2 steps foward.......8 jumps backwards

So I have been MIA for a long time.  I have actually written and rewritten this particular post several times the past few weeks.  We have had a lot happen over the last year including an expected sugery and testing that lead to a very unexpected diagnosis with Kaitlyn.  A very unexpected allergic reaction in Adrianna which we thought to be immune to this craziness.  We've had disappointments with our allergist and insurance company. We've moved....yes that's taken a lot more out of us than we expected.  We've also had a diagnosis of asthma with Tyson.  It's been a definite trial and error with Mason in regards to what's safe and not safe for him to eat.  I've not had much luck in the gluten/wheat free, egg free and diary free baking.  I feel like I'm some how failing him as his mom by not being able to provide more variety for him to eat.  So with all this and more that's been going on I decided I would take the time to dedicate a post for each "big" event.  That way I'm not posting a book!  Now I just have to decided which one to tackle..........

Small Victories

We've had a few more small victories over the weekend.  Normally these things wouldn't be even worth mentioning but when you are challenged daily with food issues the small things become big things.  We've add yet another food to the list.  What is it you ask?  Green Beans.  He was a little reluctant at first but he's warmed up to it.  So we are up to 5 foods now!!!!
So what's the other victory?  Mason took an ounce of formula this morning!!  Again he is still just chewing on the bottle but I'm still hopeful that he will soon get the hang of it.
We have 9 more days until his allergist appt and I'm full of questions.  It seems that more and more labeling is focused on Gluten Free and not so much wheat free.  One of my many questions is the distinction between the two.  I'm anticipating that we will also be carrying yet another set of Epipens for precaution.  I'm thinking about rotating when the prescriptions will expire.  Right now Tyson and Kaitlyn are on the same cycle since we got theirs at the same time.  I'm thinking that spacing them every four months might be better.  (Ok so that was just a ramble of me thinking will typing.)

In other news this weeks focus is to find a PreK program Tyson.  The elementary school that Adrianna goes to is not peanut/ tree nut free.  In fact they quite often sever PB&J and use peanuts in school treats and projects.  Adrianna knows when she gets home she has to change clothes and wash her hands.  Although it would be easier to have them both at the same school I just can't do it.  Erick and I would be a huge ball of nerves all day.  Not to mention I'm not to happy about their "policy" when it comes to lunch.  The school nurse said that they don't have a "safe" table and if his allergy is that sever (which it is) that he would have to eat lunch in an office alone.  NOPE, not gonna happen.  Tyson has the right to eat lunch safely with everyone else. Period
So with that being said I'm off to research and call schools.  Laundry is gonna have to take a back seat today....

Sugar Free Zone

In my haste to make sure I posted today I forgot to mention that we as a family decided to become a sugar free home.  Wow right?  Let me tell you how this played out....

I've been having a challenging time with Tyson and his hands.  His hands like to playfully hit and punch and push his sisters and daddy.  We have had several conversations about his hands.  I know little boys play rough and there is a time and a place for it but it's been getting a bit out of control.  It seems like this is the only way he wants to play and its wearing on his sisters.  After another round of tears from Kaitlyn and Tyson hiding in his room I decided we need to find a solution.
I have been pondering how to go from eating sweets almost daily to letting them be what they should be-treats and for specials occasions like birthdays.  Well my sweets loving boy Tyson said it best, "Mommy the cookies make me want to punch and kick."  Well that was just the door I was looking for.  We decided that since sugar and sweets were making him act out that we needed to cut them out.  I asked Adrianna, Tyson and Kaitlyn to think of their favorite fruits, veggies, diary and meats.  Then we are going to cut out pictures of them and make a calendar/menu with these foods.  I could have jumped through the roof with excitement over all of this.  Don't get me wrong...I LOVE SWEETS especially of the chocolate kind.  But I have to admit that I feel more run down and tired when I do eat them.  Any way this is our experimental week.  I'm also going to round up recipes and ideas for homemade summer snacks like fruit pops and slushies.  I want to be able teach the kids how to make healthy alternatives.

Daily Update

Well the bottle went a little better yesterday.  He again chewed on it more than anything but he did manage to chew 1 ounce which is more than the day before.  Giving him the bottle did interfere with his sleep schedule but that has never been consistent anyway so it wasn't a big deal.  The challenges are there but I know in the end it will be well worth it.

Day by Day posts....

I've decided that I am going to post daily.  Right now I am still working to get Mason to take a bottle and I am also trying to get him on more of a feeding schedule with solids.  I gave him yet another "new" bottle yesterday and he almost seemed giddy to have it.  He still doesn't realize he is supposed to suck on it and not chew it.  He did mange to get half an ounce out of it and that's been the most to date.  I figure if I offer it as much as possible he'll eventually get the hang of it.  I also know that when he has an episode (spitting up) that it will be much easier to pinpoint the cause with him on formula.  Right now its a guessing game if it was something I ate or something he ate and that's not a good thing with allergies at least as far as I'm concerned.  As far as solids go we have been successful with applesauce, sweet potatoes, green peas and carrots.  Although since starting the carrots on Sunday he has been spitting up a bit more.  This is where the questioning comes into play though.  I have started getting more rice since then as well.  So again until I know exactly what he is taking in I can't say for sure what he is reacting to.

Finally have a direction......

So we went to Mason's GI appt today and finally got (after a mess up with the first lab) the results to his allergy test and he was positive for allergies to milk, eggs and wheat. I had already cut out the milk and eggs but the wheat is a whole bigger ball game. It does explain his sever reaction to the baby cereals. So where do we go from here? Well the first goal is to get Mason to take a bottle. Until that time I'll cut wheat out of my diet as well. We do get to introduce more foods- green beans, peas, carrots, squash, avocado, corn and broccoli so he'll have more options. Another positive is that he was negative to soy so we can try soy formula first and see how he reacts. We also have to take him our pediatric allergist. I'm relieved to some answers and ready to tackle this challenge. My prayer is that as he gets older he'll out grow the allergies. If that doesn't happen I know that we are well equippped to handle it.

Anaphylaxis - Living Without Article

Anaphylaxis - Living Without Article

http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&pub=myfoxchicago

http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&pub=myfoxchicago

This is such an inspiring and positive move!!

Dr appt

Mason had his 6 mth appt on Friday. He is still down in the 10th percentile for weight and in 50th for length. His dr agrees that with his reactions to the cereals a trip to our GI is a definite. I get to go about scheduling that this week.
In other news I'm feeling in a bit of a rut with food.  It's always such a challenge keep things fresh and fun.  I've been introduced to some wonderful new blogs by other moms dealing with food allergies.  I'm excited to try our these new recipes and also to try new ones from other tried and trusted sites.  I will claim no ownership or creative rights to them.  I'm just not creative in that forum.  I will give credit where credit is due and share my pictures and experiences.  I'm hopeful that my family (kids) will be just as open to trying new and fun foods!!

Keeley McGuire: Giveaway: Allergy Friendly Foods ~ Sunbutter, SunC...

This is a new blog I came across....the more support the better!!

Keeley McGuire: Giveaway: Allergy Friendly Foods ~ Sunbutter, SunC...: ...

Student's death a catalyst for school action on food allergies

Student's death a catalyst for school action on food allergies

Here we go....

Well over the last few days I have tested some solids with Mason. On Sunday night I gave him the rice cereal to try again and he managed to projectile vomit for a couple of hours. Tonight I tried oatmeal and with the same results. Its frustrating to experiment with a 6 mth old and his belly. We'll be taking him for his 6 mth check up and then follow that with a trip to our pediatric GI dr.
On top of this Kaitlyn is having another mysterious hive break out. She does have a cold with congestion but other than that nothing has changed. I dread doing a round of tests with her but we need to find out what's going on.
I've included a picture of her belly....

Family: Child dies in school from peanut allergic reaction

Family: Child dies in school from peanut allergic reaction

Life gets so busy.....

Well here we go again.....it has once again gotten away from.  I've decided to change the way I post.  I was just posting as things came up.  Well the major problem with that is that as they come up I get so caught up in the moment I forget to post about it.  Like Kaitlyn having more hive break outs and Tyson have a reaction when eating Doritos.  I also can't forget about Mason also being intolerant to eggs.  Oh yeah there is also my hive breakouts.  So with that I am looking for an allergist for myself as well.  See things are going on I just forget to post.  So from now on no matter how boring it may seem I'm going to try to post something 3-4 times a week.  I've decided to post pics of recipes new for us and how much of a success it was for us.  (If you have little ones you know how difficult introducing new foods can be.)  I'll  also share stories and news about the allergy world.  On that note there have been some very sad and heartbreaking stories of children losing their lives to deadly reactions to food.  As much as it hurts to think of this I feel like I want to pass the news on for a couple of reasons.  I want others to realize just how deadly this disease can be.  I'm not crazy or over protective of my little ones....I'm vigilant!!!!  I also want others to keep these families in your prayers.  I will never forget Tyson's life threatening reaction for eating ONE cashew and ONE walnut.  I will never get those images of my baby's face being so swollen it looked like it was melting away and his wheezing and coughing.  I will never forget how scared I was.  I thank God that he spared us and let us keep Tyson here on earth with us.  My heart breaks for these parents and families who have lost there kids.

Well now that I feel a very strong urge to go hug and kiss my kids I'm gonna wrap up. 

Food Allergy Alert: Tree Nut Oils and Rolling Pins

Food Allergy Alert: Tree Nut Oils and Rolling Pins

I'm back....again

Well again time has gotten away from me and I've let my blog slide.  I was put on bed rest at 29 weeks and stayed on it until 36 weeks.  I had a health baby boy at 39 weeks.  I can add him into the intolerant catagory because he (like the last 2) doesn't seem to be able to tolerate mik or soy protein.  So again I'm off of all milk, dairy, soy, whey and casein.  This puts me in the kitchen double time trying to make sure the kids and hubby have what they want and also make sure I'm getting plenty to eat to feed my little one. 
As far as the other kids, well they are absolutely in love with their baby brother. Along with this new addition we also had another major change which is Adrianna starting kindergarten.  She is doing GREAT!!  Tyson and Kaitlyn miss her a lot and are constantly asking if it's time to go pick her up. 
Well now that my life news is up to date on to the really purpose of this blog; allergies and intolerances.  Kaitlyn has thankfully grown out of her milk intolerance.  I do have blood testing scheduled for her since she has been randomly breaking out in hives.  Her ped seems to think its just a heat rash but I asked for testing any way.  Adrianna is also scheduled to have allergy testing.  We just went to a new pulmnologist on Wed and he suggested we do the skin testing too.  Tyson is also due for a full spectrum skin test as well and that is next on my list along with Mason's 2 mth appt.  Oh I almost forgot to mention this as well, another reaseon for the lack of posts is due to Kaitlyn finally finishing off our keyboard on the laptop.  She managed to put off almost all of the keys (Adrianna started it with the arrow keys but Kaitlyn finished it off BIG TIME) to the point of no return.  We have an amazing friend who got us a new keyboard and installed it!!!!

I'm back....

Sorry for the lack of posts of the last few months.  I swore I would post at least once a week.  We have had A LOT going on though.  We had to postpone the kids allergy testing.  We found out mid January that the water heater in the apartment we were renting was leaking and had been for quiet some time.  It was encased in a wooden box so we never got to see it nor did we ever think to look in it.  Needless to say our downstairs neighbor called after hours maintenance about a leak and from there it was discovered.  To our absolute HORROR there was black mold everywhere.  Not to mention that the water heater sat directly below the air conditioner intake.  That meant that not only did the black mold exist in the box it had also gotten into the air conditioning system.  Well we moved out immediately it took us a month to find a place that was suitable for our family.  We spent a month between visiting family and a hotel.  We are greatly convinced that the mysterious hives in the 2 younger kids was the result of the mold.  Since we left our son has been a completely different kiddo (in the best way possible).  He hasn't had any hive break outs nor has the baby.  His eczema is finally under control (fingers crossed).  So we are going to approach the allergist again and see where we need to go from here.  
Not only did we have that craziness with a sudden move and being displaced for a month, we have also had some shocking and exciting news as well.  We found out that baby #4 is on the way.  He is due in July and we couldn't be happier now that the shock has worn off. 
Now that we are in our new place and getting settled I plan on diving back into the blog and allergy research and posting more from there. 

Impact of Asthma Survey 2010

Impact of Asthma Survey 2010

Websites I Have Recently Found

Well within the last few weeks I've made it my mission to research and find out what's out there that I've been missing.   Two websites (although there are many more that I hold dear) that have been a God send are http://www.allergyapparel.com/ and http://www.peanutfreeplanet.com/  
I'll start first the the allergy apparel.  I was looking for medical alert bracklets for the kids.  I was able to talk via facebook and email directly to the owner and she was more than willing to answer my questions and even do some additional research as well.  Talk about customer service (which is something I have found lacking in lately)!! Its hard enough to navigate in this allergy world add great customer service and wonderful products and I'm a loyal customer!
Now on to peanut free planet...Wow what a relief to find safe snacks for the whole family.  This site is super user friendly.  Most the "free" ingredients are listed up front so you don't have to search each individual item.  Tyson and Adrianna are soo excited about this site and the gummy snacks we are going to try.  Tyson gets very deflated if we tell him something is not safe so to see him light up when we said they were safe was priceless!!  We are going to order the Surf Sweets brand not only are the peanut-free and treenut-free they are also dairy-free, soy-free and organic!!  What a great combo!

Update from Dr visit

Well the allergist appt for both kids went get.  The dr is fantastic!  We changed a few meds for Tyson which will keep him from having to constantly be on meds which is a major plus as far as I'm concerned.  The doctor also suggested we stay away from all legumes for him as well.  We did a skin prick test for pecans on Kaitlyn which we though might have been the cause of her hives but it came back negative.  We have an appt in Jan for more testing for Tyson which should include environmental allergies too. Then we have one in Feb for Kaitlyn to have her first round of skin prick testing and I'm hoping to get an answer for why she broke out in hives.  So now on to order medical alert braclets for them and write up a new emergency policy for them both!