Parents have so many questions when it comes to starting solids. Lalo’s co-founder Michael Wieder talks to Kim Grenawitzke, feeding expert at Solid Starts. Kim answers the most common questions with the goal of helping parents get through this feeding milestone with knowledge and understanding about first foods, allergens, choking rescue and more.
Q: History in your family of food allergies, do you still need to be so careful?
A: In terms of risk factor, the only thing that makes a baby high-risk for allergies, based on the research we have right now, is moderate to severe eczema. If your baby has a little bit of eczema in the creases of their arms, that's pretty normal, but if they have eczema that covers a significant amount of their body, you're probably already working with your pediatrician or a dermatologist to get that under control. Your baby at this point is at higher risk for developing an allergy.
If you have a family history of allergy, the research actually isn't necessarily correlative that this is going to cause an allergy, so that's really not something we worry about. If your baby has an established allergy already, if you already know they have a milk protein allergy from breast milk and or formula, your baby at that point also goes into a higher risk group. Can they still develop an allergy? Yes, but they're in the regular risk pool.
Q: If you've introduced an allergen with no reaction, can you then mix with another allergen?
A: Introducing two allergens together, hypothetically speaking, yes is ok. I would say most people continue to separate for the first exposure just because it makes them feel more comfortable, but if you were talking about yogurt and peanut butter, if you had done dairy and you'd ruled out the allergen and then you wanted to introduce peanut butter by mixing it in, yes, that's fine. Our allergist would be fully in support of that, but just generally speaking, most parents separate them just because they feel better about it.
Q: Is there any exposure to allergen that happens through breast milk?
A: Not enough that it matters, unfortunately. The exposure through breast milk is unfortunately not enough (to know).
Q: Where do you recommend people get trained on choking rescue?
A: The American Heart Association and American Red Cross both have classes you can take. We have a completely free downloadable Solid Starts Choking Rescue Guide that has photos and written out directions, but it's always good to be at an in-person class to do hands on learning. I think local hospitals offer the courses, too.
Q: Are there any first foods to straight up avoid or that are off limits?
A: Yes, there are two categories of food to avoid.
#1: Foods that would potentially make your baby sick:
Number one is honey which carries a high risk of infant botulism. We avoid honey until year one or until your baby's at least one. The second kind of foods that are in this category are things like raw milk, cheese, and dairy. Your baby is much more susceptible to getting food poisoning from those foods plus uncooked bean sprouts, raw fish, raw meats and anything in the category that would potentially give you foodborne illness is going to be much more risky for your baby. We avoid these until they are older. Unfortunately, there's no good answer as to when the risk decreases, the risk is just higher the younger they are. I introduced sushi to my kids around 18 months. That was what felt safe to me. That's a personal choice.
#2: Foods that have a high risk of choking and have very low nutritious value:
In terms of foods to avoid in this bucket, it's things that are high risk of choking, but low nutrition value like Skittles, marshmallows, hard candies. We recommend that you avoid things that are high choking risk and low nutritional value.
Q: What About Salt and Seasoning for Babies?
A: I love this question, because there's also so much drama and stuff out there. We have dug through the research on salt and sodium in babies. There is no research that says that babies are not allowed, or that it's not safe for babies to have sodium. Shocking. If your baby was actually in the NICU or in the hospital, there was sodium in their IV bag, there's sodium in breast milk, there is sodium in formula. Sodium is not going to hurt your baby.
With that said, we all consume too much. We all, as human beings, especially in the United States, consume more sodium than we should for our diets. So what we recommend and what our dietician talks about is balance. If you're making a super highly processed, salty meal, maybe don't share that with your baby or share a part that isn't extra salty. So perhaps add salt to your dish after you've cooked it. If you make a big stew and there is salt in that stew, it's completely fine to share it with your baby.
What we know is that your baby's palate is going to develop based on what they're exposed to a lot, so if they're exposed to all highly salty processed foods, they're more likely to gravitate towards those foods as they get older and they can make independent food choices. Again, we all know that we should be eating more whole foods and less highly processed salty foods. So the more we expose baby to the less salty foods, the more likely they'll be willing to eat those later. But also, you want your baby to know that food tastes good. It's completely fine for them to have a dash of salt here and there.
When it comes to seasoning and spices, go for it. My now 3 year old used to eat kimchi like it was going out of style. Don't be afraid of spice when it comes to things that are super spicy. Pair them with something like yogurt, a cooling food, and just go low and slow. So don't give them a ton at first, but it's completely fine to expose them to those things. Remember, it's all brand new to them so the more you expose them to it earlier, the more likely that they'll be willing to eat it and be interested in it later.
This is not medical advice, speak to your pediatrician with any questions or concerns regarding starting solids.
