to stop me taking it on board!

garliclover - yes, baked beans are haricot beans . It was so horribly irresponsible of me to try them really... but DS desperately wanted to... he only ever had red rashes and maybe one or two hives around mouth on touching baked beans (compared to masses of hives on skin contact with peas and breathing difficulties/lots vomit after one teaspoon of lentils). I haven't tried them again - I figure that DS knows what he's doing when he refuses foods he might be allergic to. He's okay with ketchup and tomato puree but won't eat fresh or canned tomatoes. Also, Heinz beans contain a little bit of garlic so it was doubly stupid of me really.

Likeaninjanow, your consultant would probably string me up by my earlobes for being so foolish! But I know what you mean about waiting years for food challenges and having such a restricted diet in the meantime.

Seastrand, thank you - it's such great news that your DD grew out of her allergies

We know DS is highly allergic (experienced anaphylaxis) to chickpeas and mildly allergic (hives all over) to lentils. I'm terrified to try him with any beans other than baked ones and basically steer away from everything else. One day, when I'm feeling brave, I may try peas as he used to tolerate those .

Maybe I'll take your advice babybarrister and do it in theA&E carpark...

I don't know which hospitals you ladies go to, but when we were last seen I was advised by the doc to try ds with peanut as soon as possible. I was nervous about this, and she told me that I could always come into the hospital to do it if I was really worried. I may have got the wrong end of the stick, but I'm pretty certain that she didn't mean a structured food challenge, (or just sitting in the corridor to do it!), more that there was a space that you could use when giving a food for the first time. I'm sure that they wouldn't want the world and his wife in there, but for those who have a proven history of dangerous and/or multiple reactions it would seem like a really useful facility. Maybe worth asking if there is something similar available wherever you attend?

Whoops, meant to add especially if you have been given a bollocking for trying new stuff - what are you supposed to do otherwise? He'll still be weaning in middle age!

I know what you mean about the A&E car park. I remember the consultant saying to me 'be careful when you introduce fish' - um, what exactly does that mean? How careful is careful? I was very tempted to just sit in A&E and feed DS cod to see what happened. Thankfully, he's fine with fish but consultant says to avoid seafood (no idea for how long). Funnily enough, I've never worried about pulses, legumes etc and even now I've no idea whether or not he's ever had sesame or lentils simply because I was never really aware that they were likely allergens. He's definitely not allergic to peas or baked beans or mustard or celery so hopefully it's just the milk, wheat, egg and (probably) nuts.