Green Cleaning: Furniture Polish

I've never really liked dusting. I've actually always kind of hated it, especially when there is so little dust you can't even tell. I like for things to be dirty if I have to clean them! I like to be able to see a difference so I know there was a good reason to put that effort into it. BUT dusting is a must in this house with a couple of us having some pretty strong allergies to dust (or dust mites, to be specific, but it sounds kind of gross when you add in the mites part...). I also hate using cleaners that are full of toxic ingredients that could harm my child (or myself). So, I make our furniture polish. It's very easy, as most green cleaners are, and works super well. I actually have two recipes, since you'll need different ingredients based on the type of furniture. And actually, they both have the same ingredients, just varying amounts. Let's get to it...and then get to cleaning!

There are four ingredients. Three are shown here, with a bottle of one of the cleaners mixed up. Water (purified is best), vinegar, olive oil, and pure essential lemon oil. That's it! You probably have most of these on hand already. Don't have the lemon oil (use the real stuff, not just lemon scented somethingorother)...you can use vanilla. Or leave it out. It's not a necessary ingredient.

Furniture Polish - This is good for general, weekly polishing, especially with finished woods.

In 16oz bottle, add:
2 tsp olive oil
20 drops or more pure essential lemon oil
1/4 cup white distilled vinegar

Fill the rest of the bottle with purified water. 
Shake well before each use, as the oil and vinegar will separate. 
Spray directly on a rag or on the furniture.


Wood Furniture Polish - This is good for unfinished or lightly finished woods. 

In a small squirt bottle (not a spray bottle), add:
3/4 cup oilive oil
1/4 cup white distilled vinegar,
50 drops or 1/4 tsp pure essential lemon oil (or pure vanilla extract)

Shake before each use. 
Pour onto rag and then apply to wood.

There you have it! Very easy. And these polishes are great! I've already converted a couple friends (some who were quite fond of their other furniture polish and weren't sure they would like this - but they loved it!). Hopefully this will convince a few more folks out there to try it, as well! ;)

And for a little fun... I'll throw in a picture of me getting ready to clean the cabin we visited last fall. Aiden got super sick as soon as we arrived (even with the allergy medicine we brought along), due to the dust hiding under the beds, behind furniture, along baseboards, on things like this...

These kinds of things are really cute, yeah. But the first thing that crosses my mind when I see them? Dust! Big-time dust collectors. This is why you will not find these things in our house. Cute. But not good for folks with dust (mite) allergies. You can't clean these things!

And here I am. Pretty, huh? I'm ready to go in fighting and tackle that dust! Since I have the same allergies, I have to wear a mask when cleaning. Even with the mask this time, I still could feel it affecting my nose and sinuses for the rest of the day. Thankfully I took along my neti pot, which helped clean it out some. And the mask helped a lot, regardless. Plus, it's a great fashion statement, no? ;) We didn't use all the ingredients for the spray above, since we were in the middle of nowhere (we drove an hour one-way just to get the vinegar and swiffer!), so I just used a bucket and dumped in water and vinegar. Great ingredients when you're lacking anything else!


That child of mine woke hourly the first two nights, crying because he couldn't stop coughing and sneezing. After I cleaned, he slept all night long without waking once. That's how I get paid for my job. Definitely worth it.

Snack time! Apple Nachos

I saw something about apple nachos on pinterest recently,and it caught my attention. I'm glad I clicked to learn more because I first thought it looked like they were drizzled with caramel. Sure, that might be yummy (though I'm not a big caramel fan, myself), but it's not the healthiest thing ever. I almost passed right over the pin and moved on. But then I realized, nope..it was peanut butter. The whole snack was pretty darn healthy. And I knew I had to try them. But I had to tweak them to make them allergy-friendly for our home. The hubby has some tree nut allergies and is also allergic to peanuts, so out went the peanut butter and sliced almonds. Apples are in season big-time in North Carolina right now, so we've been buying a half of a bushel at a time from the Farmer's Market and eating lots of apples. So, a new way to eat them for a snack really appealed to me. Not that we tire of just plain apples. We can, and do, eat them every day! But new is nice sometimes.

So, this is our version (based on this one). Hope you try it and like it! You can easily change things up and make it your own. Feel free to share how you make it, too!

Apple Nachos
2-3 apples, depending on size, sliced thin (thin enough for little kids to easily eat after toppings are on them, not super thin)
3-4 Tbsp Sunflower Butter
Small handful of chopped pecans
Small handful of chopped walnuts
Small handful of dark chocolate chips and/or raisins
Unsweetened shredded coconut

Slice the apples and place them around a big plate, overlapping some, if needed. If you want, you can spritz them with some lemon juice to keep them from turning, but we didn't do this.

Melt the sunbutter until thin enough to drizzle over the apple slices.

Side note: I first tried this on the stove. Even though I used low heat, it still did not work and resulted in sunbutter that had to be tossed. Maybe this works fine with regular peanut butter, but it didn't work for me with the sunbutter. I could have attempted using the microwave to melt it, but I was left with just enough for the snack at this point and didn't want to chance ruining it all. So, I used the double boiler method, just as if you were melting chocolate. That worked well enough! It did take a few minutes, but it was very worth it in the end! (Updated to add...tried the microwave. That didn't work, either. So far, double boiler is the best way I've found to thin the sunbutter.)

Once sunbutter (or whatever nut butter you choose) is melted and thin enough, drizzle over the apple slices. I just took the whisk and did a little at a time. It didn't drizzle perfectly, but it worked well enough! Leave a little bit of the sunbutter for the very top layer.

Sprinkle on pecans, walnuts, chocolate/raisins, and coconut. Drizzle remaining sunbutter on top of everything. Serve!

We used dark chocolate chips on one half and raisins on the other half. I actually (surprisingly) preferred the raisins! Aiden didn't seem to care which he got. So, I'll probably stick to raisins next time. Camden, the 12-yr-old, wasn't thrilled with the snack but kept coming back for more here and there. He isn't a huge fan of sunbutter, but he liked the rest. I didn't love sunbutter when we first started using it, but I've gotten so used to it now, I kind of prefer it to peanut butter. If you've never tried it, it's a great nut-free alternative.

Raisins side...

Dark chocolate chips side

We ate this while having some family time with a redbox movie (Rio - very cute!). The snack did not last long, even though I made a huge plate full of it! One other thing I loved was that it is not nearly as messy as it looks! Everything really sticks to the nut butter pretty well! It was a big hit, and we will definitely be serving this up again.

YUM!

Green Polka Dot Box (And how to get a FREE membership!)

I just wanted to let you all know about something I recently found out about that I think some of you might be interested in. I'm pretty excited about it myself! I know some folks live in areas where health food stores are hard to come by (or are simply nonexistent), making your food choices limited if you're searching for certain foods that convential chains might not typically carry. Some of you might be interested even if you are near good health food stores because the prices can be high for some of the foods you want/need to purchase. I've got great news for all of you! :)

There is a new "membership discount" store that is opening up in just a week or so, and if you get in now, you can actually get a one-year membership for free this year. Think Sams Club, Costco, BJ's (whatever is in your area)...except that the focus of this store is organic, whole foods! It's called Green Polka Dot Box. As far as I know, this is the first store like this. I've even been wondering when something like this would get going and am surprised it's taken so long, but...at least it's starting now. This is actually just one store at the moment, located in Utah, but you will be able to order online, as well, with good shipping prices (and free for orders over $150). I know when we go to BJ's we can TOO easily spend over $100 at a time, since you're buying in bulk (even with the discount prices). Same would go for here, I'm sure - buying in bulk you can easily spend that much a couple times a year but come away with some really good savings.

Fun times...

I'll get back into this blog thing, I will. Got some updates to post, and I need to get back to those VBAC posts I said I would start... We've been battling allergies like crazy over here.

It started to get warmer two and a half weeks ago, which was really nice (but didn't last long), so our fans in the bedrooms turned on. They're set to automatically turn on when the rooms reach a certain temp. Overnight, Aiden and I both became sick. (We hadn't yet put him back on his allergy meds, either, after taking him off for the egg-challenge.) I don't know if it's coincidence, but it makes sense with the dust mite allergies. And we've just been sick ever since. It got cool right after that, so the fans have stayed off since. Aiden just has congestion and sneezing, etc. Maybe him being back on Zyrtec has made a bit of a difference. I get the whole deal with my sinuses and was pretty miserable the second week. Sunday I started feeling a bit better. And then the fans came on again the other night....and guess who was up all night coughing and congested that same night. Well, guess which two of us were. Ugh.

And yes, the fans were turned off. We need to figure out how to make this better b/c we rely on fans during the summer a lot, running them pretty much nonstop. 

Then to top it all off, I had an allergic reaction to one of the few things I can take while sick (nursing mama's are pretty limited when it comes to medications and all that jazz). That was fun. We're still not 100% sure what it was, but we think it might have been the cough drops. Cough drops? Yep. I CANNOT STAND regular cough drops. I mean, I really hate them. So my mama had recommended these others because they taste ok and work (I think she feels kind of bad now, though she shouldn't - who would've thought?! Not me.). They're natural ones called Thayers - made with slippery elm, and I read (after the fact) that if you are allergic to elm trees..... I don't know if I am, but hopefully we'll soon find out. I've used them a few times before with no problems at all, but it still could be the culprit. It's really a bummer, too, because they really do help. I also use Sinusalia, a homeopathic sinus pain/pressure treatment (which works really well as long as you don't actually have sinusitus...just the part leading up to it. If you actually have an infection, it won't cut it).

I woke up Saturday and noticed my palms, fingers, and wrists were really itchy and red. It started off strong and would come and go as the day went on. It was driving me nuts, though! That night the itching kept me up all night long. All night. By morning, my hands were really swollen, and so were my lips. Not cool. Benadryl helped with some of the itching, but it didn't do anything for the swelling, which was mostly down by evening. Ironically, that was the day my sinuses felt their best and I thought I was finally getting a bit better in that regard. The sinus pain is back now, abut I can't take anything... First, we're not entirely sure what caused the reaction (and with it getting worse on Sunday, we really don't want to push it). Secondly, we're waiting to hear from the allergist...well, our primary dr actually b/c they have to call...and I don't know how soon they can get me in, BUT I can't take anything that will help my sinuses because of the antihistamines, which would interfere with any testing. Blah, blah.

Now Camden's getting sick. Aiden's had night terrors the last couple nights (regardless of how naps have been). And Ryan has had some allergy stuff, too. His is from outside, like most folks around this time. Pollen has covered everything outside. Doesn't hurt that he's allergic to our grass, and he mowed this weekend....

Oh yeah, we've been having some fun times here lately. I'm hoping the fun doesn't keep up much longer.

PS - If anyone knows of anything else I CAN take to help with the allergies/sinus problems, that would be awesome. Currently, I'm just using the NetiPot multiple times a day and taking ibuprofen when the pain is really just too much. I'd love to get over this already, though. With no more allergic reactions. ;)

Another PS - For those reading this in facebook, remember I'm not on facebook during Lent, so if you want to comment, please follow the link to the actual blog post and comment there. Otherwise I won't get the comment and won't be able to respond until after Easter. Thanks!

Egg Challenge

We had another egg challenge for Aiden....um, three weeks ago. We've been a bit busy since then, had company, dealt with allergies, sickness, etc. So, yeah, I've been absent. Here's the scoop now, though...

We did get through the challenge this time, I guess. Five hours away from home, three hours for the challenge, and a LOT of stress. But Aiden did ok with the eggs, for the most part. He didn't eat a lot, though. The dr said based on what little he ate and how he seemed to be doing, we could gradually start introducing him to some baked items *at home* and see how he does with that. We have to be sure he's ok with that before moving on to pancakes/waffles; and then pancakes/waffles come before just plain cooked eggs. So, we'll see.

We thought the shirt was fitting for the occasion.

You can probably see where he was crying...

We were told to do it all gradually and take it easy - not introducing too much at a time or too often and just at home for now. It's been over a week now since the challenge, and we haven't made anything else with egg yet. He did have a bit of the "heated egg" dish they had us bring to the challenge (a baked good with egg in it). He didn't really eat much there, a couple bites maybe, but a couple days later at home, he ate a whole slice. Go figure! We were going to make some muffins with egg the week after the challenge, for a playdate we were having at home, but then Aiden came down with a virus. Playdate was canceled and so were the muffins - we wanted his system completely back to normal before introducing the eggs again.

 

Actually eating some egg...FINALLY!

It was very stressful trying to get Aiden to eat anything with egg. You know how hard it is to get a toddler to eat something he doesn't want to eat...then try doing that for three hours straight (and then add in some stranger trying to also convince him). Not fun. But he got a tiny bit of egg in him (sandwiched between some crackers) and ate a couple bites of a baked item they had us make. If he noticed there was egg, he spit it right out and then refused to eat anything. They even put some egg protein powder in a bit of yogurt that we brought (yogurt he normally loves!), and he wouldn't even consider trying that. Very frustrating...for us AND him. He only actually ate a little more than 1/4 of an egg during the visit, and he threw numerous fits. He did get red and had some hives on his chin where the baked item touched, and his upper lip was swollen, but eating the food didn't seem to do much, so there's a good chance he'll be ok with that. It seems like eggs touching him will give him a reaction still, but he should still outgrow that - and it doesn't bother him, which is nice.

Some of the hives on his chin (kind of hard to really see them in pictures) and a swollen upper lip from touching the baked egg product (pretty much like a sponge cake, just more egg-y)

So, I guess that was a successful visit. We were just all a bit exhausted from it and happy it's over. And while it sounds exciting to be able to start some eggs...it is, but we're going to take it one bite at a time.

Being cute with Daddy

This last week we received the official letter from the dr over the challenge at the hospital (for us, for our primary physician, and for the allergist). It kind of annoyed us b/c while there certainly was no serious reaction, the letter stated that there was NO cutaneous reaction, which is NOT true. I'm trying to figure out how much of an issue to make from that. (If you know me, it's hard for me to keep my mouth shut when I disagree.) The lady was out of our room for the last hour...in which the hives got redder and then were mostly gone before she returned. But we have a picture to prove it, as you can see in one of the pictures above. He did get hives on his chin and had a swollen lip from eating egg. That's annoying (the note from the lady over the challenge, that is). I realize our plan of action might not change if she was really aware of the reaction, but I don't like the main allergist believing Aiden had no reaction when he did have one, regardless of how small it was. He's had some muffins this past week with egg with no reaction. A recipe that made 23 muffins and had only one egg. But it's something.

(PS - For those reading this in facebook, remember I'm not on facebook during Lent, so if you want to comment, please follow the link to the actual blog post and comment there. Otherwise I won't get the comment and won't be able to respond until after Easter. Thanks!)

Egg Challenge ~ Update

Because of course there has to be an UPDATE... Nothing can ever be too simple, right?

So, if you read the previous post about the egg-challenge, you know that Aiden wouldn't really cooperate. He had some hives where the egg touched his face, but the point was to see if he would react when consuming it. So, we rescheduled for next Feb. Now, while Aiden wasn't going along with the whole "eat the egg" thing, actually spitting out the one real bite he finally put in his mouth...I did manage to get him to eat two tiny pieces. When I say "tiny," I mean they were each smaller than half of a baby pea. Seriously - TINY! But that wasn't enough. He was supposed to really eat the stuff.

This was on Wednesday.

Then Thursday came around. And Aiden had hives. All over. It started out as just a few on his forehead and some on his arm. Maybe 14 total. Throughout the day, they just multiplied, though. I don't know how many times I counted, but I do know that Aiden started out the day reacting one way to the counting: "Let me see how many hives you have, Aiden." "Hives? One, two, three..." He hears the word hives and just starts counting on his own. But by the end of the day, he was fed up with it and wouldn't stand still. I attempted to quickly count before bedtime, while he twisted and turned and tried to get away, and I know there were at least 50, but there were more I couldn't count - not too many more than that, though. They started out on his arms, hands, and forehead. By later in the day, though, there were some on his legs, back, and chest. This was Thursday.

Even on Saturday, he had two bright red ones on his back and some lighter, faded ones still on other spots. It seems that after breaking out in hives, they stick around with him for a while - for at least a few days if not an entire week. Last time we mentioned this to the doctor, he said that isn't really what happens and maybe there was an infection instead. But EVERY time he's broken out in hives lately, that's how it works with him. (And Dr. Google says that can happen. Ok, not just google...I visit reputable sites when I look up this kind of info, folks.) Unfortunately, that Zyrtec he's been on and Benadryl (even combined) seem to do nothing for him. Um, not even make him sleepy. (I mean, come on, if I have to have him on these meds at any time, he could at least experience that side effect and get a good night's rest, right? Nope. Not him.) He also had an allergic reaction while on vacation, and both meds did nothing. And the hives lasted the rest of the week. I feel like I maybe mentioned this in the last post. Vacation post is coming soon. I promise. Sometime being the key word. Soon as I can, though.

The dr that did the egg challenge told us that our regular allergist said just to cancel our follow-up with him scheduled this coming week, since Aiden didn't cooperate with the egg-challenge. But after hearing about this other break-out, the visit is back on. We'll see what he says. We're pretty curious what this really means. Makes me wish the kid had just eaten the stuff so we would know what we're dealing with! Unknowns bug me. Really, I wonder how often this really happens, though, especially with younger children...not wanting to eat the food in question at a challenge. I would imagine it happens pretty regularly. You simply cannot make a toddler eat something he doesn't want to eat!

We'll let you know what we find out.

Egg Challenge

And a challenge it was....

We went to Duke today for Aiden's food challenge, to see if he had outgrown his egg allergy. We were preparing for a long day, as we would have to be there for quite a while. We were concerned he might not even eat the egg, a very good possibility. We were worried he might be grumpy, as the appointment was during naptime (these things are hard to schedule, even months in advance, so you have to take what you can get).

He ended up being well-behaved, despite a grumpy morning at home. He got along well with the nurse and really well with the doctor running the show. He did not, however, eat the eggs. We made them ahead of time and brought other things to eat with them, but none of that helped. When we finally convinced him to put some egg in his mouth, he immediately spit it out. And he can be rather stubborn, so there was no convincing him to keep trying it.

He still ended up with hives on his face, near his lip, where the egg had touched. BUT that's not what was in question. The challenge was to determine if he could safely EAT the eggs. We don't really know the answer to that! Who knows what reaction he might have if he ate eggs. (When he had his big reaction on his first birthday, he didn't actually get any of the food IN his mouth. It all went ON his body.) The doctor kept us there until the hives disappeared, which meant we were still at the hospital for nearly two hours. He wasn't all that interested in the movies they had in the room, and it was a challenge to keep him in the small hallway next to our room. He did his best to trick me once so he could take off running in the other direction; he's rather clever... And fast.

So, the plan is to keep eggs off the list and we will return in February for another try. (They also refunded our specialist co-pay, which was nice, since it's not especially cheap.) We asked about bringing in a muffin or something with egg cooked in it, to see if he could at least tolerate that, in case he wouldn't eat the eggs again (we think it's a texture issue). They have a recipe we can use for that, so we'll make that, along with the regular scrambled eggs they require. They will try just eggs first, because if he can pass that, he's in the clear. If he won't eat it, then we'll resort to the baked good. If he can do ok with that, it will mean he can eat certain baked goods, which will make eating out a bit easier...that would mean pasta, bread, muffins, etc is ok. (Apparently pancakes/waffles would still be off the list b/c of how quickly they are cooked.) Honestly, we've gotten fairly used to not using eggs at home, but eating out is a challenge. You would be surprised at how many places have egg in their bread, dough, and just so much. But really, keeping him off eggs for another four months isn't the biggest challenge, so we can deal with it. We've done it for over a year now. It's not the end of the world.

All in all, this all made for a rather long day with no real answers. (Didn't we just go through something similar...our last visit? Ahhhh...) But it could always be worse, right? Once again, on the way out, we saw another child in much worse condition. (This is easy when you're visiting Duke Children's Hospital, right? That or God is really trying to show me a sign.) Makes me so grateful for how healthy Aiden IS. Things can be challenging and frustrating sometimes, but none of this is really hurting him (heck, in many ways, it's making us much healthier!) and he is still in good health. Many other kids aren't. We'll focus on counting the many blessings we have.

Allergy Update (If you can call it that...)

So, I've gone from slacker blogger to basically nonexistent blogger, it seems. And it's been brought to my attention that I failed to give an update on the allergy stuff. Wasn't intentional. I keep thinking I need to post it, but I only think about it when I can't sit down at a computer. Sorry about that.

The other day I was talking to Ryan about how it's wild that I'm a stay-at-home mom (who actually spends most of the time at home, plus I watch a little girl a few days a week), and this one day when we were about to sit down for dinner, I realized I hadn't sat down for even five minutes all day long. My feet were killing me! How does that happen? Welcome to my life, right? (I'm sure many other stay-at-home moms feel the same way!) Here I'm at home all day long and don't get to sit for a good meal hardly. And my husband, who works out of the home, sits at a desk all day. (One day he was telling me about something he was reading online and then said, "What? You never get bored and just look around at stuff like that?" What? Bored?? I've forgotten what that feels like...)

Anyway, back to the allergies...

Answers? Um, not really. Not in the way we wanted. Went to the dr. We first saw a different doctor (who was distracted that morning and forgot she had told us to come in first thing and we waited for her for an hour... This was after we drove nearly an hour to get there and had to go through parking and all that jazz at the hospital.) Oh well. It was fun sitting in that little room with a two-year-old for an hour (not really, but they did have some children's videos that helped...good thing we were in the Children's Hospital part). So, she saw us, got the history. We told her what we knew, thought, etc. Let her know we wanted to discuss more allergy testing. The other doctor would be in to see us soon.

Well, instead, a nurse came in and just went ahead doing some skin testing. This annoyed me b/c I had to ASK what they were testing for... Um, hello? You don't just come in and start pricking my child with things and not tell me what the heck they are first. And I had said I wanted to speak with the dr about this first, so this meant I didn't get to voice what I wanted to have tested. They just tested some of the top allergens - various nuts, fish, and eggs. I wanted a more comprehensive test. Two strikes.

The dr did come in, as well as the lady we first saw. Good news is that, while Aiden did react a bit to the egg, they think he might be outgrowing it (we go back in October for a food challenge). And he gave us the go-ahead to gradually introduce nuts and shellfish, since there was no reaction to those.

The rest wasn't all that great. First of all, he didn't get all the history correct (or I guess the first dr that saw us didn't communicate it all correctly). He was telling us he wasn't sure if these hives were caused by an allergic reaction to the food (cinnamon) or if it was caused by an infection. But we later realized he had believed the BIG hive reaction was at the beginning of all of this, which it wasn't - it was at the end. And other stuff that made us believe he didn't get the whole story right. Anyway, he told us there is no skin test for cinnamon. He didn't want to do a blood test. He made it sound like it wasn't very accurate, but he did it b/c he could tell we wanted some answers. He put Aiden on Zyrtec until we go back to see him in late October. After that, we'll discuss doing a food challenge with cinnamon. We're hoping he'll let us do it at home (doubtful, but we'll see). All these specialist visits...well, they're not cheap, and it takes a lot of time (Ryan also takes off work for the big ones or ones that involve testing/food challenges). We left feeling like we just didn't get any answers, like we wasted a lot of time and frustration. Not to mention all the waiting, etc, Aiden is terrified of doctor's offices now after having shots recently, and each time we go to a different room, the screaming starts all over again (we were in three different rooms there).

But as we left the last room, where they drew the blood (this won't help with any future dr visits for Aiden, I'm sure), we quietly walked towards the waiting room to leave. We passed a little girl, maybe 7 or 8 years old, bald, and wearing a protective mask. I don't know what she is dealing with, but doesn't God have a way of putting things in perspective. Anything we're dealing with can't even be close to what she's going through, so I took it as a reminder to be grateful. A reminder I clearly needed.

So, we'll see what the dr says when we visit at the end of October. We do have the egg-challenge in a few weeks, so hopefully Aiden will come home from that able to eat some eggs. That will make life a bit easier. We've pretty much adjusted, but still. There are many things he can't have simply due to possible contamination issues, and it would be nice to not have to avoid so much. We're hoping he won't have to be on the Zyrtec for much longer, too. I've heard so many times (from doctors) that it is often prescribed as a sleep aid for children - even moreso than for allergies. And so many others have told me that it helped their little ones sleep better (or even too much!). We don't like having Aiden take medicine regularly, but we kind of thought, hey...silver lining. Maybe he'll will sleep a little better. Nope. Definitely not. Actually, he started waking more during the night again! We've switched giving him the medicine in the mornings, and it seems to have helped, but still. Would have been nice! Ha! Oh well. We still have some waiting to do before we can know anything. That's the most frustrating part: not knowing for sure. We're the kind of people that like to know. Until we do know more, we're to act as if this is a definite allergy and avoid it. We've gotten used to calling companies. Some aren't that great with giving out (or knowing!) the information, and some are fantastic. I've made a few things with different spices instead of cinnamon (and they've turned out ok, I guess). But hopefully within the next couple months we'll have it all sorted out!

And I'll try to remember to update the ol' blog. ;)

Playing Detective... More food allergies!

So, here's the scoop...

We started noticing some hives on Aiden a little over six weeks ago. We first thought we knew exactly what it was, but after taking that away...hives remained, even a week later. Then two weeks later. We made a couple other changes. They still remained. They were small hives...on his chest and back at first, then they started appearing on his face a little bit. Then even more. Sometimes they were small, but they started getting bigger.

(Thinking back now, I remember Ryan commenting that Aiden's back felt kind of bumpy a number of times, but we didn't think much of it at the time. This was back before the hives actually appeared. Now we know this was the beginning of them.)

So, we took dairy out of his diet, since it's a common allergen and can cause eczema, which we've had our fair share of with Aiden. After a week, nothing was changing, and the hives were showing up more and bigger. We were constantly finding them after dinner each night. Then we decided to go a little more drastic. Since we had NO idea what was causing the hives, and they were clearly getting worse, we took him (and me, since Aiden is still nursing) off lots of foods that could be causing the problem...most of the top allergens, any citrus foods, including tomatoes, and just a whole bunch of things. A lot of these foods are Aiden's favorites and many of our staple foods, bu we were starting to feel desperate at this point. We had to find out what was causing these hives that would NOT go away. We have been calling and calling the allergist trying to get in sooner than our already-scheduled follow-up (from last year's egg fiasco) that is at the end of October...too far away.

Well, this past week, the hives continued, despite the special (and not so fun) diet. (Actually, Aiden didn't mind the diet, but it took mama a few days to adjust.) In fact, the hives were just getting worse still. This was starting to get very frustrating. We knew something he was eating was causing this, but we couldn't figure out what in the world it was. We're already so careful with what we feed him, and we haven't given him anything new since the hives began (way too long ago). We kept calling the dr office, to no avail. The dr we see is only in that office so often, and he's at the hospital other days during the week...but he only sees ER patients and current hospital patients when there. BUT a friend of ours works at the hospital, was able to pull some strings to get us an appointment in a week and a half. That's a lot closer than two months!

Of course, right after that, we think we figure it out. One evening, I wondered if it could be cinnamon. He broke out in hives at dinner...a dinner that should be perfectly safe. But I had sprinkled cinnamon on something so he would try it. (He loves cinnamon!) I wasn't sure what else could cause the hives. The next morning, I swiped some cinnamon on his cheek. Nothing. So, moving on... I had also made these super-yummy muffins Ryan's mom had given me the recipe for. Everything was safe for him to eat, and I replaced the eggs with alternatives. Aiden had already eating them with breakfast and after dinner a couple times, and they seemed fine. (But after that dinner, some mystery hives appeared around his mouth.) For snack this day, Aiden ate one or two muffins and nothing else, and then a couple hives appeared on his cheek. He had some muffins the day before with no problems, so I was a bit confused. Swiped some cinnamon on his face again, and his cheek got a little pink. So, maybe something in the muffin was causing the problem after all. The next day, this past Friday, at breakfast, he had another muffin. I also swiped his cheek again with just a little cinnamon. He scratched at it, whined, and said "No cinnamon!" He scratched his tongue a little bit, too. His cheek got really red where the cinnamon touched. But then...the hives.

This is the first time he's had hives anywhere other than the top third of his body. His ENTIRE body had hives. And much bigger and redder than before. I'm very thankful that hives don't irritate Aiden. Any time he's had them, he doesn't really seem to be bothered by or really even aware of them. All this time, the only thing that's bothered him is our constant inspecting.

Now, at first, I kept thinking something else had to be causing the hives, too, b/c we just don't eat a lot of cinnamon. Sometimes when Aiden has sweet potatoes, he asks for cinnamon, but not always - not even most of the time. We don't eat a lot of baked goods, and many of the muffins we make don't have cinnamon. These muffins that really brought out the hives happened to have a lot of cinnamon. BUT after some thinking, it dawned on me....I have been making homemade granola for a while now, at least a couple months. The recipe I make has 1/2 Tbsp of cinnamon, and it makes quite a lot of granola (about two cereal boxes worth). So, not much cinnamon, but he was eating it regularly. He hasn't had it the past week or two because he was eating more of other cereals for some reason - maybe he knew something we didn't; he suddenly hasn't been asking for it! But the granola is likely to be what was causing the smaller hives, with the repeated exposure of even such a small amount of cinnamon.

Then we introduced the larger amount via the muffins, which is how we discovered this was the allergen. We're viewing them as a blessing in disguise since the cinnamon was strong enough that it made the reaction very obvious for us. He ate dinner a few nights not long ago and broke out in hives, too. Looking back, we know he had A1 steak sauce one evening (barely any, but it contains "spices"...not sure if there is cinnamon, but he did break out in hives after eating). Another night, he had some mustard and a little bit of hot dog and ended dinner with more hives. Both have "spices." So, we're not sure, but we suspect they all have cinnamon in them. That or there is another allergy.

So, we know at least cinnamon is an allergen for him. This will not be a fun one. We thought eggs were hard enough... Now I think God was easing us in! The problem with cinnamon? Well, for one, it's not one of the top 8 allergens, which are required by law to be clearly labeled on products...meaning cinnamon is NOT required to be labeled. Cinnamon is often used with other spices, and you will more often see the label "spices" or "natural flavorings" listed in ingredients, rather than the specific spices, such as cinnamon! Another thing...it is in SO much! Not just baked goods. The other day someone was talking to us about the allergy, and they said, "Oh, well that's not a bad one to have. Maybe even a good one!" meaning it would keep someone from eating a lot of baked goods. Um, no. Not the case. Plenty of savory foods contain cinnamon, such as spaghetti sauce and pizza...even ketchup and other common sauces. Oh, this will be fun, right? HA. I've read it's not a very uncommon allergy, actually. But it also seems like for most, the problem is contact dermatitis, so it's mainly a problem if someone has it touch them, and they'll get a little red and irritated where it touched their skin, even in their mouth maybe. For Aiden, it's clear this is way more than that. After consuming the one muffin, the hives covered his entire body. I've also read this is an allergen that easily gets worse over time, not better. We've already seen Aiden's reactions get worse with repeated exposure, but I know it could be much worse, and hopefully that won't happen.

A friend recently asked what about the fact that he's had cinnamon before? Well, up until this summer, he really hasn't had much. We haven't been avoiding it on purpose, he just simply hasn't had much. Blame some of the other allergy stuff and special diets he's been on...with already having eggs out of the picture and then going on a gluten-free diet for however many months, we really didn't bake. When you throw in us not letting him eat many sugary foods, there went any baked goods he might have had. He has had it some on oatmeal or sweet potatoes, but he really doesn't use the spice that often even with those foods. So...his exposure really has been minimal until we started making this granola. And then he was exposed regularly, even if it was just a tiny bit at a time.

We will still be going for testing, of course. We still wonder if he has other food allergies, due to random hives that have appeared over the last year. And we want to be sure we are correct about this allergy. Plus, we're not sure if he's allergic just to cinnamon or if he has tree allergies, in general (cinnamon would be included under that umbrella).

We're learning how many things actually have this spice in them, and we've already spent a good amount of time calling or emailing companies. I have a feeling we're going to be learning how to make a lot more things from scratch. I didn't think that was too possible, but apparently it is. Homemade ketchup anyone?

Aiden's still had some hives pop up over the weekend and this week. Saturday wasn't unexpected, since it was the day after the big reaction, but even today there are still red hives appearing, disappearing, reappearing, etc. The other day, I went to swipe something else on his cheek, and when Aiden saw my finger coming at his face, he screamed, "NO Cinnamon!!" I think he's already terrified of the stuff. :( Maybe that's a good thing? Not fun, though. We'll see what happens with his appointment soon. Until then, we're going to try to relax a little about it all, avoiding cinnamon, of course.

Busy Few Days

We had a busy few days recently. Lots going on! Fun stuff...but busy. :)

I took the boys to one of Camden's favorite museums on Earth Day last week. We took it slow and didn't rush through anything - and didn't worry if we missed seeing something, either. It was a nice change. Don't you hate going to the zoo or somewhere that has SO much to see and then feeling like you rushed the entire time just so you could see it all?? What's the point? (If you really think about it...) We realized we would much rather miss some stuff and really get to enjoy what we DID see. We had a great time! Aiden loved just about everything, too. He didn't nap, which I was prepared for, but he did really well...and did fall asleep while walking in the parking lot to the car at the end of the day! Of course.

The only bad part of the day was the hives that mysteriously showed up on his cheek during lunch. I brought our lunches from home and we used a roll-up placemat that we take everywhere (love this thing!), so he didn't eat anything he shouldn't have. When he was out of the stroller walking, we made sure he didn't touch any plants, etc. (There's a huge outdoor component to the museum - it really is an awesome museum with TONS to do!) The hives were on his cheek close to his ear, and we couldn't figure out where they might have come from. We even talked to someone at the museum... Hives are kind of new to me still, so we wanted to check to make sure it wasn't a bug bite or something from a plant he may have touched. They confirmed it looked like hives and even went as far as to give the whole family a free pass another day (which I totally did not expect). We're still not sure what it's from, and they ended up spreading down to his chin over the next hour. They never seemed to bother him at all - just me and Camden! And then they went away... It's still a mystery!

Pictures...

Museum of Life & Science - Earth Day 2010

When I asked Camden what his most/least favorite parts of the day were... Favorite: Two butterflies landed on him in the conservatory. Least favorite: Aiden's hives. Aside from the hives, it was a GREAT day, though. Aiden slept in the car on the way home, and we stopped to say hi to Daddy, since we passed his office going home. We quickly realized that was a mistake. Ryan opened the car door, realized Aiden was asleep and we weren't getting out, and closed the door. It woke Aiden up, and he screamed the next 30 minutes it took to get home. That part wasn't so much fun for any of us.

Then Saturday, Ryan threw me a 30th Birthday cookout with some friends. He bought way too much food, and we didn't get many pictures b/c we were so busy talking with everyone. It was a lot of fun, though. :) We don't normally do much for our own birthdays, but he decided to do a little something extra since it was the big 3-0. The rain held off until just after the cookout, too, which was really nice.

Pictures... (Ok, this album has ALL the April pictures, not just ones from the cookout.)

2010 April

Sunday... Aiden went to the nursery at church for the very first time. He did really well. That's because Mommy stayed in there, though. ;) He's very attached right now and has a difficult time being away from me, so we're trying to transition him as easily as possible. I just signed up to be the extra helper for that service, and I tried to stay out of his way as much as possible. Every now and then, he would realize I wasn't right next to him and would start turning around, looking at all sides of himself, saying "Mommy...? Mommy...?" in the most pitiful voice possible - until I reassured him I was right there. But for the most part he was fine. We've put off doing this for a few reasons...mostly b/c of how easily he gets sick (and being around more kids in this kind of setting might increase some colds at first, especially if we did it during cold/flu season) and also b/c of his food allergies/intolerances. They sit very closely together when having snack, so we do worry about him getting the snacks served, even though we always bring his snack (wherever we go!). He can't have any of the things they have on the snack menu. So, next week, Ryan will go in with Aiden and stay as the volunteer. If that goes well, Ryan will attempt to drop Aiden off in there the week after...leaving him while we both try to sit through the service, sans baby. We'll see how it goes!

So, after church, Aiden ended up falling asleep on the way home (we went to the 9am service, and the drive home is about half an hour). We thought we would let him take a short nap and put him in bed...he miraculously slept a total of three hours! This is UNHEARD of (he did wake up extra early, as in around 4am or so, but even when that happens...a three-hour nap never happens!). After the long nap, we headed back to Cary (close to church, actually) to go strawberry picking!! They're in season here and they are soooo super sweet. There are also TONS, so it took us no time to get four full buckets. It was a lot of fun. I think even Ryan had to admit it wasn't so bad. ;) Aiden and I went back yesterday with some friends and got a bit more, too! I have a feeling we'll be back a couple more times before the season is over. Our freezer will be FULL of strawberries to last us until next season!

Pictures of the strawberry pickin'...

Strawberry Picking! Spring 2010

Enjoy all the pictures!

Playing Catch Up...

Yeah, it's been a while. We have good excuses. Don't we always??

After Aiden got that nasty stomach bug, he passed it onto me. How would I not get it when he threw up all over me about 20 times? All over meaning sometimes...it went into my shirt. You wanted that visual didn't you? He had it worse the one day, but he continued to throw up at least once each day for the next few days. It took a while for him to recover and go back to eating normally, probably for fear he would keep throwing it all back up. Poor guy. :(

Then it was Easter and we had family in for that next week. Ryan's mom came to visit, which is always fun. Aiden had a blast with her especially and would ask for her when he was supposed to be going to sleep or doing other things he might not have wanted to be doing. I think he knew she might rescue him... ;) When she left for home, she took Camden, who is now visiting with his dad for the week. And since, Aiden and I have been running like crazy doing all the things we couldn't do while sick or entertaining company. So, we've been a tad busy.

Easter... We went back to our "home" church, where the service was actually held at an amphitheater in town instead of the actual church. (Another post for another time, but we've been back and forth about what church to attend, as we have moved farther away from our old church, and for other reasons. But we keep finding ourselves drawn back to it... More later. I hope. If I get time. For the many posts I keep wanting to put up...) Anyway, the service was HUGE, and it was incredible to see so many there celebrating together. I haven't heard the final count, but there were thousands. Back home, Aiden got a new Bible and a puzzle with animals. He adores both. He carries his Bible everywhere he can, saying "Bi-bi" and "Jeeees" (Bible and Jesus). Camden got some new books, too, one being his first daily devotional, and a t-shirt. We try to keep the Easter baskets full of things that represent what the holiday means to us. True...the puzzle might not seem to fit...but there were animals on the Arc, right? ;) And wait...no mention of candy?? Yep. No candy this year. Nobody noticed, either. Camden didn't ask or seem to care or even realize it was missing. He also got the new Toby Mac cd from MaMaw, and he was too thrilled about that to care for candy anyway, even if there had been some!

We have eaten out a couple times over the last week. (Eating out isn't a common occurrence for various reasons. Money. Food allergies....) We discovered that P.F. Chang's has an awesome gluten-free menu. And after ordering but before being served, we also discovered that all of their meats are marinated with eggs the night before, meaning Aiden couldn't have anything with meat, meaning that the only thing on the g-free menu he could eat was veggie stir-fry. He did not seem to care and loved it! Another discovery...their chocolate cake is probably THE best chocolate cake ever. Then last night we went to The Melting Pot for my birthday (well, mine and Ryan's, since we're just a week apart). Don't tell Camden!! He might not be so happy to find out we went without him... They also have a ton of gluten-free options and have a good menu telling you what you cannot eat. Only one meat has egg in the marinade, but it wasn't even one they had with the Big Night Out this time around. We had to make few substitutions so that Aiden could eat...leaving out the pot-stickers and getting extra chicken. And we almost forgot there was beer as a base with the Fiesta Cheese (the one we almost always get), so we just subbed with white wine, and it was fine. No chips or bread for the little guy, only two of the sauces (one of which he just loved with everything)...and for dessert he was stuck with fruit. But he was just fine with all of that. He ate fairly well!! And I'm very pleased that more places are getting on board with gluten-free menus and are actually aware of what all it involves!

Aiden turned 20-months-old. I'll get to that post next. Soon, I hope.

And today...today I turn 30. Most of all, it's just another day. It's not such a big deal that I am the big 3-0...but it just sounds strange to say I'm that age. It's like I am officially an "adult" now, even though I've been an adult for quite a while. I mean, I do have a husband, two children (one of which is about to turn 11!), a house, etc, etc, etc... But for some reason, being 30 seems to make it official. Not sure if that makes any sense.

Last night, after getting Aiden to bed, Ryan and I turned on Friends. We have the entire series on DVD and watch it every now and then. We start from the beginning and watch through to the end. And then do it all over again. So, last night, the next show for us to watch just happened to be "The one where they all turn 30." No kidding. Pretty funny, in a way. Some of them were talking about what they had or hadn't accomplished by this time. In a way, I've accomplished a heck of a lot. A bachelor's degree, a master's degree, I'm married, I have two kids...that's a lot. But I do feel that there is a ton that I haven't accomplished. I still don't have a career or know what I want to be "when I grow up." And here I suddenly am "grown up." I often go through the day just getting through the day...running errands, taking care of the kids, making dinner...and sometimes wonder what I'm not doing that I should. Is there something more profound I should be doing, too? Thanks Friends, right. (No, I wonder this all the time. With or without Friends to throw it in my face.)

Aiden has made the day so nice and easy...waking at 5am and refusing to go back to sleep. Taking over two hours, with plenty of yelling at me, before he would finally go to sleep for naptime. And the day is not over!! What more should I expect, right? He doesn't know it's mommy's birthday! ;) And now I'm going to go outside and do some yard work. BUT tonight...there will be cake. After our yummy and very filling (too filling) meal last night, we made a stop by P.F. Chang's and grabbed some of that chocolate cake to eat tonight. I'm still deciding if I'm going to share....

PS - Pics of everything in the April album online:

2010 April

Keeping Us On Our Toes

Aiden does. Totally.

We've been looking into some new lotions for him...ones that are really good with sensitive skin and that are lacking in the chemical department. Also ones lacking in parabens (those are things hidden under words like "fragrance"), which are known to cause irritation. That stuff is bad for ya! With his eczema and tendency to react to things with rashes, we are extra careful. So, the first new soap and lotion we actually found locally. Has none of the stuff we don't want. Even was recommended by others as being good to use with eczema and was reviewed by a website we really trust (that focuses on finding these safer products). This IS a newer brand, though, and hasn't been rated on the cosmetic database (more about that another time, if you're not familiar with it), but we were pleased with these other reviews, so... Anyway, we noticed Aiden's back and belly started getting bumpy after a couple of days. After a few hours outside at Camden's soccer game Saturday (where it was incredibly windy), his cheeks and chin were bright red. But we later realized...it wasn't the wind. It was the new products.

Big bummer.

We're back to the old stuff. And we got the next new lotion in today (which is free of everything, even more than this other brand, so my hopes are a bit higher). I put some on one cheek before naptime and before bedtime today. We'll see how that goes before smothering it all over the poor kid's body.

Then the other excitement...as if that wasn't enough. (Oh, trust me, that wasn't much compared to the rest of the weekend.) Sunday, Aiden slips and hits his mouth on the bookshelf. Busts his lip, bleeding, swollen, the works. It actually wasn't that bad...ended up being a cut. Injuries involving the mouth always seem worse because of all the blood. While I'm trying to comfort him and get him to realize the thing I'm shoving in his face is a popsicle that he does actually like, he throws his head back. Busts MY lip. But mine is actually worse than his... So now we're both bleeding and swollen. Only, he gets the yummy popsicle and I get ice.

(For those of you thinking, yeah, I know how that feels...getting smacked in the face with a toddler head... Well, little known fact...I currently have braces. Ha. Yeah, for just a couple months and just on the front part - the part that everyone sees, you know. Actually, the top ones come off tomorrow. Great timing. I've had quite a few hits on the mouth from his hard head. And quite a few busted lips because of it. Not the same as being hit when you just have teeth there, trust me. Today he even did it again, right next to the spot from yesterday! You can't predict where that head will go when he throws it back out of nowhere. Tuesday morning can't get here fast enough!)

Think we can top that?? Oh yeah. We can.

After he eats the popsicle and then lunch, I go to get him ready for his nap. What do I see?? Hives. On his chin and neck where the juice from the popsicle dripped down his face. Seriously?! Seriously. Our first thought was surely there were no egg products in there?? Surely not because this mama checks labels like crazy. I was quite picky about picking out popsicles despite that. (Me...picky about food? Noooo.... Ha.) These had only passion fruit, coconut milk, sugar, and pectin. That's it! Shouldn't be the coconut b/c we use coconut oil on him a lot. He has had pectin in a couple other things. I guess it could be that but not likely. Or the passion fruit. Though that doesn't seem too likely either, my mom told me today she's allergic to a different tropical fruit (can't remember which one at the moment). He's had the popsicles on two other ocassions with no problem, but we've learned that is common. It's often not the first exposure that brings out the reaction...

And, you know...I noticed the other day that Aiden seemed to have a reaction to ketchup! We get organic ketchup even (yes, really - the regular stuff has high fructose corn syrup in it). He's had it on a number of occasions. Loves the stuff. What kid doesn't? (And really...organic tastes SOOO much better than the regular stuff. It really does.) But this time, he was eating it (more ketchup than the actual food, of course) and started getting red around his lips and also rubbing it. You could tell it itched and bothered him by how he was acting. He kept whining and rubbing it. Even when he's developed hives, they haven't seemed to bother him. We're wondering about the vinegar maybe. He eats tomatoes all the time; they're one of his favorites (one of the many, many...). And, I hate to admit, this is the one food we allow him to eat that states "made in a facility that also uses eggs." Yes, I'm sorry, we broke the rule there. Nobody makes ketchup that isn't!! So, it's either that or the kid can't have ketchup. Which means nobody can have ketchup. He's crazy over that stuff. And we don't eat stuff he can't (esp stuff he wants!) right in front of him. We're going to try him again soon when his face has no other redness and we are watching like crazy. If it happens again, I guess we'll have to knock out ketchup, too.

Oh, one more thing. We go for his egg challenge the end of the month. I was hopeful and thinking, maybe he'll have outgrown it. It would be easier to deal with the gluten stuff if he could have eggs. And we're really missing some of our dishes that involve mostly eggs. I never make eggs and rarely use them for anything. Ryan tried to finish some off the other day before they expired, so I touched some cooked scrambled eggs and then touched Aiden's cheek. A hive shortly appeared. What's the point in the food challenge?? A day at the hospital just to tell us he still can't have eggs when we can figure that out at home? True, he could just have a contact issue, but if that's the case, he still isn't supposed to eat them. My hopes...not up any more.

So, yes, this kid keeps us on our toes.

Testing, testing...

Ok, so when I wrote the last post about all this gluten stuff with Aiden, we were waiting on a referral to the pediatric gastroenterologist at Duke Children's Hospital. I called our family dr's office on Monday, knowing our provider was not in that day and wouldn't see the request until Tuesday. So, it came as quite a surprise when I got a phone call at 8am on Tuesday morning, before the office was technically open. We already had an appointment with the specialist THAT THURSDAY...two days away! That never happens...getting in that quickly. We even got the specific ped GI that we requested (per a recommendation from a friend who works with these providers, saying this guy was "the best" of the department). I was shocked. But also a bit concerned...did we really need to go in just yet? I wanted to talk with the nurse or doctor before actually going in for an appointment.

And...surprise again! I got to speak with a nurse that same day. The visit wouldn't be pointless even if testing was put off, she said. She also relieved me quite a bit when she said Aiden only needed to consume the equivalent of a graham cracker a day to get enough gluten for accurate test results. Aiden would at least eat some cheerios each day, and that's what I gave him to snack on when we were running around, so he should have gotten enough. She also said some doctors would test after being on gluten for two weeks, some waited four.

Thursday rolled around, and we got another call. Instead of waiting until the afternoon, could we come in as soon as possible? Some spots had opened up. So...off we went as soon as I got Camden off to school, picking up Ryan on the way. We left the house at 10am. We returned home that afternoon after 3pm. We were in the exam room for three hours, at least. The only stop was a very quick lunch after leaving the hospital. It was a long day, needless to say.

But that's to be expected there. We always have to wait a long time when we see a specialist at Duke. The upside...when it's our turn, the doctor gives us plenty of time...taking a good history, getting all the facts and hearing us out. You may spend time waiting, but that's a small price for great care. Plus, this time, during our wait, my friend Melissa stopped by to chat with us, too.

So....after talking with the doctor for quite a while and filling him in on...basically everything Aiden has experienced since he was born (seriously, they do a good job), he told us what we kind of knew. This could be celiac. Could be a gluten sensitivity. Could be a wheat allergy. All of those are completely different from each other. Also...this could be something else altogether. We explained how we were concerned about Aiden's slow growth (going from above the 75th%tile at birth to the 30th at one year and now in the 14th at 18 months...all the while being a VERY good eater), his tendency to get sick easily and stay sick for a long time (despite all the protective factors), and all the other "symptoms" that could mean something or could mean nothing at all. He agreed. And while he said the slow growth was something to keep an eye on, he wasn't too concerned because at least Aiden wasn't LOSING weight; it's possible he's also still "settling into" his normal growth pattern (is this something they're all supposed to say to help keep parents from worrying too much? Ha.). Anyway, after all this talking and whatnot, he decides to go on with the blood work. I was a bit hesitant because Aiden had only been "on" gluten for 12 days at that point, but the doctor thought it was fine, especially with Aiden being younger. And hey...going out there is not a quick trip (or cheap), so we went on with it.

Aiden was quite the trooper. They took SEVEN vials of blood. Wow. We didn't expect that. Aiden did cry at first, but after a couple vials, he was fine...just put his head up against Mama and watched where the blood was being removed from his arm. (I wonder how this will affect his sudden separation and stranger anxiety that he has been exhibiting. This certainly reinforces that strangers aren't necessarily the nicest people out there, huh?) He did pretty well, though. He later cried more after whacking his face into the corner of my glasses...

So now...now we wait. The results should be in within the next few days. If the results are positive for celiac, we go in for a biopsy to confirm. I'm really trying not to even think about that yet. We didn't even ask about the process when we were talking with the doctor. No point.

But if the results are negative... I'm not sure what that means. It means this might be ruled out. (But we will worry, of course, that they tested too soon.) There are many other possibilities, if we get negative results, though. That's not something we're really excited to think about, either.

I'm trying to just tell myself...whatever will be, will be. It doesn't help to wonder and worry. It was easier yesterday. Harder today. Today Aiden showed more symptoms, especially after he ate some more wheat yesterday than he had been. I think we've figured out that Aiden doesn't really care for white bread. He's always eaten wheat bread. We got a fabulous bread machine for Christmas and have been using that instead of buying bread...but we've been making white bread because in order to make wheat, we would need to buy extra gluten to use with it. But we don't want to buy all these extra ingredients and then find out that he does have celiac and needs to avoid them. We happened to buy a loaf of wheat bread the other day, and Aiden suddenly likes bread again. So funny. Camden was the same way. I always gave him wheat bread, and the first time he was given white bread at someone's house, he looked at it like it was the strangest thing ever. Ok..off topic. Anyway, this explains why he hasn't been wanting much bread...the bread, biscuits, ect have all been white.

I'm more worried about the results being accurate and trusting that they are accurate than anything else. Feel free to pray that they are accurate and that we can feel at ease with what we are told. Right now, that's actually our biggest concern. Thank you for all the kind comments and all the prayers. We really do appreciate it all. It helps having that support and knowing so many people care about our little guy.

Overwhelmed

It's been a while, I know. I do plan on writing about more than, as a friend would call it, Aiden's Red Chair posts. But I've been a bit overwhelmed lately. I have mentioned a couple times that we are having some problems still with Aiden and are looking into other food issues. It seems that has consumed my life these days. We were trying to keep it under wraps until we knew more, just telling close family and maybe a couple friends. I've posted about it just a little lately on facebook...more b/c I needed some support after feeling so defeated here and there.

Long story short...we are looking into problems with gluten. Does Aiden have celiac disease? We're not 100% sure, but it does look to be very likely. Ok, we're pretty sure he does. I like to KNOW things and have a hard time saying it is so without hard facts to back me up (um...with certain things..I am not like that with my faith, but with things like medical issues, yes, I am). We have not had the blood work done yet. This is where I am beginning to feel overwhelmed, really. I read up on this before taking him off the gluten, and I do know that he needs to be ON gluten in order for the tests to be accurate. Actually, I was going to go off gluten myself but did the blood work for me first. BUT I didn't want to do anything unnecessary with Aiden...why subject him to a needle and a bunch of blood being extracted just b/c of a hunch. (I know, I know...mother's intuition...we need to learn to rely on it a bit more, but I wasn't so sure this was the problem. We had already tried dairy with no changes; this was just the next step.) Anyway, so we went and took him off gluten and even mentioned this to our family doctor.

I'm skipping a lot of details here, but you'll get the gist. I'm battling some nasty sinus pain, so I'm just getting out what I feel I need to for the moment. This is mostly about me getting things off my chest. The informative stuff will come later when we know more.

So, off gluten...the symptoms went away. Completely. It was rather exciting. And I know some people who know what gluten is might think it's a difficult diet, to be gluten-free...but it really isn't for us. We don't eat many processed foods, and there are gluten-free alternatives to things like crackers and bread. It's not exactly the same, but still. And if we find out this is it for sure, there will be adjustments for learning to bake and cook with other types of flours, but we'll figure it out. Aiden eats mostly whole foods anyway (all of us do, not just him), so it really wasn't too difficult at all. It might sound strange, but I would get so excited when I would change his diaper and see a "normal" poopy diaper! Before, he was having 4-5 explosive bowel movements a day (I mean filling the ENTIRE diaper)...very soft ("wet," not just soft...but not quite diarrhea). It seemed like everything he ate was just going right through him. And the foods he eats are, like I said, mostly whole foods and things that should "bulk up" a diaper. These diapers should not be happening and are not what one would call normal for this age. But off gluten...things were as one would expect.

Anyway, after three weeks, time to go back ON gluten. If the symptoms reappear, we have our answer. It's a lot that the symptoms went away after removing gluten, but you also want to see if they come back with the food back in the diet. After a few days, we started to see the symptoms return. Not fun to see, esp b/c these diapers bring terrible, terrible rashes, regardless of treatment. But reassuring nonetheless. I mean, this would indicate we have our answer. Right? Well, the problem is...we aren't seeing the symptoms consistently. He'll have a day with them, a day without, etc. Why? Because the little stinker doesn't want to eat the stuff with gluten!!! I did not foresee such a problem. He will not eat bread, biscuits... He will eat crackers some but not many like he used to. I've made muffins, and he liked those some. He loves pasta, too, but we have to give him gluten-free brands b/c they're the only ones that can say for sure their pasta is made in an egg-free facility. So, we're finding it more difficult to get gluten into his diet than it was to get it out! Who woulda thought?!

The problem with this?? Testing. As my mom said, it looks like we have our answer, regardless of testing. But, as I reminded her...this is ME we're talking about. I want to KNOW. I have this need to know this is the right diagnosis. Plus, I don't want to have to restrict his diet in such extreme ways if it's not necessary. Gluten-free is not bad for you at all - quite the opposite - but there will be instances it will be difficult and limiting. I have talked some with my friend who is a pediatric dietitian, and she agrees it really sounds like celiac, but testing will tell us for sure. Yet, how can we test when he won't eat the darn stuff?! She's recommended going to a pediatric GI, and another friend has recommended one that works at the Duke Children's Hospital, which is where we would be sent. We're waiting on our doctor to refer us so we can get in to meet with this guy or even just ask a few questions over the phone. We're hoping he can give us some instruction or advice. Here I am breaking all my food rules and doing everything I can to get this child to eat gluten, and it's becoming terribly difficult. I hate doing it...b/c if he does have celiac, the foods are actually making him less healthy, but if we are to test for this, he has to be consuming gluten. (And I keep warning him, once this is figured out, the rules are back ON. Ha.)

This really is driving me absolutel crazy. On one hand, we weren't sure enough to do testing first and both felt it was better to try the elimination diet before subjecting Aiden to unnecessary testing. But now, I'm totally regretting that decision because we don't know how possible testing will be because of his current diet. I'm not even sure how long he needs to be consuming gluten, but I know a few days or couple weeks (after being off it completely for three weeks) isn't enough. I'm doing a bit of beating myself up over all of it because perhaps we could have had our answer by now and been on our way. Instead, I'm consumed by all of this...watching every little thing he eats, trying to make him eat what he doesn't want (and you know what he wants to eat...things like peas and carrots and fruit...wonderful things...just not breads and things with gluten!!), writing down every thing he eats, writing down when he poops, how much, all the details around it (these are records my friend told me to keep...to show the doctor and for her to look over if gluten isn't the culprit). Almost every thought I have is about this. On the days he's not showing symptoms, I'm checking his diaper nonstop. When he does, we're watching for the rash to return and questioning what to put on it this time and why it keeps doing this. Aiden is constantly pulling on his pants and scratching...even when the rash has taken a break. Diaper changes are very difficult lately. It's frustrating for all of us. And all of the symptoms and problems have been going on for MONTHS, so this is not something new. It is something we are ready to have the answers to so we can move on and get past it already.

Any suggestions?? Any ideas for ways to get him eating gluten? We welcome them. We also welcome good thoughts and prayers. Hopefully we'll have some actual news soon...whatever the answer is, we hope to know it soon.

Allergy Confirmation and Update

We took Aiden to the allergist on Tuesday and got some definite answers. We already knew what we would find out, but confirmation is a great thing.

First of all, we were very impressed with the doctor. We went to Duke Allergy, Asthma, and Airway Center (which is beautiful with a huge pond that goes right up to the walkway around part of the building...almost level with it...and a fountain that Aiden would watch from the huge window in our exam room), and when the doctor came in to see us, he had clearly read through Aiden's entire history very thoroughly. He knew all about his IP diagnosis and discussed that with us some - usually we have to tell doctors about this, and they often have not heard about it. He really impressed us with that and then with his knowledge of up-to-date things concerning allergies and research. This guy was really on top of his game. And he was great at what he did and answered all of our questions thoroughly and patiently. (In case you didn't expect this, I am one of those that goes into appointments with a list of questions and things to discuss... Surprised?! Probably not.)

Anyway, moving on... First we did the skin test. We had some concerns because while we've heard stories from people with NO problems at all, we've also heard from people that have had all sorts of issues on the other extreme. But the doctor reassured us, and he was right. Aiden never even flinched while the test was being administered. I actually had to ask the nurse if she even pricked his skin! They tested only for egg this time, for various reasons, and did a control for histamine reaction and a control with saline. These tested for possible false positives or false negatives - and Aiden reacted just as you would want, so we were confident with the results from the egg test. He walked all around the hallways shirtless during the test. He obviously was not irritated in the slightest. BUT he also immediately showed a reaction to the eggs.

We talked with the doctor about what all this means, and we also did a blood test and should get those results back next week. He explained to us that with an allergy like this, you go all out with restriction. It's an all-or-nothing approach. That means that even if a food is labeled as being free of eggs but "processed in a factory that also uses eggs"...that food is a big no-no and should be treated as if it has egg in it. Why? Well, you never know if they really do keep things separate. Even if they make a good effort, you never know when you will get a product that just happened to be exposed to the allergen. OR you don't know if Aiden has some tolerance level and will slowly build up to that and then have a bad reaction. This all makes sense. It also cuts out a LOT of foods we thought were ok. (Even if he's had them in the past and has not reacted...keep in mind the reasons I just listed to understand why he can no longer have them.)

Another issue is the flu shot. Now, we've been on the fence about the flu shot(s) for a while now. I won't go into all of that right now b/c that's not what this post is about. BUT the flu shot is cultured in eggs. That doesn't mean he couldn't get the shot. It does mean there is a lot more to deal with to get it. He would have to go to Duke Hospital and get a skin test with part of the vaccine. If that shows that he is ok to get the shot, he then gets 10% of the shot. Wait another half an hour or so...and then he gets the rest. Keep in mind this would be his first time getting the shot, which means two doses. We would have to go through that again. And if we were to give him the seasonal and the H1N1 vaccines...that means 4 visits to do this. And at least two skin tests and 6-8 shots. At the hospital, which is about 40 minutes away. With lots of time waiting while there. That's easy with a toddler, right? And he's not in a high-risk category, especially being at home with me and still being breastfed on demand. You can probably see why we're debating whether to go through all of this with him. Besides, they're out of the vaccine at this moment anyway. Guess we have time to think. Honestly, we're leaning more towards not doing it, though.

As I said, we also did a blood test. After being at the office for over an hour, Aiden was starting to meltdown...getting tired, wanting out of there, wanting to nurse...and then he gets to have blood drawn on top of that. He was PERFECT for the visit for the first two hours, but you can see why he would have a problem with that last part. Why the blood test when we already did the skin test and know the results? They might be able to find out if he is also allergic to cooked egg (which we kind of already know after the test with the cooked muffin on his cheek, but still...). Also, they test his blood level. If a certain result is found, we could do a food challenge (also at the hospital) in 6 months or so. If it does not come out below a certain level, that means we need to wait another year and do the testing over - no food challenge before then.

When we got home, I went through our pantry, separating the foods with eggs (or labeled as being processed by a place that also uses eggs) and foods without. We have a few places to call b/c they don't label well and are in question. But I had a visual showing me that this actually does cut out a lot of foods...a lot we thought would be ok for him. We'll deal. The hardest part will be traveling (maybe more people should just come to us...make it a heck of a lot easier on us!), parties, going out to eat... I've seen what a challenge this can be with my mom and all her food allergies, BUT because of that, I've also seen it is quite possible! So, I know we can do this. We've already tried some egg replacements. Some have worked just great, some ok but not as great...that's how it goes. Some foods just won't be the same but might just have to work! Luckily, Aiden is starting with these restrictions so young that he won't know any better. ;) And odds are good that he will outgrow the allergy by the time he is five years old.

I think I covered it all... If there is more to share after the blood results come back, I'll share then.

I have a few pictures from the visit, but something's up with blogger, so it's taking forever. And it's late - too late already. So, I'll try to post them tomorrow night or Monday. We're off to the zoo tomorrow, so we'll see. If you want to see them now, along with a cute video taken with the camera, click HERE and view the last pictures in the album. The video is of Aiden finding a way to keep entertained while waiting in the exam room. He was so well-behaved! (Up until that last half-hour, of course, but who could blame him at that point?!)

Mean, mean eggs

I've been baking up a storm lately. Seriously. Quite the storm. And I feel so, so bad not being able to share all the goodies with Aiden. (Yes, I am strict about what kinds of foods we buy and how much sugar is in them, but I'm a little different when they are homemade goodies...where I get to choose what is in them and how much. I'm the mom. I get to do that.) Since we know he's allergic to eggs but not to what extent...NO eggs until we go back to the allergist and do some testing or find out more. The appointment with the pediatric allergist isn't for another couple weeks. I'm always wondering...will it be ok for him to have eggs that are in baked goods? Or other dishes? What's the real extent of this problem??

So, today...I took matters into my own hands. Nooooo - I did not feed the boy anything. I recently made some pumpkin muffins. I wiped some of a muffin on my fingertip, swiped that onto his cheek, and then even wiped his cheek a bit with a cloth to get off any crumbs. Even then...(that's like minimal food actually getting onto his face!)...he still immediately broke out in hives on the spot the muffin touched. It looked just like it did with the raw egg white test. Not milder at all. I then washed his face with soap. The hives stayed for well over an hour, though. (Thank God he doesn't seem to get irritated from them.)

This is not good news. Not what we wanted to see. This makes things even more difficult. Booooo. That's what I have to say about that. Boooooo.

Oh, and we found out why he broke out when he had a taste of the chicken in (the world's most awesome) chicken salad from Whole Foods some time ago (before we knew about the egg allergy). Mayonnaise! Guess what's in mayonnaise, folks...eggs, that's what. So, while eggs are not listed as an ingredient...there they are. (On a side note, while Whole Food's Sonoma Chicken Salad seriously is probably the best ever, it's also not cheap. After buying some the other day, I found the recipe on their website. I'm definitely making this stuff. Yum-O. Just none for Aiden. Unless I find some egg-free Mayo.)

Guess I'll need to research egg substitutes more. And actually learn how to use them.

Now I'll go finish some other muffins I'm making. Ones that happen to be egg free!

Another Allergy Update

I realize I haven't posted the latest on Aiden's newly discovered food allergy, so here it is.

Apparently there is a wide range of egg allergies and reactions. We still don't know what Aiden's is but hope to find out before long. He has eaten baked goods with eggs in them and seemed to be fine. If you think about it, you eat very little egg when consuming baked goods... For example, my banana bread (that he recently ate) is made with two eggs; the recipe makes two loaves. Aiden eats half of a slice (and I do not slice thickly). So...it's very minimal.

Now, he has had scrambled eggs, but only a couple times because we just don't eat that very often. We never noticed a reaction before (but we also weren't looking for it), BUT...looking back at the last time he ate them, we now know he DID have a reaction. He was eating other breakfast foods, including fruit, and he got red around his lips and on his chin. We just assumed it was from the fruit juice irritating his sensitive skin and brushed off any serious concern. This has happened a couple times, too, and it seemed minimal enough to not worry - so we don't even remember what foods he was eating at the time, and it's likely we attributed it to something else that seemed to make sense (and could have been wrong). In this case, we know he was also eating eggs at the same time. And he's since eaten this same fruit - a lot - without any reaction. Had to be the eggs then.

We also found out that the egg whites in Aiden's birthday cake icing were cooked - at 200 degrees. The egg whites that caused the nasty hives that let us know he was clearly allergic. So, they weren't raw, but we're not sure at what point he may be ok to eat eggs...if they're cooked to a certain point, etc.

We went back to the other doctor (the ENT/allergist) on Monday and were expecting to do blood work to find out more. That's what the nurse had told us, at least. But the doctor did not plan on that... I think it has more to do with his specialty and that he is not a pediatric allergist. He does not do skin pricks on children this young, and the blood test he can do takes a good amount of blood, which requires a child to sit still for a while (which is pretty hard with a one-year-old). He kept saying he took 5ccs...but I don't know what that means (EDITED - My friend, Corley, let me know that 5ccs is a teaspoon. Thanks!). He actually asked at one point if either of us were in a field with biology or chemistry because we followed everything he said so well and understood it all. Ha. We explained we do a lot of research on our own. I think sometimes he was just assuming we knew everything he could tell us; good and bad with that because he told us a lot, most of which we actually did understand.

Anyway, his advice was to eliminate the eggs from Aiden's and return in 6-8 months for the testing OR to go to a pediatric allergist and have testing done now. We actually had an appointment with a pediatric allergist at Duke (in case you're wondering why we didn't do that first!), BUT our family doctor's office couldn't get us in until the end of October. So, we were given this appointment with the ENT/allergist because it was much sooner.

We did, however, KEEP that other appointment, just in case. We have spoken with a nurse there, and they will do the skin prick and a blood test. Different people have offered their opinion on whether or not we should go on with the skin prick with Aiden being so young - because a number of allergens will be introduced to his system. We feel that this is the best course of action. Based on what we have been told, the blood test will only tell us that, yes, he is allergic to eggs, but with the skin prick, we can find out more about his reactions (and maybe to the different ways he could be exposed to egg - ?). We will be in an environment that can deal with anything that could come up, though we don't expect problems. This is one reason the first doctor doesn't do these tests with babies, aside from the fact that it's hard to keep them still for so long - the possible reactions, including anaphylaxis. We have been told by others that have had the skin prick that it isn't actually painful, just itchy. Who knows how Aiden will do being still or doing what they need while the test is done, but we'll work through it. We have been put on a list to change our appointment in case some others are canceled, but we're not sure if that will get us in sooner or not. As of now, we will not be there until late October, and I'm not sure if they will do the tests on our first visit or not.

We were still advised to remove cow's milk from Aiden's diet and give him rice milk, which he will drink sometimes but sometimes wants nothing to do with. (He is still nursing fairly often, so we aren't at the point where we rely on other forms of milk completely.) Milk allergies are closely linked with egg allergies, and so this is more of a preventative measure. We'll keep doing this for now and see what the pediatric allergist says after we do further testing.

Thanks for keeping us (especially Aiden!) in your thoughts. We appreciate it! :)