THE BUN BETRAYAL

A 10-month-old baby ended up in pain, covered in an eczema flare, and passing blood a day after being fed cinnamon buns by a relative who knew he had a severe corn allergy.

"My baby (10mo M) has a severe non-IgE mediated allergy to corn and all corn derivatives," the poster wrote. "Everyone in our family knows about his allergies." The baby's diet had been painstakingly narrowed down after "hours and hours researching and refining the foods my son can consume without having an allergic reaction," the poster said. The family had gone over the limits again and again, because even small exposures could cause a reaction.

For an overnight visit to the husband's family farm, the poster packed and sent all of the baby's food so he would only eat what was safe. The husband took both children, a 4-year-old daughter and the 10-month-old son, out to what the poster described as "a large dairy farm operation with multiple homes on the property." The husband's aunt and uncle lived in one house, and the grandparents in another.

Breakfast at the aunt's house went smoothly enough. Then the baby got fussy and needed a bottle. The husband had left the bottles at his grandmother's house, so he ran over to grab a clean one. He was gone for less than three minutes.

That was long enough.

When he came back, the aunt immediately volunteered a detail the poster would later replay over and over: "my son LOVED her cinnamon buns." The husband objected at once, saying, "he has allergies and he can't be given food all Willy nilly without one of us present to check ingredients." The aunt brushed it off. It was "only a few bites," she said.

The poster, hearing the story later, said they were furious. "I was in a blind rage," they wrote, because the feeding happened while the husband was away for only a couple of minutes and without asking either parent.

About 24 hours later, the aftermath hit. The baby was in pain all day, breaking out in a severe eczema flare and pooping blood. The poster, now in "hello, postpartum anxiety" mode and already exhausted from the careful work of managing the allergy, wanted to message the aunt directly.

They described the aunt's actions as "reckless and neglectful and shady," and said it was "feeding our baby ANYTHING without our consent or presence." They also pointed out that the aunt had "did it so sneakily" while the father was briefly out of the room. The question they put to the internet: "WIBTA if I sent a strongly worded message about how absolutely disgusting I think her actions were to my defenceless baby?"