Solids Timeline with BLW?

[@llli*babygirl05]

My son is not ready for solids yet, but I have been wondering about something. With my DD I did BLW but used the reccomendations from www.wholesomebabyfood.com for when to introduce certain foods and I did the 3 day wait between new foods and all. Is that REALLY necessary?? I mean, what is the reasoning to wait to introduce things like eggs, wheat, strawberries, citrus, etc. Do any of you follow the reccomendation from the BLW book that says baby can have whatever you have and there's no reason to wait for things unless an allergy is likely?

[@llli*mek]

It's to make sure that there is no allergy. It takes 3 days for it to be fully through the baby's system, I believe. Foods like eggs, wheat, strawberries, and citrus are considered high-allergy foods. If you don't wait three days, and the baby eats several different foods in a short time period, and there is a reaction, you won't know which food caused the problem.

Food allergies run in my family, so I am being careful. If there is no family history, you might not have to be quite so diligent.

[@llli*elisabetsey]

We didn't listen to the 3 days between new foods. But we have waited longer to introduce some of the foods you mentioned (but not others, lol). To start, we did offer "simple" foods though. LO got apples for a while before we moved onto anything else. I think there was a valid point that if you offer multiple foods at each meal, the baby can choose to reject certain foods -- and it may be that they don't eat a particular food because of allergy/intolerance. Besides, at this point for us, LO is still getting most of his nutrients from breastmilk -- so we don't need to force him to eat anything really, kwim?

{p.s. last night he devoured some homemade sweet potato chips.. so cool to watch!}

[@llli*sassypants]

We did BLW, too. Nut and peanut allergies run in my family, so we are waiting on those foods until much later. As for other high potential allergy food, after we introduced it we watched him for a few days and didn't introduce any other high potential allergy food for many days.

It was thought that giving allergenic food too early would increase the likelyhood of food allergies, but I don't think that is the case anymore. Unless there is a history of food allergies in your family then you can give almost any food from 6 months on. We are waiting on nuts not because I think it will help any risk of allergy, but because I want his body to be more mature and better able to handle any possible reaction.

[@llli*kjohanna]

ditto what the pp said....a really great book that I personally think goes hand in hand with BLW is the book Real Food for Mother and Baby by Nina Planck. It encompasses more than just baby led solids, but she does devote a chapter to it, and has some general dietary advice that I find to be rather sound.

[@llli*katia11]

I didn't bother with the 3 days thing at all really. Connor had Indian Butter Chicken when he was like 6.5 months old . We gave him whatever we were having that was reasonable enough and healthy enough for him. I just watched his bum.

[@llli*jenna562]

we did and im glad. sam had an allergy and it would have been a nightmare to trace if we had mixed things to begin with.

[@llli*scienceteachermommy]

I started with pretty simple things to begin with but for the most part didn't follow the three day rule. We have no history of food allergies in our family, however.

[@llli*ooky]

I started with the 3 day rule but quickly was not that careful about introductions.

[@llli*babygirl05]

Ty ladies for the input. I am thinking I will do the 3 day rule, but not worry too much about when I'm introducing what.