So we have had 3 more situations with Will ingesting dairy this past month. First one was the result of a goldfish, second was with a waffle and this week he got his sweet little hands on Presley's sippy cup.
The reaction time is coming faster and faster. From the first sound of a wheeze, he starts turning blue in less than 60 seconds. This last time he didn't respond to the first EpiPen, so we had to give him a second shot. If I never see another paramedic again... thank goodness we have 4 Epi's at all times.
Here is my dilemma. First: do we take the entire family dairy-free? If it were just Phil and I, we would have done this after the first major episode, not even giving it a second thought. I am stuck because of the girls. Switching them to soy milk wouldn't be a big deal at all. It would be getting rid of all cheese, yogurt, anything that uses milk or cheese in the ingredients. No birthday cakes, biscuits, chicken pot pie (Presley's favorite!).... you can imagine how extensive the list would be. I plan on meeting with a nutritionist to gather more information. My fear is that when he is Presley's age, he could get into the fridge without me knowing and ingest something.Secondly: Will is supposed to start Mother's Day Out in the fall. 2 days a week for 3 hours a day. I really want him to get time with little kids HIS age and have activities geared specifically towards 18 month olds. Our school is peanut free but not dairy free. I can't tell you the looks and tones in people's voices when the topic of a dairy free class comes up. (Warning: here comes a vent...) Think about it this way... would you send your child to school with a loaded gun? A sip of milk or taste of yogurt could kill my child in a matter of minutes... minutes. I get that it can be hard to pack a healthy lunch that doesn't include dairy (trust me, I get it) but we are only talking two meals out of 21 meals a week. I just stuns me that other parents aren't more sympathetic towards our situation.
As of right now, we will talk with our dr's (pedi, allergist and nutritionist) about taking our family dairy free. I just want to be sure that I can do it in a healthy way for the girls. My plan is for Will to go to school but I will pick him up half an hour early before lunch. I am slowly tracking down all-natural food stores, many of them carry dairy-free alternatives. I am grateful that in the grand-scheme of it all, this is our only challenge we face. I continue to pray for the families who's challenges are far greater than my own.
**Update: I LOVE Cooks Children's Hospital! They have set us up with an amazing nutritionist
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5 comments:
Poor Will! I wish I had some good advice to offer. I sure miss seeing you guys every Wednesday.
RyAnn
Rachel - email or call me and I will tell you more but there was a little boy at my old school that was deathly allergic to peanuts. His Mom kept him home until he was 3 and then started him at preschool (she said that it made a big difference once he was old enough to tell his friends how important it was that he not be around peanuts - they had WAY fewer scares) anyway she did a lot of cool things like:
* She had him wear a label name tag thing to school every day saying his name, what to do if he had an attack, and that it was very important he stay away from peanuts. He was so allergic that if you ate a cookie that was made in the same factory as a cookie that had nuts and you kissed or breathed on him he would have an attack.
* She came to a teacher meeting and did a training on epi pens and severe allergies - it was very interesting and I really appreciated it.
* She did what you are doing - she researched and researched foods, methods, chiropractors - you name it - she looked into it.
* I think he had some kind of epi pen that was child proof so it could be in his backpack but a teacher could get to it quickly if necessary. He carried his backpack everywhere including the playground.
I could go on and on -I will send you an email. :)
Well I don't really have much to add because we fortunately have never had any sort of allergy, but I feel for you. I think that those parents that are putting up the fuss would feel absolutely HORRIBLE if something were to happen to him. That's just my little vent. I think your alternative to pick him up early is a good compromise to the situation.
I am so sorry that Will has that allergy. I have really bad endometriosis and I tried this nutritional diet that really helped...I mention this because it was a 100% vegan diet including no sugar and nothing with yeast - the first two weeks were torture...but then I fell in love with the new way of eating...I'll send you an email with the info. There might be something on it that could help? I agree with you - parents should be more sympathetic - if the school can be peanut free it should also be dairy free especially when there is a student that has life threatening dairy allergies! I'll keep little Will in my prayers. You are a great mom!
Love, Emilee
Oh my gosh!!! I can't believe parents (of all people) are insensitive! When I was teaching (elementary ed. degree) this was a huge concern at our PUBLIC school. We all had to learn how to use the epi pen etc... I feel your pain! Here's what I learned from the families at our school: it gets easier as the babies get older because they start to know what they can and can't handle. Hang in
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