How We Got Here

In case you were wondering how we learned about the Babe's food allergies, I thought I'd describe the ride. The signs were there, we just didn't know how to read them. And it was not our pediatrician's fault either. He is knowledgeable on the subject, and was great after the diagnosis. Now in retrospect its clear that she had allergies early on. And by early on, I mean by 3 months of age.

The Babe was breastfed. I didn't start giving her rice cereal until she was close to 6 months. She wasn't particularly interested in it, but that wasn't one of the early signs. Early on she had eczema, or atopic dermatitis. I didn't think anything of this, as my sister's children had this in early childhood, and my husband's aunt has this even into adulthood. The Babe's eczema was primarily behind her knees, on her thighs, and at her wrists. On a good day, it would be scaly and pink, on a bad day red, raised, and starting to bleed. When it got really bad, we were prescribed a steroid cream. I never knew at the time what made it go from good to bad, not realizing what I was eating was the culprit. It wasn't until post-diagnosis, after I cut out all her allergens from my diet, that her eczema showed significant signs of improvement. So, sign #1 was the eczema.

When the Babe was 3 months old, we visited my in-laws for an extended trip. It was at that visit, that she started to regularly have exploding diapers. She always had loose diapers, but the pediatrician wasn't particularly concerned because this is common for breast-fed babies. And I had nothing to compare it too. All babies do this, I just didn't realize that her lack of solid diapers was a sign. And when we visited them, I ate cheese...a LOT of cheese.

When she was 6 months old, I wanted to start getting the Babe to take a bottle. I wasn't fully intending to wean, but wanted a little freedom since I didn't pump. The Babe had no interested in the bottle whatsoever. Didn't matter who, how, or when, she just wasn't interested. When she was 8 months old, a neighbor volunteered to take her for a few hours to try to get her to take a bottle. My neighbor tried to give her Enfamil. I returned 2 hours later to a very upset, very hungry child. I walked home with her, and immediately started to nurse her. However, I noticed a growing area of red spots on her stomach and then face. I put her in the tub thinking she came into contact with something. My neighbor keeps an immaculate house, but does have a small dog, so thought maybe dog haired triggered something. Luckily my husband just walked in the door when I got her in the tub, so we got her dressed and rushed off to the hospital. I mentioned to the triage nurse that my neighbor had her carpets cleaned about one week prior, and we all agreed it was probably the carpet cleaner in the air, especially since the Babe had been given a few drops of this same milk-based formula in the past. Again, had no clue that first or second time exposure to an allergen may not result in a response.

At 10 months of age she was cleared to try dairy. She had been fine with the prior fruits and vegetables, although not a particularly good eater since she was still being nursed full-time. I gave her a pinch of cheese- really, just a pinch. I walked a few feet away from her when my husband said he thought something was wrong. She was violently rubbing her face, which was rapidly turning red and splotchy. We immediately brought her to the tub, and watched it get worse, as did her breathing. She started to have a wheezy, croupy cough. I gave her a prescriptive antihistamine, without even realizing I had Children's Benadryl nearby. We hopped in the car, and sped off again to the ER. It was not a good ride, and completely regret not listening to my husband to call an ambulance. I kept thinking it was going to get better. I didn't know how the response time by the ambulance would be. I can keep making excuses, but I just didn't know! It was a long, life-changing night for us. And that is when we finally learned the Babe had food allergies.