LO refuses solids after FPIES reaction to egg
TLDR: LO is refusing solids after FPIES reaction. How long did it take for your LO to get back to normal after an FPIES reaction? When should I be concerned that LO isn’t taking any solids? Is there anything you felt helped LO get back into solids?
We started giving LO solids early, at the advice of LO’s pediatrician. LO was at higher risk for allergies due to family history and eczema. LO never really *loved* solids but they ate.
At about 5.5 months old, LO had their first FPIES reaction to egg. LO repeatedly threw up ~4 hours after consuming eggs and couldn’t keep anything else down (including my breast milk). LO was very lethargic when throwing up. We brought LO to the hospital. They were checked out and eventually seemed back to normal. At the time, we were unsure if this was a reaction to egg or just a virus. The ER doctor (fairly) couldn’t diagnose FPIES in any event. We ultimately convinced ourselves it was likely a virus (LO had had eggs before with no reaction, etc etc).
After this reaction, LO started refusing food (*a bit*). LO would still eat a little, but mostly only using BLW. LO would gnaw and suck on food they could hold.
We saw LO’s allergist at about 7 months old. We advised LO’s allergist of the incident. She couldn’t say whether or not it was FPIES with certainty. I advised the allergist of LO’s new disinterest in eating and she said she sees this in her patients. She conducted a prick test and LO reacted to egg. The allergist recommended we start the egg ladder and see how it goes.
The day after seeing the allergist, I gave LO a baked muffin containing egg (that I made, and contained all foods safe for LO). LO had the same reaction 4-5 hours later - throwing up and very lethargic. Due to this reaction, we were able to confirm it was FPIES at the allergist advised us avoid egg completely.
Since LO’s second reaction, they are effectively refusing food altogether. No purées. No spoon feeding. No BLW.
LO is now almost 8 months old and EBF. I offer solid food twice a day. I have tried different types of food. Different temperatures. Different textures. I have tried feeding LO in different locations - different rooms, chairs (high chair vs bumbo vs activity center), even houses. I am trying to keep it super low pressure (so that neither of us breakdown… again), but LO is basically not consuming anything. I usually leave a variety of foods that LO can grab on the table in front of them. I try to keep LO in a good mood while we’re sitting together (by signing, talking, reading). LO might put something to their mouth, but they really don’t get any substance. Even sucking on the food has mostly stopped. If I try to force anything, LO loses it (and there isn’t much coming back from it).
I have read that, for most babies, it will just click one day. When did that day come for you? How long did it take after your LO’s FPIES reaction until they liked food again? Did you do anything in particular to help?
LO’s pediatrician initially advised that LO should be having two iron packed meals a day but we are only no where near that. Should I be concerned? We have another appointment with the allergist in a few weeks and will readdress these concerns then. I’m mostly looking for your personal anecdotes about when and how things got better.