The Results Are In...

...and the Justices are kinda bummed!

Campbell's pediatrician ordered bloodwork on Friday after she broke out in hives from her celebratory birthday pancake and Egg Beaters. The poor thing had like maybe 2 bites of each, and her face was one big hive! I was able to sit down with her pediatrician today and discuss the results of the allergy screen. It showed that Campbell is allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts, cats and dogs.

WHAT?!?!?!? OK, so this isn't a total surprise. In some ways, I'm relieved that they finally confirmed her dairy allergy. She's been breaking out every time she eats dairy, and I was so frustrated when the allergist said she was not allergic to milk. Um, OK, then what do you call it when the child's face gets red and bumpy each time she eats dairy, a coincidence? Please excuse my cynical attitude, I was just very annoyed. So with today's results, in a way, I feel validated. It's like a doctor was finally able to say, yeah, you were right, your kid has allergies. But I'm of course pretty bummed that poor Campbell is going to have to live with a tricky diet. And as her mom, it makes me nervous. All her allergies were at the lower end of the spectrum (with the exception of dogs, apparently she's really allergic to dogs - WHAT?!?!?!?). But they are still prescribing an Epipen. Unfortunately with food allergies, you never really know if exposure could cause a more severe reaction than what you're used to.

Let's chat about peanuts for a moment. I eat peanut butter like my life is dependent on it. I eat it out of the jar...on a spoon...daily. I live for peanut butter. It's amazing to me that I ate it while I was nursing her and she had no issues. It's also amazing to me that I eat it in close proximity to her all the time and she hasn't exhibited any allergic symptoms. I guess that's good news, hopefully she doesn't have the kind of allergy that is dangerous if she's simply near a peanut. But I feel like I'm going to have to take it pretty seriously. When her friends are eating peanut butter, she's going to have to keep her distance. And there will have to be a lot of handwashing!

Now let's chat about the animals. The doctor started his discussion with something along the lines of "because she seems to tolerate the pet dander now, there's no need to discuss getting rid of them yet." Again...WHAT?!?!?!?! I'm going to pretend like that conversation never happened and just be extra diligent about vacuuming. Maybe three times a week? Fun times. Her doctor is so nice and very compassionate, so he didn't mean that in a harsh way. I guess his job is to protect the child so it's easy for him to mention "getting rid" of the animals. Campbell and Lexi are pals. Campbell loves to do face plants on the dog bed. OK, maybe I need to regulate that activity. But we have never noticed a problem related to anything but food. Maybe an itchy eye here or there, but thankfully she seems to tolerate that allergy well. Let's pray this continues! Lexi and Harley are members of this family, something I feel very strongly about. Of course I feel strongly about my baby girl's health too, but I think it's something we can all live with.

Shew! So now that I went off about the animals to make myself feel better, let's chat about this milk and egg thing. Take a look at anything you eat. Anything. Chances are, it's got either milk or egg in it. For instance, the whole wheat bread Campbell often eats has milk in it. And she is fine! He said we can continue feeding her foods like that, which may contain small amounts of milk or milk protein but that she has eaten without issue. But we won't be introducing any new dairy foods, and she certainly won't be having any egg foods. Unfortunately for her, looks like she may have to endure another vegan cake for her second birthday!! :( Gross!

There is hope that this isn't a lifelong thing. Many children outgrow allergies within a few years. In the meantime, we'll just have to be vigilant, plan her meals in advance when eating on the go, and get creative with our menus at home. She'll be the kid that packs, not buys. At the end of the day, I'll just try to be thankful that we caught her allergies before they posed a significant risk to her. And also thankful that they don't appear to be severe based on today's results. And I'll have to remind myself of these things each time I am mumbling about making a dairy-free, egg-free meal! Hey, she'll be a healthy kid if she lives on fruits and veggies!