soooo confused! weaning and potential allergies

[rabster]

There is so much confusing information out there, I was hoping you wise lot at mumsnet could help me out....

Ds (5 months) has eczema. I have allergies (not food) and asthma. I want to wean to avoid potential food allergies. I recently introduced some purees, but ds appeared to have a bit of a tummy ache at night, so I am leaving the rest of weaning til 6 months.

I am not fussed about blw, don't mind mashing/pureeing if needs be. Just, what foods shall I avoid and til when? Should we avoid dairy and gluten, and if so, when can we introduce it? And what about citrus, soya etc?

Please help mumsnetters! My brain hurts!

buy a good book like annabel carmel. full instructions on weaning, but generally at this stage, keep to basic pureed fruit or vegetable like, carrot or apple for approximately first month.

nothing too fancy. when introducing new foods do so over a period of several days, to see if there is any reaction.

there are a couple of weaning schedules of allergy food introductions at babyledweaning.com. they're not blw lists, they're universal, so you could have a look. down the right hand side, hope that helps. and if later on in the process you're looking for recipes for finger food, search for moomin as she is very handy with a spot of gram flour.

So am I right in thinking wheat can be introduced after 7 months? [dense mum emoticon]

Hi rabster hope you are still around. I have been doing this and avoided all Wheat, gluten and dairy until DD was 9m then introduced one new "allergenic" food per week. There is a link on Kellymom.com to a recommended schedule. It is a bit strict and if like me you don't have food intollerences as such you can be a bit flexible. I also read loads more on the net and most of the general advice is sound just be wary before 9m (apparently the additional 3 months to mature helps prevent allergy in babies that are prone to them).

Main things I found:

1. BF/FF exclusively to 6 months.
2. Avoid Gluten and Dairy until 9m
3. Introduce high risk foods gradually after 9m, these include: Tomatoes, kiwi, citrus, nuts.

It makes BLW difficult but once you get started you can give meals of cooked veg pieces. My DD eats most of her meals by hand now. You will be a bit reliant on baby rice, rice cakes (boots do a good organic one) and fruit and veg purees. You can introduce meat as normal just give each new food a few days before going on to something else.

Oh and write it down - I lost track and her excema flared up and had to cut out 3 or 4 things again!

If you need any more advice or just someone who understands why you are being so cautious give me a shout!

Avoid egg. My dd has eczema and I avoided egg til she was over a year. WHen i did give it to her she had a reaction to it. Apparently a lot of babies with eczema start off with an egg allergy they uusually grow out of.

oh yes - and egg! Not had that yet - good to know about the 1 year thing. I did consider introducing it next week. Will wait a bit longer.

Thanks everyone!
sometimes you do too much reading and just need someone to summarise for you!