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Allergic Reactions:

Sometimes babies will be allergic to certain foods, and unfortunately the only way to find this out is to actually feed it to them and see that they actually have a reaction to it.

This is why, when you introduce a new food to your child, you should do it one at a time. This way, if your child does have any type of reaction, you will be able to narrow it down to what food was most likely the cause.

If one of the child's immediate family members has many food allergies, though, you should watch the child more closely than you normally would have to worry about it, and you might want to talk to their doctor about having them tested for certain food allergies.

There are a few signs that should raise alarm if your child experiences them:

• Any swelling—if their eyes, face, throat, or any other body part starts swelling for no known reason, you should take them to the emergency room immediately.

• Rashes—if your child breaks out in a rash, particularly if they just ate a certain type of food recently that they have never eaten before, you should call the doctor immediately to see if you should bring your child in to the hospital or not.

• Throat problems—if it seems that your child is having a hard time swallowing or talking, you should immediately call the doctor.

• Any other strange reactions—if your child starts acting sick in any way shortly after eating a food for the first time, you will want to call their pediatrician. It could be something simple, that isn't even related to the food, but it might be something more serious, and it is always best to get an opinion from medical personnel before making the decision of whether it is safe or not.

Along with the many allergic reactions you may have to watch for with children, there are some foods that babies should never have until they are a year old, even in small amounts. These foods include:

Honey
Peanuts
Cow's Milk
Eggs
Strawberries
Chocolate

Your baby's digestive system cannot handle these foods until they are a year old, so you should wait until at least then (maybe even longer just to be safer) before giving them any.

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