Is there anything worse than not knowing what caused your baby to be sick? That’s where our head was at a few weeks ago when we tried for a second time to feed Kaylee soft cereal. She got sick again, thankfully this time it wasn’t as intense but still just as stressful. I tried a different grain this time (rice) and sure enough, she vomitted everything back up. We just happened to be in the car when this happened. We turned right around went home and gave her some pedialyte. Very similar to last time, once she fed, she vomitted again.
That was it, I was swearing off cereal. I didn’t want to be putting my baby through the same situation for a third time. I reached out to a dear friend of mine (and old colleague) who happens to be a dietician. I asked her if she knew any paediatric nutritionists I could reach out to for some guidance. I knew we needed to start Kaylee on solids but had no idea where to start. I just knew we needed to start somewhere and need to get some foods rich in iron.
In the mean time I kept seeing this Instagram page for Bebe Mange Seul which uses the baby led feeding approach. A few of the moms I follow on socials have been using this approach with their bubbas and it’s been working wonders. I wondered if this was something I can incorporate with Kaylee. After reaching out on their website, someone got back to me referring me to a paediatric nutritionist clinic, with one nutritionist in particular. I wrote her an email and within 2 hours of sending my message, I got a phone call from her (I was more than impressed with her timely response to say the least). She spent at least 45 minutes on the phone with me asking what exactly happened with the baby cereal and what her thoughts were.
She mentioned FPIES, which is food protein induced enterocolitis syndrome. She said its a rare syndrome but Kaylee’s reaction sounds a lot like it. She told me that certain foods could trigger this sort of reaction (intense vomiting). She was careful to say that although she is not certain that Kaylee has this, she could have a similar reaction and therefore we should start slowly introducing solids to her one food at a time. I had mentioned my interest in the baby led feeding approach but her recommendation was to hold off on that for now. What I like about baby led feeding is how it helps with the baby’s development and learning different textures and feeding themselves. But like I told the nutritionist I will always put my babys well being at the forefront of everything, so if that means doing purees and one food at a time, that is exactly what I will be doing.
She gave me a list of vegetables and some fruits we can start with which have been less likely to cause any type of reaction. Her advice was to start with one teaspoon a day and see if there are any reactions. She recommended sticking to one food for about 3-4 days before starting a new one. This was we can be more alert to any reactions and knowing what food caused it. I really appreciated the time she spent with me and her very informative advice. She also suggested I ask my paediatrician for a referral to see a nutritionist at the CLSC as they are a great free resource.
In the mean time though, I had already reached out to another nutritionist my friend had recommended and was waiting for our consultation. I finally had the consultation and to be completely honest, I didn’t feel wow with her. Although she touched upon a few of the same points as the other nutritionist I spoke with, most of her advice was the complete opposite that I had just received a few days prior. Some of the foods the first nutritionist mentioned waiting on trying, as they have been more known as allergy triggering, she was mentioning to start with. I felt quite confused to say the least when I finished that zoom call.
After discussing with David, I told him, I think we should go with the first one’s advice with starting slowly and one food at a time. I will also ask for a referral to see a nutritionist at our CLSC when I go see the paediatrician later this week. If I get two people telling me the same thing then I will feel more confident in following their approach.
In the mean time, we did start our little Kaylee on her first vegetable: broccoli. So far so good, she has been eating one teaspoon every morning and that has been going through her digestive system no problem (we have physical evidence :P)
I can’t say that the first day we tried it that this mama wasn’t a little nervous. I was impatiently waiting after the feed that followed her teaspoon of broccoli to see if any reaction was going to happen and luckily nothing did. Now tomorrow will be 6 days of broccoli and I am feeling confident to try her second vegetable. I will keep you posted on how things progress with our little bub.
