While I was pregnant I spent many hours reading and researching all things baby. I felt pretty confident that whatever might come my way as a mom I would be able to navigate through the process and be some what knowledgeable on the situation. One thing I had never even heard of was FPIES (Food Protein Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome).
On December 21st, 2012 I decided that I would start Landon on solids, and as many moms do, I started him on rice cereal. He loved it! I gave it to him that evening and he slept okay, I remember him being a little fussy but didn't think much of it (could be teething, tummy ache, ect.). The next morning I gave him rice cereal again, and again he loved it! He ate it all up (about four tablespoons) and was perfectly fine for a couple of hours. Shortly after nursing him he had projectile vomiting. He seemed to be taken back by what had just happened and a little cool but recovered within minutes as if nothing had happened. This happened again later on in the evening after nursing him but again, he recovered quickly and was back to being my happy smiley baby. The next morning after nursing he vomited again, and again recovered as if nothing had happened. I called our pediatrician and they said to back off the cereal and that it was probably just a random bug and to discuss at his six month well baby check.
At his six month well baby check Landon was perfectly healthy and our pediatrician said to go ahead and try the rice cereal again. A couple days later on January 10th I mixed a few tablespoons of the cereal with breast milk. This time was different. Landon was not interested in the cereal what-so-ever, even gagging. He maybe had a total of two spoonfuls. This was around 6:00PM and by 8:15 Landon was vomiting. As this is happening my baby is not himself. He is very pale, extremely lethargic and only waking to vomit then later, dry heave bile. I called his pediatrician and described what was going on and he said to get him to the ER immediately. At this point my baby is lifeless. He is not coming to and can't even be agitated - only waking to dry heave and get up bile.
When we got to Children's Hospital we were rushed into a room and seen immediately. They gave him an anti-nausea medication which seemed to take forever to work. The doctors that saw Landon mentioned that it was probably a bug. I felt it had to be something more than "just a bug." As I was sitting there with my lifeless baby in my arms I started googling allergies to rice cereal and found a wealth of information on FPIES. All of the signs and symptoms describe exactly what Landon had. After mentioning FPIES to the Attending Doctor, I was shocked that they didn't seem to have much knowledge about it.
After hours in the Emergency Department and making sure Landon was able to nurse and keep his food in his belly we were able to go home. It will go down as one of the scariest nights in my life! We followed up with our pediatrician and although not officially diagnosed, we believe that Landon has FPIES. Next week we will see a specialist and although FPIES allergies do not show up in the test that allergist conduct, maybe we can get a better understanding of how to move forward and make sure Landon does not have another episode as he did the other night.
I have started a new page on my blog, "FPIES," and will post updates on Landon and our journey through what looks to be FPIES. In the meantime Landon is happy and healthy and back to his normal self. Hopefully we will never have to experience something like that again!
