It all began with a diaper rash when our daughter was just one month old. A nasty red diaper rash with an open sore that would not go away. (Oh, and lots and lots of gas!!) After multiple trips to the pediatrician and a dermatologist, special creams and steroids, bleach baths, and lots of tears, I finally asked my daughter’s pediatrician for an allergy test at her 4 month appointment. I just had this gut feeling that something internal was causing this outward issue.
Her pediatrician agreed to do a blood allergy test for the top 8 allergens. When the results came back, we found out she was allergic to eggs and peanuts. Since I breastfed my daughter, this meant that it wasn’t her diet that was changing – it was mine! Now peanuts were pretty easy for me to avoid, but eggs were a challenge! It took some time, but I was able to get these allergies figured out so by time my daughter started eating solids, my husband and I knew what to avoid feeding her.
From months 4 to 12, through our own ‘testing’ and accidental exposures, we were beginning to suspect she had developed more allergies. So when our daughter turned a year old, we were referred to an allergist for additional testing. This time we did skin testing. A small prick of each allergen on her tiny back – I think it was harder on me than it was on her! The testing included the top 8 allergens, along with some more common food allergens, pet dander, and dust mites. Results included positive reactions to eggs, peanuts, dairy, tree nuts, cat dander, dog dander, and dust mites.
WOW! As hard as eliminating peanuts and eggs from my diet had been, I know dairy and tree nuts were going to be even harder. Again, I was still breastfeeding my daughter – so this changed my diet as much as it changed hers. The question I get all the time – “With all those allergies, what is there left to eat?!” I usually respond with a shrug and a nervous laugh because it’s overwhelming to think about, much less to try to put into words. While we eventually figured out how to deal with these new allergies, the adjustment was HARD – so many tears and questioning what to eat and what to feed our one year old. Of all her allergies, she is anaphylactic to dairy – which means if we slip up, there’s a good possibility we will need to actually use the Epi Pens we were prescribed – and the thought of that is terrifying!!
On top of learning how to deal with her food allergies, we actually had a cat and a dog that we had called our fur babies for five years. Her allergies to them were so severe, we had to take drastic measures. Our pets moved 12 hours away to live my husband’s parents (we are so grateful they got to stay together and that they went to family). When that still wasn’t enough because pet dander is almost impossible to get out of your house, we decided to take it a step further and put our house on the market and move to a smaller, new construction town house. After moving, her skin cleared up and is now the clearest it has been her whole life!
Lactating Coconuts 