rash since introducing rice

[nettletease]

Hi there, hoping you can give advice about a rash that ds has developed since I introduced baby rice. I feel really guilty because I started him early - 15 weeks (because bfs and ebm were not lasting him more than a couple of hours, including night time. I know he was getting plenty of milk since weight gain was high and he was drinking up to 8oz of ebm at a feed.)
Since he started with rice, he's developed a rash on his chin, lower cheeks and top of chest, which gets worse when he's just eaten or is angry, and almost disappears when he's asleep. He hates having the rash washed. Hv thinks it is a drool rash, but it's getting worse even though drooling has almost stopped. He loves the rice so much, and he's much more settled than on bm alone. (I'm mixing rice with ebm.) Has anyone else experienced this? I was hoping to add in new foods from 20 weeks, but don't know how to progress while he has rash.

[desperateSCOUSEwife]

have you tried baby rusks instead of rice

or if there are any other alternatives to baby rice (I was weaning kids years ago) and see if there is any difference in the rash
hopefully you get it sorted soon
and please dont feel guilty
xxx

[LIZS]

Could be teething drool just a coincidence for the weaning. If you are worried about the rice can you leave weaning for a few weeks, you may find he is now as satisfied with just milk and it was a temporary blip which often occurs around 4 months.

[MrsBadger]

I would stop the rice and see if rash clears - the HV may be right in that the new food is affecting his saliva so it's irritating him more rather than it just being increased dribble levels.

I really wouldn't recommend rusks as they generally have gluten in (best avoided till 6mo) and tend to be v sugary - in fact I'd go with LIZS and go back to milk-only for the time being...

[Bugsy2]

rice is very, very non-allergenic. Pear is also very unlikely to cause an allergic reaction - so might be worth trying that.
No disrespect to DSW, but I'd steer clear of rusks as they have so many more ingredients it would be hard to know what exactly was causing any potential allergy.

[desperateSCOUSEwife]

bugsy glad you said that as I was weaning kids as i said years ago
so dont really know the new fandango food stuff for babies
is there anything else for babies instead of rice nowadays


glad to see baby rice is still there though (on the shelves)
xxx

[nettletease]

Thanks for all the advice. I'll try milk only again, but don't know whether I'll cope. He loves the rice so much (says mmmm!), and picked up another milk feed again 2 days ago! How long would you think for milk only to judge whether the rash is a coincidence?

[Mum2FunkyDude]

I would suggest at least a week, before you try again, before 6 months you only introduce one new food every week, after 6 months is can be every 3 days. Is it possible that he was just going through a growth spurt and needed more milk? My ds was on 32oz ebm everyday before I weaned him at 26 weeks.

[littlepiggie]

It is normal for a bf baby to feed every few hour, ds feed every 1-2 hour in the day, Then anything from 2-4 feeds in the night.
Ds had a horrible growth spirt at around 13 weeks that seemed to last about 2 weeks, i thought he needed weaning but stuck with it and he is now 21 weeks and still only on bm.
Try spending a few days on the sofa, eat and drink loads, and feed lo as much as pos, it works for me.

[nettletease]

Unfortunately I'm too busy with work to feed ds all the time! I appreciate all the comments, but what about the rash and rice?? Does anyone have experience of this, and if it is a drool rash, how long would you expect it to last? Ds has been completely rash free until now, so I'd love to rid it.

[littlepiggie]

ds has had a rash since about 8 weeks, he does seem to get it worse under his chin, We have got his down to washing powder but a wet neck makes it look red.
If it is worse after rice i would cut it out altogether, If you cant keep up with just bf, try mix feeding so that you are not expressing, even if you only get a few weeks, and then start solids at around 20 weeks.
I do know how you feel, like i said i thought i was going to have to start solids at 14 weeks, but got some good advice on here and just stuck in out, i just think of it as a few weeks out of my life when i am having a realy bad day.

[littlepiggie]

Oh and the only thing i find help if it is drool is putting a bib on him that i change when it is soggy and keeping his neck clean and dry. cream just made it worse.
Is comes and goes but usually settles after a day or so.

[nettletease]

thanks littlepiggie . Rash is now much better - we think it was his comfort blanket! Ds has naturally reduced rice intake, and I'm expressing more milk at the moment, so things are better! He's always been a baby that likes to have his fill between 4am and 8am, so some days things get on top of me!

[littlepiggie]

I know what you mean, some days i think there must be an easier way, but it normally passes. How is is rash now and how is the feeding?