We started Violet on solids Sunday, the day before she was 6 months old. I did rice cereal for 3 days with no reaction, so moved on to oatmeal yesterday. I’ve been letting my husband feed her while I work so I didn’t witness her reaction yesterday…apparently she started screaming and crying halfway through the small serving and he quit. Tonight she did better, but when he wiped her face off he noticed that she had hives all over her cheeks, chin, and neck. Cue the mommy freakout!
I called the pediatrician’s office and got the nurse line. They managed to talk me down and her hives faded quickly after I nursed her. We’re supposed to go in tomorrow and see what we can find out. I have a feeling we’ll be referred to an allergist. With her allergy to fragrances and her asthma and eczema, I thought it was possible she might have some food allergies but I was hoping everything would be OK since I am able to eat whatever I want with no bad reactions from her.
I did some googling and found out that many oatmeal infant cereals contain wheat, one of the top 8(?) allergens. Considering the fact that she’s been bathed in oatmeal and her lotion contains oatmeal, I kind of suspect it’s NOT the oatmeal. If only I’d know that baby oatmeal contains wheat, I probably would have skipped it in favor of vegetables once I felt certain that rice cereal was OK. Live and learn, I guess. I just hate that it had to happen at the expense of my poor little girl.
