I posted before how we were struggling with Zane’s allergies. When we first found out about his allergies , I was in disbelief that he had so many allergies. I was worried and agitated simultaneously. I thought to myself, how am I going to handle two toddlers, one who can eat anything and one who is so limited on what he could eat.
The hardest transition for us thus far was eliminating peanut butter from the house. Hayley is an extremely picky eater and peanut butter/jelly was her food staple everyday. She had to eat at least a half of container in the matter of 2 weeks, by herself. When we told her the peanut butter needed to be “sent” away, she was confused and angry at me. Once I sat down and explained how it could make Zane really sick, she understood and was supportive. It was very hard to get her to eat much the first few weeks, since she relied on peanut butter so much. She is the pickiest eater so everyday is a challenge. I think we have gotten over the hump and recently have been giving her soybean butter which is a nice substitute for her.
Anyway, this past Wednesday, we headed up to the allergist to see if we were allowed to give Zane milk. Zane tested positive on the skin test for dairy but negative on the blood test. I am so happy to report that we got the green light to give him milk. When I first gave him a couple of tablespoons at home, he spit it right back at me. Since then, he doesn’t take to milk as well as I anticipated, but he is all over goats milk. I have no idea why I picked that up, but I did and he LOVES it! I guess whatever works is fine with me!
At the appointment, we were also told that we need to switch his medicine for his terrible eczema. He does take about 3 different lotion ointments three times daily, but he was still suffering with his itchiness. He would wake up bleeding from scratching so badly and that is with having footed pajamas on. Unfortunately from scratching so much, he got a skin staph infection. Luckily I caught the abnormality on the skin early and brought him in. He is now on an antibiotic for the infection and in the last few days, it has looked much better. He is also on much harsher medicines for the eczema but only for a limited time. Hopefully in another week or so, we can go back to his old skin medicines. We shall see!
Thanks for all the support on his allergies. I had people e-mailing me suggestions of foods for him to eat and snacks that would be good for him to have despite his allergies. I thank you all very much! I will update you all in another month or so.
Oh man. How difficult. Praying his Eczema gets better. Food allergies do take adjusting to but it becomes a new normal. My friends daughter is allergic to nuts and eggs. If you ever need advice let me know and I can get you in touch with her.
Have you ever tried Barney Butter? It’s almond based and quite tasty! We used it for Pierce until he was old enough that we felt okay with peanut butter.
Cort has terrible allergies. He’s off to his pediatric allergist today.
I’m glad you’ve found some good alternatives!
Poor child. I have no idea if this is a viable alternative, but can your daughter have Nutella? I have never tried it, just heard of it. We eat Jif Hazelnut spread here, too…is he allergic to all nuts? Hope this journey gets easier for all of you soon!
Dawn
http://www.cheapisthenewclassy.com
What a stinky thing to deal with. I am so sorry to hear all of that! I hope he is feeling better soon. Good thing Momma caught it early. Way to go!
That has got to be so hard!
Allergies can be so difficult when a child has them. Stay strong and keep up the good work.
I am glad you are getting some answers and he is able to eat more things. I hope he gets some relief from his eczema.
Sweet baby, prayer for your family. I’m happy you have found a Dr. that is taking the time to help instead of just sending you on your way. As many do now days.
I stinks being a kid these days, it seems like so many kids have allergies!
I never had any allergies as a kid except a few medicines Gave me hives. As an adult the list of medicines im allergic to keeps growing and they think I am also allergic to shellfish ( I took a glucosamine supplement and broke out in a rash for DAYS). My doctor suggested going for allergey testing but I never went. I really should go because im pretty sure I have some sort of seasonal allergy too.
A few children in my family have allergies and skin issues and it’s hard to manage. They have tons of creams and we all have to be mindful of what not to cook with. Luckily, my son doesn’t have any that we know of.
Oh no! Poor baby 🙁 My son had eczema, but it turned out once we switched his clothing to 100% cotton, his skin cleared right up! Keep us up to date on his progress.
Aw, poor guy. And poor mommy. That is stressful. Could Hayley have almond butter instead of peanut butter, or is Zane allergic to almonds as well? I bet Whole Foods would have lots of different options for alternatives to various foods that Zane is allergic to.
🙁 I hate how one kid can be fine while another can have all sorts of allergies. I have been blessed and neither of my kids have allergies, but I am expecting so you never know!
Hopefully he will outgrow most of his allergies. My second son could not drink milk for a few years, but he outgrew it. But then, I drank no milk while I was carrying him, and I really believe that was the reason why he could not drink milk. Now he guzzles it like there is no tomorrow. The cashier at the grocery store always laugh when we buy our usual six gallons at a time, and tell her that this is our usual six-pack! I do hope little Zane gets better and does well.
That would be such a challenge to have to be so careful about what he can have and I hope he is able to out grow much of this. It seems like more and more kids are developing allergies and it boggles my mind. My grandson has allergies as well.
Ah! Poor little Zane. That’s rough. When I moved from Florida to CO, my skin got very dry and I scratched so much, I bleed. Someone suggested taking a bath and a few cups of apple cider vinegar in it as well. It worked great! I even took a cotton ball and would dab the vinegar directly on my spots. Diluting it is probably best though. It works great and it’s all natural! 🙂 It took a few weeks for all the spots to clear, but they haven’t returned and I have so much relief now.
Oh no! Poor Zane! Glad he likes goat milk though! Hope his staph infection clears up fully soon! ((hugs))!
I’m so sorry Melissa! Allergies and kids is definitely no fun! We struggle with a Milk allergy with my kids, but it’s not very severe, but enough that we changed our eating to use Soy, Almond and coconut milk instead of regular milk. Almond milk is definitely my favorite, but seeing as Zane can’t have peanut butter he may not be able to do that one either.
I hope Zane’s eczema can clear up as well. It is a stubborn thing that I struggle with as does my 8 year old, and it is definitely not something I’d wish on any little one.
aww poor little one. Eczema is horrible my son has that
TJ has horrible eczema on his hands. I hate it and its SO frustrating! Hope Zane is feeling better soon. The cooler WInter weather seems to help with T.J’s hands.
Oh mama – hearing that he scratches so much he bleeds makes my heart hurt. I really hope that Zane’s eczema will clear up. Allergies are so hard and so trying for everyone.
Poor kiddo. Went through that with one of mine.. it’ll get easier
Poor Zane! I feel so bad for him. When Lexie had her egg allergy (she grew out of it), she had terrible eczema. Eczema does run in my husband’s family, but it was so much worse due to her allergy. You can try putting a cup of bleach in his bath water every few days. Our dermatologist recommended that for her, because the creams weren’t even helping much, and surprisingly, it did help!