I've Been Tagged

I have been tagged on my blog (quite exciting really!).
Here are the rules:

* Link to the person who tagged you.
* Post the rules on your blog.
* Write 6 random things about yourself.
* Tag 6 people at the end of your post.
* Let each person know you tagged them by leaving an entry on their blog.
* Let your tagger know when your entry is up on your blog.

Now, 6 random things about me:
1. I have 2 men in my life- my fabulous husband Doug, and the best little buddy, Owen
2. I only wanted to live in one place my whole life, but Doug has expanded my horizons to be a world traveler. I lived in Europe for 3 years, and each month it was our goal to visit a new location.
3. Pregnancy gives me heart burn. Otherwise, I just have a big bump on my tummy, that I forget about most of the time.
4. My mom was a nun (and yes, there are good stories ;)
5. I hate running.
6. My son's food allergies have changed my life. Owen was diagnosed with food allergies at 4 months of age. He is allergic to wheat, soy, milk, legumes, barley, peanut, sesame, garlic (which is a bigger pain than you can imagine), egg, and environmental allergies. He has contact food allergies, and reacts when I can't see any of his triggers. I am completely sympathetic to other moms with food allergic kids. I wish I could put a protective coating around Owen to protect him from this world that he is allergic too, but I so desperately am trying to integrate him into many social things as well. I hate feeling like the crazy, over protective, hypochondriac mom. My faith in God and his providence keeps me going.

Tags- Rachel's Recipe Box (I get stuck in a cooking rut so easily because of Owen's limitations. Food Allergies have take the joy out of cooking), MyKidsAllergies (I have touched by the recent bumps in the Food Allergy journey that she has shared), Food Allergy Buzz (a fabulous source on information), and Team Cress (this is my family blog, that I get to share the joys and fun in my life)

Support Team Cress in Food Allergy Walk

FAAN is hosting a Food Allergy Walk on October 4th. Team Cress plans on being there to support this cause and raise money for Food Allergy research. If you would like to support Owen and the Team Cress team, please click on the links below. The links bring you directly to a website that supports Team Cress. Please join us on October 4th, and help us fight the food allergy epidemic.

July Just Won't Go Away!

When I picked Owen up from daycare on Tuesday, July 29th, it started out so normal. It was really hot and humid outside, so the Owen was in the house all day. Cheryl said she thought he might be coming down with a cold because he was sneezing all day. We forgot to give him Claritin that morning, but he was inside all day, so I was surprised that it mattered. Owen woke up from his nap (2:30) sounding congested and slight runny nose. He had minor irritation over his left eye. During the 20 minute car ride home, Owen's face had increased redness, Owen was saying "itch", and itching his legs and face. (Owen was easily distracted by the DVD player in the car) At 3:00, we were home and I noticed raised red bumps on the left side of his face. I gave him .5 teaspoon of Benadryl. At 3: 25 there was no improvement of symptons, and the raised, red bumps spread to the right side of his face. I called Dr. Banks office. They instructed to give him another .5 teaspoon of benadryl and go to Dr. Banks office immediately.

At 3:50 we arrrived at Dr. Banks office. Owen's rash was no long spreading. It was a deeper red, but it was improved. By 4:30, Owen's face had greatly improved. Eczema on trunk and legs are worse. We gave him a third dose of Benadryl at 1900 because of some lingering redness and ezcema.

Dr. Banks believes that Owen is growing increasingly allergic to cats. There are 2 cats at the day care. I was surprised that he thought it was a cat allergy because the rash did not occur until he had left day care.

Today we remembered to give him Claritin before day care. He had a good day at daycare. He was inside again today. Cheryl said that Owen was completely fine all day. There was just a minor spot of redness on the left side of his mouth when I picked him up. But just like yesterday, the redness and itching increased in the car. He got one 3 mm red hive on his right check, just like he did the day before. Owen was sneezing and his nose was running at this point. I thought here I go again! When we got home, I got Owen some juice and an allergy free cookie (Everyday brand, which is my favorite company in the world!) He was out of breath while drinking his juice, but I think that was because his nose was no congested. He had some minor redness around the hive for about an hour, but it all cleared up on its own.

Owen during his reaction (sorry for the scary picture, but I need to document these things for myself):

Eczema Improved After 5 Days

Owens skin finally looked good again. Each day there was an improvement and today he was back to his baseline. I realize that ezcema is just as stressful as dealing with hives. If I had a choice, I would much prefer that Owen would get hives over the eczema, because the hives can be relieved with Benadryl within 15 minutes. Eczema takes days to clear up.

On Thursday, I took some time for myself. It was wonderfully relaxing. I started the day visiting blogs and websites to get ideas on what things I can cook for Owen. Then I got my hair cut, which I have not done since Mother's Day '07. Then I went to Whole Foods and spent 2 hours looking for things for Owen and reading labels. It was so much fun. One of my greatest finds was EveryDay brand soft chocolate chip cookies. Owen loves them! He thought they were the greatest. And I was so happy to give him a yummy treat. At least I think they are yummy. I have not dared to take any of Owen's cookies, not even a little bite. I also purchased Sunbutter. It is similar to peanut butter, but it is made from sun flower seeds. Owen really enjoys it. I think he just enjoys some new flavors, since he eats almost the same things every day. Below is a picture of him enjoying dipping food into the Sunbutter. Tomorrow I am going to cook a chicken and pasta dish (I found a corn pasta, that Owen has not had yet). I also hope to make Apple muffins. I had such a fun time at Whole Foods, coming up with all these ideas for food.

Picture of Owen enjoying Sunbutter.

Itchy, irritated face continues

Today was another day of an itchy irritated face. It might have been slightly improved from yesterday, but nothing to get excited about. I contact Dr. Wood's office, and they told me that eczema flares up when the immune system is triggered. Owen had a high fever on Sunday and Monday, and it triggered the eczema. They told me to keep him cool, bath frequently to clean off sweat, moisturize with aquaphor, and use prescription cream as needed.

I got approval to give Owen Jello. I was concerned about the gelatin ingredient, but I was told that Jello's gelatin comes from cows or pigs. Apparently, gelatin can also come from fish. I am going to make Jello tomorrow, and give it a try. Hopefully we will be able to eat soy soon, and that will open up a lot of opportunities for desserts.

I was reading a bunch of blogs about kids with food allergies. It started with Doug reading me a story from mykidshavefoodallergies.blogspot.com. The story he read me made me cry, and not just a little. I sobbed. The mom has 2 kids- Owen and Max. Over the past 5 months they have been undergoing food challenges, and have failed them all. I decided that I am just going to decide that it will take 20 years to outgrow the allergies, so that I don't get so disappointed with all the ups and downs that food allergies bring. Sometimes skin tests and blood test results can get your hopes up, only to be crushed by a food challenge that goes wrong. Food challenges are not fun. You eat a small bit of food, and then wait for 20 minutes to see what happens. If you tolerate it, they give you a slight bit more, and then you wait again. You need a lot of patience. And then when you fail, they load you up with Benadryl so you are exhausted and are very disappointed. I do not look forward to these events. We already have been through a wheat challenge, and Owen failed within 5 minutes after they put a dab of cream of wheat on his cheek. So I guess if you are going to fail, it is best to fail up front, just so the anxiety does not drag out.

Itchy Face

All right, I have some catching up to do.

On Friday, July 18th I went to the Columbia Mall indoor playground, and Owen did not have any problems.

On Monday, June 21st I went to the Marley Station mall playground and Owen developed hives on his face after playing at the indoor playground for 1 hour.

On Tuesday, June 22nd, Owen's face was "messy" all day. He woke up with redness around his eyes. He became splotchy and itchy around his face and on his head. We had his well baby doctor's visit. The doctor gave him Benadryl, and his face improved. But when we got back into the car, his face became itchy and splotchy again. When we took a walk, his face became itchy again, so we turned around and went home. I gave him some more Benadryl before he went to bed, and his face seemed to improve.

July has been a rough month for Owen.

Yikes, what a mess!

One of the most frustrating things about Owen's allergies is not knowing what is going on. That is exactly what happened today. When I picked Owen up from day care, his skin looked clean. I didn't do an inspection, but I was not concerned. Although there was a "soreness" to his skin, but it was mild. I brought Owen to the mall to play at the playground, since it is a hot day. Owen played at the playground for 30 minutes. Then he started coughing a dry cough. He kept coughing, so I went to check on him. And I heard him wheezing, which is a first. I thought to myself this can't be. I listened to him for a minute, and the wheezing continued. I took Owen off the playground and bought him some juice. (I always give him a drink when he shows signs of a reaction. It gives me a chance to evaluate him without his hands getting in the way. It also serves as a "time out" to evaluate the situation). Owen was not interested in the juice. I gave him benadryl. He continued to cough, and his nose started running slightly. His face was red and slightly puffy. I started getting very concerned. I decided to get the epipen handy(which I thought was in my car, but it was in my purse the whole time). On my way to the car, I thought I should notify mall security, so they can be prepared to help me if I needed it. Security called 911, and an ambulence met me at my car. By the time the ambulence arrived, his coughing and wheezing stopped. His face was still red and puffy. The paramedic evaluated him, and said that he didn't hear any wheezing, and said it was my choice if I wanted Owen to go to the hospital. Since there was no respiratory issues, I just went home.
Owen's face continued to be slightly puffy. He has horrible eczema on his legs, chest, arms, and underarms. When I brought him upstairs to put cream on him, it seems like his face got worse as I was applying cream.
When he ate dinner, he sounded congested again, but did not cough or wheeze. I gave him Nasonex. He already had Claritin earlier that day. I gave him benadryl again before I put him to sleep.
It is so hard to judge what to do. I felt like I over reacted when I got mall security involved, but if I was helping another mother, I would have done the same thing.
What happened today??? What is happening with my little guy?

Irritated eyes, leg, and diaper area

Ms. Cheryl reported that Owen had itchy eyes during a time at day care. She said there were no welts or anything, just itchiness. She also said he had a itchy spot on his thigh. He looked pretty good when I picked him up. There was slight signs of facial irritation, but no red flags. Just before dinner, his eyes became itchy again. There were no hives. Doug said that he saw some bread crumbs on the table where he was playing. So it might have been that. We gave him some benadryl. His diaper area was also very itchy tonight. I put on some protopic and aquaphor. Once his diaper was on, he didn't try to scratch. But when his diaper was off, he could not stop itching.

Red, warm, splotchy face

Owen's face was red and splotchy when I picked him up from day care at 2:15 today. The redness improved during the ride home, and the redness and thickness seemed to congregate around his eyes. He played in the basement for a while, and his whole face flared up again. It continued all evening long.

There is a part of me that wonders if it is a skin infection that set off this eczema. He got several cuts while he was in the church nursery on Sunday. Sunday afternoon he went swimming in a lake. So maybe a cut got infected and set off this chain of irritation. The irritation did not start till Monday afternoon.

I applied antibiotic cream, protopic, and gave him benadryl. He fell asleep, but was still red and itchy when he was dozing off.