My baby (10mo M) has a severe non-IgE mediated allergy to corn and all corn derivatives. Everyone in our family knows about his allergies. I have spent hours and hours researching and refining the foods my son can consume without having an allergic reaction (full body eczema, painful gas, blood and mucous in the stool – absolute misery for about 72hr after consumption).
My husband took our kids (4F and 10mo M) to his family farm overnight while I had another commitment in town. I had prepared and sent all the baby’s food to ensure he was eating safe foods and wouldn’t have a reaction (hello, postpartum anxiety).
For context, this is a large dairy farm operation with multiple homes on the property. His aunt and uncle live in one house and his grandparents in another.
After breakfast at his Aunt’s house our son was starting to get fussy for a bottle. My husband had washed the bottles and left them to dry at his Grandma’s house. He ran over between the houses (about 300m away) to grab a clean bottle for my son. He was gone less than 3 minutes total. When he returned his aunt was bragging about how much our son LOVED her cinnamon buns. My husband argued with her saying how he has allergies and he can’t be given food all Willy nilly without one of us present to check ingredients. She claimed he will be totally fine because it was only a few bites.
So here I am 24hr later with my distraught baby screaming in pain all day, covered in an eczema flare and pooping blood.
I want to reach out to his aunt and tell her how reckless and neglectful and shady it was to feed our baby ANYTHING without our consent or presence. It especially infuriates me that she did it so sneakily in the mere couple of minutes he ran out to grab a bottle. I was in a blind rage when my husband told me what happened.
WIBTA if I sent a strongly worded message about how absolutely disgusting I think her actions were to my defenceless baby?
She does need to be informed. I think your husband should be the one to do it. He should take photos and videos, and go and show her what her “totally fine” looks like.
This is not a small thing. Your baby is in fact defenseless. I’m sorry this happened to him.
NTA
Agree, husband’s family – he needs to keep them in line. And yes with the pictures. Provide receipts.
And she needs to pay any medical costs. I’d also want to tell her where exactly she can stick her precious cinnamon rolls.
If there’s a family chat group he should share photos and videos there. With a text about how this is the reaction from just “a few bites”.
Yeah, it’s not your circus my friend, it’s his blood relatives so it’s his time to step up and rain down the anger. If he won’t do it then he’s part of the issue.
NTA. Take pictures to show her. Show everyone and make sure everyone really knows how serious his allergies are.
Regardless of his allergies, who the fuck is feeding a cinnamon bun to a 10 month old?
NTA. Don’t leave this person alone with your child again.
Oh, I can beat that. My mother tried to give my 3mo old “just a little taste” of her jelly donut & was *extremely* offended when I slapped it right out of her hand. 🙄 (& yes, it got worse from there. NC since 2018. 👍)
Some people want the title of the “cool/fun” relative *so bad* that they’ll literally endanger children to earn it. It’s childish AF.
3 months old is absolutely BONKERS
She didn’t just give him a treat, she gambled with his health. The sneaky part while your husband stepped away makes it worse. That’s not a misunderstanding, that’s reckless
Send the aunt pictures of the rash and bloody stool with the caption “this is because of the cinnamon roll, I am very disappointed”
I’m not kidding. She needs to know actions have consequences. Unfortunately you baby is facing the consequences.
I second this but the husband should be the one to confront his aunt.
NTA. Send her a video of him screaming. Make it long and loud. Show her what she did to your baby.
Edit to add: Send it to the whole family so everyone understands WHY your baby’s food MUST BE SAFE for him.
A video of baby to family group chat saying “this is what happens if baby is fed something outside what we bring for him. Even just a bite of cinnamon bun results in agony”. Send it to everyone.