Trying Peanut Butter for the First Time — By Accident!
Monday, January 2nd, 2012
Peanut butter has been the one thing I’ve been afraid, no terrified, to give Mason. Our pediatrician told me (again) at our last appointment that it was fine to give him peanut butter now that he’s 16-months-old, but I’ve still been too chicken. My fear is totally irrational. We don’t have any peanut butter allergies in our family, but I made the mistake of Googling peanut allergies and reading horror stories about it and totally freaking myself out. So I hadn’t planned on giving Mason peanut butter any time soon — and then my mother-in-law accidentally gave him a peanut butter cookie last week.
Mason’s first introduction to peanut butter came at the worst possible time. We were in Chris’ small West Virginia hometown visiting family over the holidays, and Bug had spent the better part of the morning screaming. He had woken up with a 102-degree fever and a nasty cold, and he clearly felt terrible. I had finally gotten him calmed down after a dose of Motrin–he was in his high chair coloring–so I decided to make him some lunch. I was preparing steamed veggies and a grilled cheese sandwich when I heard my sister-in-law, who knows about my peanut butter fears, say, “I don’t want you to freak out but that’s peanut butter.” I froze and then turned around and saw Martha looking at Chris. Mason was sitting next to them, happily nibbling on a cookie that my MIL had given him (she thought it was a molasses cookie). Wait, what?! Mason’s eating a PEANUT BUTTER cookie? Chris took the cookie away from him since he had already eaten half of it (the pediatrician said to just give him a little bit the first time), and I hovered next to him for 30 minutes and watched him for signs of an allergic reaction.
Fortunately, Mason didn’t have any kind of allergic reaction to the peanut butter. In fact, he seemed to love the cookie. Ironically it was the first thing he had really eaten all morning since he felt so crummy. I jokingly thanked my MIL for giving him the peanut butter since I probably wouldn’t have had the courage to do it until he was 10-years-old, but I was definitely freaked out about it for the rest of the day. I felt grateful that he didn’t have an allergic reaction. Chris’ hometown is tiny and the medical care there is pretty limited. Remember, we live in NYC, home to some of the best doctors and hospitals in the country, and I’ve been afraid to give him the stuff here!
How did you introduce peanut butter to your babe for the first time?
Categories: High Chair Times, Must Read | Tags: food allergies, peanut allergies
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