Allergies

Sweet girl is allergic to cow's milk.

Within about 2 or 3 minutes of drinking 6 oz of it for the first time a week ago Wednesday, she broke out in hives. All around her mouth, chin, and chest. She was not happy. This picture didn't do it justice but you get the idea.

 

I called the pediatrician right away to confirm her Benadryl dosage, because I was a little nervous about how quickly she reacted.

 

We took her to the allergist last Tuesday and they tested her for shellfish/shrimp, strawberries, rice, wheat, and soy(bean) - all negative - and confirmed that she is very allergic to cow's milk, less so (but still allergic) to peanuts, and mildly allergic to eggs, but we think only in their truest form because she has eaten things with eggs baked into them a ton in the past and not had a problem. 

So she is clear to drink soy milk in exchange for cow's milk. I also learned that her formula, Nutramigen, has 1% milk in it which could be the cause of her chronic diaper rash since she is constantly being given something (in small doses) that she is allergic to.

It's great to know definitively what she can and can't have, and that she will most likely grow out of all of these allergies in the near future. And because the idea of soy milk makes me want to gag, I got her the vanilla flavor. We will mix it into her formula bottles and transition her over to all soy milk (once my remaining stash of formula is used up, about another week).

Both doctors insisted that I carry an Epi-Pen Jr. for her though, one set at home and one in her diaper bag. The allergist even wrote a script for another set just in case - I hope we never have to use them. Also? Those suckers are expensive. Oh. My.

In other health news, Maddie still has her heart murmur, and so the pediatrician referred us to a cardiologist. She had an echo (45 minutes of trying to keep her still - as fun as it sounds! She got to have her first-ever sucker.) and it showed 2 small holes in her heart, which she can live with, without restrictions on her activity level. So thankful for that. We have to have it rechecked in a year, and hopefully by then the holes will have closed on their own.

All in all, nothing major. Very manageable and most likely temporary. I am constantly thankful for the wonderful medical care we are able to receive for our kids, and for their good health. Not something to take for granted.