"I don't really like Ice cream."

Today Owen and I were food shopping. I found some chocolate soy ice cream, and he was excited. A little bit later, we walked by chocolate soy milk. He begged to buy some. I told him he had to choose between the chocolate soy milk or the ice cream. Owen said "I want chocolate soy milk. I don't really like cream." The comment made me sad. Who doesn't love ice cream? I'm sad that soy ice cream is not as good as the real thing.

In the end, he has the healthiest diet in the world! I refer to his diet as the Daniel diet (from the book of Daniel in the Bible). I am so glad that Owen doesn't complain. I can't wait until he is older, and he can express his thoughts and feelings more. I wonder what is going inside his cute, little head.

Join Us For The Food Allergy Walk on October 2nd!

Please join us again as we walk for a food allergy cure. Please support Team Cress as we complete a 2 mile walk. There is no cost of join the team. Even if you can't make the walk, you can show your support by being a virtual walker (also free!)

Date: Saturday, October 2, 2010
Time: Check-in begins at 9:00 a.m.; Walk begins at 10:00 a.m.
Location: Meadowbrook Park, 5001 Meadowbrook Lane, Ellicott City, MD 21043
Distance: 2 miles

There is a great, big park and a moon bounce. And after the walk, join us at our house for chili bread bowls!

Join us by registering here:
http://www.foodallergywalk.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Home

1. Click "Sign Me Up."
2. Click "Maryland-Baltimore"
3. Click "Join A Team"
4. For Team Name, type in "Team Cress" and click "Search for a Team".
5. Click on "Team Cress"
6. Scroll down, and in the box that lists the team members names, click "Join Team".










More than 12 million Americans have a food allergy. That’s one in 25, or 4% of the population. Between 1997 and 2007, the prevalence of food allergies among children increased 18%, to reach 3 million U.S. children. Food allergies result in more than 300,000 ambulatory- care visits among children in the U.S. annually. Eight foods account for 90% of all food- allergic reactions in the U.S.: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (e.g., walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans), wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish. Owen is allergic to all of these items, except for fish and shell fish.
There is no cure for food allergy; strict avoidance of the food allergen is the only way to prevent a reaction.

Allergic Reaction- Good Reminder

I dropped Owen and Caroline at the neighbor's house, while I ran an errand. Owen and Caroline had a great time playing with the kids. When I picked Owen up, he was itching his face. When I got him in the car, I realized he had some hives on his face, and he was sneezing large amounts of snot. It was clear he was having an allergic reaction. Since it was the morning, I didn't want to give him Benadryl. I decided to give him Claritin instead, and he eventually improved. He didn't eat anything, so I don't know if it was an accidental food exposure or if it was an environmental allergy.

This reaction is a timely reminder to me of what a new environment can do to Owen. I am blessed to have a daily, steady routine.

Play Doh Experiment

Owen played with play doh when he was 2 years old, and broke out in hives. In the past year, Owen did a pasta craft and held a piece of bread while feeding a duck. With these 2 successes, I wanted to try play doh again.

On Thursday, Owen played with play doh for 1 hour without any problems. I was so excited. On Friday, Owen played with play doh for about 45 minutes without any problem. On Saturday, Owen played with play doh for 2 hours. Most of the time was unsupervised because we had a guy giving us a window replacement estimate. After 2 hours, his eyes started getting itchy, red, and swollen. I washed him up, and avoided giving him Benadryl, just to see if he can improve without intervention. But about 1 hour later, it was nap time, and he had hives on his arms and legs, and was uncomfortable, so I gave him Benadryl.

It was very frustrating to see him have a reaction. After Thursday's success, I thought we a breakthrough. I guess it is good news that it took 2 hours to have a reaction. Ugh.

Pasta Craft A Success

I love Ms. Cheryl, my kid's day care provider. I don't know how we started talking about it, but Ms. Cheryl told me about a craft where the kids paint pasta, and then thread the noodles on the string. Well I don't know how I came to this conclusion, especially after last months asthma attack, but in the end, I decided to let Owen participate in a pasta craft.

The next day, Cheryl did the craft with the kids, and Owen did great! There was no redness, itching, or hives. Although that night, we went to a party, and after the party he did have a runny nose, itching, and a dry cough. I gave him Benadryl, Singular, and Albuterol, and he cleared right up. It could have been from the person's dogs or Owen was playing by a storm drain and maybe could have had mold.

The next day, Owen put the pasta on a thread, and he didn't have any troubles.

I am so grateful for Cheryl, and her willingness to even try this craft with Owen. I am so grateful for her vigilance in monitoring him. She gives Owen such a great care. I was a bit worried about this activity, but I am so confident in the care Cheryl provides, that I didn't stress out. People like Cheryl are impossible to find. We are so so so blessed!

And just for the record, Owen's bald spot is gone. The bald spot appeared in July '09, and it disappeared around February '10.

Pre Boarding Request for Food Allergy Kids

Below is a note I sent to Southwest Airlines regarding a flight we will taking this summer...

Southwest Airline,

Owen Cress has an allergy to peanuts. Owen has a history to respiratory distress when there is allergen in the air. In other words, he doesn't need to touch or eat a peanut to react. If there is allergens in the air, he can have trouble breathing.

I attended a food allergy conference in March 2010, and they said it is ideal to pre board, so that you can wipe down the area, and make sure there are no nuts in the area that was left over from another flight. I called SWA customer service to see if I can pre board the flight, but they denied my request.

Allowing my family to pre board will improve our flight experience because it will allow us to make sure we have done everything necessary to give Owen a safe trip. This will decrease our stress. Allowing my family to pre board does not cost SWA anything, and will greatly improve our flight experience, and reduces the risk to the airline for an emergency landing.

We love Southwest Airlines. We are grateful that it will provide a peanut free flight. But I plead with the airline to allow families with significant allergies to pre board. Please consider updating your policy to keep families safe.

Very Respectfully,

Joanna Cress
Food Allergy Mom and Advocate Of A Fabulous 3 Year Old Boy

Asthma

Owen had his first asthma attack. :(

Owen had minor, irregular wheezes this week. Tree season has been unprecedented, and it has been getting the best of him. Last night, Owen suddenly had wheezing and coughing. We removed him from the environment and gave him benadryl. He was able to settle down enough to fall asleep. He woke up at 4 am coughing and wheezing.

We visited Dr. Banks, and he said he thinks it was because of an inhilation of a scone mix that included pine nuts. Dr. Banks stated that Owen is extremely sensitive to his allergens because of the tree pollen. He recommended Owen take Singular and Albuterol each night for the rest of the spring. He is hoping that Owen will improve once the allergy season improves.