I am a serious rule-follower. I attribute this trait in part to my firstborn position in my family. However, since I've met a lot of firstborns who are much less rigid in this department, I figure maybe it is just my personality. Being serious about rules serves me well in terms of playing games and keeping me on the right side of the law. It makes other areas of my life, like mothering, a bit more challenging. Sure, there are plenty of rules that are clear and easy to follow. Don't leave your baby home alone. Check. Don't let your baby play with scissors. Check. Give your baby fruits and veggies, lots of attention, and warm baths. Check, check, check. But, there are plenty of "rules" that are conflicting, making closely following them impossible. One such quandary is "when do I give my baby peanuts?" This has become a hot topic over the last years with the sudden and drastic rise of serious peanut allergies. There is all sorts of information out there, and the fact of the matter is that, as far as I can tell, no one knows why this allergy has become such a serious concern. There are some people out there who say pregnant women shouldn't even eat peanuts to potentially protect their unborn babies from this. Some people say you should not introduce peanuts to your kiddos for 3 or more years as this could help an allergy-prone baby avoid become allergic. Other people say it doesn't matter, you should just introduce peanut butter when a baby is accustomed to solids, and if they are allergic, there is nothing you can do about it. Either way, there is this heightened sense of panic for many mothers who feel like there is a jar of life-threatening sticky brown goo innocently sitting on the shelf, waiting to potentially attack their young children. I really feel for families with children who have serious peanut allergies. Even though it is becoming more and more common to have "peanut free zones" at schools, churches, and nurseries, it would be very stressful to send your child out into the world with an epi-pen and the threat of contamination by this little nut.
So, anyway, I decided to bite the bullet and find out if my little peanut is allergic to the peanut. We took a walk (coincidentally near the St Andrews hospital - yes I'm a little crazy), and I gave him a 2 Ritz crackers with pb smeared between them. He gobbled up each morsel that I gave him and reached for more. I watched for all signs of potential reaction and was very relieved to find that the only reaction was a hunt for more of this tasty treat.
Isaiah also got his first taste of chocolate this week. I made brownies (I think I've settled on a favorite recipe), and I gave him a little morsel. I haven't seen his eyes light up with that look of glee over any other food he's tried. He's definitely my child. So, I'm looking forward to someday baking brownies and chocolate chip cookies for him as an after school treat, and Luke can't wait for the day he can introduce him to the Reces Peanut Butter Cup blizzard from DQ.
4 comments:
...and then, when he's three and won't eat anything BUT peanut butter sandwiches, no crusts, folded not cut or they are ruined and life is woe and there is much gnashing of teeth, we'll remember those first crackers with peanut butter and laugh and laugh. Yeah. :)
I love your Isiah updates. He's such a sweetie!
You're obviously a great mommy. I always look forward to your updates. So glad he likes PB.
I feel your first-born pain. I too find myself trying to do all the right things, always following "the rules." I can't stand playing a board game with people if they won't first listen to the directions being read.
In my three months of being a parent, (I mean, I'm so experienced, I should just write a book already)
here is what I've learned: there are "experts" that will show you studies that have proven something is dangerous. There are the same amount of "experts" with the same number of studies that prove why that same something is safe.
So, I've decided to just go with my gut and hope for the best. Talk to me in a few years to see how it goes.
Don't forget baking brownies with peanut butter swirl! Our boys looked at us when introduced to the "good stuff" like, "Where have you been hiding this???" Glad to hear that Isaiah likes the pb. Ours like it so much that it's all they really consider "lunch" and the sandwiches have to be cut in triangles, thank you very much.
I'm a first born struggling with the love of rules and the love of a two year old struggling with the invasion of a new brother. I'm working on choosing my top five rules to expect him to follow.
Dave’s sister has two children with peanut allergies. The first allergy was discovered when peanut crumbs fell onto the skin of their baby and she broke out into a rash. So, when the time came to find out if Mattox had it, I put a very tiny amount of peanut butter on his skin. No rash appeared.
A couple of months ago, Mattox was stung by a bee. I thought, “Oh, no! Is he allergic? How fast can the paramedics get to our house? Surely they will have an epi pen!” He was fine. I didn’t know, however, that I wasn’t supposed to tweeze the stinger out. I should have scrapped it off. By tweezing it I squeezed more venom into him.
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