Starting solids with the 3-Day Rule
Everything the app does and why — written for a parent holding a spoon in one hand and a suspicious baby in the other. This is the complete web manual for BabyEats – First Foods & Allergen Tracker.
1 · Getting started
There is no signup, no account, and no tutorial. The first launch shows exactly one sheet, then you are on the food grid and ready to log.
2 · Why one food at a time
The 3-Day Rule is the oldest trick in the first-foods book: introduce one new food at a time, offer it on a few separate days, and only then move on. The reason is plain detective work — if you start three new foods in the same week and a rash shows up on Thursday, you have no idea which food to suspect. One food at a time keeps the lineup short.
Waiting across distinct calendar days matters too: some reactions are delayed, showing up hours later or on a second or third exposure rather than the first. The in-app header says it in one line: “3-Day Rule — watch for delayed reactions before marking safe.”
3 · How the app derives Safe
Every food's status is derived — computed from the taste dates you logged plus any reaction, and never stored or set by hand. You can't pick a status, taps can't fast-forward one, and neither can the app's marketing department. A food starts gray as Untested and moves only by the calendar:
The food is mid-test. Each tap logs today's taste — at most one per calendar day — and the tile shows exactly where you are: “Day 1,” “Day 2,” “Day 3.” Tapping twice changes nothing: “Already logged today — one taste per day.”
Reached only after tastes on 3 distinct calendar days with no reaction. There is no shortcut, no “mark as safe” button, and no way to tap your way there in an afternoon. Safe means the record shows three genuine days.
You deliberately logged a reaction (see section 5). The food freezes at red — no further taps advance it, and it can never quietly drift back toward Safe. It stays a visible warning until you explicitly undo or edit the entry.
4 · Logging tastes
Logging is built to survive a weaning meal: one hand, two seconds, no forms.
- Tap a tile = log today's taste. A haptic confirms it, and the tile updates immediately — “Day 1 · today.”
- One taste per calendar day, maximum. Offering the same food at lunch and dinner is fine for your baby, but it still counts as one day in the record — that's the whole point.
- Undo last entry is right there in the tile's long-press menu and the detail sheet — a mis-tap never pollutes the log.
- Edit or delete any food from its detail sheet (name, icon, category), and add free-form notes like “mixed into yogurt.”
5 · Logging a reaction — deliberate by design
A reaction is the most consequential thing in the record, so it can never be logged by accident. There is no reaction button on the grid; the path is intentionally longer than a tap:
The reaction record — food, date, symptoms, note — is exactly what your pediatrician will ask for, and it travels into every export (see section 8).
With Pro, you can also start a Reaction Watch (2 h) after a new taste — in the app's words: “A quiet Lock-Screen timer while you watch for a reaction. Logging stays in the app.” It is a countdown to glance at, never an alarm system or a judgment.
6 · The Big-9 allergens
The grid gives the nine major allergens their own section — Top Allergens (Big 9), flagged “introduce early & often” in line with current pediatric guidance. Each allergen tile carries a short first-taste tip, shown here exactly as it appears in the app:
| Allergen | The app's intro tip |
|---|---|
| Milk | Offer well-cooked dairy (yogurt, cheese) — not cow's milk as a main drink before 12 months. |
| Egg | Introduce fully-cooked egg early; mix a little into purée and watch for 2 hours. |
| Peanut | Use smooth peanut butter thinned with water or mixed into purée — never whole nuts. |
| Tree nut | Use smooth nut butters or finely-ground nuts; whole nuts are a choking hazard. |
| Soy | Try soft tofu or edamame mashed smooth; introduce one allergen at a time. |
| Wheat | Iron-fortified wheat cereal or soft bread strips work well for first tastes. |
| Fish | Offer flaked, fully-cooked low-mercury fish; check carefully for bones. |
| Shellfish | Introduce well-cooked, finely-chopped shellfish; a common adult-onset allergen. |
| Sesame | Thin tahini into purée or yogurt; the 9th major allergen (FASTER Act 2023). |
As the app's disclaimer puts it: “Guidance here is general and based on AAP / NHS references. Your doctor knows your baby.” If your family has a history of food allergy, eczema, or an existing allergy diagnosis, talk to your pediatrician before introducing allergens — the tips above are general tips, not a plan for your baby.
Big-9 tracking is free, like everything safety-related. With Pro, the Insights view adds the overview: Big-9 allergen coverage, your introduction pace, and your logging streak.
7 · Gagging vs choking — the emergency guide
The Emergency tab is the app's panic button: “Choking vs Gagging — know the difference in 2 seconds. Stay calm.” It is always one tap away, never gated, and works offline. This is the same content, summarized:
😮💨 Gagging — usually safe · part of learning
What to do: Stay calm and watch. Don't put fingers in their mouth. Let them work it out — gagging is how babies learn to manage food.
🚨 Choking — emergency · act now
Act immediately: Call emergency services. Give up to 5 back blows, then 5 chest thrusts. Repeat until clear or help arrives.
In the app, the Call Emergency Services button sits at the bottom of this guide — one tap dials your local emergency number. It is never gated, never delayed, never behind anything.
Source line, exactly as shown in-app: Reference based on AAP / NHS guidance — reviewed June 2026. Verify with your pediatrician. Not a substitute for certified infant first-aid training.
8 · Exports — the pediatrician hand-off
“Which foods has she had, on which days, and what happened with egg?” is the first thing a pediatrician or allergist asks. The export answers it in their preferred shape:
- Plain text (free): a compact food & reaction summary — every food with its derived status, the dates it was offered, and any reaction with date, symptoms, and note.
- CSV (free): the same data as a spreadsheet — name, category, status, distinct days, offered dates, reaction details — for anyone who wants to sort or chart it.
- JSON backup (free): your complete raw log, exportable and re-importable. Local-only apps owe you a copy of your own data.
- PDF pediatrician report (Pro): the same hand-off as a clean, printable document, footed with the same honesty as everything else: “Not medical advice — a tracking summary only. Verify with your pediatrician.”
Exports are generated on your device and go only where you send them via the iOS share sheet. Nothing is uploaded anywhere by the app.
9 · Pro features
BabyEats Pro is a one-time $12.99 purchase (no subscription), shared with your family via Family Sharing. The rule it lives by: safety is always free — the 3-Day Rule, reaction logging, the Big-9 section, the emergency guide, and text/CSV/JSON export never cost anything. Pro only buys convenience and depth:
- Unlimited custom foods — add every food your baby tries, no caps, no limits (free includes 10 custom foods; pre-loaded foods never count).
- Multiple baby profiles — track siblings or twins in separate, independent timelines.
- Home & Lock-Screen widgets — see what's mid-test and log today's taste with one tap.
- Reaction Watch Live Activity — a quiet 2-hour Lock-Screen timer after each new taste.
- Insights — Big-9 allergen coverage, pace, and your logging streak.
- Custom reminders — get nudged to log Day 2 and Day 3 at the right time, for every food in testing (the free tier keeps one daily testing reminder).
- PDF pediatrician report — export a clean summary to share at your next check-up (text and CSV stay free).
- Themes & alternate app icons.
Purchases and refunds are handled entirely by Apple. Restore Purchases works on any device on your Apple ID, and if Pro is ever revoked the app downgrades without deleting anything.
10 · FAQ
Where is my data stored? Who can see it?
In a local file on your iPhone, and nobody. There is no account, no server, no analytics, and no third-party code in the app. Data leaves your device only when you yourself share an export. Full details in the privacy policy.
Do I need an account or an internet connection?
No and no. The app works entirely offline — in airplane mode, in a basement, anywhere. The only network-touching feature is the App Store purchase flow itself, which Apple handles.
Can I tap a food three times to mark it Safe today?
No — and that's the whole product. A tap logs today's taste, at most one per calendar day; tap again and you get “Already logged today — one taste per day.” Safe is derived only from tastes on 3 distinct calendar days with no reaction. The day count advances by the calendar, not by taps.
I logged a taste (or a reaction) by mistake — now what?
Undo last entry — it's in the tile's long-press menu and in the food's detail sheet. The status re-derives instantly from the corrected history. Honest entries mean an honest record.
Does “Safe” mean my baby can never react to that food?
No. Safe means exactly what the record shows: this food was offered on at least 3 distinct calendar days and you logged no reaction. It is a summary of your own log, not a medical clearance — reactions can still occur later, and the label is only as good as the logging.
That's why the app keeps a “Not medical advice” chip on screen: “Guidance is general. Always consult your pediatrician, and call emergency services in an emergency.”
Does the app diagnose food allergies?
No, never, by design. It records the reaction you observed — date, symptoms, note — and freezes the food at red so it stays visible. What the reaction means is a question for your pediatrician or an allergist; the app's job is to hand them a clean record.
Can I use the app in another language?
Yes. BabyEats is fully translated into English, Romanian, French, Italian, German, and Spanish. It follows your iPhone's language by default, and you can override it any time in Settings → Language — the change applies immediately across the whole app, the widgets, and the reminders, with no reinstall. Choosing “System default” hands control back to iOS. This is free, like everything safety-related.
What's free and what's Pro?
Everything safety-related is free forever: the full food grid and 3-Day Rule engine, reaction logging, the Big-9 allergen section, the gagging-vs-choking emergency guide and call button, the daily testing reminder, and text/CSV/JSON exports. Pro ($12.99 one-time, Family Sharing) adds unlimited custom foods, multiple baby profiles, widgets, the Reaction Watch Live Activity, Insights, custom reminders, the PDF report, and themes. See the comparison table.
What happens to my data if I refund or lose Pro?
Nothing. The app downgrades the Pro conveniences and keeps every food, taste, reaction, and export available. Your data is never deleted and never held hostage.
Can I get my data out?
Yes — plain text, CSV, and a complete JSON backup are all free, forever. The JSON backup can be re-imported, too.
Is BabyEats a medical device? Does it tell me what to feed my baby?
No and no. BabyEats is a tracking aid. It records the tastes and reactions you log, derives each food's status from the calendar, and keeps the emergency guide one tap away. It does not diagnose, treat, or assess your baby, and it never prescribes a feeding plan — only your pediatrician, who knows your child, can do that.