Not sure what to do next..

[nnb]

Hi,

I stared my little guy on cereal. We went through Rice, Barley and Oatmeal. Just prior to starting his cereal, he had this rash develop on his stomach that would not go away. No other symptoms after starting his cereal. His bowel movements became better than ever. My little guy is exclusive formula, so he would only go once a day. Now he is going twice and sometimes three times a day.

I was told that even though the rash developed just before he was introduced to cereal, that it might not be going away because of the cereal, that it is keeping the rash away. My little guy has very sensitive skin and was even born a week early and came out with dry skin. His doctor thinks it could be anything and likely not food related since it is only in that general area and not all over his body. Anyhow, I stopped giving him his cereal and went onto Sweet Potato, Butter Nut Squash and tomorrow I plan on introducing Apple to him (been feeding him one meal a day only, the rest all formula.. 30+ ounces a day). Since I dropped his cereal a week ago, the rash is almost gone- maybe or maybe not related who knows.

I want to reintroduce his cereal - not sure how to do this.. Should I start giving it to him again for breakfast and then only give him sweet potato, squash and apples for lunch and wait to introduce anything else?

I don't know what to do..

Thanks,

Nena

[Sallyotis]

Our naturopath told us to introduce foods over a 3-day period.  So if you're re-introducing the cereal, you'd give him a little bit at each meal for three days, but don't introduce anything else new over that three-day period.  That way if he has a reaction you will know that it must be the cereal and not something else. 

[Freya'sMum]

Hello!

Firstly, how old is your lo?

Secondly, why do you need/want to reintroduce the cereals? I guess it'd help identify whether they have anything to do with the rash, but other than that I see no real need for him to have them.

I'm guessing that ds is fairly young still, maybe about 6 months, and at this age solid foods are introduced to allow babies to learn what they are and what to do with them rather than as a source of nutrition, all the goodness is in the milk! Solid foods supplement the milk, so one meal per day sounds good and his milk intake hasn't been affected, and that meal can be anything, it doesn't have to be cereals.

HTH a bit?

Ax

[nnb]

Hi,

Yes.. my little guy is 7 mos old.

Im feeding him once a day at noon right now and not sure if I should be moving that to twice a day. Any suggestions on a feeding schedule that he should be on.

Im not sure what is going on with him right now. Friday, I introduced apples to him and on Sunday and Monday he started to poop green and was fussy and refused to nap.. could this be a reaction to the apples? Any idea? Maybe its teething, but I don't see anything on his gums.

Thanks

[Elvira]

Withhold the apple, for three days, and offer pear, or banana or avocado.  There,s no need to reintroduce cereals, but anyway the most likely culprit is barley (of the rash, if it has dissappeared after withholding cereals).  If you are going to reintroduce, try one by one (not mixed together) and perhaps rice, millet or corn, followed by oatmeal in about a months time.  Doing it one by one will help identify the culprit of the rash.  It can be a reaction now that he will not have a year from now...

At his age, his only learning to enjoy other food and the medical reason to give it is to get more iron into your child (mostly it is because of that, which will be needed at one year and is needed after 6 months) and preparing him for eating more after one year of age.  You can introduce meat and vegetables, there is a list posted here of things to avoid to which I must insist in adding now cow,s milk and no yogurt or cheese till one year of age.

[Freya'sMum]

The advice of what to avoid and when differs enormously from country to country - in the uk, dairy including cows milk can be offered from 6 months (not the milk as a main drink tho, just in food preparation) - in other countries the advice can be to avoid it until 9 months, others a year.

The pp's recommendation for how to identify the cause of your lo's reaction is sensible, if you have any doubts about what foods to avoid where you are, I'd suggest consulting with your health visitor (or similar) and asking them for a reference to the research they are basing their recommendations on! You can always look it up yourself then!

Ax

[Elvira]

Yes, Freya, I know there are differences in countries about cow,s milk introduction, but it is also the recommendation in the US.  It causes anemia, and doctors still do not why.  Certainly it is not the same at all to use a little for cooking than to substitute formula for milk entirely!

[PandaBean]

I found that Amelia's reflux got a bit worse after I started her on rice cereal.  Now that she's starting other foods, I've not fed her cereal in a while and it seems a bit better.  Perhaps it's a similar situation with your DS?  Like other posters have pointed out, cereal isn't really necessary, so you don't have to use it.

[lovedtodeath]

I have been told that food allergies are sometimes caused or worsened by feeding some babies ANY grains. It perferates the intestinal lining. My dd was allergic to apples. It is a common allergy. I understand you wanting to try cereal again, as so many people say it helps them skleep, keeps them full longer, etc. I am planning to get some white sweet potato flour or malanga flour to make "cereal" with. HTH

[nnb]

Well... I didn't reintroduce cereal and he is 9 months now. He is doing great. He is eating 3 times a day.. mostly fruits and veggies. I have not introduced any dairy or meats yet. He is eating Cheerios and Baby Mum-Mum's though. I tried giving him some chunks of stemmed carrots- because he really enjoys feeding himself.. but he doesn't know how to chew yet. Not sure what to give him to help him learn. Things are much better now. Im also attending a Mommy-Chef class for meal preparations for babys 9-12 months here in Toronto. Its wonderful. If anyone wants the info - let me know.

[Freya'sMum]

Thank you for the update, really glad things are better !

Those classes sound fun! Bit of a way to commute from England, but would be a good excuse to skive off work...!

Ax

[nnb]

LOL... if anyone is from Toronto, Ontario, Canada... they can go!!!

[Elvira]

nnb, normally they learn that on things that dissolve easily and that involve cereal (hard but easily dissolved cookies, pretzels, etc). However you might try with fried potato (can be oven-fried so the amount of fat is minimal, but the texture a bit firmer than with boiled or roasted), but it is normal that he still cannot chew very well, which is something that seems to come at about one year of age.  ¿How does he fare with apple cut in fingers?  You could introduce meat now, but it will not help him learn to chew at all, much too tough. 

When/if you introduce cereal, let it not be barley.  I was reading a list a potential allergens and in cereals wheat, barley and soy seemed to top the list....

[Giorgina]

Hey nnb,
I'll take that Mommy Chef info from you.  Sounds interesting.  I live just outside of Toronto.