Intolerance to Rice and Oatmeal Cereal

I took care of a baby with this same problem! Is your baby breastfed? The baby's doctor told his mother that sometimes babies who are breastfed can have an intolerance for grains! He couldn't have any of those gerber snacks because of the grain! He eventually grew out of it, so maybe that will happen with your baby as well! I still care for this child and he is 18 months old and I am happy to report that he has no problems with grains at all!

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We, like you, started seeing these kinds of symptoms in our oldest (he's now 3 1/2) when he was 8 mos. old. Certain things made him vomit terribly...certain types of baby food, etc. Certain things like Blueberry Buckle and hawaiian Delight made him really really sick...turns out it was a dairy allergy. He's allergic to SOME kind of protein in the dairy...we're not EXACTLY sure which one, and we dont' really feel it's necessary to get him put through all the testing, when we can pretty much just avoid the foods that cause him to be sick. I would start making a list of the foods that make her sick. Maybe you will eventually see a common factor in all of them. Until then, I would just avoid the foods that you KNOW make her sick, but don't be afraid to try new ones. Dealing with an allergy can be difficult, but once you learn what foods to avoid and what to replace them with, it's much more easily manageable. Good luck!

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baby cereals are dehydrated and processed to the point where they are not healthy at all. Skip them, and hwen you get to intro'ing new foods try to stay as basic as possible, make baby foods for her, stick with natural wholesome foods instead of the jarred baby foods or the commercial foods marketed for kids. They are just full of sodium, dehydrated, and not health yat all.

www.wholesomebabyfood.com is a great site for making homemade baby food, finger foods, nutritional information, etc.

I wanna say this might be a gluten allergy - but I'm not sure, it's such a tough call. There are also barley cereals - but I would see if you can get her to eat some gluten-free something while continuing to take her in to find a solution.

You can find gluten-free products at co-ops and other organic grocery stores.

Oh yeah, gluten is a part of the grain in wheat and other grains incase your wondering.

I would just keep trying different things as long as she's not having allergic reactions. My first thought would be to give some Cheerios or even add some milk and let them get mushy and mush them up if you are worried about her throwing up whole pieces and hurting her throat.
My daughter had the same reaction to the Soy formula that we tried because of a milk protein allergy. She drank a ton and then fell asleep for 3 hours. She woke up projectile vomiting 10 feet across the room out her mouth and nose. It was horrible and she was only a month old. Then she slept for hours and seemed like she was sick all day.
Best Wishes,
J.

My child has some intolerances to fruits so I know how you feel. Some babies are just sensitive to grains or as someone else said, it could be a reaction to gluten. Our doctor wants us to do cereal unti Gabby is 18 months for the iron content. I'm sure you can find other good sources of iron to supplement with.

I agree with Becky, you should try to keep your baby's food as un-processed as possible. AND rice is not a form of gluten so I would not worry about a gluten allergy. If you are breastfeeding, continue to take you multivitamin/prenatal and you baby will get iron from your milk.

Why don't you just give her soft pieces of bread or cheerios or other things that are grains? My baby has no desire to sit and eat that mushy stuff like that (she's 11 months old), so that's what I do.

Might be a good idea to try just plain rice and just plain oats to see if it is the grain that is actually bothering her or all the stuff they add to baby cereals. You can take whole grain rice or oats and grind them in a coffee grinder, food processor, or blender. Then cook with water per the instructions, adding more water as needed. I usually wisk them quite a bit while cooking to keep from getting lumpy. If this works, you can make large batches, freeze in ice cube trays, and store in ziplocks for quick use.
Another idea: I have Crohn's disease and have always had trouble digesting complex carbs (the starchy stuff like corn, rice, oats, wheat, potatoes ect.) Lots of folks with IBS and other inflamatory diseases are the same. Probably not a concern, but thought I'd give you the info. You can find more about this type of diet restriction at www.scdiet.org
Also if you're worried about iron, lentils, egg yolks, and turkey are good sources. This is what I gave to my little guy. Wholesomebabyfood.com has good info about alternatives for getting iron. Here is a link: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/Iron.htm.
Best of luck with your little girl.

I am just wondering if you are giving the plain cereal in the box or the stuff that you just add water too (it already has the formula in it too) because my daughter reacted to the kind that already has formula in it, but not the plain stuff.

I have celiac disease and #1 it is not a wheat/gluten allergy, it is an autoimmune disorder #2 rice does not have any wheat/gluten nor does the rice cereal...it is one of the safest things a celiac can eat.

If she really reacts that horribly to it maybe you should bring her to a allergy specialist.....

Adult and Child Allergy P.A. in St. Paul is great....Dr. Walsh

My kids do not have intolerances to anything, so I can't really relate, but I'm a big fan of making my own baby food. I used the book "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron. Excellent resource. I made all my own rice cereal, so it's never dehydrated, I KNOW what's in it (only rice!), and it's all-natural. If you're concerned about your baby getting enough iron, ask your pediatrician for a supplement (oral drops). I used that too with my boys. Something to try.

I would be very surprised if your baby is allergic to rice (highly uncommon; it's one of the highest tolerated and safest foods for people). Both of my sister-in-laws and father-in-law have celiac disease (they cannot tolerate gluten), but rice is safe for them to eat. I'm sure that this is frustrating for you, but I urge you to hang in there!