A Note From A Dietitian And FPIES Mama

Registered Dietitian and FPIES mama here. Lately, I read about how many FPIES moms say that it was unhelpful to see the dietitian. It pains me to hear their stories. The frustration stems from the dietitian's lack of understanding of FPIES.

Truth be told, as a dietitian, I was not taught about FPIES during my training (and I trained at a children's hospital). Having worked for more than 10 years, I only knew about FPIES within the last 5 years.

My knowledge of FPIES comes from my lived experience when my baby girl was diagnosed at 7 months. After the allergist confirmed the FPIES, he handed me a high vs low risk foods and asked me to see a dietitian. I did not know whether to laugh at the irony or cry because I felt stuck. It was tricky navigating introduction to solids even with the knowledge of FPIES.

Like many FPIES parents, we are resilient. We research the heck out of everything!!! The challenge is that there is really no right way to introduce solids to a FPIES baby. Each baby and family dynamic is different and they have to be taken into consideration as well.

There is a need for more guidance around nutrition and FPIES. Moving forward, I will be putting out more content on FPIES. So stay tuned!! I sincerely hope that you will find them helpful.

If you have questions, please add them to the comments! That will help me prioritize what topics to address first!