Simple guidelines that will help:

• 1 food at a time, wait 5-10 days before adding a new food
• iron-fortified rice cereal to be used to avoid iron deficiency anaemia
• Vegetarian diets need to be well planned – may require nutritional supplements, talk with a dietitian.

If one of the following happens take your baby to your local hospital or see your doctor immediately:

• a rash appears around their mouth
• spots appear on their body
• baby has problems breathing - wheezing
• swelling of their lips
• has diarrhoea or vomiting occurs
• unsettled behaviour as in pain.

Foods that are unsuitable for babies and may cause an allergic response:

• nuts/nut products
• raw eggs or uncooked poultry
• care should be taken with fruit juices – water down well

If there is a strong family history of allergies delay introducing the highly allergenic foods:

• cow’s milk & dairy products
• soy products
• eggs
• nuts & peanuts
• fish & shellfish.

It is important to discuss with your doctor or a dietitian as baby’s diet still needs to meet growth & development requirements.

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