Took my dairy allergic child out for "ice cream"

Ok, it really wasn't ice cream but to a 3 year old with food allergies to dairy it was the next best thing.

I remembered there was a Gelato cafe by our mall that carries sorbet that is water based, made from only fruit, water and sugar. It was perfect, Nathan and I shared a scoop of raspberry outside tonight (a warm summer night). It was so nice and to him.........it was going out for "ice cream."

The coughing, itchie kid

Well, the anti-itch meds are not working, I increased the RX for Zyrtec (per Doc orders) and it isn't working either. My child is always scratching his body. He will scratch until it bleeds. We haven't tried any new foods, new soaps, lotions, etc. This is very frustrating.

This week the coughing started to be more often. He will cough so hard he will gag and then spit or phelm and what he calls "bubbles" will come up. This is really scary because I am afraid he is going to throw up especially in a public place. He usually coughs when he eats and I just always thought that was normal for a toddler who stuffs his mouth. Now I wonder if it is normal. Is it his Asthma or does he have GERD or something completely different??? It has been very hot this week and I have increase his Asthma meds to more frequently.

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Please use the email on the left side of my blog so I can respond to your comments. I get some anonymous comments that I can't reply directly back too.
Thanks.
Mom to Food Allergy Kid

Anti-itch Meds

Friday I noticed Nathan's face was really red, looked like hives and a rash. He didn't have anything new, we were at home. It really didn't clear up with Benadryl or Steroid creams. So today we took him to the Pedi. She increased his Zyrtec and gave us an RX for an anti-itch medication. He could be allergic to something in the environment but nothing has changed. I haven't used any new soaps or detergents. He Eczema looks worse too.

A novel I am reading....

I am reading a novel called "Matters of Faith" by Kristy Kiernan.

What do you have faith in?
Your marriage?
Your children?
Your religion?
Yourself?

At age twelve, Marshall Tobias saw his best friend killed by a train. It was then that he began his search for faith; delving into one tradition, then discarding it for another.

While his parents, Cal and Chloe, were at odds over his behavior, they found common ground with his little sister Meghan, whose severe food allergies required careful attention...even as it took a toll on their marriage.

Now Marshall is home from college with his first real girlfriend. Meghan is thrilled to have her around, but there is more to Ada than meets the eye—including her beliefs about the evils of medical intervention. What follows is a crisis that tests not only faith, but the limits of family, forgiveness, and our need to believe.

I really recommend this book. I can't put it down, it has touched me because of the food allergy story in the book.

Nathan's Spring Sing

Tonight Nathan's school put on a Spring Sing concert and they did such a good job, the kids were so cute they were ages 2-4 years old.

The director informed us when we arrived that she brought some of Nathan's snacks from school so he would have something to eat when they had refreshments and cookies at the end. She also announced to the parents before the show to "please do not give any children you don't know any food because there are children with food allergies." That was so nice of her to think of Nathan. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the end, Nathan was hungry and getting antsy so we left. I didn't even think of bringing a snack which I should have.

They also had a Slidshow of the children at school during the year, it was really cute.

Make a Smilebox postcard

A call from daycare

The phone rings today and I look at the caller ID - I noticed that it was daycare calling, I was shocked because today my son and I are home (off day). Why would they call when he is not even there?

They called to tell me that they have a change in the menu for tomorrow, when my son will be there. They are not having pancakes (which he doesn't eat-he is allergic) they are having PB&J. They are not a peanut free center but they are careful which is ok with me. Nathan isn't that allergic to peanuts that he can't be around them. What made me very happy is she said that "no kids in Nathan's room will be eating peanut butter, either they will have Sun Nut Butter or just jelly." Fine by me, makes me happy that they are really trying to help him with his allergies.

A new allergy free webiste

I received this email from a mom I have met through my blog and wanted to pass it on. She is going to publish an allergy-free cookbook soon.

Hello, everyone!
Today is the big launch day for my new website, Allergyfreemom.com! The site is meant to help the millions of children and their families that are suffering from severe food allergies. It will continue to grow daily. Today's children are not like we were when we were kids. Today, an estimated one in THREE children under the age of five suffers from either food allergies, asthma, ADHD, or autism. Yes... you read that right...one in THREE. These estimates are a bit outdated, so later studies assume that amount is even higher. There's more; a new disease if affecting our new babies age five and under. This disease is called Eosinophilic Esophagitis (or E.E.for short.) These babies have such severe allergies to food protiens, the immune system is literally trying to defend itself from itself! They have to be fed through a feeding tube, because they cannot eat.What's happening to our children? One in 150 children now have autism. One in every 17 children under the age of three has at least one allergy to food. This does not include intolerances such as lactose intolerance, etc.; these are true food allergy statistics. Again, these statistics are outdated. We have no way of knowing how prevalent this is as of 2009, but research suggests there has been a 20% increase each year in children with food allergies. That leads to a staggering number. I have written a cookbook, as you all know. It will be on the site as well as a monthly allergy-free recipe. My goal is to raise awareness and to help ease the worry for as many families as I can, one at a time.

Won't you join me? Together we can make a difference. Knowledge is power!

With hope,
Sharissa