Here - Health Promotion Agency

Feeding your child
ALLERGIES
Babies are more likely to develop allergies if there is a family history of atopy, which means eczema, asthma, hay fever or
food allergies. Introduce the common allergenic foods (milk, eggs, wheat, nuts, seeds, fish and shellfish) one at a time so you
can spot any allergic reaction, but don’t introduce these into your baby’s diet before six months.
Nut allergies
Serious allergies to nuts and nut products and some seeds affect about 1 to 2% of the population. In recent years, peanut allergy,
although still uncommon, appears to be increasing. It is not yet known why. The following may help to reduce the risk of developing
this life-threatening allergy:
•
Breastfeeding mothers who are ‘atopic’, or those for whom the father or any sibling of the baby has an allergy, may wish to
avoid eating peanuts or peanut products while breastfeeding.
•
Peanuts and foods containing peanuts, such as peanut butter or unrefined or cold-pressed groundnut oil, should not be
given to babies from ‘atopic’ or ‘allergic’ families until they are at least three years old.
Refined peanut oil, vegetable oils and cosmetics or creams containing refined groundnut oil are considered safe.
Read contents labels carefully to check if you need to avoid the product.
•
If there is no allergy or atopy in the immediate family, there is no need for children to avoid peanuts after weaning, as long as
they are ground as nut butter or crushed.
•
Do not give whole peanuts or any type of whole nuts to children under five in case of choking.
As your baby gets used to taking
foods from a spoon it is important to
move from pureed to mashed and
more lumpy foods.
For more information about
types and textures see page 67.
GIVING MORE SOLIDS
You can give your baby almost any
home-cooked family food, as long as
it’s the right consistency for your
baby (i.e. mashed or puréed). Avoid
adding salt and sugar or honey to
your baby’s food.
Your baby should still be having
breast milk or a minimum of
500–600 ml (about a pint) of infant
formula milk. As solid foods become
a large part of your baby’s diet, it is
important to offer a range of different
foods to provide all the vitamins and
minerals needed.
• Include some starchy foods with
each meal, i.e. potatoes, yams, rice,
bread, plantain or unsweetened
breakfast cereals.
•
Fruits and vegetables make
good finger foods and should be
included at two or more meals
each day.
•
Your baby should have one or
two servings of soft cooked meat,
fish, egg, tofu or pulses, such as
beans or lentils (dhal), a day. Red
meat (beef, lamb and pork) is an
excellent source of iron. Eggs
(well cooked) are a quick,
nutritious and cheap source
of protein.
Finger foods and lumps
Encourage your baby to chew, even if
there are no teeth, by giving finger
foods. Avoid giving biscuits and rusks
so that your baby does not get into
the habit of expecting sweet snacks.
Even low-sugar types contain sugar.
Finger foods provide chewing
practice and encourage babies to feed
themselves. Also give foods which
have a few lumps. Most babies can
start to chew soft lumps, such as
mashed banana, mashed vegetables or
cottage cheese, from six months even
if they have no teeth. If you delay
giving ‘lumpy’or finger foods, you
may find your baby refuses to eat
FIRST FINGER
FOODS
Toast
Bread crusts
Pitta bread
Rice cakes
• Slices of soft, ripe, peeled
fruit
– bananas
– pears
– peaches
– melon
• Cooked vegetable pieces
– green beans
– broccoli
– cauliflower
– carrots
– courgette
Cubes of cheese
• Cooked pasta shapes
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