Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving twice this year, once on Thursday with my family and then on Friday with my husbands family. It was nice Thanksgiving and everything went well with Nathan, no allergic reactions.

At my parents house, he ate turkey and then we just set aside other foods (Corn & Green Beans) before they were buttered. He ate LOVED the Black Olives and I made a small batch of mashed potatoes with rice milk and his butter, but he didn't care for them. What child doesn't like mashed potatoes?

At Thanksgiving with my in-laws on Friday, we made him Turkey with hash browns, he loves hash browns. He also ate, some veggies & jell-o. He ate a ton that night.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Follow-up Allergist Appointment

Well, we went back to the Allergist today to follow-up on Nathan's Asthma and he stopped coughing and is better now, or until he gets another cold. Of, course she was late again and made us wait again and we had a busy day off appointments. This time see seemed to have more information and records on him and she was a little friendlier than the last time.

We talked about his weight as we do at every single Doctor appointment (these Doctors make me feel like I don't feed my child because he doesn't gain much weight) and she asked more about his food allergies. Asked If we had seen a nutritionist, etc.

Then we asked about when we could test and find out if his allergies are getting worse or better. And she said we could go to the lab and give blood today. We did and they had such a hard time finding Nathan's veins as they always do, so they had to put heat packs on him and we had to wait longer. When they finally found his veins and took his blood, he cried...so hard. It made me cry.

So now we wait for the results.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Excited about Pancake Mix

I went to this Gluten Free store last weekend and found a pancake mix called: The Craving Place - All Purpose Pancake and Waffle Mix. It is Gluten Free, Wheat Free, Nut Free, Egg Free, Dairy Free and Bean Free. It does contain corn. It was so easy to make, just add water. You can also add fruit, oats, etc. The mix can also be used for Biscuits, Pie Crust, Shortcake and Flatbread. It is not sweetened.

The best part is Nathan LOVED them and ate 4 pancakes, the most he has eaten of anything in a while.

This same company also makes some other mixes. I haven't tried them yet.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

New Allergy Doctor

We have been having so many problems with the billing department at Children's Hospital that we decided to take Nathan to a new Doctor who is in the Aurora network. The new Doctor is close to home which is a plus.

Today was the first visit with our new Dr. and she was running late, which bothered me. I am not sure about her yet, it was our first appointment and she was really blind-sided since she doesn't have his records yet. She seemed a little disorganized and stand offish. The nurses seemed nicer to him then the actual Doctor.

Our visit was mainly for his Asthma because he has had night after night of coughing. No one in this house has slept the last 3 His meds are not working and he does have a cold. We went over his medication list and she decided to change his asthma meds and gave us a RX for reflex. I never filled the RX for reflex, I really don't think the coughing is from reflex and I don't want to over medicate my child. His coughing did stop without the reflex medication.

She wants see us next week for a check up on how he is doing.

I am determined to find a good allergist that I am comfortable with and that is compassionate and good to Nathan. He or She also HAS to be in our Network.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Dairy Free, Nut Free Advent Calendar


Now that Nathan is two, I wanted to start some Christmas traditions such as an Advent Calendar, I remember the excitement of every day before Christmas opening a little door and finding a chocolate until Christmas arrived.

But now with Nathan's allergies, I was worried about continuing the tradition. I found a website called Amanda's own confections. The price of a calendar is $9.50 not including shipping. I saw a regular calendar at the grocery store tonight for a $1.50. Seems like so much to pay. I bought a silver Advent box with doors and plan to fill it with my own treats and candies.

I just can't justify paying that much.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Birthday Party


It happened. Nathan was invited to his first birthday party and I wasn't prepared.


A little girl (his girlfriend) in Nathan's class at daycare, invited Nathan to her birthday party. The party was at a inflatable air jumping place.
We played for 1 hour and then went to the party room for a 1/2 hour where they were serving cupcakes. YIKES cupcakes and I didn't have any for Nathan. I felt horrible!!! I just wanted to cry. I dug through the diaper bag until I found a couple of animal crackers and the mother offered a banana and a gift bag for him (which had some fruit treats he could eat). Nathan was ok, he didn't seem to mind that the other kids were eating cupcakes and chips (all the kinds that Nathan was allergic too).

I have learned my lesson, the hard way - I will NEVER take him to a party without a cupcake!!

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Train Fest


We took Nathan to Trainfest today, he LOVED it. Trains are his favorite so he really enjoyed looking at all the model trains.
We left when the show ended, but he wasn't happy about leaving.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Food Allergy Article in the Newspaper.

This was a good article in the newsaper about food allergies.

By Erin Richards of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Nov. 2, 2008

One M&M, swallowed whole, and little Noelle's skin turned as red as a Cortland apple.
A month later, after eating soy ice cream, the 2-year-old turned colors again and started drooling, prompting her mother to inject a syringe full of epinephrine into the child's leg. Karen Tylicki of Mukwonago has no idea why her daughter's body treats certain foods as if they were poison. Tylicki, like parents of a growing number of food-allergic kids in Milwaukee and elsewhere around the country, is familiar with the fear, uncertainty, grief and sorrow that frequently accompany the condition.

Add hope to that list. Thanks to a La Crosse clinic that's gaining attention for its work desensitizing patients with food allergies, Noelle, now 6, can ingest almost 2 ounces of milk without a reaction.

The spike in the number of kids with food allergies - an 18% increase nationwide over the past decade, according to a newly released study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - has prompted many schools and day-care facilities to develop new safety measures.

At the Children's Community Center, a day care facility in Menomonee Falls, director Nancy Larson said the jars of peanut butter that were once standard in every classroom have been removed because of the increase in peanut allergies.
"If someone forgot their lunch, we always used to give them peanut butter and crackers," Larson said. "Now we purchase soy butter."

In Waukesha Public Schools, District Nurse Twyla Lato said schools aren't "peanut-free" because that gives children a false sense of security. Nevertheless, the number of kids in the district with food allergies is startling: 545 students last year, compared with 481 in 2003-'04.
At Grafton Elementary School, Principal Jeff Martyka said that five years ago he didn't have any students "on epinephrine," the adrenaline-like drug that severely allergic children are supposed to carry with them at all times. Now he has seven.

Jamie Dempsey, 6, is one of them. Although he brings his lunch to school, his allergies to milk, eggs, peanuts and sesame are so severe that he eats on a sanitized lunch tray to avoid getting any of the offending substances on his skin. In the classroom, Dempsey and his classmates have hand sanitizers on their desks.

"It's hard - trying to strike a balance between providing awareness and not provoking anxiety in people or coming across as a high-maintenance mom," said Monica Dempsey, Jamie's mother.
Food, emotions linked Food and emotions are so intrinsically linked that dealing with the pitfalls of food allergies can seem like a disability at times, parents say.

Tara Williams, of the village of Belgium in Ozaukee County, said her family went through a period of mourning when her then 11-month-old son, Brett, was diagnosed with allergies to eggs, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, sunflower and coconut.

"You start thinking of all the kid things you envisioned doing as they grew up - going out for pizza, ice cream on a hot summer night, even just having them leave your eyesight without worrying," Williams said. "You go through anger and sadness. Everything will be fine for a while, and then he'll have a reaction out of the blue, and you're all upset about it again."

Theories abound about why more children are suddenly allergic to more foods. Michael Zacharisen, a physician in the Allergy/Asthma/Immunology Clinic at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Wauwatosa, said none of them - the "we're too sanitized" theory, the "antibiotics leaching in the gut theory," for example - has been proved.

"Food allergy has lagged a bit behind other research because it doesn't have pharmaceutical funding," Zacharisen said.

Research on potential treatments is more promising. At Duke University, subjects in a study are being given tiny amounts of liquid or powder peanut protein to see if they can build up a tolerance over time.

Allergy Associates of La Crosse has also championed the practice. The clinic sees more than 10,000 patients a year who come for "sublingual immunotherapy" - or the placing of tiny drops of the allergen under the tongue to stimulate the oral mucosa. According to the clinic, 43 states are using the La Crosse method to treat patients with food and other allergies. Mary Morris, the clinic's lead allergist, said the goal is to minimize the effects of an accidental exposure.

Patient Noelle Tylicki, who started kindergarten this year in Genesee Depot, will increase her dosage of milk one last time in January. She has completed the desensitizing program for eggs.
"I have to give her wings at some point," her mother said. "She has to be able to fly by herself."