Hi there

Bubs is now onto stage 2 of solids (almost 8 months corrected age now). Going great on veges and meat. I have been 95% giving him homecooked food with the occasional babyfood jar. (the stage 2 ones seem to have all sorts of things added which I'm not keen on so will be all homemade from now on).

I am nervous about eggs, bread and diary products even though it is probably irrational of me. He is on an HA formula which he seems to be tolerating well with one BF a day and 2 solids a day. (Was BF for first 5 months of his life - was two months early though).

All the latest research does seem to say not delay introducing the more possibly allergenic foods so will be starting on these with a new food every 4 days.

My main question (after all that waffle!) is:
- Would it be better to give him 'better quality' types of these foods - eg organic eggs and diary? organic bread with as few ingredients as possible? My thinking is this way his system won't be overloaded by pesticides etc or additives (with the bread?) - Or would this make no difference really? (the meat and veg he has had hasn't been organic - and he is also eating baby rice - not organic) - Obviously this will be more expensive and with a tight budget would do it if it seems to be of benefit but if not - will be just the usual stuff.

Is 4 days long enough between foods - or should I wait longer? (I know dairy can be accumulated before the body reacts).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. He seems to be fine so far - has some slight cradle cap (apparently they grow out of this but unsure whether this can be related to foods or not - he had it when I was Bfing but of course I was eating dairy. Doesn't seem to have worsened with formula). Also has a small scaly patch of skin behind his ear - its very tiny and when I wash it with a flannel it washes away and the skin looks fine - probably just grubby!)

Anyway appreciate any help :-) Thank you

Well organic is really a personal thing - we sort of do a bit of both. I think the key thing is that you keep the ingredients as pure and "real" as you can. Heating food reduces its "allergicness" so you may wish to consider introducing milk and egg in baking rather than straight. Also the egg yoke is not meant to be as allergic as the egg white so you could consider boiling an egg and starting with the yoke. Personally I'd probably do a little longer between intro's. Also start with a small amount eg:
day 1 = 1 teaspoon
day 2 = 2 teaspoons
day 3 = 4 teaspoons

His skin sounds good

Thanks 3boys - I really appreciate that :-)

Sounds like good sensible advice. Does the heating apply only to milk or also to things like cheese and yogurt (since they have already gone through a type of process)?

Good to know about waiting longer between intros and gradually upping the amounts.

I am quite nervous about introducing these foods but most of that is because I am good at worrying about nothing most of the time!

Anyway thanks so much for the advice and reassurance :-)

THe heat thing applies to cheese and yogurt as well. Also with relation to quantity cheese is higher in protein than milk and bread is higher in wheat protein than say a cake (think cups of flour). The heating thing doesn't apply to peanuts - they get more allergic with heating.

http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/ this site is a great first foods site with lots of recipes and lots of info on alternative grains and prep of those grains which can be a great alternative to wheat as well as just generally healthier!

Thanks again :-) Had a quick look at that website last night and it exactly what I have been after so thank you so much, really helpful :-)