I decided to start this blog after my son was diagnosed with food allergies. For the first seven months of his life he suffered with terrible eczema and after a trip to the ER we found out he is allergic to milk, soy, eggs, sesame and peanuts. As a parent of a child with food allergies it is a constant emotional rollercoaster. I have cried at grocery stores, at birthday parties and at night. He has had the Epi injection twice and spent too much time in the ER.

Current allergies: Milk, Eggs, Peanuts, Tree nuts
Outgrew: Sesame, Soy

Thursday, December 29, 2011

It's a boy

December 15th at 8:13 AM I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named Dylan.  9lbs 2oz and 19.5 in long.  Not as big as Aiden (9lbs 14oz) but still big.  Born via c-section

Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug

It has not been easy. I knew having two kids would be hard, but I never though it would be THIS hard.  I cried for the first seven days because I couldn't figure out how to manage my time between the boys.  Aiden was super jealous and I had Dylan attached to my boob most of the day (cluster feeding sucks).  

Today Dylan is two weeks old and it is getting easier. I'm mastering nursing and making breakfast, lunch and dinner all at the same time.  Yesterday I was home alone with my two boys for a good portion of the day and managed to clean two rooms, do two loads of laundry, make a banana bread and test out a new soy, milk, egg, nut free chocolate cake recipe (still trying to tweak it) and to top it all, I made a pretty yummy dinner (pasta with veggies and meatballs for my husband and "beanballs" for myself with a side of garlic bread)...

Last week I decided to go off dairy because Dylan was showing some skin issues and possible reflux.  His skin would turn bright red on his scalp and face and sometimes had little white pimples on his chin, cheeks and nose after nursing.  His pediatrician doesn't think it's an allergy but I can't help to worry.  He has been a little better so I'm assuming the diet may be working.  I hope and pray he does not have allergies, but if he does, i hope and pray even more that we find out before he has a reaction like his brother.  

Here are my two handsome men.. It's amazing how different they look (one has blond hair and one has black hair).  Love them.  Can't wait until they start to play together and torture each other :)

Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug

7 comments:

  1. Congrats on your recent birth and on your beautiful family! My older son was extremely jealous of the baby, especially at nursing time. It helped to give him an activity to do during this time. Ultimately I was able to hands free nurse and could read a book to my oldest while I nursed. Another option, though I'm not big on tv time, was just that. TV was the ultimate in distractions. Good luck! It will get easier!

    ReplyDelete
  2. thank you :) Aiden is getting better but his melt downs are out of control. It's probably a combination of a new baby in the house and him turning two. I never liked turning on the TV for Aiden but it has been my best friend this past month.. I can't see it any other way. It's the only time we all can just sit and relax.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Congratulations! My two are 18 months apart. I found a special bag of toys that only came out when I was nursing was a big help in the early days. There are lots of cues to look for to recognize a food allergy early. http://dairyfreediner.wordpress.com/our-journey/ I unfortunately found that out the hard way the first time too. What a precious photo you posted. I hope things continue to get easier and easier. Love your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congratulations. I hope you have one healthy, normal child

    ReplyDelete
  5. How sweet! I'm late, but congratulations are still in order :)

    A quick note: It's actually a lot easier when you have two with food allergies because you know exactly what to look for and can make executive decisions without having to go through all sorts of doctors and such. I hope and pray that sweet Dylan doesn't have any food allergies.

    We did lots and lots of stories during nursing time with my second little one. We'd all snuggle up on the couch and Maya would hold the book or turn the pages. She was 14 months old when Jesse was born :) Baby wearing also helps TONS. I wish I had known about it before my third. My homemade no sew Moby wrap was my friend.

    Good luck Mama! You can rock this!

    ReplyDelete
  6. thank you everyone.. its definitely getting easier.. i just wish i had more time to write a blog entry. I have so much to write about it's driving me crazy. But it has been getting easier so hopefully i'll find some time soon. I'm super thankful that Aiden loves to read because we have been doing plenty of reading and we also set up a "nursing bag of goodies" which has been helpful on the days where he does not want to read. My new challenge is dealing with terrible two's! I can't believe how such a wonderful and loving little boy can be so mean sometimes (and that's putting it lightly). Will write soon and thank you all for stopping by and your thoughtful words.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Congradulations! Sorry I am so late in congradulating you on the birth of your second son. My first son had multiple food allergies, so I was really nervous with my second. I stayed off many of my first son's allergens throughout the pregnancy and found that if I drank a smidgen of milk while breastfeeding, my second son would breakout in eczema across the forehead...I stopped all dairy. At around a year, I started to add yogurt and cheese into my diet...he did not react. I then tried him on a milk based formula where the milk protein is partially broken down...can't remember the name off hand. He was fine. My second son does not have a milk allergy but ended up with a peanut/tree nut allergy...specifically to macadamia nuts but we keep him away from all nuts. We go to the allergist on Monday...I can't help but hope for some good news! :)

    ReplyDelete