Witnessing a food allergy reaction from your baby makes your insides twist. It not only hurts to see your child in discomfort but it makes your brain race…
“Was it the new seasoning for the lamb?
I know it’s not my vitamins…
What did I eat 3 days ago?”
And on and on…
Whatever symptoms your food allergy baby suffers from, it’s hard on the whole family. When you’re trying to get to baseline, it can feel like a nightmare — everything seems to be a symptom. You drive yourself crazy as a parent because you want a happy, healthy baby.
What makes it even more of a challenge? You’re told, “ It’s normal.” Babies cry, poop a lot, have skin issues, reflux, and so on. You don’t know what to believe and it’s confusing.
Here at Free To Feed, we have over 5 years of experience helping thousands of food allergy families. We’re here to tell you — it’s not a one-size-fits-all journey. Every baby and family has unique circumstances that require individualized care.
Today we’re diving deeper into baby food allergy symptoms, our experience with families, and resources you’ll want and need caring for your little one.
Top 10 Symptoms of Infant Food Allergies
Food allergens pass to your child either through your breastmilk or eating solid foods on their own. Sometimes, even coming into physical contact with allergens causes a reaction. If you've been told the lie, “food proteins don’t transfer through breastmilk,” read more from us on the truth here.
Those food proteins create an immune response, leading to all the symptoms your baby suffers with. Often food allergy parents like you tell us, “We just knew something was wrong, and we didn’t get answers to our problems.”
We know and trust that you know your baby best. But as a new parent, or if you have a new baby with a set of challenges, doubts creep in. Symptoms of infant food allergies are not only confusing for parents but the medical field too.
Scientific research from a survey of over 2,400 parents on food sensitivities revealed the most common symptoms: [1]
Colic
Failure to thrive
Rash
Gastrointestinal issues
Bloody or mucousy stools
Diarrhea
Constipation
Reflux
Vomiting
We’re here to say keep advocating for your baby’s health and keep trying to find answers. Knowing the main symptoms helps create a starting point on your journey.
No symptom or issue is too small, and your story deserves validation. It’s good to trust your parental instincts and powerful to have data (plus shared experiences) from other families. Education provides insight into your baby’s symptoms and gets solutions fast.
You are not alone. We’ve heard thousands of unique stories just like yours. After 5 years of serving food allergy families, we have more expert advice on symptoms that are too often dismissed or overlooked.
Plunging Into 3 Common Food Allergy Symptoms For Babies & Our Personal Experience
Free To Feed marches to its own drum. This mission started after concerned parents were disregarded and told they were the cause of their baby’s harm. While we honor and appreciate the medical community, we challenge it to do more for food allergies.
Infant symptoms remain highly debatable topics in the food allergy community.
Yes, babies cry, have icky-looking poops, and puke…but at what threshold? That’s what we’re talking about: When is enough, enough?
We’re sharing a little more about our thoughts and experience supporting families over the years. Maybe in hopes of saving other families time, energy, and heartache.
Colic Is Not a Diagnosis.
We know this one causes some stir for both parents and professionals because it’s still used regularly. Colic was originally defined as symptoms “lasting for 3 hours per day, 3 or more days per week, for 3 or more weeks, starting around 3 weeks of age…” Umm, what? No answers, just tons of crying.
We 100% believe sometimes babies just cry, but we also believe in underlying causes for such discomfort and distress. Food allergies and intolerances, imbalances of gut bacteria, and underdeveloped digestive tract represent the top three leading causes of colic, according to Mayo Clinic.[2] If you’re a food allergy parent, you likely understand the link between GI issues and your baby’s symptoms. We’ve heard too many horror stories of families suffering before they get help.
So, go ahead and fight us on this one. We don’t think babies or parents deserve to be miserable for months under the blanket assumption of colic. We strive to get answers and look beyond this term.
Understand Your Baby’s Mucous Threshold For Diapers!
If you know, you know. Dr. Trill makes reels about how often her husband walks by and she’s looking at — and inspecting like the scientist she is — poop pictures! The struggle is real. And when it comes to your baby’s poop, we’re not sure anyone quite gets it like we do.
From color, consistency, shape, and smell, it all seems to matter when you're on a food allergy journey and trying to get to baseline. Free To Feed understands some mucus occurs in stools but we have a threshold that may differ from what you’ve been told.
We’ve dedicated an entire page full of research and yes, real poop pictures, for your convenience.
We know how helpful pictures are — and that you save tons of them in your phone. And we fear you might be told it’s normal. GI issues are very common in our food allergy babies often leading to mucousy stools. The desire for a normal poop may be something only the infant food allergy community understands.
If you’re looking for a place to combine it all, make sure to download our FREE App. A spot to keep symptoms, diet, poop pictures, and shots all in one place to share with your child’s medical provider and the Free To Feed team.
When To Ask For Help With Your Baby’s Reflux
We see this symptom dismissed over and over with our families. It makes sense that babies spit up and puke sometimes. But again, what’s that threshold?
If your baby starts to lose weight or even reaches a standstill….
If you or your little one run out of clothes because you can’t keep up with the laundry…
If your baby vomits more than they keep down after every feeding…
If you’re feeding every hour and they’re still screaming…
All signs point to “something’s wrong.” And it’s time to ask for help.
Any one of these symptoms alone would be a red flag!
We know reflux is an overlooked symptom, especially in newborns. But it’s a common sign of food allergies. We won’t ever dismiss reflux, and we’re determined to get to the bottom of your baby’s symptoms.
Our team of food allergy experts takes in the whole picture of what’s going on with your little one and the best way to support your family on what to do next.
Free To Feed’s Your Missing Puzzle Piece
Finding your baby’s food triggers feels like a puzzle — but you weren’t given all the pieces! Free To Feed’s your missing piece. We’re ready to provide education, resources, support, and fast solutions for your family.
With Free To Feed on your side, your journey won’t feel so scary or lonely. Be empowered with compassionate direction from our consults, resources, research, and support.
If you have questions along your journey (because you will!), our food allergy experts provide your family with fast relief. Whether you’re working on reintroduction or questioning a fail, we’re ready to give you real answers for quick results.
Choose from our amazing food allergy experts (& moms) here to best serve your unique needs!
Remember, you really are doing a great job. We know you don’t hear it enough, and we recognize the mental load of it all. You are not alone. Let us lend a helping hand.
Comments