What exactly happens when, long story but I am concerned?

Question

One of my inlaws family members has a baby who I met at a birthday party. The baby is 5 and a half months. His mother made him a bottle and he wouldn't eat it, two hours later (same bottle I was concerned it had gone bad) I asked what kinf od formula it was and she said soy because he is allergic to regular formula. Another hour passes so she goes and gets some custard and feeds it to him, she told me he does not like any fruits or veegtables or rice only sweet things. She even tried putting salt on his food but he won't take it. He had a few spoonfulls then she gets some dairy queen icecream cake and feeds the icream and fudge to him. She says he loves icecream, chocolate, and even pepsi! Some people at the party saw him eating the cake and told me to give my daughter some, I told them she was "allergic" I was trying to be polite. A few minutes later he spits up the cake, still doesn't eat anything and he did not sleep the entire time, he hadn't slept since he woke up.

He was born very premature because his mom has diabetes, he was about 3lbs and some. What is going to happen to him if she feeds him desserts and pop instead of formula? How can he be allergic to regualr formula but not dairy? I did not know what to say I was baffled. Will he be okay?!?!?

Also she has another child and she works as a secretary at a doctors office!

Answer 1

she sounds neglectful.

gw

Answer 2

Woah! she needs some motherhood lessons. I'm 18 and I don't have a baby, neither babysit one but if the mother is diabetic and she is giving Pepsi, cake and those kind of stuffs, the baby could become diabetic easily in an early age. Tell her to take the baby to the doctor and even if she doesn't, maybe trying different types of formula she will find something that is not "allergic" for the baby. I want to be a pediatrician someday and I have done some reseach about child's health, etc... and I know that you can't give solid food to a baby before he/she is 6 months. And Pepsi? to a 5 months old? that's dramatic! I'm concerned about him, tell your friend to take that kid to the doctor right away and tell her that those kinds of food aren't healthy for the baby, he will have problems later, he is exposed to high blood pressure and obesity.

Answer 3

I can help with the dairy part, as I have a 2 yr old who can't drink milk because of the high lactose content, so he drinks soy milk. But he is able to eat some dairy foods like cheese and yogurt because they have a low lactose content. So it might be that he has lactose intolerance instead of a literal milk allergy.
Babies under a year should have not have salt added to their diet. Ever. Or soda.
Sounds like your inlaw could use a parenting class. Babies need a lot of sleep, and at 5 1/2 months he should still be taking 2 naps during the day.
A good book for her would be Baby 411 by Dr. Ari Brown.

Answer 4

Being allergic to milk and being able to eat all the cheese and ice cream you want is actually not unheard of. My son could not tolerate milk-based formula, only soy. Cheese, ice cream, yogurt, no problem. It turns out he was (still is) allergic to the fat in milk only. He can drink all the skim milk and other dairy products he wants with no problems. But when he has just a little whole milk, he gets all congested and gets a fine rash. It has nothing to do with lactose intolerance. He's 18 now, and this is still the same.

Maybe the day you saw him was just a day when he didn't feel good. However, with a history of diabetes, the mom is really stupid for giving the baby nothing but sugar. If she works for a doctor, she probably knows and doesn't care, so there's not much one can say.

Answer 5

That is sad, it sounds like the baby is not getting good nutrition. He probably won't gain weight like other babies do at that age. The mother probably won't find out until she takes him in for his checkup. Sounds like his mother thinks she knows what she is doing but she doesn't. And by the way, formula does go bad after an hour, no wonder he didn't want it. You have a right to be concerned.

Answer 6

OMG, I am not even a mother and am appalled at the fact that this woman thinks feeding a five month old ice cream, chocalate, cake and pepsi are an adequate diet. PEPSI at 5 months...do she even have a clue how horrible the carbonation is for adult bones let alone baby's bones? How about the caffeine & sugar in Pepsi/Chocolate...no wonder he doesn't want to sleep. This woman is clearly putting her child in danger. In my opinion I truly do not believe that this baby's diet is even close to being adequate and I fear for the baby's health. Any idiot would be able to surmise this, but I guess this woman doesn't even have an ounce of intelligence in her brain. I'm so sorry she's even a mother. She should be reported to child services or DYFS.

Answer 7

That woman has a screw loose!!! And people wonder why obesity is on the rise? Unfortunately, there is not much you can do. Hopefully, she takes this little guy to the doctor and he keeps a close eye. I had preemies and they usually go to the pediatrician a little more often to keep them on track. Is this woman overweight? She is setting this little guy up for a lifetime of weight problems. Sweet of you to be concerned. Maybe a gift of a baby nutrition book at the next opportunity. Maybe you could say "I was given two of these and thought you might like one" so you don't offend her.

Answer 8

I have 3 children and my wife has a BS in childhood dev. They should not be doing this. Soy does last longer than reg. form. Babies also should not have milk products other than form and certainly not cake with fudge. Some people have a mother's instinct which you obviouly do and she does not. Next time you are at the ped. office try to get some literature and leave it with her next time you see her. Also, try to find out it she has her baby on a REGULAR schedule. Babies must have a schedule in order to grow, be healthy, and fight off colds. They grow when they sleep.

Answer 9

He'll be ok...unfortunate...but ok.
And by unfortunate, he'll never learn to make healthy food choices. Unfortunate that she will take the easy way out! Of course he only likes sweet stuff...Most babies do, but you have to continue to try to get them to try other types of foods. Maybe its not the dairy in the regular formula that he's allergic too? I don't know.
Don't worry about him being a preemie, he continues to eat like that he may become an obese child, or worse develop diabetes himself.

Answer 10

Wow! That is unbelievable that a mother would feed her 5 month old ice cream, cake and soda! The poor kid is definitely going to have bad eating habits when he gets older, not to mention obesity and possibly diabetes! People like that should not be parents.

Answer 11

Um...wow she sounds a little ignorant to me. I dont even know why she would have given her 5 month old pop and sweets to begin w/ w/out consulting her dr. My son is 14 months and sweets are a rare occasion for him....! I feel that the baby is probably malnutricioned!! if not now then soon! This mom needs to talk to her dr ASAP, b/c this could hurt her child very much physically and mentally!!