Breakdown on Aisle 3....

Today I am feeling a little overwhelmed. I spent some time on the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network's website last night. I read stories from other Moms about their kids allergies. Stories that encourage me and let me know that this CAN be managed....and also stories that scared me. I did get some great tips on traveling, eating out, skin care and substitutions. I also got a healthy dose of "this is serious". I know that we will feel better once we get some test results back, and see what else she might be allergic to, and perhaps get some idea of what CAN be introduced back into her diet safely. Right now I am on high alert. I am terrified to even push the grocery cart past the peanut aisle or to touch her if I touched cheese. There are apparently fragrance issues also. The testing will help determine for sure, but she broke out on her hands and face in the grocery store today, after I had vigilantly wiped down the cart seat and handles (to remove any potential allergens....what if some kid had eaten peanut butter and rubbed his hands on the cart??) and she broke out after touching where the citrus-scented wipe had been. Her fingers got red and blotchy and sort of swollen, and where she rubbed her face became red and weird looking. I was talking to one of the managers in the store who we have befriended, and she drew my attention to the reaction. I had just finished asking her if we could have rice waffles ordered....and I just started to cry again in the middle of the moisturizer aisle. In my efforts to prevent Emma from having a reaction, she had one to the wipe I used. The poor manager just hugged me. I felt like a nutcase.

I know we will figure it out. I know that it will become part of our routine. I know that we don't even have test results back yet, so some of the things I am avoiding may possibly be safe. I know that people cope with food allergies all the time and are okay. Most importantly, I know that God has this. He has this and He already has it handled. For that I am thankful. And for your encouragement, friends, I am oh-so grateful. :) Thank you

Oops...time gets away from me....

I haven't blogged in a month. :( oops. Life just sort of "happens" and you (me) get swept up in the daily chaos of the routine, and then add on the things that aren't so routine. I think my last post was about Emma's allergy issues. How appropriate that I not blog since then, so no one knows how she is doing or what we are dealing with now. LOL

First, a little on how life has changed since our last blog post. We are vigilant label readers. We are the question-askers in restaurants and grocery stores. We shun food items that cannot be properly identified with regards to ingredients. We have "that child" who gets almost no processed food, no dairy, no eggs, no soy, and no added sugar. No, she isn't allergic to sugar, but she won't grow to crave it if she doesn't get it now. She isn't allergic to eggs either, that we know of, but she is to remain egg-free until her second birthday, where as "normal" (i.e. not food allergic) kids can have them much younger. We cook three meals a day for her. Eating out is rare, mostly due to the fact that unless it is a "whole food" item, like a piece of roasted chicken, or a baked potato that hasn't been contaminated with butter or cheese or sour cream, we can't make any sort of guarantee that it doesn't have allergens lurking in it. If we go somewhere, we normally check out the menu online first, call the restaurant if we have questions, and/or bring her meal with us. It works for us, so far. She has not refused anything we have given her, with the exception of sweet green peas. She throws them on the ground :) Her diet is still very balanced and extremely "healthy looking" for a one-year-old. Today for lunch she ate a half a slice of approved wheat bread, a tablespoon of hummus, some raw bell pepper strips, a half a cup of winter squash (boiled), a piece of boiled chicken, and a few bowtie pastas (approved pasta brand-no egg)

It continues to amaze me how many things contain milk/dairy/egg/soy. It all but eliminates processed foods, sweet treats, snacks and convenience foods. We are also nut-free because we don't know if she will react to nuts or not. SO add that to the list, and pretty much means home-cooking is our only option. It definitely saves money, so that is a plus on top of keeping her healthy and reducing the chances for another reaction. Usually with every trip to the grocery store, I see something else that has milk/dairy/egg/nut/soy in it, and put it on the list of no-no's.

TODAY was our long-awaited appointment with the pediatric immunologist. I have to say he was wonderful. I am sure he dreaded coming into the exam room because Emma could be heard down the hallway with her crying. (She wanted to play with the electrical cord that powered the in-room computer....I can't imagine why I didn't let her) But, he came in and was gentle, soft spoken and very reassuring. We had her blood drawn today for the RAST and IgE testing, rather than doing the "skin prick" test. I just can't agree to having 20 pricks on her skin, and her skin is so sensitive with the eczema anyway, he said it is better to do the blood testing. THANK YOU!!!! We were also educated on her new skin care regimen. Pretty intense, but it is what is needed for her dry, sensitive and eczema-prone skin. It basically consists of a special moisturizing cream 3 times a day, all over. A bath daily with only unscented Dove soap or Cetaphil. No perfumes, no fragrances, no fragranced lotions. Only the few lotions, soap, detergents and cleansers listed are allowed. We continue with her no milk/no dairy/no soy/no nut/no egg diet indefinitely. The testing results will be reviewed at our follow up appointment in three weeks, and we will then be referred to a pediatric nutritionist for evaluation and assessment of her diet to make sure it is as balanced as her allergies will allow.

So, thats where we are now. Emma is sound asleep...she was so freaking tired, hungry, sleepy and mad after we finished at the doctor. :( I cried when they drew her blood. I worry. I worry about her allergies. Her food. Her skin. And today I was tired and hungry too, and I cried. I cried all the way out of the hospital into the parking lot. No reason, just emotionally and mentally exhausted.

I printed out some templates for a "food diary", to keep until we see the nutritionist. Hopefully the few weeks of recording her intake will help the nutritionist see a good picture of what she is getting, and help him/her to help us balance out her diet even more.

Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers!!! I am so glad the appointment is behind us, and I am praying that we get some answers, or at least, verification, with the testing.

Love, Emily