Allergies

The twins were put on Elecare about 3 weeks ago after finding out they are allergic to milk based proteins. The pediatrician also added organic rice cereal a week ago to their feedings to help with the GERD. They were doing great until Kayla started having another allergic reaction. The rice cereal was taken away and by the end of this week they want us to try oatmeal cereal instead. The girls absolutely need some type of thickener for their formula.

Anyone has had this happen before?

 

What about allergy or intolerance to soy?  Check the rice cereal you used and see if it has soy of any sort of an ingredient.  My boys were intolerant to milk and soy, and we had to use one of the "pure" organic kids of rice cereal as a thickener.  Once they got to the age to eat cereal, we always used oatmeal (again, the organic kind with minimal ingredient list), as it was easier for the to tolerate in larger amounts.
 
If it helps, the cereals we always used were Earth's Best Organic.  They were easy to find (Walmart and Target carry them, at least around here) and not too expensive.
 
Another thing to consider, my kids could not tolerate powdered formula and we had to buy premade only.  Manufacturers will tell you it's no different, but I know at least a few other parents who had the same issue, and one of the three doctors at our pediatrician's office admitted she feels there are differences that bother some sensitive kids. We used Nutramigen pre-made.  It was a bit hard to find, but we could order some online, and we also found a grocery store that was willing to order in bulk for us since we needed way more than the 6 cans they kept on the shelf.

 

The rice cereal they were using was the organic Earth's Best. Kayla still had an allergic reaction to it. I was recommended to use the Beech Nut oatmeal because it does not contain soy.

 

Having a soy protein allergy is really common in milk protein allergy babies. That would be my guess. They aren't more prone to allergies of other foods, although of course it can happen.

 

Have you thought about making your own?  I know you can make oatmeal powder easily with a blender, I wonder if you can make rice powder with a powerful enough blender?

 

 
Good point.  My kids, who were SEVERELY intolerant to milk and soy as babies and toddlers can now eat anything.  They outgrew the milk part around a year old and the soy part around 2.5 and have no allergies at all at age 4.5, not even seasonal allergies.

 

My single has a milk protein allergy. She's 1 at the end of this month, and I am so crossing my fingers that she has grown out of it! Something like 80% do.