The first months when you start receiving complementary foods are the months of your baby getting to know the foods. During this period, the complementary foods you will give your baby are for tasting and the main food source of your baby is still breast milk. While introducing complementary foods to the baby, attention should be paid to foods with high allergy potential and it should be observed whether it causes any allergic reaction in the baby.
3 Day Wait Rule
The ‘’3 Day Wait Rule’’ is one of the important rules that must be followed when start receiving to complementary food. According to this rule, each new food should be given to the baby one at a time and at intervals of 3 days. If no allergic reaction has developed after giving the tried food for 3 days, a new complementary food can be started on the 4th day together with the tried food. For example;
- Day: yoghurt
- Day: yoghurt
- Day: yoghurt
- Day: yoghurt + zucchini
- Day: yoghurt + zucchini
- Day: yoghurt + zucchini
- Day: yoghurt + zucchini + apricot
- …
Foods that cause allergic symptoms such as skin rash, redness and itching in the eyes, wheezing, vomiting and diarrhea should not be given to the baby for a while.
Allergenic Foods
Cow’s milk, egg, peanut, soy, fish and shellfish, tree nuts, wheat allergy are the most common food allergies. Cow’s milk should not be given to babies before 12 months.
Early Introduction to Allergens
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggests that early exposure to common allergens can prevent the development of allergies in childhood. For children considered high risk of developing food allergy, the evidence for the early introduction of allergenic foods, and in particular peanut and egg, is robust. In such cases, the consensus is clear that not only should such foods not be delayed, but that they should be introduced at early months of age in order to minimize the risk of food allergy development.
