confused about dairy - why is milk only good cooked but yoghurt and cheese ok? also what about allergies?

[HalfFrench]

Am in the process of starting my DS (six months) on solids. So far making it up a bit as I go along and taking it very slowly. Am however trying to be careful about potential allergens as have a history of it in both mine and DP's families. Two things puzzle me though....apologies for my dimness...lack of sleep makes me slow to comprehend things at the moment but any info gratefully received.

1 - I understand that cows milk can be used after 6 months when cooked in a meal but not given as a drink until 1yr...however why is it ok to give other dairy products like cheese and yoghurt when they haven't been 'cooked' so to speak??

2 - my sister is very allergic to all nuts and fish and will go into anaphalaptic (sp??) shock if she eats either product. I don't want to eliminate either product from DS's diet unless I have too...question is how do I find out SAFELY whether he has the same issue or not?

thanks

You can have cold milk eg in cereal just in small amounts, so not as a drink until 1.

Can't help you on the other one I am afriad.

halffrench - re the milk thing as I understand it it is really fine for cooking and for cereal - it is not dangerous, the problem is just that it doesnt have enough iron, protein and all the rest of it to be had to replace either ff or bf as a drink - if a 6 month old drinks a lot of cows milk then they are obviously going to be too full to have bf or ff which is what they should be having.

I think you should post in the allergies section about your second question. I have heard that it is the second reaction that is the stronger so the first time you do fish, (and as you have allergies in the family I presume you will be weaning old school and one thing at a time anyway) you do it at lunch and watch very carefully for any sign of swelling, rash, shortness of breath etc. But do post in allergies as they are the experts.

It's not the allergy risk that stops you from giving cow's milk as a drink until 12m, it's because it doesn't contain the right mixture of protein, fat, vitamins etc. Breast milk or formula still provides most nutrition until 12m so it is important not to replace it with something inferior IYSWIM?

You could introduce fish/nuts in the presence of medical help, but if you are worried I would ask for a referal to an allergy specialist.

I'm no expert but have been quite cautious about introducing dairy for the same reasons and waited until 9 months before trying anything. I was told that bio yogurt is sometimes tolerated better than other dairy so it might be worth trying a small amount of that first. Also, as butter has a high percentage of fat I think it can sometimes be tolerated by those who are mildly allergic. I also tried a small amount of milk on the skin to see if any rash developed (luckily it didn't). I have found it very difficult to find any coherent advice on this issue. Good luck.

thanks for the responses everyone ... will go to the allergies lot with my specific issues