Allergen Introduction
Introducing Peanuts to Your Baby: A Practical Walkthrough
One family's approach to introducing peanuts: consistency tips, a sample 14-day observation plan, and why writing things down helps when you're sleep-deprived.
Educational note: This article describes general information that many parents have found useful. It is not medical advice. Always consult your paediatrician about your baby's specific health needs before introducing new foods or interpreting symptoms. Read our full disclaimer.
Peanuts can feel like the scariest food to introduce. We get it. When our baby hit six months, we had a jar of smooth peanut butter on the counter and absolutely no idea how to actually go about this. After talking it through with our paediatrician, we settled on a plan that felt manageable. Here is what worked for us. But your doctor knows best, so run any plan by them first.
Tracking meals and symptoms manually is harder than it sounds. Our app makes it quick, and stays completely private.
Get the appGetting the consistency right
The biggest practical hurdle is getting peanut butter thin enough that it does not stick in a baby's mouth. Whole peanuts and chunky peanut butter are choking hazards. Do not go near them. What worked for us: mix a small amount of smooth peanut butter with warm water, breastmilk, or formula until it is about the consistency of runny yoghurt. Roughly 5 ml of peanut butter to 15–20 ml of liquid. Then stir that into a familiar purée your baby already eats without issue. Pear purée was a winner in our house. Offer a tiny dab first and wait a bit before giving more.
What changed with peanut allergy guidance
For years, parents were told to avoid peanuts until well past the first birthday. That started to shift after the LEAP study (Learning Early About Peanut Allergy), published in 2015, found that early peanut introduction in infants at high risk of allergy was linked to a significantly lower rate of peanut allergy at age five compared to those who avoided peanuts. Subsequent guidelines from paediatric allergy organisations moved away from blanket avoidance toward early, careful introduction under medical guidance, especially for babies with severe eczema or egg allergy. This does not mean every baby should start peanuts on day one. It means the conversation has changed, and your paediatrician can help you decide what is right for your child.
A 14-day plan (one approach, not the only approach)
Our paediatrician suggested waiting a few days between exposures so we could clearly tell if there was a reaction. The rhythm we settled on: Day 1: tiny taste (tip of a baby spoon). Day 3: a slightly bigger portion, about half a teaspoon. Day 7: a full baby-spoon portion. Day 14: peanut in the regular meal rotation. During those two weeks, we did not introduce any other new foods. That way, if anything showed up, we would know exactly what caused it. Ask your doctor what spacing they recommend for your child. This is just what ours suggested for us.
What we kept an eye on
Our doctor told us to watch for: hives or red patches, swelling around the mouth or eyes, coughing or wheezing, vomiting, or unusual fussiness. Some things show up fast, some take hours. We kept a simple log of what was eaten and when, plus any symptoms with timestamps. When you are sleep-deprived and stressed, remembering the exact timeline three days later is surprisingly hard. Writing it down as it happens made our follow-up conversation with the doctor much more useful.
Tracking a 14-day schedule on no sleep is rough
The app sets up the same observation schedule automatically and sends push reminders on the right days, so you do not have to keep count.