Author Topic: 1st Rice Cereal = red, rough skin around eyebrows????  (Read 3075 times)

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Offline brezinav

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1st Rice Cereal = red, rough skin around eyebrows????
« on: August 14, 2006, 19:16:31 pm »
We fed ds his first bites of rice cereal yesterday. A few hours later, after his bath I noticed that his eyebrows were red.  He was also fussy, but was fussy before the cereal so I didn't think too much of it at first. Then he started rubbing his little fists on his eyes quite hard and whimpering.  His skin was rough and bumpy to the touch. Not sure how it is this morning as he's at his grandparents while I'm at work.  :(

My DH and his dad both have scaly, flaky eyebrows and apply cortisone cream every day. Not sure if this is just a hereditary thing, or a possible rice cereal reaction.

Has anyone else have a similar experience?

Offline Shdef

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Re: 1st Rice Cereal = red, rough skin around eyebrows????
« Reply #1 on: August 14, 2006, 19:21:53 pm »
Was that his first contact with dairy? was anything else added to the cereal? And how old is he?

Offline brezinav

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Re: 1st Rice Cereal = red, rough skin around eyebrows????
« Reply #2 on: August 14, 2006, 19:52:52 pm »
Sorry, should have put all that info in.

He's 3 1/2 months old. Did NOT do well breastfeeding. We had 6 weeks of crying anytime he was awake and not feeding. I had eliminated all "offensive" foods and was pretty much eating boiled chicken and rice or dry toast and still he writhed in pain and cried after every meal, and at the same time acted hungry. Every diaper was a loose, poopy diaper. My ped. didn't see anything wrong (LO was gaining weight so everything "must be ok", right?) but after finding me curled up on the exam table crying at our 6 week checkup (DH was holding the baby), she checked for reflux. No blood so no reflux, but she still prescribed Xantac - I think as a placebo for my sanity. Rather than starting on drugs (hate that American attitude that everything should be solved by a pill without trying to find the cause), and knowing in my gut (no pun intended) that it was a food thing, I posted a desparate message here. One of the Mom's replies shared a similar story and said she'd had great luck with Nutramigen. I tried ProSobee (soy) and it was like night and day. Within 5 days we had a smiling, cooing, happy baby who slept like a champ and had 2 nice, formed BMs a day.

Our son is on a 4 hour EASY, more or less, but stopped taking a DF about 3 weeks ago. He cluster feeds like a truck driver at 5, 7 and 9, but then sleeps thru the night (please don't let me jinx it here). He usually gets fussy in the evenings 'cause he's hungry, hungry, hungry. I cut him off at 10 oz. at 5:00 and try to entertain him or distract him until 7:00 since I'm worried he'll just spit up and/or stretch that stomach even more. At 3 months he weighed over 16 pounds! (8 lb. 3 oz. at birth). My instincts are telling me he's ready for something more substantial than formula, but family, friends and ped. said no -- wait till the magic 4 month mark. I finally gave in this weekend after a fussy hungry marathon, and tried the rice cereal to see what would happen. He didn't eat enough to curb the hunger, but I didn't expect that. He did make some darn cute faces though. And that about brings us up to date.


Offline Shdef

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Re: 1st Rice Cereal = red, rough skin around eyebrows????
« Reply #3 on: August 14, 2006, 20:00:57 pm »
Well, it could be the dairy in the rice cereal (or was it plain? Didn't catch that bit)...

The WHO doesn't recommend solids before 6 months, at 3 months he will be too young for cereal, I would just cut it out and try when he is 6 months.

It might also be the soy as it is the biggest allergen for babies (more so than cows milk) and is therefore not available in Germany. But if it works for him, I wouldn't change it. If he keeps showing allergic reactions you may have to switch to a hypoallergenic formula (Nutramigen is good stuff, but inaffordable and awful taste) but there are other options...

Maybe you can get Milupa Aptamil HA Pre? (not pricey, and not disgusting)

http://www.preisvergleich.org/produktsuche/pre-hypoallergene-anfangsnahrung_92f63370477df3d69c7bdc454f36575a/


DS got the Hipp Version of HA (hypoallergenic) formula for 6 months and loved it

Offline brezinav

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Re: 1st Rice Cereal = red, rough skin around eyebrows????
« Reply #4 on: August 14, 2006, 21:09:55 pm »
I fed him Organic Gerber rice cereal mixed with ProSobee so I don't think there was any dairy. I will check the label on the cereal tonight to be certain.

I appreciate the advice on the other formulas, but he's been doing great on the soy for 2 months and I don't think that's the culprit. In fact, his newborn "acne" cleared up when we switched from BF to ProSobee, which was great.

I'm really wondering if anyone else has noticed a similar condition and pinned it down to rice cereal.

Offline tylersmommy

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Re: 1st Rice Cereal = red, rough skin around eyebrows????
« Reply #5 on: August 14, 2006, 22:14:03 pm »
I'm so sorry you've had such a hard time...how frustrating!

I'm afraid I can't advise much on the itching. It's very difficult to rule out an allergy, especially if itchy eyes could be hereditary. I'm wondering if the eye rubbing could have been a sign of overtiredness? Could you post a sample of his daily routine so we can see what his naps look like? Crankiness in the evening is really common with infants. Sometimes it's a result of overstimulation during the day, the cumulative effect of less than perfect naps during the day, or for no reason at all. I know we went through it with Tyler for several months and it was soooo tough on everyone!

To be totally honest with you, I don't think that introducing solids will help matters, especially if he's had digestive troubles in the past. Formula contains far more calories and nutrients than any solid food, so if he truly is hungry, your best bet is to offer more formula at each feeding or cluster his feedings even closer together. At his young age, it's generally not recommended to limit formula intake at all, so if he's hungry, upping his formula feeds will make him more full than anything solid.

Most pediatricians don't recommend starting solids before 4 months at the absolute earliest because young babies' digestive systems simply aren't equipped to handle anything other than formula or breastmilk. Also, the risk of developing a food allergy is much higher because of their immature digestive systems, and that risk decreases as babies approach 6 mo of age.

Hopefully we can help you sort this out!
Melissa
Mommy to Tyler, 12/30/03 and Mackenzie, 10/17/06
<img src="http://b5.lilypie.com/Uavem6.png" alt="Lilypie 5th Birthday Ticker" border="0"  />

Offline brezinav

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Re: 1st Rice Cereal = red, rough skin around eyebrows????
« Reply #6 on: August 15, 2006, 03:30:18 am »
Thanks for your post!

A "typical" day goes something like this:

7:00              7 oz feed (sometimes as early at 6:00, or as late as 8:00)
7:30 - 9:30     play
9:30 - 11:30   nap
11:30 - 12:00  7 oz feed
12:00 - 2:00   play (hard at it!)
2:00 - 2:15     2 - 4 oz topper (he seems to work up a thirst after all that exercise kicking and moving those arms)
2:15 - 4:00     nap
4:00 - 4:30     7 oz feed
4:30 - 6:00     play
6:00 - 6:30    4 - 7 oz feed
6:30 - 7:30    play/bath
7:30 - 9:00    nap
9:00 - 9:30    4 - 7 oz. sleepy feed
9:30p - 7:00a    sleep

My mother, my husband's parents and my husband and I all take turns during the week looking after Thatcher so each day is a little different. I've had a tough time getting his grandparents to stick to a firm schedule and I'll admit there are days when I've thrown the schedule out the window myself.

We used to try to wake him up from his naps to keep him on a 3 or 3.5 hr. EASY but that didn't seem to make a difference in his evening patterns. One thing is consistent: the little guy eats slowly in the morning and ramps up to a feeding fest in the early evening. This has been true since he was just a few days old -- when I was breastfeeding. I think that was a part of my problem with BF since my milk production was highest when he was least hungry, and tapered off in the evenings when he was ravenous.

In the early evenings he tends to be fussy, and I think it's often overstimulation, but he doesn't usually want to go down until we've walked him around the house a bit. He's mostly a pretty good napper, but there are times when he fights going to sleep. He definitely likes to be in his crib or pack & play when he sleeps -- doesn't fall asleep being held or strolled. Doesn't even like to drive around in the car.

All in all it's a fine schedule and I'm not bothered by it. I just suspect that he'd happily eat a steak if only he had some teeth and he could talk us into it. NOT that I'm going to try that!!  It's the days when he gobbles down 40+ ounces  :o that make me think that formula just isn't filling him up. Most days he eats around 32 - 36 oz.

Anyway, in light of the questionable tolerance of the rice cereal I guess I'll hold off on feeding any more solid food for a couple of weeks until we've had our 4 month checkup and I can discuss with our ped. There's no other doctor I'd want for a sick baby, but these feeding subtleties are just not on her radar if you know what I mean.   Like the "some babies are just fussy..." and "colic doesn't last forever..." canned responses in the early days. I'll probably get a refresher on the signs of anaphylaxis, but I bet scaly eyebrows will be dismissed with a recommendation for an OTC cream or ointment. (She was my ped. when I was a kid though and I know first hand what a truly wonderful doctor she is. In fact she had to kick me out at 21. I practically jumped in her lap the first time we went in with Thacher, I was so happy to be back in her office after 14 years.)

There's just no one in the world that will spend hours obsessing over the little stuff like a mom, and I know if there's another mom that's had a similar experience this is the place to find it!

Offline LŠuren

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Re: 1st Rice Cereal = red, rough skin around eyebrows????
« Reply #7 on: August 15, 2006, 15:24:48 pm »
brezinav

I am just about to start giving Calum is dinner, have you had a chance to check out the EASY FAQ's on the EASY board??  In there you will see Sample 3 / 3.5 / 4hr routines, you will see from there that bedtime is usually about 7 / 8pm - it may be worth while clusterfeeding from earlier ion the day to achieve this.   Your 3rd nap at 7.30pm should actually be bedtime.

I can see a few things that you could change to give you a more EASY routine, but can you please get back to with the answers to my questions below to help me further.  You will problably find your LO is crying all the time because he is overstimulated and his A time is too long.



Can you also let me know what temparment your LO is i.e Angel, grumpy, spirited, etc........ you will also see the quiz in the FAQ's.
What weight is your LO?
What his his typical awake time from nap to nap?

Do you have any of the the Baby Whisperer books?

Lauren

« Last Edit: August 15, 2006, 16:02:17 pm by Calums_Mum »
Lauren x


Offline LŠuren

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Re: 1st Rice Cereal = red, rough skin around eyebrows????
« Reply #8 on: August 15, 2006, 16:01:42 pm »
Also for information;  rice cereal is NOT as calorific as formula/breastmilk, it is a myth that it will fill them up - it won't - it's filled with empty calories.

If you also have a family history of any types of allergies then you should hold off any more solid foods untill the recommended WHO age of 6months.  This will give your LO's gut a chance to settle down after feeding him the rice cereal.    As a result of this you may also find that when you do go to start solids at 6months, the same problems will arise again, since he wasn't ready for them the first time and took a reaction.

I am sure that at your 4 months check your Ped will give you the go ahead - they all seem to - however if I were in your situation I wouldn't until 6 months.
Lauren x


Offline Shdef

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Re: 1st Rice Cereal = red, rough skin around eyebrows????
« Reply #9 on: August 15, 2006, 16:24:55 pm »
Because of a history of allergy in DH's family our ped said 6 months and one day for the first solids. He NEEDED solids before that, had a hard time because he wasn't satisfied and wanted a bottle every two hours. But we waited anyway. He never had any allergic reactions to anything...