Food for babies off the buffets

[Keri]

I brought glass jars into the park when we went with DD in 2008 - she was 7 months. I did the oatmeal/fruit combos, and then brought the plastic gerber containers of fruits & veggies -- just lighter weight for MY sake!! We knew at that point that she had an egg allergy, so I didn't give her a ton from our meals -- mashed potatoes at dinner, bananas, breads we knew were ok (my DS has food allergies too).

One word about the yogurt, if you care -- pretty much everywhere you go on property, the only yogurt available is Yoplait Light Strawberry (with nutri sweet, I think). I gave it to DD when we went in 2009, but I wouldn't have been too happy giving it to her then. The only exception I found for that was Sunshine Seasons had some regular yoplait & some soy yogurt.

 

[puffkin]

All the buffets pretty much have oatmeal, yogurt, bananas, fruit, waffles, dry cereal, scrambled eggs etc. I also have seen cottage cheese (which DS LOVED as a baby).

Most babies can gum things like waffles or cereal at that point. My son was eating lots of dairy products before age 1 with no problems (we switched him to milk at 11 months from formula). I think there would be plenty of options to let a 7 month old graze. They don't really eat "meals" anyways at that point yet so I would just give them things off the buffet and then adjust your regular baby food/formula/nursing according to how much they actually ate.

 

[mom2maggie]

I forgot about yogurt! You guys are giving me some great ideas! I think I'll pack some jarred foods, but also plan on supplementing off the buffets, with fresh fruit, etc. I think the only fruit I will have to hold off on would be the strawberries, but there might be some other fruits there too.

 

[Sazuburns]

We did baby led weaning http://www.babyledweaning.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=73, so dd has never had a jar. From the age of 6 months we fed her food that she could pick up and eat herself. We started with soft foods like banana and cooked carrot batons, moved swiftly onto pieces of chicken and then onto everything else.

She is now 12 months, has only just got her first tooth and eats everything that it's possible to eat including pieces of raw apple, celery, beef & barley casserole - literally everything.

We haven't got major food allergies in the family although she is milk intollerant, so she had peanut butter quite early, and egg, all different fruits, houmous. There's not much we haven't tried her on.

 

[mom2maggie]

I looked at that babyled weaning and I inadvertantly did some the other day! I let my (almost) 6 month old slobber all over my apple and she LOVED it. I imagine when she gets some teeth she'll love gnawing on it.

Does anyone know if they have apple juice on the buffets or do you have to order it from the server?

 

[Keri]

We haven't got major food allergies in the family although she is milk intollerant, so she had peanut butter quite early, and egg, all different fruits, houmous. There's not much we haven't tried her on.

Consider yourself lucky -- and please think twice before recommending this to others. My child had a pretty bad allergic reaction to eggs before one, as did my daughter (and that was just chewing on my husband's finger after he cooked eggs and had washed his hands -- I never would have fed them to her!!) and my son is highly allergic to peanuts. Who knows what might have happened if I'd given him peanut butter when he was an infant!!

We have no history of food allergies in our family either, but have 2 children with them. Family history is NOT a dispositive indicator of allergies. While I have no issue with the concept of introducing food this way, I do caution everyone to be careful of potentially serious allergens like eggs and nuts. I can't imagine having a taste of peanut butter at 11 months old is really worth risking your child's life. There are reasons doctors advise waiting to introduce certain foods. I didn't remember the eggs one & was very lucky my son's reaction wasn't worse, considering how 'highly allergic' he has continued to test over the past 6 years.

Off my little soapbox I just get nervous when I see people recommending things like this. Just because you were lucky & it worked for you doesn't mean you might not be putting someone else's child's LIFE on the line.

 

[Keri]

I looked at that babyled weaning and I inadvertantly did some the other day! I let my (almost) 6 month old slobber all over my apple and she LOVED it. I imagine when she gets some teeth she'll love gnawing on it.

Does anyone know if they have apple juice on the buffets or do you have to order it from the server?

I believe you have to order it, but every restaurant was very accomodating of my (non paying) baby the last 2 years. We were able to get juice or milk for her no problem at table service restaurants -- just not at counter service.

 

[kohlby]

Would you consider slowing down on the solids? That way, you'll have to bring less foods and not worry about it as much! I'm very careful about what I feed my kids as babies so I wouldn't trust anything prepared off the buffet. (I don't give juice until way after a year. Wait until 9 months for wheat since it's an allergen, a year for eggs, year for cow's milk etc). You could just grab a banana and give small pieces or mash it and breakfast is taken care of! They really don't need solids at this point so it would be easier if she didn't expect a lot of solids on your trip.

 

[mom2maggie]

Nah - I'm not going to slow down on solids. We go at her pace anyway - some days she'll eat a jar of food, some days she'll eat a bite. And when you have a 6 month old that is pushing 36-40oz of formula daily, having a little extra to feed the chubster doesn't hurt!

 

[Hannathy]

Yea once they start on real food they don't want to go back! My DS would not eat baby food or anything pureed consistency (still doesn't at 11) and you couldn't feed him, he had to do it himself, so he ate finger foods from 5-6 months on. I was never told not to give him eggs so scrambled eggs were a mainstay. I gave him food from restaurants all the time. One thing I learned at dinner or lunch is if there isn't anything on the menu softish, or I just felt like having a corned beef sandwich!, order veg. soup and scoop out the veggies voila soft pre-chunked veggies.

Have fun and relax people and babies have been eating for centuries!

 

[Schmeck]

Consider yourself lucky -- and please think twice before recommending this to others. My child had a pretty bad allergic reaction to eggs before one, as did my daughter (and that was just chewing on my husband's finger after he cooked eggs and had washed his hands -- I never would have fed them to her!!) and my son is highly allergic to peanuts. Who knows what might have happened if I'd given him peanut butter when he was an infant!!

We have no history of food allergies in our family either, but have 2 children with them. Family history is NOT a dispositive indicator of allergies. While I have no issue with the concept of introducing food this way, I do caution everyone to be careful of potentially serious allergens like eggs and nuts. I can't imagine having a taste of peanut butter at 11 months old is really worth risking your child's life. There are reasons doctors advise waiting to introduce certain foods. I didn't remember the eggs one & was very lucky my son's reaction wasn't worse, considering how 'highly allergic' he has continued to test over the past 6 years.

Off my little soapbox I just get nervous when I see people recommending things like this. Just because you were lucky & it worked for you doesn't mean you might not be putting someone else's child's LIFE on the line.

What is making kids so sensitive these days? Only 16-18 years ago, there were no warnings about peanut butter, dairy, eggs, etc. We just were told to introduce foods one at a time, a few days apart from each other. My kids ate eggs since they were 6 months old - good stuff for their brains! - and younger DD was better off on whole milk at 9 months than she was with formula, as she refused to drink formula at that time!

Also - noticed that mesh bag thing was made in China - I don't know if I'd want my kid sucking/gnawing on that...

 

[waltskids]

What is making kids so sensitive these days? Only 16-18 years ago, there were no warnings about peanut butter, dairy, eggs, etc. We just were told to introduce foods one at a time, a few days apart from each other. My kids ate eggs since they were 6 months old - good stuff for their brains! - and younger DD was better off on whole milk at 9 months than she was with formula, as she refused to drink formula at that time!

Also - noticed that mesh bag thing was made in China - I don't know if I'd want my kid sucking/gnawing on that...

This is a great post! I look at my baby book and am shocked at what I ate as an infant (baby cereal at 3 weeks, pureed veggies/fruits at 3 months, whole milk by 6 months, etc, etc) but I don't know one person my age who has an allergy to any food. It is bizarre considering there are so many kids with allergies today. We feed DD what we eat, in small bites of course since she can't stand anything in puree form. We believe everything in moderation and although we don't have allergies in our family, I won't withhold a certain food from my child for fear of allergic reaction. I feel terrible for families who have children with allergic reactions, it must be difficult.

 

[twinmom319]

Here's an interesting side note - I'm a pediatrician and there is a lot of conflicting evidence regarding waiting to introduce things like eggs and strawberries. A new study just came out where kids who had late introduction to solids (including eggs, wheat, etc) (ie, after 6-8 months) actually had MORE food allergies! I would probably still avoid peanuts and shellfish but other than that, the AAP is relaxing all of their recommendations. I think the bottom line is to be careful and introduce one thing at a time to monitor for any problems. It's so funny to me - with the twins we took forever to feed them solids, and with our 8 month old she will eat anything that isn't tied down - she grabbed a Christmas cookie out of my DH hand and took a big bite!

 

[mom2maggie]

Here's an interesting side note - I'm a pediatrician and there is a lot of conflicting evidence regarding waiting to introduce things like eggs and strawberries. A new study just came out where kids who had late introduction to solids (including eggs, wheat, etc) (ie, after 6-8 months) actually had MORE food allergies! I would probably still avoid peanuts and shellfish but other than that, the AAP is relaxing all of their recommendations. I think the bottom line is to be careful and introduce one thing at a time to monitor for any problems. It's so funny to me - with the twins we took forever to feed them solids, and with our 8 month old she will eat anything that isn't tied down - she grabbed a Christmas cookie out of my DH hand and took a big bite!

Thank you so much for joining in this post! Now I won't feel so weird with her eating the eggs or strawberries. I'll try them at home first, of course!

 

[Keri]

I don't know why, I just know they do. And as a parent of kids with allergies, it's frustrating to hear people talk about it like we're making it up or something. First of all, I *do* know adults with food allergies, but I completely agree it wasn't nearly so widespread when we were younger. I don't know why -- I just know it is, and when someone tells you your kid is at risk for anaphylaxis and death if they eat certain foods, you pay attention quickly!!

My 10 month old had hives all over his face and neck and threw up when he had eggs. He gets hives if he eats anything with an egg in it, no matter how little is there. They hoped he would outgrow it by now, but he hasn't. Like I said, my 5 month old hived up chewing on my husband's finger and when he kissed her again a week later. She tested highly allergic to eggs. We haven't had her tested again yet, but I'm guessing she'll test positive for nuts as well.

It sucks, and it sucks worse when people act like it's crazy parents freaking out over nothing. I once felt like you guys -- why would I not give my 10 month old eggs? Well, clearly, I found out why. Is it possible he would have had the same reaction at 12 months? Sure. But maybe if I'd waited, his allergy wouldn't be so bad. I have no idea. All I can do now is do better by my girls (my middle daughter, by the way, is completely allergy free according to the testing we had done. She's never reacted to anything, but she's also still never had peanuts) I held off on potential allergens with Lanie for a long time, and I'm doing the same with Emery. I had them both tested as babies to rule out (or in) the big ones. I don't demand anything of anyone at their schools or anything like that. But I probably go to the extreme on being too lax about it for fear I'll be seen as "that mom" by other parents who think food allergies are a big made up thing. It sucks.


ETA: my kids all started solids early, around 4 months, because they were huge. I stayed away from eggs (after Davis), shellfish, and nuts, but not wheat, berries, etc. Davis actually had a milk allergy as well, which we discovered pretty early and I had to cut back my dairy intake when I was breastfeeding and he drank soy milk until he was 4. His allergies were present long before he started solids.
OK, really, off my soap box now

 

[twinmom319]

I don't want to hijack this thread - but I just hope that the PP knows that I in no way meant to imply that food allergies are not a serious problem. I completely agree with how you are handling everything given what your kids have been through. I think that the jury is still out as to what is really causing the food allergies and whether waiting to introduce foods makes a difference in the long run (if that makes any sense?) I definitely don't think that allergies are made up or that parents overreact - when there is a chance that your kid could swell up and not be able to breathe, it's hard to imagine an OVER reaction to that situation!!