I got a depressing call from the allergist today–the results of MAM’s allergy testing. Since she’s been congested since she was about 3 months old, resulting in a multitude of ear infections and misery, we thought allergy testing was in order the minute she was old enough.
And knowing is better than not knowing, but damn.
She is severely allergic to milk, and “somewhat” allergic to soy. And wheat. And gluten. And eggs.
The milk test came back a “3” (the highest) and the rest came back a “1”. Remember when I switched her to soy milk? It didn’t do anything because she’s also allergic to soy, and it wasn’t a complete elimination experiment (she still had dairy milk in other things, like baked goods), along with the fact that she was exposed to all the other allergens in unspecified quantities.
Conveniently, we go for our 2 year old check up today. I also have some time to remove offending snacks and yogurt and cheese and milk and go stock up on
things like rice milk and …..well, I’m not sure what else.
So…food-allergy moms, any advice? Favorite foods? Places to shop for favorite foods? Tips on telling your toddler that no, she can’t have ice cream? Or goldfish. Or honey bee crackers. Or drinkable yogurt. Or string cheese. Or scrambled eggs.
Obviously, I’m not going to point all this out while BgK and I gorge ourselves on blizzards or anything, BUT we are going to have to do a MAJOR diet overhaul.
Welcome to the club!
Watch out for rice milke-a couple brands (Rice Dream, for one) contain barley malt, which is gluten. My kids just plain don’t drink it-they don’t really need it if they are getting what they need from other sources. We use a vitamin when I am concerned. Mostly though, we don’t miss the milk at all.
I can send you a list of our favorite gluten free brands. You can buy them at Kroger and Meijer. I rarely even have to shop at specialty stores. I buy mostly mainstream items that are naturally gluten free.
Trix, Dora Stars and Little Einsteins cereals by General Mills are all gluten free, but you may need to check them for milk content. My kids are only mildly allergic to milk so it doesn’t affect them in things like that.
Barley malt?!?! Thanks for the heads up! I have a lot to learn…
There are a lot of names for items that contain gluten, but the simple words I have taught my girls to look for are “wheat, barley, rye and malt (because it is most often made from barley)” and it seems to work well for us.
We also have issues with dairy, soy and meats. I suppose we are lucky that eggs don’t appear to be a problem. However, I’m considering having the little one retested because we still have ongoing issues and I think she might have been too young when we had her tested the first time.
I don’t even know what to say. Is this something she’ll grow out of?
I’ll keep my eyes and ears open for any help.
Poor baby girl.
Oh, NOOOOO…Sorry you have to go through this.