9 month old and honey flavored cereal

I'm freaking out.  I was at a friends tonight and she gave my 8 month old some cheerios (with my permission).  Well my girl gobbled them up and my friend brought out the box to give her more.  To my horror they were not cheerios but a honey flavored off brand.  I asked her if there was honey in them and when I reminded her Leah wasn't yet a year old, she immediately took them away.  It was an honest mistake on her part.  She's a nurse in labor and delivery and I think she just wasn't thinking.  Anyway, we checked the box and honey is an ingredient.  I watched her closely the rest of the evening and she seemed fine and I just let it go.  Well I got home and when putting her pjs on, I noticed her belly button looked very red inside. My mind went back to the cereal and now I"m just going to have a sleepless night watching her.  I looked around the internet and saw a few people say that if it is cereal the honey is cooked in and it's not as big of a worry.  
My girl's in great spirits at 11 (she woke up when we got home at 10) and seems just fine.  I want to put her to bed but I"m in panic mode.  I know she's tired.  What should I watch for?  Is it true that it's not a worry if it was baked in?  I'm always VERY careful about ingredients and my friend is a good mom and nurse so I didn't even question her until I saw the box.  

If I have nothing to worry about as far as the honey cereal, what could have made her belly button (it's an innie) look so red ont he inside to the point where I would see it putting on her pjs?  Any answers?  

[kellym]

My dr. says you have nothing to worry about honey nut cheerio's.

[kris123]

hummmm my son is almost 11 months old and i give them to him and he loves them the dr told me ok to do i don't know????????????

[stephanie231]

Honey that is uncooked can cause botulism, if it's cooked then the risk is gone. As for her belly button maybe she has been messing with it????

[babyscience]

Yeah as long as the honey is cooked....which it completely is with honey nut cheerios it is fine for them to eat.

[lovethebops]

Honestly, I would be more concerned about the 'nuts' flavoring in the cheerios than the honey. Honey is in a lot of food, for sweetning/flavor. My father is deathly allergic to nuts(almost died twice from eating foods containing nuts that he was unaware were in them), so I keep an eye on everything, though my 3 year old seems fine, and my 5 month old is too young for food :)  I dont think children under 1, (or is it 2??) are supposed to have nuts(or flavorings) for the allergy reason. Toddlers arn't supposed to have them for the choking haszard. Just keep an eye on her...hopefully it wasnt enough to cause any harm!

BTW, it is good to see you on Nickkicole! I havn't talked to you in ages--Hopefully next year the Colts will return to being the Champs :) Take care and I just posted new pics of my girls in my profile last week and on myspace. Talk to you soon!~Bops

[taysmommy1]

dont feel bad, my 6 month old found a peanutbutter cracker on floor when my grandma was babysitting and she ate the whole thing (surprisingly since she doesnt even get baby food yet lol) i think your girl will be just fine,

just think 20 or even 10 years ago people gave their babies everything under the sun, and most are still here to talk about it lol

i was telling my mom about the cracker thing and she said she gave me peanuts and honey and probably loads of other foods now taboo for young babies, and i havent kicked the bucket just yet, she always laughs when i come up with something else that the girls "CANT" have until they are certain ages, if it were up to her she would probably have the 6 month old purely on table food by now

[energy_train]

My daughter ate honey nut Cheerios from about 9 months on and they were one of her first foods.  I OK'd it with her pediatrician and he said no problem so I wouldn't worry about it at all.

[nikkicole827]

oh thank you ladies.  Yes, my girl is just fine.  Crawling and trying to walk now and I know I have bigger worries than  honey cereal.  I just panicked!  Anyway, she's great!

Bops, I'm going to have to check out your pics!  I really need to update the pics on medhelp here... I'm not great at navigating it.  I'm one of those anti-change people lol.  But you can always see zillions of pics of Leah on myspace!  

[nikkicole827]

ps the bellybutton... i dunno what was up w/ it.  i put a dash of peroxide on it before bed that nite and the redness was gone in the am!

[tiredbuthappy]

like some of the others said, i would be more concerned about the potential reaction to the nuts, not the honey. i know we all survived being fed everything when we were babies, but the statistics today are scary. and i see them first hand. growing up, i didn't know anyone who was allergic to nuts. so far every class i have had has had at least one (sometimes more than one) child allergic to nuts. and like bops said, the reactions can be fatal. first exposure usually doesn't cause a severe reaction. it's subsequent exposures that are the problem. i'm not saying this to scare you, but rather make you aware, especially since you did notice something unusual on her after eating them. if i were you, i would avoid giving her any nut product until she's at least 2, maybe 3. the belly button could have been a minor reaction to the first exposure.

[nikkicole827]

I keep meaning to mention that the cereal was not honey nut flavored just honey o's.  It may have had nuts, I don't think it did though as I'm pretty sure she checked for that when we checked for the honey.  I have no history of nut allergies on either side but I wouldn't give them to her until she was much older or until the pediatrician said to try it.  

[daddyindurban]

my child just had honey, what can i do to stop an infection