A MUM is sharing a photo of her baby during a nightmare ordeal to spare other parents her heartbreak.
Reynalyn Pacyod, 29, watched her seven-month-old daughter Mayumi Anderson rapidly fall unwell in her own kitchen.
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The mum of-two feared her baby was about to die when the tiny tot ballooned to three times her usual size and fell unconscious after eating peanut butter.
Reynalyn had been following baby-led weaning advice online to introduce allergens in Mayumi’s diet. She gave her toast with peanut butter spread on top.
She had no concerns as none of her family had suffered anaphylaxis.
But just a few minutes after the baby had nibbled on the toast, she began to cry and developed a small lump on her lip, prompting Reynalyn to call an ambulance.
Paramedics and doctors tried to save her life with adrenaline shots.
Luckily, Raynalyn’s youngest child was able to recover from the reaction.
But Reynalyn is now warning other parents to be vigilant when trying to introduce allergens and never leave their children unattended at mealtimes.
Reynalyn, from Bromley, London, said: “It’s every mum’s worst nightmare.
“It was very scary. She looked like she’d been stung by a bee, she swelled up to three times her normal size.
“My husband [Michael Anderson] had dropped my oldest daughter at nursery and I was giving Mayumi breakfast.
“I follow baby-led weaning and I read online that if giving them allergens early, it’s a high chance that any reaction won’t be as bad.
“I didn’t think she was going to be allergic or that it would be so severe.
“She was just eating one slice and I realised there was a small lump on her lip. That’s when I was alarmed and called the ambulance straight away. It was so quick though it felt like a long time.
“I was screaming to the operator to please hurry up.”
When she was unresponsive I thought I could lose her.
Reynalyn
Reynalyn desperately tried to stay calm but when she saw little Mayumi lose consciousness and go ‘floppy’, she feared the baby might die in the ambulance.
Reynalyn said: “Within five minutes an ambulance came, she started to go unconscious again.
“They gave her an adrenaline shot because I was just crying then.
“I was calm but when she was starting to go unconscious and couldn’t breathe, I was crying. It was really scary.
“I was really panicking. When she was unresponsive I thought I could lose her.
“They gave her a tap and she wasn’t responding so they gave her another shot of adrenaline.
“After the adrenaline shot she fell asleep, after that she was fine. Though she was still swollen, she was trying to smile.”
Eventually the youngster fell asleep in her hospital bed and slept through the rest of her ordeal, before waking up feeling better.
The NHS says allergens should be introduced to babies from around six months in very small amounts.
Raynalyn says she followed the advice of baby-weaning experts online and said that reactions can happen, even if weaning is done safely.
After initially being wracked with guilt at what happened to her youngest child, she claims she has been reassured by other parents online.
Reynalyn said: “If parents try to introduce allergens like peanut butter, start it on the back of the hand or a tiny bit on the lips, but it doesn’t always give them a reaction until you’ve given it to them as a food.
“You can’t always tell even if you do it the safest way – it’ll still happen if it’s going to.
“I put the video on TikTok and five hours after, I’ve received a lot of comments. I got really emotional when I read all the messages saying it’s not my fault.”
Reynalyn said her daughter’s reaction developed so quickly, from symptoms on her face to the insides of her body within 20 minutes.
She said: “Within three minutes she went from the small lump on her lip to [it being] all over her face.
“She was in and out of consciousness.
“Ten minutes later, it was all over her body and when we got to the hospital, it’d spread all over her body with hives everywhere.
“You have to be mindful and never leave them. When feeding a baby you shouldn’t leave them for a second.”
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