"I won't get sick, Mommy. I won't!" he said with courage.

I don't think anything could have prepared me for the overwhelming feelings I have right now. I guess I should start at where this all started.

Since our Year in Review, The Mister and I have noticed that reactions are few & far between. Our largest offense is the seasonal sniffles and the contact milk reactions have all but disappeared.

I belong to an online community of mothers. They are a great group of women whom I've been lucky to be a part of since The Mister & I became engaged. We've all gotten married together, been through births, milestones, illness and death. Needless to say we've formed a very special bond. Some of us have stronger bonds than others based solely on our personal experiences as mothers. A few of us have been blessed with food allergic children. Those trials, that constant fear of the worst, and those victories have brought us all closer.

One of these fine women mentioned that her milk allergic daughter caught a sneaky bite of her FroYo and hours later showed no signs of reaction. The hope that this chance encounter sparked, grew and grew over the next several weeks.

As I mentioned previously, we had been foiled by illness when we had last planned to have Mason's allergies tested by the lab. I had been meaning to follow up and get that rescheduled, but this new found hope took me in a different direction.

Instead of asking to reschedule the tests, I asked Dr. H if a food challenge would be unheard of. The Mister & I had some Stay-cation time set aside and what could be a more perfect time to challenge the milk allergy, than mid-week when the doctor is readily available. To further my hope, I had devised a plan of attack and with the doctors blessing, convinced The Mister we should go for it.

Why not start with the very thing that led us to this journey that is Food Allergies? We purchased one single Organic Vanilla Yogurt cup. I swabbed a bit on Mason's inner elbow with explicit instructions not to lick it or rub it in, and then set the timer for an hour. Benedryl at the ready and Dr. H on speed dial, the waiting began. We all tried to busy ourselves, to avoid causing panic with the obessive checking of the arm, his eyes, mouth and skin for any signs of reaction. Each time we checked we were met with disappointment - nothing was happening. We were all expecting something to happen, and in a strange way, missed the call to action. There was nothing to do. We had never experienced nothing before. This was new territory for us all.

So the hour passed and we all breathed a sigh of relief. We dodged a bullet. Surely this was a jinx, a hoax. Did I really buy the dairy blend or did I, out of habit, reach for the soy. Nope, it's cows milk, says so right on the label. What's the next logical step when laughing in the face of danger? Get closer to it, of course!

"Mason? Would you like to try some Cow's Milk yogurt?" I said, trying not to sound scared out of my head.
"You mean, Daddy's yogurt?" with a bright eyed smile. The kid will do anything to be like his Daddy.
"Yes. Like Daddy's yogurt, but there are some rules. If you start to feel sick in your tummy, or itchy on your skin or in your mouth, we have to stop eating - take medicine - and call Dr. H. We don't want you to eat this if it makes you sick. Do you understand?"
"I won't get sick, Mommy. I won't!" he said with courage.

And so we served him half of the yogurt cup, with a gulp, some prayer and many crossed finger & toe. Luckily, we had plenty of things to distract us this day. Only when Mason reached for a cheek to brush off some new-bit, or scratched at his head, or sniffled once too often did we barrage him with questions. Every time we were answered with, "I not sick. I not."

The challenge was a success. But I was not yet ready to claim a full victory. I still cannot quite release all my worry. Even after corresponding with Dr. H, where he said he doesn't often call an allergy "outgrown" until a child is 4 or 5, but given the severity of past reactions and the lack of any such reaction for this challenge he's willing to declare Mason "outgrown". The best way to describe how both The Mister and I are feeling is Cautiously Elated.

We continued testing the waters two days later with more yogurt. Nothing. We tested again with cheese on his pizza tonight (placing this order was strange, both for us and the staff). Nothing.

The possibilities for our family are endless. I'm excited for all that Mason will get to participate in now, but mourning that he hasn't gotten to before now. I feel like we've deprived him, even though all we were doing was protecting him from harm.

So we will continue trialing new dairy foods. Dr. H said it wouldn't be necessary for us to really trial anything, but if it made us feel better it was fine to do so. After all, Mason is. . .

OUTGROWN!!!

Bless you! - a little history

Most people, when you tell them that you have allergies, assume that it's the hay fever kind. Seasonal sniffles. Coughs. Sneezes. Sinus problems. Ear infections. Benadryl. Sudafed. Nasal spray.

I know that when first faced with food allergies for myself, I never thought of them as being that serious. Never thought that my upset stomach because I had a glass of milk would be a danger to anyone but myself. Never thought that my eczema was more than dry skin, and my battle to wage. Never imagined that I would have to worry about a tactile reaction to bread. Or worry about when my son eats a cracker crumb at day care. Never, until now. All symptoms point to Mason having a dairy and wheat allergy. Tests should confirm this and should reveal if there are any others we should be concerned with on Friday. So far, we've managed to dodge more than one or two severe reactions.

We discovered diary was serious issue shortly after we began introducing solid foods to Mason. I knew he had a difficult time digesting lactose while I was breastfeeding, so I eliminated it from my diet. Once he weaned, we put him on a soy based formula & he showed no other signs of reaction. By the time he was ready for solids in his infant diet, I thought yogurt would be perfect. He was old enough now, his reflux was under control (I'll post about this later) & we had just about gone completely off the medications for that. Boy was I wrong! Within minutes of his first bites, which were more like smears across his cheeks & mouth, he began tearing at his mouth. It wasn't that he didn't like it, he was starting to itch. Before too much longer, Mr pointed out a small bump on his cheek, then another & another. Mason was breaking out in hives. I immediately wiped off the residue & called the doctor. Because his breathing was okay & he wasn't swelling up, we were told to just administer Benadryl & if things didn't get any better real soon, to take him to the ER. Fortunately, the Benadryl worked quickly, but from then on we have vetoed any milk products.

As Mason became more advanced in his diet & with the addition of several more teeth, we began introducing more & more foods. Whole Wheat Toast & Ritz crackers seemed to be a hit & didn't seem to be much of a problem for him. Until we ventured into Whole Wheat crackers. Because we thought we were in the all clear, they were introduced on a regular basis at day care. Mysteriously, Mason was ill & got the worst case of diaper rash I myself or the Day Care Provider(DCP), had ever seen. It was blistering, began to ooze & bleed. We tried every home remedy for diaper rash we could, and it just didn't seem to be easing up. Then it dawned on me. In the not so recent past, I offered Mason a whole wheat noodle & it resulted in immediate discharge from his tummy & a wicked case of eczema on his legs (much like he gets if he has been exposed to diary). What if he's allergic to the wheat crackers?

I embarked on a plan to eliminate wheat from his diet for 2 weeks & then test again with toast to see if we got the same reaction. With a few minor exposures at day care, we were able to pin point wheat as our prime suspect. The toast test (no pun intended) resulted in a blistery rash on his thigh.

So, we've discussed all this with his Pedi & have a short term plan of action. It's not the easiest plan to follow & we're stumbling through these next few weeks. But, after our visit with the allergist & the battery of tests we should have a clearer understanding of what we're faced with.

Mason is now 13 months old. We've had a fabulous year & day to day things continue to be a joy. This is my account of our journey with food allergies.