One Year Ago...

Most new parents reflect on the passage of a year with shock and awe...they can't believe their little one is a year or they can't believe that a year has passed and little one is a year older.

This week marked a different one year mark for us. 

One year of food allergies.

It was a year ago this week that we were thrust into this new and strange world known as food allergies.  Its been a roller coaster ride of ups and downs....I promised I would relate a few of them to show how we got here and thought this might be as good a time as any.

Cow's milk is an interesting thing, I've learned.  Its really for baby cows...and we humans are not baby cows...Just like sheep's milk is for baby lambs.  We humans are equally enabled to provide for our offspring in the form of breastmilk (or formula - this is not a debate over these options).  But generally at the age of 9mos, parents are given the ok by their pediatrician to allow baby to have cow's milk in forms such as cheese or yogurt...not straight yet...not til a year old as their bodies aren't "mature enough" to handle cow's milk yet...

And like good parents (or so I thought), we gave little man some yogurt one night for dinner.  He loved it! Licked it all off the spoon...gobbled down the tablespoon or two that we fed him.

15mins later, we thought something was definitely wrong...he was vomiting, turning bright red all over his body with welt like hives, screaming/crying and as the minutes ticked by as we tried to figure out what the he** was going on, we noticed that his lips were looking a little blue...

Being the overprotective parents that we were, we tossed him and the always packed diaper bag and my breast pump (don't ask how I even thought to pack that!) into the car and we sped off to the ER as he continued to vomit everywhere.

Upon our arrival, the ER staff wanted to try to greet us and assess little man like ERs tend to do.  He, however,  promptly threw up again and you could tell was heaving and having difficulty breathing.  No assessment needed...rushed to a room...needles flying...sensors pinging...I don't know that I can even begin to remember everything that happening - it was a blur.

It was pretty clear to the ER staff that this was an allergic reaction - to what we didn't know yet...interestingly we were on a course of penicillin for an ear infection so it was a 50/50 call as to which allergen it could be...

Once he was stabilized, it was a night of breathing treatments to help his lungs, benadryl to keep the reaction at bay - kids have a high likelihood of latent reactions so you are usually monitored for an additional 12 hours - and steroids as well to help heal.  'Roid rage in a 9mo old is an interesting phenomenon - one that I don't recommend!

24 hours later, we were discharged, armed with prescriptions for a bazillion different items - epi-pens, benadryl, and albuterol breathing treatments, doctors appointments, etc...and a new found paranoia that i thought had passed since we now had 9 mos of parenting under our belts.  We were ordered not to give any new foods until after we saw an allergist and to carry the epipen with us at all times....i thought I was shell shocked then....

Flash forward 6 weeks when we finally were able to get an appointment with an allergist...

Let me begin by saying this was one of the least pleasant experiences of my life...and i've had several bad experiences...

We took the first appointment we could get, we chose a specific children's hospital since it is one of the best in the country and is conveniently 10mins from my office/little man's daycare....and yet, we had to drive into Philadelphia for the appointment...

The floor of the exam room looked like it hadn't been swept in months, and it was NOT child friendly...but I digress...

Several people came into to ask me the same questions over and over again about what made me suspect a food allergy, what happened, etc.  We then proceeded with a skin test - which on a 9mos old was nearly impossible and took up his entire back

After waiting an agonizing 15 mins, the results of the test were worse then I feared...4 allergies - dairy, wheat, soy, and eggs...the rest of the appointment was a blur...I remember a piece of paper being shoved at me about reading labels and what to watch for and that was about it...

I left, near tears, but somehow juggling baby, stroller, diaper bag, and my composure through the crowded city...I drove home in tears expecting to live in a bubble forever...since he may or may not grow out of this.

Fast forward 10 months to now...we've had a few hiccups...
Like the time he swiped someone else's sippy at school and had to be rushed to the ER because it wasn't water...
Like the time another mom innocently gave him a snack as she was picking up her daughter from day care - no reaction that time as we got it from him before he could eat it - that mom felt terrible and i felt terrible since i literally sprinted across the room to grab it out of his mouth...
Like times where we have had mysterious reactions -

Those have been the times to cry

But in these 12 mos, we've had lots of laughs too...

Like the day we found out about Sweet Freedom Bakery and knew that there was a cupcake that he could have for his birthday that wouldn't make him sick...

Like the day we all drove into the city to go back to that bakery and we told him that he could have whatever he wanted...and daddy and little man sat in the window and shared a cookie together

Like the days where I have successfully made items that were delicious and safe! Like cinnamon rolls (courtesy of Cybele Pascal's The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook)

LIke when I have successfully adapted family favorites into safe treats  - (l-r) zucchini bread, raspberry-banana (with some blueberry) muffins, and cinnamon raspberry blackberry muffins
Like the time I unsuccessfully adapted an ice cream cone recipe
<<no picture available or wanted as hubby says ;-) >>

I could wax philosophically about how these experiences mold and shape us...but its late, and i am beyond long winded...and that would likely just end up sounding corny

No recipes tonight but pictures of food that I hope you will drool over...