Peanut Butter OK?

So, just trying to make sure that eating peanut butter is ok. I've gotten so many different information from books, friends, other mammas, that I need to make sure. My boys are 13 and a half months old.

 

I would start out small and watch for a reaction. I have some friends whose child would eat a peanut butter ritz sandwich cookie (the tiny ones) and was fine. He took a bite of dad's peanut butter & jam sandwich and had to be rushed to the ER. No allergies in the family. My hubby is allergic (not deathly) to peanuts and my oldest son's favorite food is a PB&J. I did not feel my kids any peanut butter until after their 2nd birthday. I think it is also considered somewhat of a choking hazzard because of it's consistency. Just be watchful along with hotdogs & grapes!

 

We did PB right at 12 months. I would talk to your doctor, but I believe it to be fine if there is no history of allergies. A lot of the research suggests holding off actually causes more problems. That said, I am not a doctor, so don't take medical advice from me.

 

I didn't try any peanut butter until around 15 months, mainly because my boys are adopted and I wasn't sure about the family history of allergies on one side. The first time I gave it to them, I have them a teeny, tiny bite (like 1/8 tsp each) and watched them like a hawk for a few hours (and made sure to do it on a day we didn't have any pressing plans, and a weekday when the pedi was open). About a week later, I gave them a bit more, and still no problems, so now I'm sure they are good with it, and we have been doing peanut butter ever since.

 

I was very relaxed about allergies (no history of food allergies in the family, though we do have other kinds of allergies, which is supposedly relevant) -- but I still held off on peanut butter until they were almost 3. I let them have other kinds of nuts (mostly in the form of muffins and quick bread) around 18 months.

My thought was that there was no reason to hurry. I finally gave it to them when trying to keep them away from it became more difficult (as they got older). But I didn't find it that hard to avoid for the first couple of years -- and in fact, when I finally tried it, neither of them really liked the texture. It was just nice to be able to give them baked or packaged foods and not worry if there might be peanuts in it.

If you really want to try it, I would try just a tiny bit, watch them closely for a couple of days, and then try again.

 

I discussed it with our Pediatrician first at their 12 months visit, he said it's OK to give it to them since there's no history of allergy in the family. They are 13 months now. We didn't give them peanut butter yet, because we don't like it and we don't eat it ourselves. They had Nutella few times - as a taste from our crepes with nutella, and they loved it and they didn't have any type of reaction. We tried it on a Saturday morning - when we were home and our pediatrician's office was open. We waited another week for the second trial and that was OK also, so from now on we give them a taste here and there, but I don't give them too many sweets, so they don't have it all the time. I want to try peanut butter next, but we keep forgetting to buy it.

I hope your babies don't have any nut allergies either.

 

We introduced it after a year with no effects. I was cautious as we don't have all our family history available, but mine didn't really like PB until recently. Breastmilk contains small amounts of what you eat as well (tiny & digested, but still), if you breastfed & ate PB.

 

I'm not a doctor... but... please do remember that allergic reactions do not happen on the first exposure. They happen on the second, or third, or eighth. So whenever you do introduce a food you're worried about, don't forget to watch after the second and third PB&J sandwich. Allergic reactions to peanuts are usually immediate, so you don't need to watch like a hawk for hours.

One of my girls has a suspected peanut allergy. She had a reaction at 15 months the fourth or fifth time she had peanut butter. We did allergy testing and she shows up as mildly allergic to peanuts (but also mildly allergic to a few other things that she eats with no problem - this is apparently common). Our pediatric allergist told me that she would have been allergic at 15 month, 2 years old, or 5 years old... an allergy is an allergy... no matter what age you start the food.

 

In our family, we do not have a history of peanut allergies, so I went ahead and introduced peanut butter at 12 months. Good luck!

 

We gave our girls PB shortly after their 1st birthday after talking with our doc as we also didn't have a history of family allergies & I personally fall on the side of the argument that earlier exposure to common allergens reduces allergies. Have you spoken with the kids doctor?

 

I did ask my pedi and he said at 12 months it was ok. I seem to be the only one in my family with allergies so I'm thinking I'm going to hold off.

Thank you ladies for you input!!

 

We don't have any allergies in our family, so we just introduced at 15 months. Our ped said that they're starting to recommend to introduce earlier rather than later now.

 

My oldest is allergic to nuts among other things with no family history prior.

We saw his allergy specialist a few weeks ago, research is constantly going on and the theory currently is to not wait to try PB. The belief is part of why we are having such an increase in allergies is kids are exposed to foods through the air that they are not allowed to digest which some how kicks off a reaction later when the PB is eaten :search:

He also said eating PB while preggo &/or breastfeeding had no impact.

I hope your kiddos do great with no reactions!!

 

My twins had their first taste of peanut butter AND honey at 4 months old - thanks to my dad who had several strokes and did not know any better so I let them have pb when they turned 1 on a regular basis.

My dad shared everything he ate with my girls all they had to do was look interested and they got it. No telling what all they tried before they were supposed to or before they had teeth. At 5 months we were in Sam's and dh and my dad took the girls one way and I went the other when we met up my baby twins were sucking on BEEF JERKY and loving it.

 

Hilarious!! Sounds just like my dad...

 

At 12 months old our pediatrition said it was fine to give it a try....we did and have never had any problems.

 

I was very relaxed as well as for as testing foods for allergies, we have no history on either side or on the donors side so we didn't worry too much. The day we gave the kids PB was the day that my eldest son shoved it in their mouth at around the 10 month mark and there was no reaction and we have never looked back.

 

Mine grabbed my peanut butter-covered toast a few months back and shoved it in their mouth, and didn't expire. So now they get a bit ripped off of Mummy's once in a while, no worries. Honestly my kids haven't shown any sensitivities at all, thank heaven!

 

In addition to family history there is some evidence that the health of the flora in the digestive system contributes to allergies, so you may also want to add whether or not they were breastfeed, for how long, and how many times they have taken antibiotics into the equation when deciding when to try certain foods.