It can be tempting, once baby starts eating some solid foods, to try to cram every possible thing your little one can eat into their diet right away. After all, it’s fun trying new things, and even more fun watching your baby experience new things. The expressions on their faces when they find a new food that they like are priceless (almost as cute as the expressions on their face when they try a new food that they don’t like).

Babies should be introduced to new foods one at a time. You should ideally wait at least three days between introducing new foods. This is because you will want to watch your baby carefully while she is trying out new foods to see if she has any allergic reaction to the new foods. If baby has an allergic reaction, and you have introduced her to six or seven new food experiences over the past few days, it can be difficult to figure out which kinds of food bother her system.

Here are some common signs of food allergy to look out for in your baby:

• Baby breaks out in hives
• Baby develops a skin rash
• Baby gets diarrhea
• Baby’s tongue or lips become swollen
• Coughing
• Wheezing
• Baby has trouble breathing or loses consciousness

Allergic reactions are nothing to play around with. While rashes and even hives are not something to become immediately alarmed about, you should call your pediatrician immediately if your baby’s face becomes swollen or she has trouble breathing after she has eaten. In the case of diarrhea or vomiting, you should call your doctor if the problem persists for more than a couple hours or is particularly severe.

There are literally dozens of different foods which can cause allergic reactions in babies, but the vast majority of food allergies in babies and children come from a relatively small group of allergenic foods, including milk, eggs, peanuts(Which babies shouldn’t have until they’re three years old), wheat, shellfish, soy, nuts, and fish. Be especially careful when introducing any of these foods into baby’s diet.

Please don’t misunderstand: you should not avoid giving these foods to your baby unless you have reason to believe she may be allergic to them. Each of these food types has health benefits for your baby, and she needs the nutrients that are found in each of them. Do introduce these foods, but introduce them one at a time, and keep an eye on your baby for any signs of allergic reaction for the first couple of days after you introduce them into her diet.

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