So poor Miss Mattie's skin has been super sensitive since day 1.
We take extra special care of it and cover this poor munchkin in aquaphor like she is greased up and deep fried.
However, she has continued to have a periodic "break-out" that has been troubling. It started when we first tried cheese. So, our AWESOME pediatrician, who we love, (really, I love her – she has been so great the last 11 months, and she is just a great lady her son is a year older than Mattie and she always has the BEST advice/tips– Jeff says I have a girl crush and every time we leave her office says “just ask her for her number already,” I really would love to be friends with her, but just haven’t figured out how to cross that line without being super creepy. Just writing this on my blog means I’ve failed and am creepy. Oh well.
J) Anyway, she suggested we hold off on diary until Mattie turned 1. We have been doing so, and we thought we were in the clear, but then she reacted again....and we didn't have a clue to what, she was eating pears, and then again....and then again and the reactions grew worse and happened at random every couple of weeks. She turn red and whelpy (not a clue how to spell that one) - we say it looks like she has been stung or bit by something all over her face and sometimes arms. We thought we were avoiding all the big dairy products - milk, cheese, etc. And then, we went to our neighbors one night for a bday, father's day, and anniversary get-together and Mattie "reacted" pretty big. She was eating chicken and a tortilla (which she eats all the time). We took her straight home, threw her in the tub, and rinsed her off (not like that really helped). The scary part was her eyes, they were swelling shut and the white part was very pink. I would like to say that I remained very calm and collected during the situation...but, you all know me. That just didn't happen. Jeff called the hospital and gave them the run down. The nurse said that as long as her lips/mouth were not swelling and she was breathing fine, that we should be ok. They gave us a dosage for Benadryl. As with the other times she "reacted" it went away within an hour...but this was by far the most severe we had seen her "swell up." So, we took a picture, which doesn’t do the swelling justice…but gives you an idea.
Our pediatrician said it was time to see the allergist. So, we headed there later in the week and Mattie had the typical allergy test. She was great and didn't seem to mind all the dots on her back at all. However, the reaction she had to dairy was "impressive." Same thing the MD said about her reflux/puking. What can we say? We have an impressive kid :). She also reacted to Eggs and Shellfish, but not nearly like her little dot turned into a BIG red whelp for dairy. It is weird because I drink a lot of milk and it doesn't seem to bother her. The contact with it seems to be the major problem. We determined that I must have somehow transferred some of my queso spotted hand to hers which she then rubbed all over her face, or something (the night of the big reaction)! So, long story short...well, I guess not that short. I'm now a label reader and make sure she doesn’t eat anything with Dairy or Eggs, and make sure that those eating Dairy and Eggs wash their hands before touching our Munchkin. Lovely. And, I now not only have to learn how to bake a birthday cake for her, but I've got to learn how to make one without milk or eggs! Haha, funny God. Thanks for keeping me on my toes! Thankfully, most kids outgrow these allergies, so we are praying hard that is the case. I'm not sure it is in my gene-pool to avoid ice-cream!
If you have any good dairy-free and egg-free recipes (that are also easy for those who are cook best when things can go in the microwave) please send them my way!!! And keep Miss Mattie in your prayers – we hope she outgrows these allergies and that the EpiPen expires without being used!
Poor sweet Mattie!! The Robinsons will be praying that she grows out of it fast.
ReplyDelete~Becca
Hi. I am a friend of Kendall's and read this post. I have a 4 yr old with a peanut allergy and both of my kids have had egg allergies. The egg allergy definitely lessens with age for us. They are 4 and 2 and can not eat an actual egg but baked goods with eggs in them don't pose a problem anymore. I have a product called EnerG which is an egg replacer. I use it all the time. You can use it in the place of eggs and cakes turn out just fine. I have noticed they tend to be more crumbly when cut. You can get this product at health food stores, organic stores, and probably Whole Foods and the like. Hope that help! Oh, and I've never had to use our Epi pens. Thank God for benadryl!
ReplyDeleteWe didn't have nearly as scary as reactions as hers but we did have to be dairy free with our first as well. While he was nursing, I had to go dairy free and he strictly had no dairy until he was almost 2.5 years old. Then we trialed a little yogurt and he did okay. He can now have it sparingly but only in fermented forms that are easily digestible like yogurt, cheese, etc. No straight milk. At first, I thought it was going to be a huge problem, but really it's nothing. We just sub almond milk or water in everything now. No big deal :) Also, for the eggs, there is a vegan egg substitute called EnerG egg-replacer and it's easily found in the natural food/specialty diet section in any grocery store but you probably also have access to a Whole Foods or the like where you are. For both egg free and dairy free recipes, google vegan whatever you are looking for and that should get you a plethora of options. :) Hope that helps!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the well wishes and advice!!! I bought EnerG today at the store and am going to give it a try! Mandi - I love your blog and all your great green tips! Keep writing!
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