Friday, October 21, 2011

No Longer Nutty, Eggy, or Doggy

This week we found out that Harper is allergic to peanuts, all other nuts, eggs, and dogs. 
 
Poor little guy at his appointment....:(
We're hopeful these are all things he will grow out of, but for now, we're trying to figure out how to manage this.  His peanut allergy is the most problematic since, you know, it's capable of killing you.  I have done several peanut exposures with Harper in the past few months which resulted in hives and rashes and nothing worse, thank goodness.  But, the doctor says depending on how much he would/could ingest he could at any time have a more severe, life-threatening reaction.  We will know next week from a blood test his likelihood to grow out of the peanut allergy.  He will likely grow out of the egg allergy.

(Sidenote: I wouldn't recommend putting yourself in the situation of having a toddler's blood drawn.  It took four adults.  It was bad.  I almost called the whole thing off when the 16 year old CNA started off being in charge...um...no, not gonna work.)

So, I'm still deciding how to deal with this situation in terms of how I cook, what everyone else is allowed to eat in the house, etc.  Here's everything I pulled out of my pantry that contained stuff Harper is allergic to.  It actually wasn't as bad as I was afriad it was going to be.

So, throw in Ash's fairly recent decision to follow a gluten-free diet and the fact that eggs and peanut butter are two of Helena's favorite foods and we've got ourselves some fun cooking times around here!  Maybe I'll just start a restaurant out of my house!
I'm definitely still processing things.  I did make a list of about thirty dinners that I can make that 'agree' with everyone.  So, that's good.  And we're lucky that Harper is a very good eater -- for instance he loves kale chips and has even eaten some salad! 

I'm wondering if any of my 'readers' are dealing with this as well with their child (or themselves) and has any resources or ideas that I can tap into.  So far I've got two epi-pens and a "what allergens are in chain restaurant food" app on my iphone.

-Emily :)

7 comments:

Tish said...

I'm a 'real' reader...but sadly I don't have crumb snatchers.

Lindsay said...

My nephew Mason is about Harper's age and just found out the same thing. Will let you know anything we find out on our end and will definitely keep following for tips to pass on the Steve's sister.

Carrie said...

Yikes! So that PB&J he ate at my house was part of his rash! I was so hoping it was the heat. Poor little guy.

Leo has a friend who has egg and nut allergies. His mom makes nut- and egg-free cakes and cookies for him so he can bring his own to birthday parties and such. Want me to ask for her recipes? I mean, that's not going to help you feed your family dinner, but if you ask me, I think cookies and cake should count as a food group!

I do know the friend can eat Rice Krispie treats (and so can some other nut-allergic friends from preschool), so that's a good one to remember as he gets older and takes treats to school and such.

This is so not helpful of me, is it? You've got a child who has just become limited in what he can eat in order to live and grow, and I'm sitting here telling you all about dessert. Sorry!

Leah B said...

As someone who has had problems with allergies all of my life, just know that there are lots of options, and he'll probably grow out of everything but the nuts. And he might do ok (once he's older) with most nuts, except for peanuts. Peanuts are a weird exception because they are a root nut instead of a tree nut, so their potency (in terms of allergens) is different. Its similar to a latex allergy i believe. But with dogs as well, if he has exposure, he will develop tolerances. Remember me around your cats for the first time? I got better after time and Harper will too. Out of the 55 "shots" that they give you to test reactions, I react to 50 of them with a 3+ or more. And I am also allergic to dogs...
Look into the Moosewood Cookbook (the classic one, as I think they have 15 or so). They have a lot of vegetarian recipes that are egg-optional and can be Gluten-free converted easily. Breakfast will be the hardest change. My suggestions would be making your own granola, yogurt, or a egg-less muffin as staples. Also, if you have friends that are vegan, turn to them for good ideas and recipes.

kjl said...

Jeesh...what a huge pain. I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this! Thank goodness Harper hadn't already had a life-threatening reaction to PB since Helena is such a big fan!

I can only imagine how thankful this makes you that you're working at home--cooking for your family is for sure a full-time job!

Craig said...

Poor guy,
I know what he went through with that damn scratch test--had one done in kindergarten. It was my show and tell. I was mainly allergic to ALL dairy products, but luckily I grew out of it. Hope he's doing okay.
Take care,
Craig

Craig said...

Poor guy, I know what he went through with a scratch test--I had mine in kindergarten. It was my show-and-tell. I ended up being allergic to ALL dairy products, as well as a whole slew of other things. I eventually grew out the dairy allergy. Hope he's doing okay.
Take care,
Craig Lang