baby wayne

Otis, back when i had your grandad his first solid food was a product called farex perhaps you could ask mum to try this mixed with a little of her milk or even "ordinary milk".

Let us know what happens otis, its worth a try, looking forward to your reply.

love
Great Grandma Laurence

dear Great Grandma Laurence,

thanks for your question – I wish I had a new toy for every time I was asked this!

My parents first gave me rice cereal (farex) many months ago when babies are supposed to start eating solids. Every now and again they offer it to me again, sometimes mixed with milk, sometimes mixed with apple, sometimes mixed with water, but I just don’t like it.

These last few months I have been seeing a very nice speech pathologist called Betty. Betty says that I have something called oral hypersensitivity, and this means that my mouth, and senses of smell and taste are a lot more sensitive than those of a normal adult or baby (about 200 times). So everything smells and tastes really overwhelming and yuk to me, even really bland things like rice cereal and milk. Betty says no-one really knows why some babies are hypersensitive and others not, and the only way that I will get over it is by being desensitized. This involves mummy and daddy putting all kinds of different foods in my mouth a few times a day, so that eventually my senses will get used to it. I usually cry and whinge, and when the food is in there I don’t like to close my mouth or swallow it, I just hold my mouth open and try to spit it out. Betty says I will gradually get used to all the different foods, and that it will probably take many many months for me to get better.

Mummy and Daddy like and trust Betty a lot. Before we met her they were very stressed about getting me to eat, and wondering what was wrong with me. Betty says she sees babies like me all the time, and that I don’t have any long term developmental problems, so they’re a lot happier.

It’s my birthday in a few months, and maybe by then I’ll be desensitized and ready to have a piece of birthday cake!

Love Otis xox