Started BLW but scared ...

[MegumiEto]

DS2 is 7 1/2 months and I started BLW a week ago. So far he's been eating once a day and had bananas, strawberries, avocado and brocolli. Seems to enjoy it, only gagged twice and guiding food to mouth has come easily.

I want to move up to eating more often and more foods as he'd dropped off his curve a little, but I'm a bit scared of introducing potential allergens as he has a bit of eczema.

Please reassure me that it's ok to give him bread and dairy etc at his age? He can sit up unaided but it still quite wobbly when he does!

We did a mix of blw and spoon feeding as blw alone didn't work for us, but i didn't introduce wheat or dairy until 12 months. I think the theory is that they are more likely to develop intolerences if the food groups are introduced early. However, despite having waited, ds is allergic to cows milk and has ezcema :(. If you have only just started weaning are you still giving the same amount of milk feeds? If you are then he should be getting what he needs. If you are concerned though do ask your hv or gp, or maybe think about seeing a paed dietician.

I would just go for it to be honest, but just be aware of when you are introducing the potential allergens. Ds is 8 months and has had quite severe eczema, although it seems to be clearing now, don't know if it is coincidence or since he has been eating proper amounts of food! We started blw at 6 months and have just given him everything but I have watched him more carefully when giving him something that is a common allergen and also make sure I have piriton to hand. So far the only thing that seems to have affected him is egg (on it's own he is ok when it is cooked into a muffin or something) and we are not even sure it was the egg he reacted to!

Dairy and wheat are fine past 6 months and ds has been fine with both of these.

Good luck!

Sorry to hijack.. But redmolly, what kind of reaction did you DC have when they had cows milk? Did the eczema flare up or was there another kind of rash/ sickness? We're in the same boat I think and had a first eczema flare up together with a spotty rash. Not sure if it was the yoghurt he had... dS is 7mo.

We first tried him with cows milk on cereal at 12 months, and within minutes his face started to swell, puffy eyes and an awful lot of snot! We left it and tried again a week later with the same result. HV suggested lactose-free but that was worse. Since then it's a bit like russian roulette - the worse reaction was to a quaver! That time he also got blisters on his face and on his hand where he held it and massive facial swelling that took days to go (don't routinely feed him crisps btw - just a one off on a long journey).

The ezcema started later. My suspicion is it was triggered by his mmr/pcv vaccinations but how do you prove it?

Have you been to the gp? In our case the two don't seem to be linked but I know they often are. You may be advised to keep trying small amounts and waiting to see if there's a reaction (not fun!) or trying an elimination diet. In a lot of cases the dairy intolerance will pass, and you may just need to wait until your dc is a bit older before trying again. I'm no expert though and would def suggest getting a professional opinion.

Regarding the ezcema, we have just tried Aveeno baby ezcema wash and moisturiser and the effect has been amazing - it's nearly cleared in a week. It's chuffing expensive but worth every penny.