Another Food Bites the Dust

It's been over a month since our last food induced reaction. Just a few more days and we would have made it January-free! We were almost there. Almost.

I decided that the next new food we tried would be cauliflower. W had done so well eating broccoli and they seemed so similar that I thought it would be a home run. Plus, I had gotten inspired by all the different ways that people were using this amazing vegetable lately. As a substitute for potatoes, a creamy sauce base and even pizza dough. Cauliflower seemed like a miracle food for a kid with wheat and dairy allergies.

Cauliflower Pizza from The Lucky Penny Blog

See, doesn't this look yummy? (Thanks Cat!)

For Tuesday's lunch I made a creamy cauliflower purée, which unfortunately only stayed in poor W's belly for a few minutes. Flu? Virus? Allergy?

W had been sick the whole of last week with a stomach bug and hadn't held down much food during this time. So when lunch went the way of Vesuvius I immediately thought he might be sick again. I called in "the Reserves" to be in standby since W couldn't go to daycare until he was 24 hours free of throwing up, switched from formula to pedialyte and only fed W the most basic of food (BRAT-esque). 

But no fever or other symptoms caused doubt to creep in. Was it an allergic reaction? 

We got the answer on Wednesday after the second serving of cauliflower when I noticed W scratching his head furiously. Yep, telltale sign número uno: cradle cap. A few minutes later and I noticed a hive on his hand. When I removed his shirt I discovered a back covered in hives.

So the silver lining is that W got a day off from daycare, even though he wasn't sick, and his Grams got to cuddle with him. Of course we still need to confirm with our allergist, but for now have another answer and the scales tip just a bit in favor of the allergies.

AllerMates on Zulily!

If you know me, you know that I have a problem with shopping. Throw in that I am home with three kids all day while the freeze of the century takes over Texas, shutting everything down (sarcastic voice), and those online discount shopping sites just call to me.

However, today was different as for the first time in forever (too much Frozen soundtrack playing in our house) there is something online that I have been looking for! Zulily, that wonderful "daily deals for moms" website, has AllerMates.  AllerMates is a line of products aimed at helping alert people to a little ones allergies.  They have wristbands, snack holders, lunch boxes, dog tags and more!

I have been searching for a bag that can hold our Epi Pens plus other medications, and I found it.  Isn't it cute! And the color will make it so much easier to find it fast in my black hole of a purse.

Check out their stock on here on Zulily! Sale ends Friday!

A Simple RSVP

For most people who get invited to a family function or party, an RSVP is as easy as checking your calendar and hitting the reply button.

For a family where one of your children has food and/or environmental allergies, it is never that easy.

• What kind of food will they be serving?
• Do they have pets?
• How well do we know them and can we ask them to make accommodations?

I quickly realized as this past Holiday Season approached that this would be a bigger issue than I had accounted for. 

Our family's annual Domino Derby was in November. I nervously emailed a cousin asking if she would spread the word about not allowing eggs or peanuts or to be served (those are his only two airborne/contact allergies as of now.) Thankfully, everyone was understanding and left the peanut butter cookies and such at home. 

When Christmas rolled around, however, we had a new concern.  At that same family function in November, W had been around dogs.  We knew he was allergic to dogs, but (per our allergist instructions) had given him extra medicine and thought it would take care of that problem. It didn't, and that evening W had breathing problems and had to be given an asthma treatment.

Thanksgiving came and I had to send another email to family asking not only for the food to be allergy friendly, but also that the family dogs be put away. 

And so on, and so on.

There have been times when asking for our necessary accommodations was not an option because I can't expect everyone else to bend to my one child, especially when they are not close friends and family. We have missed events, and my husband and I have made decisions to split up (one of us staying with W) so that our older two can still enjoy these experiences.

We had even decided to attend an upcoming event as a whole family without asking for accommodations (taking precautions of course). I was a bit nervous by this prospect, as I would be very happy just wrapping my sweet W in a bubble for at least a little while longer, but thankfully for us, this dear friend reads my blog posts and contacted us!

First key to dealing with food allergies: A good circle of friends!