What Is An FPIES Kids First Food?

My son’s first kitchen appliance!

ICE.  Of course!

We aren’t quite ready to start Mr. Happy on solid foods yet, but there is concern in the FPIES world that if you have to wait too long to begin feeding your child, feeding issues raise their ugly little heads.

There are physical problems that come up: texture issues, oral aversions, etc.  There are psychological problems that can come up: a mindset of “I’ve never eaten, so I won’t now”, or an actual dislike of food for some reason.  So, on the recommendation of the fellow FPIES Mamas – and our new dietician – we got a SnoCone maker for Mr. Happy.

So now he eats crushed ice, sitting in his high chair, at mealtime.  

It is supposed to make mealtime “normal”, make him feel like he’s eating with the family,  and help him work through the physical act of using his mouth for something other than latching on.

I honestly don’t think we’re going to have many problems with feeding him; he’s been trying to grab food from me for months now, and the only difficulty in feeding him the shaved ice is that it is quite cold!  He gets a small mouthfull and looks at me like “Holy smokes, Mama!”

It’s kind of cute, actually.

But, he opens his mouth for the spoon, and the only trouble he has so far is that he tends to close his mouth a little bit too soon…so most of the ice falls down onto his front!

I think that the addition of some ‘flavor’ and ‘taste’ into his food will solve that problem!

So, while most babies get a big ol’ bowl of oatmeal or rice cereal, or maybe some sweet potatos or applesauce as their First Food, Mr. Happy gets to eat unflavored shaved ice.  

FPIES stinks.  

What was your child’s First Food?

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In other news, I wrote a brief version of our story for the FPIES Foundation’s “Inspiring Family Stories” page.  I’d love it if you’d take a look and share the link!

Read “Mr. Happy’s Story”, and while you’re at it, check out their Get Involved page to see what you can do to help support FPIES children!  There are ongoing fundraisers that you might peek at – if you need any online shopping done at their partners websites, you can help FPIES and take care of your purchases at once!

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This post has been shared with Allergy Free Wednesdays.