15 month appointment
January 19, 2005 - 12:47 p.m.
Marlee had her 15 month check up on Friday. I thought, since there were no shots that it would be a quick in-and-out appointment, wrong-o! We were there for over an hour. Everything basically looks good. I asked about testing for allergies again and the doc said there's no doubt of her allergy, so why put her through the testing? At the time I conceded but I am still not sure how I feel about not knowing what else she may be allergic to. He said that with her documented symptoms, he can confirm a milk protien allergy. I asked about yogurt and cheese. She was able to eat yogurt up until 14 months, and she can still eat certain kinds of cheeses. He said specific kinds of dairy processing starts to break down those protiens (escpecially in aged cheeses) and so it appeared she was tolerating them. He also said he doesn't see her ever growing out of this allergy. He went back through her chart and showed me all the "early warning" signs....
Her major reflux issues (which decreased when I went off dairy while BF'ing), her BM issues (remember she would only poop about every 7 days and it had to be induced), the rashes indicating high acidity in her GI tract, mucousy runny BM's, the screaming and not sleeping through the night, the gas, later on the excema covering her thighs and shoulders... all seemingly normal baby things that in hindsight, together should have indicated something was off....if only we had put her on soy formula or delayed solids a little...
I guess I am feeling guilty because for how long did I think there was something wrong with her? Almost her whole life and it took me 13 months to figure it out. We're STILL figuring it out.
Because her allergy hadn't previously been confirmed, I felt "experimenting" here and there. There are SO MANY foods out there with dairy in them and I find it nearly impossible to avoid. The doctor told me that while Soy milk was just fine, she still needed supplemental calcium that she'll be missing out from dairy, and to feed her plenty of fortified cereals and cereal bars.....
Well I have been feeding her two cereal bars a day (I must admit it makes breakfast time easier) but all of a sudden she's got a horrid rash again. I look on the package this morning and sure enough....nonfat milk is a buried ingredient.
And she seems to be allergic to some sort of preservative as well...most of the foods I feed her are fresh/homeade. However when we are traveling I tend to rely in those Gerber Graduate things, the stews and pastas and whatnot. Whenever she has one she also gets a rash. Not only diaper area but all over her face too. And twice this week she's gone to bed with rashy cheeks. I mean I put some cream on them and she wakes up fine but it's a little fishy to me. (Her milk allergy never seems to cause facial rashes....it's something that makes her digestive system react and go out of whack, not like your typical allergy that causes hives, respiratory reactions etc, which I am so GRATEFUL for!!!) But SOMETHING is causing a different type of reaction.
The only material I know for SURE she is allergic to is wool. The kid can't come within 5 feet of wool. If it touches her skin anywhere it's inflamed, red bumps instantly that just keeps spreading until we give her a bath. It's funny because Tim always used to wear a wool jacket and when he'd pick up Marlee from daycare she'd instantly break out in this rash, we thought she was allergic to him at first. heheh But now we keep all wool away from her.