Hi Balanced Beauties!
It’s been a LONG time since I’ve written a blog post. While being a full time mama has taken up the majority of my time, there have been a few things that I’ve wanted to share that were recently suggested by some of you. The topics I’ll write about are: quick baby weight loss (next blog post coming) and an update on Brooklyn at almost 8 months. My second post (next week) will detail how I managed to lose my baby weight, and all the things that I feel helped that process happen naturally while nursing. Stay tuned!
As for this post, I want to provide an update on motherhood at almost 8 months in and answer some FAQs (for example: nursing, sleep and introducing solids).
To all the mamas and parents: about three months ago, I shared a story regarding Brooklyn’s reaction to oatmeal through my instagram stories. For those of you who missed this story, two hours after feeding Brooklyn oatmeal, she was rushed to the hospital after she was projectile vomiting for hours. I also shared with instagram that we were informed by the doctor that this oatmeal might’ve been a bad batch from Amazon. We assumed this to be true since other parents shared similar stories about ordering baby foods, formulas and so many other baby products from Amazon that were contaminated.
Circling back three months later, a week ago, I decided to introduce Brooklyn to oatmeal again (not bought off Amazon) to determine if her reaction was a one time ordeal, or if it was perhaps something more. This time it was from the grocery store and a different organic brand. Lo & behold, two hours later, the same reaction as when she was five months old occured. Brooklyn threw up completely uncontrollable and repetitive for two hours straight. Feeling like a bad dream all over again, we contacted our pediatrician who advised us to hop in the car and head back to the ER.
Brooklyn was diagnosed with FPIES syndrome; which is Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome (FPIES). FPIES is referred to as a delayed food allergy and according to our google research, it is a severe condition causing vomiting and other bodily functions. In the more extreme cases, babies can develop severe dehydration, shock, low blood pressure or poor blood circulation. According to our doctor, babies with FPIES develop one or more “trigger” food which causes this delayed allergic reaction.
Christian and I have no food allergies in our family, and so far oats are Brooklyn’s “trigger” food. Moving forward, we will have to be very careful with new food that we introduce to her, as some kids only have one trigger food, while others have multiple. I usually post pretty light on social media but I have NEVER heard of this, and neither did any of our family members. This isn’t the typical allergic reaction, in fact, it is quite uncommon. The doctors have no idea what causes this, but they are sure it’s not genetic. The good news is, most babies usually grow out of FPIES by age three or four, however, some never do.
I wanted to spread some awareness on something that we have personally never heard of and is so scary to watch your baby go through. This is something that I wish I knew more of as a parent, and although it is not uncommon to see this, it is on the rare side for babies to experience this type of delayed allergy.
In one breath, I am thankful Brooklyn could outgrow this with age as many babies do. In another breath, I feel so horrible that there is absolutely nothing we can do for her as parents besides stay away from her “trigger” foods and continue our lives otherwise. Allergies and FPIES are so scary. My heart is with everyone who has bad allergies or knows anyone that has reactions such as these to any type of allergy. While I am still nursing, I have to stay away from oats and oat milk for the time being while we see a specialist to help us navigate diet for both Brooklyn and I.
This brings me to my next subject, nursing. The answer is yes, I am still exclusively breastfeeding Brooklyn and plan on doing so until she turns one. Breastfeeding did become a lot more enjoyable for me, and MUCH easier. If you are a new mama that is struggling, I hear you and I’ve been there. Not only can breastfeeding be painful and very demanding in the beginning, it is also a full time job in itself. You got this and whether breastfeeding works for you or not, you are a good mom by doing what is best for you and your baby!
The second biggest question asked is if Brooklyn went through leaps (times where she was going through some serious sleep regressions). The answer is YES! YES! and YES! One thing i’ve learned is that you will have more parents agreeing that their babies go/went through cycles, leaps and sleep regressions then not. If by chance someone says that their baby slept through the night since birth, well, they are just really, REALLY lucky. Babies are designed to grow and let’s be real, there is so much rapid growth and new things they are learning in that little brain of theirs every single day. I find it fascinating that a baby wants to explore the outside world, and wants to use all their new skills ALL the time, including overnight. It could be rough for us parents, but it is so normal and it does get better. Sleep regressions are real. Also, if you are nursing, I’ve been told that they wake up more overnight since breast milk is lighter and they get hungry much quicker. Brooklyn still wakes up once a night at 7 1/2 months. Although feeding her is my last option overnight, sometimes that is all she needs to get back to sleep until she wakes up in the morning.
Another question I am asked about is about when I started Brooklyn on solids. I started giving Brooklyn baby cereal as soon as her PEDS gave me the ‘ok’ which was around 4 months. She tested Brooklyn’s head/neck strength at her four month appointment and by that point, Brooklyn was sitting up by herself for moments at a time. I think it’s important to have your pediatrician weigh in on their opinion, because it may be different dependent on your specific baby. I also started with cereals and purees (not led weaning). My personal PEDS recommended sticking to purees and did not believe in led weaning, so again, I just followed her recommendation since this was all new to me, and I am happy I stuck to this method of feeding my baby! I do make my own purees at home during the week but on the weekends when we are out and busy, I will use an organic puree and bring it with us to wherever we are off to.
We have learned so much as parents the last 7 1/2 months, and continue to learn new things every single day. I am happy to share all of the fun baby stuff, but I am even more happy to share our life behind social media. I love connecting with all of you, and am excited to continuing this journey together!
Stay tuned for tips on how I lost extra baby weight in a new blog post coming next week!
Stay healthy and balanced,
Sammie
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