I know that Julie Andrews told us to start at the very beginning (apparently, it’s a very good place to start), but today I’m just going to jump in.
Recent pic with the non-food allergy child.
Hi. I’m Jamie. 40-something lady living in central Oklahoma. Married for 17+ years. Mom to two boys, ages 8 & 4, one of whom (the oldest), has severe food allergies.
I’ve been living the allergy-mom life for, well, almost 8 years now, and if things go as planned, the food allergies will be in remission in another year or so.
They’re pretty good buddies, hope it stays that way!
This is my way to document what we’ve been through, how we got where we are, and how things progress from here!
Snow cones are a safe treat!
If you’re a food allergy mom (or dad), I’d love to connect and hear about your journey too! And if you’re not directly part of the food allergy community but are here because you’re curious or want to learn more, hello to you too! Glad you’re here. 🙂
Food allergies completely caught me off guard. “Allergies” I knew. Food allergies, I did not. Growing up, we were a family of itchy eyes and sneezes from pollen or grass. My alarm clock as a kid was my dad getting out of bed and sneezing a dozen times on his way down the hall. Those were allergies I knew.
When Brent and I were expecting our first baby we were naturally nervous, as all first time parents are. I remember going home from the hospital with this tiny baby (as tiny as an almost-9 lb baby can be) and thinking how crazy it was that NO ONE TOLD US WHAT TO DO WITH HIM.
And also as all new parents do, we slowly figured it out. We learned how to feed him, get him to sleep, and make him smile. What we couldn’t figure out what to do? Make him stop scratching.
In a constant battle with redness, flaking, and itching. This was a GOOD day.
He was just weeks old when we noticed that red, scaly baby skin just wasn’t clearing up. His face and arms looked dry and chapped and he moved his arms constantly. He’d sit in his little bouncy seat just flapping his arms like a bird with a huge grin on his face. When we finally realized his constant movement was because his body ITCHED, it broke my heart.
At first our pediatrician assured us it was normal and he’d grow out of it, but it only seemed to get worse. We used all free/gentle bath products, detergents, etc. Changing formula and my diet (he was on a combo of breast milk and formula) didn’t seem to make a difference either.
One day I looked up from what I was doing and saw a grinning Indy bouncing around in his chair. A normal scene except that his seat now had blood stains on the arms where he was vigorously rubbing his arms back and forth. He itched so badly that he rubbed his arms hard and fast enough AS A BABY to make them bleed.
I went back to look at photos from this time and I can’t even post them their too upsetting for me to look at. Ugh.
That was it, back to the doctor we went.
We now had a referral to a dermatologist and started on some steroid creams/treatments that helped a little. Nothing seemed to really work though in the long term.
I had previously asked our pediatrician about food allergy testing and she agreed it would be a good idea. We got a referral and waited (impatiently) for our appointment.
We finally saw a doctor at the Oklahoma Allergy and Asthma Institute in December of 2018 where Indy had his first skin test and reacted to several tree nuts, wheat, and eggs.
I left the appointment with some answers, yes, but I also felt so incredibly defeated. I cried, I started googling “allergy friendly cake” recipes for his upcoming first birthday party and I joined all kinds of food allergy Facebook groups. It was overwhelming, scary, and so, so lonely.
First birthday party was a success, and he loved his wheat-free, egg-free, nut-free cupcake!
BUT. We’re now five years into our diagnosis and so many things have changed. And I wanted to start sharing our journey with others so maybe some other mom or dad won’t feel so alone.
We’ve found foods and brands we trust, medications that have worked wonders, and started the Tolerance Induction Program at the Food Allergy Institute.
This is just the beginning of ALL the things I have to write about. I’ll cover more on our early dermatology appointments, food allergy testing, diagnosis of Neutropenia (that he later outgrew), etc. Much more to come!
