Leah’s Allergies

I feel like I just typed a post just like this.

Oh wait… I did: Hannah’s Allergies

At Hannah’s appointment when he was asking me allergy questions about her I kept thinking – that sounds a lot more like Leah than it does Hannah…

When Leah was about 11 months old she had her first allergy attack. Her eyes would not stop running for a day or so. Just constantly streaming. That was the first time I gave her Benadryl (which is only recommended for 1 year and up. I went online I researched and found a “by weight” chart for dosages). It instantly dried up her eyes but holy moly. She went BIZERK. She was very literally bouncing off the walls. As in she was running AT the walls and bouncing off of them.

Leah was allergic to red dye.

Thank heaven they make dye free Benadryl. That always worked.

In later years as Leah would have accidental exposure to red dye (it’s freaking everywhere). She would have night terrors that night. It was hideous.

Most children out grow dye allergies and Leah can now have all the red dye she wants with no reaction. Whew.

However.

She was still congested a lot. Still sick a lot. Still with the runny eyes. I tried Claritin for children – no luck. I tried Zyrtec – yay! That worked. In the winter… In the summer it just takes the edge off. She would be fine and then go outside to play, then come in and her eyes would be all swollen.

Oy.

So, I took Leah to get tested. I answered a lot, lot, lot of questions.

And then the took us to another room with a bed for her to lay on her tummy. She had been so brave up to this point and finally the fearful anticipation got the better of her and she wrapped herself around me and just cried. I finally coaxed her onto her stomach and we started the test. She realized quickly the poking was not  a big deal but as you’ll see with the pictures she started to itch and be uncomfortable right away.

She cried. I was sitting by her head and we were forehead to forehead, nose to nose and she had her arms wrapped around my neck. We just stayed like that until the poking was over and she could relax a little bit. She was still uncomfortable but not anticipating the poking anymore. (62 pokes in all. Poor baby.)

ONE minute in (this stuff is supposed to stay on for 15 minutes. The nurse stood back and said: oh man.)…

3 minutes:

5 minutes:

10 minutes:

At the 10 minute mark the nurse had, had enough. She started wiping each and writing down the results. She didn’t want Leah to have to wait 5 more minutes.

All wiped off and waiting for some cream:

At this point the nurse left to go talk to the doctor again. He wanted her to have 6 more tests. Each of which involved a shot into her arm to put a little of the allergen under her skin and see how she reacted.

This… was not fun. The also wanted to draw blood. I looked at the nurse kind of horrified and she said – we can put that one off. You can refuse to do it this time.

Excellent because Leah was going through quite enough for one day!

A minute or two after the shots:

10ish minutes after:

That’s cat, dog, mold, a couple of tree ones and the bottom right is grasses. She is wicked allergic to everything (except the mold. That’s not so bad. Seriously? So what! She’s gonna rub her face in mold? LOL!) but the grasses was the worst reaction of them all. That one kept swelling through the day. I gave her some Benadryl before we started the 120 mile drive home and it stopped swelling but it’s still swollen some today.

So. She’s allergic to most kinds of trees, grasses, weeds, pollens, cats, dogs. She also has a mild allergy to wheat (no that is not celiac or gluten intolerance. Wheat allergy is a histamine response to wheat. Celiac is a gut issue.)

And she has a mild allergy to peanuts. Oh and house dust/dust mites. Both more mild than Hannah’s but still there.

The peanut thing is relatively “easy” since we’ve already prepared for that for Hannah. Hannah can’t have things that say “processed in the same facility or same equipment” but Leah can. She just is not going to have straight peanuts, peanut butter, etc.

The wheat is another issue – it’s mild and she’s not going to have an anaphylactic reaction ever but I want to get her where she feels really great and then introduce things and see where her threshold is, etc.

So for now we go wheat free.

Clearly I can not do everything for all of us. We can’t all be corn free, peanut free, wheat free, diabetic friendly eaters. There will have to be some double prep going on some things but I’ll do as much common food as I can. Wheat free (and/or gluten free) foods are much more expensive so I don’t want to feed all 4 of us wheat free all the time.

I will, however, do everything in my power to make sure my 6 year old foodie in the making still enjoys her food. She has some wheat free toaster waffles today and we both decided they taste better than the ones she normally eats. So that was a happy find for her! (If only they weren’t 4 bucks for a box of 6… I’m going to make some from other flours and freeze them because GEEZ. She eats 3 in a sitting.)

Congrats to you if you made it to the bottom of this post. Sorry about my long windedness. It helps me process all this to write it down.

I was feeling very crazy and helpless until I went to the store. I know about allergy shopping from myself. I can do this for her. I have the cooking know-how so I’m not freaking about that. I just need the supplies and some time and I can make it all fantastic for her.

We’re gonna make pizza tonight or tomorrow with some wheat free dough! She’s really excited about that.

Whew!

I should write another blog post about my own health but I’m waiting for some test results. It can wait. And frankly, my brain can only take so much!

Huh?

I was trying to wake Drew up to ask him something...
Me: Drew, drew...
Drew: You can't have it.
Me: Have what?
He grabs me. Hugs me. Starts rubbing my back and whispers: It's mine. You can't have it.
I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe.
He's still muttering in his sleep now...
...
I don't care. I don't care.
Don't touch my car!
I'll pop you.
Don't touch it. Don't do it.
How did that feel?
I'm bigger than you are (totally in a taunting voice)
Your nose is next.
Oh boy. You just don't learn.
Did you like that? I just hit you again.
Stop crying. Stop. Hmmm hm. Tell your friends. I told you I'd hit you.
Tell 'em. Tell all your friends.
You're a sissy... (again with the taunting)
You don't want to do that.
I hope that heals funny.
Stupid. So stupid.
No no no.
Oh? You wanna race me?
(yes. I'm typing as he talks.)
*laughter*
My sister could kick your butt.
No. I wanna race now. Race me.
Don't touch my car!
I've hit you twice now.
Hm. Hmmm.
That's MY wife.
I'll kill you.
Shhhh. Go.
You shouldn't have said that. You're gonna die. You're gonna die.
You're gonna throw up. Then die.
....
Wowzer. I think he's asleep for real now.
....
Later:
Don't put the bacon there. That's nasty.
Don't eat that. Ugh.
Doh. Ohhhh Yummy Yummy!
No! No no no.
Tattle tail. Tattle tail. Tattle tail.
You bad bad bad. No no no.
....
Snoring. Whew.

Bunny Cuteness

http://chezbeeperbebe.blogspot.com/2010/03/tutorial-and-pattern-recycled-mooshy.html

I read the idea for making these bunnies at the above link. I decided to use some shirts that Leah & I had tie dyed a couple of years ago. And this is the cute result…

PS I’ve never made any kind of stuffed animal before. This was a trial run for me. lol

At least the girls love them!

If you read the tutorial they came from you’ll see I did the tail differently. I cut a circle of fabric, did a really loose stitch around the outside of the circle and gathered it in. Then I stuffed it, hand sewed it closed and stitched it onto the body. Since it was fairly lose I also decided to hot glue them closer to the body. I didn’t want the girls (or Hannah really… lol) to rip the tail off.

And for the 2nd one I pinned the ears inside the body so that I didn’t have to sew them to the outside… because I happen to kind of hate hand sewing. It turned out cute still. I think I might pinch them at the bottom of the ear and put a stitch in each to make them more folded like the first bunny but eh. Maybe if I make more.

My hope is to find a few patterns and make Hannah a few stuffed animals specifically. Her dust allergy means she shouldn’t have a lot of fuzzy things sleeping in her bed with her. It seems like it would be better if they were cloth and things I can throw in the washer.

The girls have been carrying these around and sleeping with them. That gives me warm fuzzies!

And pardon the crappy pictures from my phone… I’m lazy.

Sleeping Arrangements

At Nana's house we have three beds in one room.

Hannah's bed...



Leah's bed...



My bed...



How 'bout that, eh?

Hannah and her Allergies

When Hannah was about 9 months old. Maybe 10. She ate a hunk of frozen peach in one of those little mesh things. And got a hideous rash around her face and all inside her mouth.

No more peaches for Hannah.

When Hannah eats anything with jelly on it she gets a redness anywhere it touches around the outside of her mouth.

No more jelly/jam for Hannah.

A few weeks ago Hannah grabs my spoonful of peanut butter while I was answering the door. All around her mouth and everywhere she drooled (she had on no shirt) there was a red rash. Lines all down her tummy. Within probably an hour of that we had an appt at an allergist for Dec 12th. (Yesterday)

So yesterday, Drew, Hannah & I headed off to Casper. (There is – of course – no allergist in Rawlins. Imagine that.)

At the appointment we went over everything that happened before and they did a standard scratch test on her back with the addition of peaches and watermelon.

The results are that she is allergic to peanuts.

And dust. Yes – dust.

And cats. That’s right. We have two cats. We won’t within the next 48 hours or so. Maybe today.

If you know me at all, you know – I love my cats. I’ve been crying on and off about it today but there really is no choice to be made to me. I love my cats but not enough. Hannah’s comfort and health obviously come first.

If she didn’t touch and love the cats so much that would help. But it’s just not the case. Hannah LOVES the cats and (unfortunately) they actually love her back. They like to lay on her, rub on her, snuggle with her. She likes to rub her face in them. That kind of thing.

Probably 2 days ago I said to my mom – Something is not right with Hannah. It’s been 2ish weeks and something is just off. I’m not sure what to do. In the end I decided that we’d go to the allergy appt and then go to the regular doc this week to find out what’s up if the allergies weren’t the problem.

But guess what I realized on the way home yesterday? That’s exactly how long we’ve had the new kitten. Hannah picks that kitten up about 100 times a day and carries her around the house. Rubbing her face in the kitten heaven only knows how many times. So OF COURSE it got worse since the kitten came.

Sigh.

As far as the severity of her allergies goes, it’s not life threatening – the peanuts because she has no breathing issues at this point. But with each exposure to peanuts it will get worse. He said we don’t need an epi-pen now but that we’ll need to talk about that when she goes to preschool/school. (because that’s obviously the place where she’s gonna get accidental exposures)

The dust. I don’t even know where to go with that. We live in WYOMING. Oh my word. Of course dust is just everywhere. There is no escaping it. He did tell me when I do things like vacuum she needs to not come back in the room for at least 45 minutes to let everything settle.

I need a new vacuum cleaner designed with Hepa filters. It would be better if we didn’t have carpet. (Easier said than done.)

I think that is all. Oy.

Drew took this picture about 5 minutes into the 15 minute waiting period. You can’t see the cat one very well because of the lighting but it got just as bad as the dust one. And they all got worse than what you see here in this picture.

The peaches one was just the slightest pink dot. With most of them you can see they didn’t react. There were 23 spots in all.

ETA: He thinks she’s growing out of the peaches thing. He said to try them again later.

Tidbits

*These are all thoughts I had or things that happened between 5 am and 6 am in my bed this morning*

***

When Hannah tells you she wants to snuggle in bed – she means lay next to her. Not touching. I can rub her hair, sometimes hold her hand.

When Leah says she wants to snuggle in bed – she means fully body contact. Encircled in arms.

***

Leah: All four of us are in this bed and I don’t even feel squished!

(I certainly did.)

***

Hannah might ask for a duck to hold at 5 am. And she’ll mean the hard rubber ducks from her bath toys. Of course.

***

When you ask Hannah what an animal says – do not be fooled. She knows them all but she thinks it’s HYSTERICAL to say “meow” to every animal. Probably because it makes me laugh every time. She just gets this mischievous look on her face and I can’t help it.

****

Hannah:  one two thee four five!

Drew: WHAT did she just say!?!?

Me: She counted to 5. You know. Like every one year old does. One two three four five.

Hannah: six!

Me: That’s a new one. Seven!

Hannah: eight!

Me: Nine!

Hannah: Ten!

Me: Well okay. She counts to 10 like every one year old does…

***

Some things about this age are exhausting but really – life is so simple. They’re needs are pretty simple. They may not wake me up at 5 am to play with ducks in my bed later, but the worries are gonna get more intense. Today I will enjoy their simple needs.

Productive Napping by Hannah

Hannah was supposed to be napping. It was quiet for awhile and then I heard her playing but she wasn’t calling for me so I was just enjoying the quiet. After awhile I say to Drew, “Go tell her she can get up. I don’t think she napped but oh well.” And a few minutes later I hear Drew exclaiming, “HOLY CRAP!” So I come running and this is the sight that greets me:

I said, “Hannah! That was so naughty!” And she started to cry and got in the rocking chair in her room (at least she didn’t color that!):

When I undressed her for a bath, I found this:

She clearly stuck that marker right in her belly button. What goes on in her head??? LOL!

So that’s a blue permanent marker. A little keychain one. I had it in my pocket. (I was crafting and using it to mark some things.) I think it must have fallen out. Well… CLEARLY, it fell out.

The walls and the bed and the floor are all cleaned up. Rubbing alcohol wiped it all right off. No big deal.

Her skin, however… it will fade eventually but the last incident just faded. And I need to take Christmas pictures. There is some on her neck and under her chin. Someday she’ll not have permanent marker right?

The sheets and the pillowcase, and that shirt went into the garbage. It’s a shame because she loves that shirt. She rubs it and says “Blankie shirt!” because it feels just like her blanket. Sad.

Oh and just so you know. I only have 4 permanent markers. She’s gotten in 3 of the 4 in the last 4 months. Watch for the orange one to make an appearance soon… *smacks head on desk*

Humankind

We must remember that those mortals we meet in parking lots, offices, elevators, and elsewhere are that portion of mankind God has given us to love and to serve. It will do us little good to speak of the general brotherhood of mankind if we cannot regard those . . . around us as our brothers and sisters.
~ Spencer W. Kimball

*Happy Sigh*

Snuggling with Daddy before school

CHEESE!

Hannah has clearly gotten the idea behind saying cheese. She even points at the camera and asks me to take pictures. Her face looks pretty much like this in every picture lately (except the grouchy ones. hehe.)

It used to look like this when she said cheese. She’s much more into it now, eh?

PS I swear I do her hair. I can’t do anything about her walking around with a blanket on her head half the time though. So. Stinking. Cute.