The Thompsons--With Love!

Owen's Allergist Appointment

Owen's appointment was good. I really liked the doctor, which is always helpful. She listened to my long story about everything that I've noted up to the present, and what my suspicions were (dairy, soy, and likely at least one more thing I hadn't figured out yet).

She was very pro-BF, which is great. She did mention that it was important for me to get adequate nutrition (both to benefit myself and Owen), and for some people that is hard on an elimination diet. She mentioned that if I had a problem keeping my supply up or couldn't keep myself healthy on the elimination diet, that there were some formula options out there that we could try. I liked that she just talked about this matter-of-factly, not as a threat or a prediction, but just as a tool if we ever needed to go that route.

I think that in the past, I may have been possibly upset about any mention of formula and me not being able to keep my diet good for him before diving down the food allergy path--but now I am just viewing this all through my new food-allergy-kid's-mom glasses. I still want to do everything I can to NOT go on those nasty elementals, and I don't think we'll have to. But it's been thrown out there as a last-ditch tool if I can no longer feed him other things safely.

She was also not upset about Owen's small size (which can sometimes be a side-effect of some food allergies, and more common in babies with multiple allergies), and said that hopefully we can keep him growing bigger, but that as long as he's not losing, we're doing okay currently.

We did skin testing, I forgot the official name of that kind of test, but it was pretty easy on him. It didn't seem that painful, and he only started crying halfway through. We did 14 scratches. She tested for dairy, egg, soy, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, rice, oats, sesame (my add-on), and tomato (another of my add-ons). Then there were two control scratches--one empty, and one with pure histamine. Owen's reaction to the egg one looked identical to the histamine control, and the milk was a little better. The soy was only slightly inflamed, and she said she was borderline on calling it a reaction, but weighed with my experience of his reaction to soy in my diet, we're calling it a low positive.

She's hopeful that the soy allergy is on its way out, that he may be outgrowing it. She mentioned that we could do a blood test at a year to get more information on it, but probably only if we're drawing blood for something else--she wants to add it on. I think that we only really want to know about soy so badly since he also needs to avoid milk.

We were prescribed epi-pens, and I need to carry them and benadryl at all times, just in case. I think they were surprised at the intensity of his egg reaction, and I know I can't possibly keep him totally away from egg and dairy. *I* can, but with two older kids dropping food, and milk and egg being sort-of "invisible" allergens, "He can eat brownies and things that are baked, right?" I've already heard twice in talking to people! I feel much better knowing that I can help him if he does have a bad reaction someday. It's interesting to note that as far as I know, he's never really even eaten egg or milk--he's developed this sensitivity to it through my breastmilk. It scares me to think that he will probably get one of those things in his mouth someday!

She also said he could outgrow the allergies, and that many kids do.  He may not, but he might!

Sorry so long. I am sure I'm forgetting things, so feel free to ask if I've left out anything specific you wanted to know about.

Our House

First a little photo of Owen that I forgot to post in the last post!

The house is coming together nicely!  We've been very fortunate to be able to start getting our house decorated and furnished like we want it to be.  It's been so fun!  Here are some pictures of how it looks today.  I think the first floor is close to being done.  We do want to paint the walls, and get another piece of furniture for the kitchen, but this is mostly it!

Busy week!

This week has quite a bit going on. Monday morning we'll go play at Linda's house.  Tuesday is Henry's 3rd birthday.  Hard to believe!!  We will have a very small party for him on the following Saturday.  On his birthday, he will be going to the dentist for a teeth cleaning, and we're fortunate to have a really great pediatric dentist who we are friends with.  So, Henry is excited to go visit Priya for his appointment. 

Also this week, Owen has his first allergist appointment, which I am very anxious about.  I can't wait to try to make some progress in figuring out what is going on with him .  I hope everything is fine, but I suspect that we'll get confirmation of his food allergy problems.  We'll see, though. I'd love to be wrong this time! In the bath photos below, you can see some of his eczema spots on Owen's skin.  Before I dropped so many potential allergens from our diet, spots and areas like the ones below covered most of his body.

Wednesday afternoon, I am meeting with a landscape designer to go over drawings for some ideas for our yard.  We're hoping to make some progress this year in developing our yard into an area that we really enjoy using and looking at.  I'm very excited!

End of March

Spring is finally here!  We are enjoying our Illinois spring so far--the wind is unbelievable, the weather is a bit warmer than what we're used to, and we have a lot of sunshine.  Much more sun than we are used to in Michigan.  Owen is now 9 months old, and is a tiny little guy.  At his appointment he was only 27 inches and 16lbs 4oz.  That puts him just under the third percentile for weight and around the 10th percentile for height.  His pediatrician and I agree that he seems to be developing fine and his size is not a concern.  He does seem to have some food allergy issues, though.  He appears to be allergic to soy and dairy, and hopefully that is it.  We are investigating the cause of his allergy symptoms, and I have a few more of the most common allergens to try. 

Henry is almost three, and is potty training.  He's doing really well.  He is having accidents sometimes, but will occasionally go a day or two without one.  He seems to want to go on the potty most of the time.  I'm really proud of him! 

Nora and I have started her kindergarten work.  She wants to learn to read, so she and I are using the book, "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons".  We're almost to lesson #30, and she is beginning to read.  She can read words well with the phonics sounds we've covered so far.  We're considering enrolling in Clonlara school for kindergarten next year.  It is an accredited school located in Ann Arbor, MI that has a wonderful homeschool program.  They have advisers, have curriculum you can use if you choose to, and will furnish you a transcript and grades from your reported work.  The great thing is you can still homeschool in any way you choose and they will work with what you're doing to credit you at whatever speed the kids are working. 

Another great thing about this spring and summer is that we're expecting to have lots of guests!  We just had a great visit from Matt's parents, Howard and Rochelle, last week.  The kids had a great time playing with them, and were very sad to see them go.  Matt and I had a nice time having them here to talk to and be with.  It is so nice to just be with your loved ones!  It is difficult being so far away from them, especially since we got a bit spoiled being nearby last year in Michigan.

We are also looking forward to a visit from Emily and Colin, possibly my mom, Tom and Heather Hofmeister, and Ellee Spier and her kiddos.  Yay! 

Before I sign off, here are a few new Owen photos.  He is 9 months old in these photos, and just cut his first teeth.