Any other parents out there who are deeply concerned about your baby’s symptoms and not getting answers? Frustrating, we know. You’re losing sleep and Googling like crazy, as any concerned parent does.
“Here’s a cream.”
“Try this medicine.”
“Colic is normal.”
These aren’t good enough answers for us — and we know they aren’t for you either. You need real answers (and good ones) to understand how to help and what’s going on in those tiny, sweet, little bodies.
We understand sometimes babies cry because they’re simply getting used to the outside world. But we also believe constant symptoms are worth getting to the root cause and advocating for your baby. It’s important to get to the bottom of what’s causing symptoms in your baby.
Constant symptoms are from something. Enough with the Band-Aids!
Today, we’ll be looking at why it’s important to find the root cause of your baby’s symptoms and share a story on one mother’s incredible journey with her son.
Your Baby Might Have Food Allergies
Us talking about infant food allergies — shocking, right? Our mission here at Free to Feed™ is to help you navigate having a baby with food allergies.
Is your baby’s eczema not clearing up?
Is the laundry piling up from all the puke?
Are you scared to eat?
The questions could go on and on. We know and we feel you. You just want a happy, healthy baby and we want that for you too!
If your baby has food allergies, we’ve got you covered!
If you aren’t sure if your baby has food allergies — we’ve got you covered!
Read more from us here on information about infant food allergy symptoms, the most common baby food allergies, and what getting a diagnosis looks like.
We tailor our one-on-one consults specifically with your family in mind.
All families have a different experience and we use this time together to come up with a game plan — specifically for yours.
We’re here to help you get to the root cause of your baby’s symptoms. Maybe your little one reacts to lamb even though it’s not a top 12 infant food allergy. Or maybe you’ve been accidentally consuming soy in your multivitamin and didn’t know it… *cue immense anger and frustration.*
We’ve seen and heard it all, so much that we’re launching a Free to Feed vitamin soon – stay tuned!
Whatever your situation, we’re here to help you find answers and get results. Snag a one-on-one consult here to get to the bottom of your baby’s symptoms.
We love helping parents and their babies — and it’s important and serious to bring up all your symptoms and concerns with your baby’s doctor and medical team.
Your Baby Might Have a Serious Underlying Medical Condition
A quick Google search probably shows you endless possibilities for potential causes of your baby’s symptoms. We hope it’s never a serious medical condition, but it could be.
From skin issues like eczema and rashes to mucousy diapers. When something doesn’t feel right with your baby, we believe parents following that intuition and seeking answers makes all the difference.
Remember, you’re your baby’s advocate. Keep asking questions and trying to find answers.
Ezrah’s Story — and How His Mom Following Her Intuition Saved His Life
We’re going to share a story about a special little guy mistakenly diagnosed with food allergies while a much deeper health issue hid beneath the surface. Ezrah surprised his mom Nicie, who found out she was pregnant again — at 42 — with her loving husband of 15 years. The family, with their two older children, Anaiah (12) and Mathias (10), welcomed this miracle with open arms.
Born at home in the middle of the pandemic, Ezrah arrived — surrounded by love and a medical team including a midwife, doula, and nurse practitioner. The midwife performed his assessment after birth and noticed small indentations at certain times in his chest.
At 3 weeks old, Nicie began to notice those indentations worsening and growing along his neck. Ezrah started having severe reflux and had to be held upright to sleep, just so he could breathe better. (We know, we’re already empathizing hardcore too.) She knew something wasn’t right and did what most moms do… Dr. Google! She spent time researching and ended up seeing a gastroenterologist.
At Ezrah’s GI appointment, the doctor quickly diagnosed him with “food allergies” (due to the reflux) — and told Nicie to cut out 5 foods from her diet for a minimum of 4 weeks! (*This makes us cringe.* Please read more on how long food proteins last in your breastmilk here.)
Because of COVID protocols, Nicie had to go to the appointment alone. Completely sleep-deprived and stressed on top of it, many questions didn’t get answered. She followed recommendations but didn’t see much improvement with her new diet. So she kept searching for answers. Ezrah saw his pediatrician and hematologist — without any further insight on his health challenges.
At 6 weeks old, Nicie found information that linked his symptoms with respiratory distress. Those “indentations” (called retractions) came from Ezrah’s heart being overworked. Extra blood goes into the lungs and causes breathing problems! They quickly ended up at a pediatric pulmonologist, who did an urgent referral to a pediatric cardiologist. They had a diagnosis within an hour.
Ezrah had a large hole in his heart.
While the family took in this difficult news — and that their 6-week-old son needed open heart surgery — Nicie reached out to the GI specialist. She asked to reintroduce food allergens back into her diet since they had this new diagnosis.
The doctor adamantly said that Ezrah had food allergies. Nicie stayed on the restricted diet for 6+ weeks without noticing any changes in his symptoms. And now they knew about his serious heart condition.
Things just didn’t line up. It’s important to know Nicie’s also a scientist (like Dr. Trill). Scientists NEED evidence, data, and research – it’s how their brains work. :)
She continued her mighty fight to figure out if Ezrah actually had infant food allergies.
Enter Dr. Trill. :)
Nicie read online content from Free to Feed and scheduled a private consultation. Dr. Trill listened to her struggles and educated her on how long proteins last in breastmilk. Given Ezrah’s other medical conditions, the research they reviewed directed them towards food allergy reintroduction.
Dr. Trill created a reintroduction plan for them and Nicie shared her joy after tasting real butter again.
Ezrah didn’t have any infant food allergies.
Ezrah’s open-heart surgery (at 3 months old) went incredibly well in August of 2020. His prognosis is excellent. Nicie says, “he is the happiest, most spoiled, and persistent little one-year-old you’ve ever seen!”
Nicie shares final thoughts on her journey:
“Free to Feed not only helps you navigate your baby’s food allergies but also helps decipher what you might truly be seeing and point you in the right direction. Without Dr. Trill, I would have been continuing to struggle, given poor medical advice.
We are grateful for Dr. Trill and the Free to Feed team for the resources provided to us when we were too involved in the muck and mire of it to be the best advocate for ourselves and baby.”
Free to Feed™ Is Here For Your Family
We’ll say it again: parents know best and we’re here to help you find answers to your concerns. Our team is highly experienced and educated in all things baby-related. We hope your baby doesn’t have food allergies — but we’ll support you along the way if they do.
Grab a consult today to help with:
Figuring out if your baby has food allergies
Elimination Strategies
Reintroduction Plan
Any random questions you have
Stay informed on Dr. Trill’s journey and everything new with Free to Feed on Instagram.
Check out other blogs that might help with answers here.
Comments