Hey there my wonderful fountain of useful info moms...My son is almost 7 months old. We've been feeding him Gerber baby cereal and Gerber baby foods for a while now, as well as Enfamil formula. I've been noticing for awhile now that just as he would start to eat or drink his bottle, he would get these red splotches on his face. Initially, they were small little splotches and I didn't give them too much thought. As quickly as they would appear (like I could literally watch them develop as I was sitting there feeding him) they would go away (same thing, I would sit there and watch them disappear as quickly as they came on). However, the last three feedings (which were a variation of cereal/formula/pears/mixed veggies/squash) the splotchiness covered almost both entire sides of his face, going up to and into his hairline and across his forehead. This is the most I've seen this occur so far. As it usually does, it again went away right after he ate.
I looked this up on line, and there were suggestions of everthing from a food allergy to eating so quickly that he's worked himself up into a frenzy and that's where the splotchiness is coming from.....I'm totally stumped. And, OF COURSE, its the holiday weekend, so I can't get him in to see his pediatrician until Tuesday. He doesn't seem to be in any distress or struggling to breath, as I would think would be the case if he were having an alergic reaction. Plus, the foods he's eating, he has been eating for about a month or more now. I'm thinking maybe it could be that he's eating too fast, but have never heard of this until now.
I have taken a picture of this with my cell phone so that I can be able to show it to his pediatrician (in case the time he goes in to see her is no where near the time for him to eat). Otherwise, any suggestions??? Has any one else had this occur with their own little one and if so, what was the outcome/suggestions/diagnosis. I'm only the slightest bit worried of a food alergy, because I have read that an alergy can start off slow and minor and slowly build to something very serious over time. I have no idea if this is true???
Thanks in advance mommas for your unending supply of useful info and suggestions!
My daughter's face did the same exact thing and she is allergic to dairy. I would narrow it down to what food makes his face like that. For my daughter it was cheese, she would get little dots all over her face. You can also have him blood tested when he is a little older, we did this at 1 years old/.
Food allergies can develop in time. My son has severe peanut allergies and seafood allergies, but can get itchy mouth, ears, throat when he eats something that he is just a little bit allergic to. The only way to know for sure, is blood work to test specifically for food allergies, and eliminate foods, and start from the beginning, adding one new food every 2-3 days. At least that is what we had to do with my son.
My son has a peanut allergy the first time I gave him peanut butter it started as a small red spot and I watched it spread in minutes to a pretty severe reaction so it didnt dissapear on its own but what you are describing sounds like an allergy and I have been told with peanut allergies each reaction gets worse not sure if its the same with all allergies. I would definately talk to your pediatrition as soon as you possable to figure out if it is an allergy or not and to exactly what I wouldnt think its a comfortable feeling when this happens.
This happened to my oldest when he was a baby too...only his never went all the way up to his hair line, mainly around his mouth and lower half of his face and happened either while eating or directly after...like you I took a pic and brought it in to show his Pediatrician...they thought allergies as well and they asked for a blood test (surprisingly the drawing of blood wasn't that bad, I thought for sure it was gonna be a nightmare but it wasn't) and tested him for anything and everything...it all came back and he is allergic to absolutely nothing! For us, it just went away on its own, after a couple of months and we still have no clue why it happened?
Sorry I wasn't more help...but at least you know your not alone and other babies/parents have dealt with this as well.
my baby had this also but would appear around her mouth and cheek area and then dissappear in about 10 mins. some kind of sensitivity to something in what she was eating. she outgrew it.
My sister always had the reaction to anything starchy. So she pretty much was red faced unless eating fruit or something like that. I would say it would be more of a allergy thing.
My daughter occasionally has this. We have traced to foods that contain manufactured citric acid. It causes her to get raised, red blotches on her face, and they disappear shortly after she finishes eating. It started when she was around 10 months (while eating cottage cheese). It has not worsened and does not seem to cause her any difficulties, just the raised redness.
My son had this happened to him after a couple of weeks of starting him with rice cereal. It was an allergy to the formula I was mixing the cereal with.
The way I found out was because, he not only had the blotches in the facem but also in one of the arms he had the food on when he touched his face. I mixed a little bit o rice cereal with water and rubbed a dot on his tummy and nothing happened. Then I rubbed a little bit of formula too, and sure anough the spot got red a few minutes later. He had tried formula before to supplement and he had never had that happen to him previously. It came all of the sudden and it was not a big reaction to it, jut the reddness.
The doctor suggested to use soy formula and that worked. She said that sometimes they grow out of it by the time they are toddlers and my son did. She is now 4 and drinking regular 2% milk. However, since as a baby they don't really get tested and we did not know exactly at what component of the formula he was allergic to, I am allways cheking for signs on any lactose sensitivity.
Good luck and I hope you find out what it is soon. It that sound like he is having an allergic reaction to something.
I'm pretty sure that he is sensitve to something you are feeding him. I'd go back to the one food at a time thing for a couple of days and eliminate whichever food is the problem. I'd kick the mixed veggies to the curb first because you really need to get and test each of the ingredients individually now that he's having a reaction. Allergies do start slow, that is absolutely true, however this could be a sensitivity and not a true allergy. Again one food at a time. Give him his liquid feeding and wait a while before breakfast. I would do just cereal for two meals, then just pears, than just squash for a few meals and see where you are.
PS. I rarely give my children all those things in one meal - this is more work than you need to do. He needs all the food groups, but not necessarily at each meal. We usually do cereal and fruit for breakfast, veggies for lunch, and some sort of protein and a fruit or veggie for dinner (once we start protiens). Just my two cents.
This happened with my daughter every time she ate. I also took pictures to the pediatrician. The doctors told me it was a sensitivity and not an allergy. She outgrew this when she was around 9 mo. to a year.
Food allergies don't always affect your breathing, sometimes it is just a skin condition like hives or a rash, which makes me think that's the case with your son. However it seems really strange that it disappears right after he eats. Personally I also get very splotchy when I am stressed, I can literally feel the splotches growing up my neck and the side of my face when I am anxious, and it can disappear just as quickly, so it almost sounds like that. It just seems strange that it would happen to a baby when he's eating. I'm curious to see what your pedi says.
Hi D.---It is most likely a cows milk allergy. It is one of the most highly allergenic foods on the face of the earth. Unfortunately, milk is hardly ever looked at as the source of these things, as most reactions are very subtle, like having a lot of mucous and sinus drainage. Cows milk is a risk factor for type 1 diabetes and a range of other health issues. Please visit www.pcrm.org and www.strongbones.org, as well as www.notmilk.com (?). I say these things as a reformed milk drinker. Six years ago I began a quest to take control of my own health, and I have been taking a series of wellness classes taught by a Naturopath who has her PhD in Nutrition. I would be happy to share my resources with you so that you are able to make the best decision for you and your family.
One of the problems with our food supply is that we don't eat as much food as we do food products. Manufacturers put milk components (whey, casein, etc) into EVERYTHING, and most likely in the formula. Same thing with wheat and corn PRODUCTS. Some authorities feel that we are being fed so much of this stuff and that's why we are developing these allergies and sensitivities.
As I said, I'm happy to share any additional info with you that you'd like. It would be my honor to help. Good luck, D.
If this is a food allergy which it sounds as if it maybe. You will have to find out what food. Is it when the baby only drinks the bottle? The rice? The pears? the squash?or mixed veggies? A food allergy can be minor to severe. Since it has gotten to the point of covering his face. Not necessarily do you have hard time breathing or get swallon. Now if it happens when he drink his formula it could be the milk in it or another ingredients that you would find in the food as well. Good luck on finding it out. I would though till you see the dr. feed one thing only to him like only rice cereal or only peas for a couple days and see if you can find what is making the rash come out.
What is your bottle nipple and spoon made of? Could it be an allergy to that? Since he has contact with those things while he is eating and no other time and the reaction seems to dissipate pretty quickly, I would also not rule that out.
Good luck with this.
I'll be watching your responses as my son (5 mths) does this too! He has done it almost from birth, whenever he nurses, he spotches over both cheeks and down his neck to his chest area. I thought it was heat build up from being so close to me while he nurses. Maybe it's not!
