Day 7 – Allergies

So, yesterday we had our first allergic reaction. Malina is fine and it was a mild one. It might not have been food related either, but we are going to be safe here and take the day off from solids before continuing probably tomorrow.

For those wondering, this was the timeline we had.

Malina ate breakfast @8:20am

10:30am- We go out to grocery store and she chews on her wrap that I wear her in, as well as the car seat strap covers, and her car seat toy.

11:45am. We get back home and I notice a red spot on her neck above her shoulder and under the corner of her jaw. It looks like it might be a big bite but I check the rest of her and she seems fine. I also take her temperature and it comes back normal.

2:30pm Malina wakes up from a nap and I can see that she has broken out with an eczema rash all over her chin, upper lip, and neck.

Over the next five hours the rash gets redder and then slowly goes away until it is gone around 8pm.

Checking her this morning showed that she had completely cleared up but we are being cautious and taking a break from solids today.

The chart I keep handy about allergic reactions is as follows. The chart is a guideline and is not medical advice or meant to replace medical advice.

It’s also important to listen to baby and what you feel is right. There were a few moments when the rash first showed up that I considered going to a walk in clinic, but Malina was fine and so I watched and waited. That might not be the case if it happened again and I might do things differently. But I trusted myself and listened to her.

So back to what happened.

If this was a reaction to the food it was super delayed. That does not mean it can’t be the food but there are too many other things to rule it out one way or another. Malina started using a new lotion on Wednesday. I wore a face cream yesterday to help with my eye. There are too many factors, so taking a break will help and when we start again on Saturday we will focus on dairy to see if it happens again.

This type of eczema rash happens a lot in my family to the babies and kids. It is usually a reaction to acidic foods getting on the skin. Yogurt is acidic and it definitely got everywhere that Malina got her rash. So moving forwards I’ll pay extra attention to acidic foods and skin exposure.

Everyday is a learning experience with a baby. There is so much you plan for and do as preventatives but there is nothing all those things can do when you are faced with a problem. Once we figure out what caused her reaction we plan to take that info to her doctor and go from there. Hindsight is always 20/20 and with a baby it stings all the more. Still it’s important to remember that I am doing my best and that I need to trust myself because she trusts me.

So you remember too, you are doing great and you’ve got this!

-Erica