A year in review

It's been almost a year since that last post.

I haven't forgotten this blog. I think about it often, but life seems to get in the way. A topic I want to discuss comes & goes and then we're on to the next phase of life.

Since that post, Mason has changed childcare providers to a more structured Preschool environment. When considering enrollment there, both Mark & I visited several times and had several meetings and discussions about how to handle Mason, his food, any reactions, and teaching the other kids that sharing toys is great, but food - not so much.

I keep waiting for the honeymoon period at his school to end. If that's any indication as to how well they are managing his food allergies, I don't know what is.

Spring is here once again, and we are in full swing of the daily nose sniffle battle. Earlier in the season Mason had a cold, which again settled in his chest. The wheezing, coughing fits and gasps in the middle of the night started up again. Terrifying. As soon as I recognized the whistle of the wheeze we took him in. His regular MD diagnosed Reactive Airway Disease, first step to asthma.

We were prescribed an inhaler to manage the attacks. Mason calls it his Airplane mask and is eager and willing when it comes time to adminsiter.

We still get flare ups from cross exposures like milk or cheese kisses from loved ones, but they are few & far between.

We are definately overdue for a visit to the allergist for some current records. Quite a lot has changed in Mason's developement over the last year, and I imagine it's not any different for his allergies, both seasonal and food related.

I commit to posting here more often. At least more than once a year.

Who knew?

**warning, the photo at the end of the post is of a sensitive nature, proceed with caution**

I know it's been quite some time since my last update.

A little follow up first. The FAAN walk last year was quite the experience and so worthwhile. I'm hoping to get an even larger group together for this coming September when the walk is back in San Francisco.

Mason's food allergies seem to be managed between home and daycare well enough. There's an occassional slip up, but we know what to look for and how to treat it, so it's managed. We have not done any food trials since our accidental experiment over Thanksgiving and I'm in no rush to try.

Now's the time of year that seasonal allergies are on the rise. About this time last year it seemed we were constantly fighting a stuffy runny nose, a wet cough and sneezes abounded. Speaking with his allergist on several occassions we both suspected seasonal allergies (Hay Fever), but since he was so young, just over a year, it wasn't commonly seen and we were dealing with it as any other cold. For a child his age, there's not much you can do to offer relief in the stuffy, coughey, sneezy department.

Well, seems the seasonal stuff is back in full swing. Not only are we constantly battling a cough and runny nose, but his eczema on his legs is a constant battle to keep under control. It doesn't seem to bother him too terribly bad, but I just hate seeing those little red welts and scaley patches. Dealing with it myself is bad enough, but I just ache seeing that he has to deal with it too.

So there were plans put into place to do a blood screening for allergies (RAST). The environmental SPT didn't really come back with any strong hits, and we are all well aware of his food restrictions, but there might just be something more we're missing or wasn't included on the first round of SPT's.

We had arranged to do this on Friday, tomorrow, but as always, plans with a toddler are never permanent. Last night, on my way to pick up Mason from childcare, I get a call from the provider. She's just changed Mason's diaper and there's a palm sized welt on his left hip/buttock - what should she do. Mind you, we've never had a hive that large before and there weren't any others popping up. I was only 15 min away and asked that she keep him isolated until I arrived to inspect.

No joke, it was the size of an adults hand. I quickly stripped him down to inspect every inch of him & found no other spots. Curious. Normally with a reaction there's a cluster of spots. Some I would call large, but nothing like this. I'd never seen anything on this scale before, so I wasn't sold that it was a hive.

Next step, temperature read. It was a digital underarm read and by the time it pinged 100 I dropped it, said a quick good-bye to daycare and called the advice nurse. It didn't seem to be an emergency, he was breathing fine, no swelling, but of concern and worth an office visit the next day.

Which brings us to today. The welt is gone, temp is still fluctuating, but it's manageable with regular doses of Tylenol.

We managed to get a pretty good photo of the welt before it vanished & I emailed that along to his Dr. before our appointment. His assessment? It was a hive! It's not unheard of for a child to develop an allergic reaction when their body is fighting off a virus. Instead of just flushing out the bad guys, they hung around, so his body went into agressive fight mode and there you have a hive. Now this is in the most simplest terms, but essentially Mason is allergic to his cold.

It's now, as I mentioned previously, vanished. It could come back in a completely different area and we shouldn't be surprised if another one pops up with his next cold. Unless it's bothersome to him or being irritated by his clothing, we are to ignore them. Otherwise, we treat him with his anti-histamine and it should fade away swiftly.

Now's the time for those who are sensitive to look away. This is a hive, if you can believe it.

Reflux, a follow up

Some time ago, I mentioned the infant reflux Mason was battling along with our discovery of his food allergies. Back then, I said I would talk more about that later, and before it becomes a whole year later, now seems like the time.

Breastfeeding for a new mother is a challenge. Any mother will tell you that the rewards are great, but fine tuning this very specific skill is difficult. Don't let anyone tell you it's easy, because it's not. Without getting into the specifics of should you or shouldn't you or debating the benefits of breast milk over formula I'll share my journey with you in relation to Mason's reflux and his milk allergy.

While pregnant with Mason, I craved milk. Couldn't get enough of the velvety white elixir. Now this is strange because I myself have a milk allergy and can't tolerate more than 1/2 c. without feeling ill. Pregnancy afforded me the pleasure of consuming a half gallon during my lunch hour. It was so delicious!
Weeks after Mason's birth, after trips to the Pedi and a brief visit with a Lactation Consultant, we were told I was doing everything right. Some how, Mason wasn't gaining weight as quickly as everyone had hoped. He wasn't in danger of being underweight, but I was asked to breastfeed(BF) as often as possible and to wake him every 2 hours overnight, just to make sure he was getting all the needed nutrition.
No matter what position I tried, how many times I burped him, what position he was left in after a feeding - Mason expelled most of what he ate. We used receiving blankets as burp cloths and I always leaned against a bath towel while nursing and burping because I knew it wouldn't stay in him long. I changed shirts at least 3 times in a day, and sometimes had to change all my clothes because the volume of "spit up" was so much.
Not only did the volume seem extreme for such a little bundle, but the behavior while BFing and after was concerning as well. Mason would writhe and arch and scream as I brought him in close to nurse. I tried every position short of standing on my head and nothing seemed to be comfortable for him. I felt awful. I was failing him. I couldn't make my body do what it was made to do.
I mentioned the volume and the behavior to his Pedi at the time. Like I was expecting, I was first brushed off as a new mother, who just didn't know what to expect or had unrealistic expectations. And as long as he's gaining some weight, he should be fine. My heart couldn't take watching my baby go through this ordeal. Meal time is supposed to be a pleasurable experience for a baby, and Mason was definately not in a state of pleasure.
I did some research in my Infant Development books and some more digging online. Everything that Mason and I were experiencing sounded an awful lot like reflux. So, I pushed the issue with his former Pedi. I couldn't believe it when he told me, "We can try this antacid. It won't hurt him if he doesn't have reflux and if it does work, then we know that's the problem." It was as if I was getting the Rx like a pat on the head. I was furious, but satisfied that I could at least try something to ease Mason's discomfort.
First dose and there was a huge difference. He didn't arch or wriggle, he latched for much longer. And although there was spit up with burping, it was just that... spit up. It wasn't vomit, he wasn't screaming, and it wasn't all over me. Yay!! Finally, we could establish a pleasant BF experience - for the both of us.
It wasn't long after the reflux was managed that I noticed the reaction to my milk intake in Mason. I quickly cut out dairy and it was smooth sailing in the BF realm from there on out.

Moral of this story: Give yourself more credit. You know your child better than any one. Sometimes Dr's don't know it all and need to be knocked back down to the human level.

Needless to say, we no longer see that doctor for Mason's care. Our current Pedi is fabulous and the one we eventually went to about Mason's food allergy concerns. He continues to be a source of support and guidance for our family and I hope we are able to call on him for years to come.