1st Reaction... it can be Scary

With mixed emotions we saw this.

A reaction....

Nate's first official reaction (see the hives)....

to eggs.... one egg baked into a whole pan of cornbread that we let Nate try.

I guess we're not surprised.... each one of our children have food allergies, why should Nate be any different! And we're definitely more aware of how to bake and manage an egg allergy since Chris and Lydia also are egg allergy kids!

But it's very disappointing too.... he could have been our ONE child without food allergies!! The one spared!

Again though.... with each reaction, we are soo very thankful that it was mild! Nate obviously was ok and loving the extra attention. The rash and hives stuck around for minutes, not even an hour.... of course it seemed longer for this Momma.

Food allergies are just soo scary and sometimes unpredictable! And they affect EVERYTHING my children will think of touching and tasting!

Here's a scary article shared by a friend... Seventh-grader dies of Food Allergy! So sad... but a reminder of what food allergy kids and families face and fear! And the need of others to be AWARE and EDUCATED more about food allergies.... the "dangerous" foods, the warning signs of a reaction and anaphylaxis!!

You can find some other picture posts at 5 Minutes for Mom, Go Graham Go, To Be Thode and any other linkys I find !!!

AWARENESS.

Less Food Allergies This Summer... yay

Last summer was FULL of food allergy reactions from Chris.... remember??

Watermelon

Cantaloupe

Cucumbers

Squash

Ketchup ????

After the summer of reactions, we thought he would forever have trouble eating some of these common fruits and veggies!!! And so ALL winter we avoided these culprits like the plague.... LOL!!

But already this spring, cucumbers, watermelon and cantaloupe have entered the house and been tested by the Little Boy Who Will Try all Things ONCE:) Christopher asked before we did let him try these foods. All were served during separate meals with other foods that have never caused reactions from him.

And the little man said after eating each, "Look Dad, no reaction. I can eat this now and it won't make me sick!!!" Ohh, sweet little thing!!

But he was right!! We didn't see ANY signs of a reaction. NO rashes, NO sniffles, NOthing!

We still will be cautious about where and when he can eat these foods!! As we've learned with food allergies, they are unpredictable. They can show up anytime, anywhere with any food!! So the key is to remember what you put in your mouth.... especially if you start feeling weird.

For now we are soo thankful for this development, hopefully it will last!! And Christopher is just tickled that he can have cucumbers and watermelon again:) Maybe seeing their brother eat it all up, the girls will be moivated to try these "new" foods as well.

Quickly let me mention the ketchup issue..... Chris eats plenty of ketchup at home... he's the Ketchup KIng:) But it seemed like recently he ALWAYS broke out at Wendys. Finally I started asking for packets of ketchup instead of using their dispensors.... NO reactions.... so we're ALL using the packets now.... strange, but true:)

Why I carry benadryl

We have been so fortunate that we've never had any life threathening reactions to foods, yet. But I will be completely honest that every "big" reaction is SCARY for me. I act tough when I start to see hives form around their mouth or when they start to itch, but it's to keep them calm....no need for all of us to flipping out... LOL

It seems like the few reactions we've had lately have been coming out-of-nowhere! Like at Walmart last week. We had a kiddie cart... you know the one with space for 2 kids to fight (LOL) and then a seat for the smallest!!! Well Chris kept jumping off of the little bench so he was put in the baby seat.

Minutes later he was rubbing his eyes. I thought maybe it was because he was tired or maybe his eye hurt because he hadn't rinsed all the soap off his hands from the potty break. Moments later it was all puffy, then I saw the start of hives and the sniffles (a reaction similiar to Brian's)!!

Then it started "creeping" down his face.... seriously how could I not want to freak out. But he was moaning and groaning, crying out because it hurt soo bad... truely pathetic! Poor little guy!

THIS is why I carry benadryl in the diaper bag... yes, even into Walmart....

Many if you might be asking WHAT caused it??? Well I am not 100% on the source. But my best guess is that the baby previous to Christopher had been snacking just because he was fine until he sat up there. Another reason I need to carry sanitizing wipes in my bag, too!!!

More Reactions

So Jenny was right.... the reason Christopher has been getting a very mild reaction at the table is because he's been enjoying some of the cucumbers from our garden.....

As you can see in the pic, his reaction is just a reddish blotches where the cucumber or cucumber juice has touched his skin. He didn't say anything about his mouth or throat.... no Benadryl needed this time...

And this is the "guessing game" people have to play with food allergies..... is cucumber the problem? Do we continue to feed him cucumbers since his reaction is sooo minor? Or do we avoid it in the hopes of him outgrowing it? What else can he be allergic to?

UPDATE- as I'm writing Christopher wakes from his nap with a runny nose ? I really didn't think anything of the nose but then as I fix him a quick snack I look at his lower cheek and it's red and covered in hives.... why??

Then he sneezes and his nose is running so he lifts his arm and wipes his nose with his wrist. I look at his wrist and it's red and really covered in hives..... BENADRYL time!!

So this is my theory... he had a mild outer reaction to the cucumber. But the cucumber is ingested and causes his nose to run. The cheek reaction is from his saliva (drool when he was sleeping) and the wrist reaction is from his snot.

So to answer an earlier question, it looks like he'll not be enjoying anymore cucumber soon!!The worst thing about this happening with Christopher is that he LOVES to try new foods!!!

More Watermelon Issues

Last week we went watermelon pickng and had a FUN time...playing in the field, hunting for watermelon, tomatoes and some peppers:)

Last night we finally made some time to enjoy our watermelon...it was soo yummy....nothing beats a fresh, locally grown watermelon.....

Just after a few bites of watermelon, Christopher's little face started breaking out and his eyes started getting itchy..... the watermelon allergy returns!!!

So, we thought that he was only allergic to seedless, but this one had plenty of seeds.....so looks like no more watermelon for Little Man for a while......

But he helped me pick some more blueberries this morning....and NO reactions.... so at least he can enjoy our fresh, locally grown blueberries.

And can I tell you how blessed we are as a pastor's family in a very agricultural area.....I'm just soo thankful for them sharing all their yummy summer goodies :)

Another reaction.......

These food allergies require constant vigilance.... We just have to be constantly " on guard" to what our kids are doing and what is laying out- or at least what they could get to. This evening at the start of our meal Christopher started breaking out on his chin. We just couldn't figure out what he had touched. Then his whole face started breaking out, his eyes were getting itchy and swollen. Then he started sneezing and getting a runny nose!!

It was then that we realized that a cup that Brian had taken from him while cleaning up the dinner table probably had milk in it. But that is really our best guess......

We gave him a strong dose of Benadryl and totally removed him from his place at the table and anything he had touched. Then we cleaned him up. As quick as the reaction came.. it quickly passed. Although his eye was still a little swollen when he went to bed.

Praise God for keeping our little one safe even when (as hard as we try) they find things that are dangerous to them. And thanks be to God for giving them reactions that are pretty mild and have yet to be life threatening.

In the discussion that followed we decided that while we keep the house as safe as possible (no milk- except with company, peanut products HIGH up with a label that says NOT for the kids) we needed to teach the kids NOT to play with or drink from cups that aren't theirs! And not to touch plates or foods that aren't theirs. This type of training would be beneficial for when our kids are outside of the house (like revival meals the week after next) and when we do have allergy-sensitive foods!!

A trip to the firestation and TWO close calls

In our sweet little town we have a beautiful firestation. And there is a huge room in the station for meetings and parties....we were able to attend a Pig Picking celebrating a local couple who are getting married in a couple of weeks:) It's actually a fun event as we get to see a lot of our neighbors and do some catching up....... (BTW we have some very talented ladies that can put together decorations and food so effortlessly....I mean I know it take time to plan, collect the materials and then actually set and cook everything up, but they do it soo well it looks effortless. Thanks!!)

Did you guess the theme was Mardi Gras???



Here are some firehouse pictures. Like all kids, my kids LOVE fire trucks... so they had to see some while we were there.....secretly..we like firetrucks too!!






















Our first "close call" was during dessert time at the party.....Anna has always been good about not begging or taking food that might have allergens in them. Part of the reason is because she's older and that she doesn't like new food. Christopher is my walking SWEET TOOTH...he just knows that desserts are sweet and so it doesn't matter what it is, he wants to try it. I was trying to keep an eye on him whiole I got my own treats....but before I knew what he was up to, his little paw grabbed a homemade chocolate covered peanut candy and took a bite. Anyway, I just immediately set down my plate grabbed the candy out of his hand and the other piece out of his mouth just as quickly as he put it in there.

I quickly told Brian so he'd know that we needed to watch him to see is he'd have a reaction. He did get a couple of "hives" pretty quickly and then fussed a little bit about his mouth.....I saw one of our EMTs (actually he is an EMT, the mayor of our town and our Sunday school teacher this morning....ahh, small town) walking by and I asked him if they carried any EPI-pens and he was pretty sure they had at least one....but Brian jumped in the car and drove home to get our EPI-pen Jrs and some Benadryl. When he returned we gave Christopher a dose of Benadryl (just in case - to ward off any start of a small reaction). But by then he was chasing around a ball and looking at the firetrucks. I guess if you're going to have a reaction, it might as well be at the firehouse surrounded by EMTs....I at least felt a little better about that!!!



Our second "close call" wasn't as dramatic :) Christopher decided this morning (while already dressed in his church clothes) to "catch" Mr Chips. He is our Beta (fish). Anna warned me but I thought she was telling me they were trying to take a picture of him..ha haha!! Anyway, I figured Grammie would get a kick out of the fact that to catch him he had to removed the "bell". And that Mr Chip gets plenty of exercise....especially when Christopher is around.



Actually I think this game of "boy and fish" started yesterday when I found Christopher with both arms in the tiny fish bowl......I thought he was just trying to wash off his Play-Doh!!! But Mr Chip is a strong little fish!! And this morning he got a very clean bowl (I cleaned real quick... why not it's easy after the bell is removed!!!)