Allergies

Matt and I took Nicole to the allergist today to get tested for food allergies. We knew that Nicole had problems because she has always had reactions to milk ever since she was a baby and we recently tried peanut butter and she had a reaction to that as well. Since peanuts is a serious allergy, we had to take her in.

I brought Matt with me for moral support because I don't like seeing my little one in pain. It is really difficult for me. Plus, he helped entertain her since the appointment took an hour and a half.

She did surprisingly better at this doctor's appointment than she has at her other ones. Usually she starts crying the second we walk into the patient room. And she screams when I set her down on the table. But, she didn't do that this time. She was just clingy and scared. She didn't want to let go of me. I think she knows her regular doctor's office and relates that to getting shots.

We went into the office, waited, were put in a little room, waited longer. And while in the little room, Nicole found a little car. Score one car for Nicoley. (she loves cars but doesn't own any) The doctor finally came in and then moved us to a completely different little room and then he left us with a nurse. The nurse used a permanent marker to put little dots all over Nicole's back. Then, she pricked her with little plastic things with essence of (insert food item here)s. We waited another 15 minutes and Nicole was going wild by this point. She had had it with the doctor's office. I knew she desperately needed a nap.

And then, the verdict was in... PEANUTS and EGGS! She is allergic to peanuts and eggs. The peanuts we suspected, but the eggs we did not know about. I hadn't given her eggs yet because I read that I wasn't suppose to until 18months. But now I know not to give them to her until she is 3 years old. It is possible that she will grow out of the egg allergy in a couple of years. But, there is only a 20% chance that she will grow out of the peanut allergy.

So, this just means that Nicole will not be a peanut butter and jelly girl. The doctor said that we should keep her away from all nuts because often if she is allergic to peanuts, she will have allergies with other nuts too.

Luckily, we already know that Nicole does not have reactions to eggs in baked goods. Her favorite foods are cake and cookies and she has never had a reaction to either of those. The doctor said that she probably just can't have straight eggs. So, no scrambled eggs, no crepes, no french toast.

Additionally, I get to carry around an epipen (sp?) for her all the time. He said I have to have it with her at all times and I can't just have it in the car for her. I also got training on how to use it. I really really hope that it never comes to that though because I'm not good at inflicting pain on my child. I would give her the shot if I had to, but I wouldn't like it. Matt knew that we would probably have to get an epipen but it was a shock to me. I guess that is because Matt has food allergies and I don't.

So, it kinda sucks that Nicole has food allergies because I will have to alter the way that I could for us so that she never comes in contact with those things, but it is a manigable allergy, so I am grateful for that. I am now going to do a depeanuting of our house. We accidently gave her a cereal that had peanuts in it the other day and that just can't happen any more, so I've got to go through our pantry and our fridge and throw out anything that says it may contain peanuts on the lable. Too bad really. I think peanuts are delicious.