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, February 28, 2013

Dinner time

I cook at home almost every day and it's always safe for Aiden. We made our house safe for him so he never has to hear us say "you can't have this because you're allergic to it" since he will have to hear it enough outside of the house.  His school is great when it comes to his allergies and offers safe snacks for the entire class. It is very rare where he is given a "special" cookie and the rest of the class has something else.  Even the parents have been amazing and have made sure Aiden is a part of the birthday or holiday celebrations and made safe snacks which Aiden can also eat.  I thought I would never let Aiden eat from someone else kitchen because he is so sensitive to even cross contamination, but these parents have assured me and dealt with my 100 questions about how things are made.

Our pantry has all safe foods. Our freezer has coconut ice cream.  I bake safe breads, cookies and cakes weekly so he is never limited to what he can have.  Yet, with all these measures he is scared of food.

Last night I made a milk/soy/egg/nut free broccoli risotto that was out of this world delicious! My 14 month old devoured three bowls of it.  But as soon as I asked Aiden to try a little he broke down. I didn't even put the fork near his mouth because I know if I did, he would have one of his episodes.  We learned the hard way not to trick him into trying something new.  You know, pretend you're putting a chicken nugget in his mouth but really it's guacamole.  We did that a few times and it took us hours to calm him down. At times he would start hitting his mouth. Rub his tongue on his shirt as if he's having an allergic reaction. Walk around with his mouth open crying.  It's really heart breaking.  We know guacamole is safe for him. He use to eat it daily but then he just stopped.  Same thing goes for so many other foods. Even simple foods.  He's even scared of fruit.  I know kids are smarter than we give them credit for, but I'm really worried.  I thought this would get easier with time and yes, there are things that did get easier, but so much of it became harder.

I'm hoping with age, he will learn to trust us and start trying new foods.


I can't be any more in love ...

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4 comments:

  1. BellaBrideMarch 1, 2013 at 11:36 PM

    Because of your son's multiple allergies does that mean that his entire class cannot have anything with milk or wheat? Is there any way for him to be safe without controlling what everyone else eats?

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  2. MagdalenaMarch 4, 2013 at 2:53 PM

    HI BellaBride, before he started, we though he would eat his home food at school but the school works very hard on making sure all kids are included together. His current class only offers a snack and there are many kids with allergies so the school is already a nut free zone and they have a pantry full of safe foods (many are top 8). When we registered my son, my husband and i went through everything in the pantry to find many snacks that are safe for him. So they only provide the safe snacks in that classroom. There is also another child with food allergies in his class so it was really easy to make it safe for them in a class of 8 children.

    Next year my son is starting pre-k in a public school with a lot more kids and I know it will be completely different. The only way to make it safe for him without controlling what everyone else eats is to teach him and he already knows not to take food from others and to only eat his food but only time will tell.

    I won't lie -I'm super scared of public school environment. I know this public school will not be as accommodating as his current school.

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  3. Susan H. @ The Food Allergy ChroniclesMarch 8, 2013 at 9:00 AM

    I know, first hand, how frustrating it can be. At these times, I would find it helpful to reflect on all that I am thankful for, as I still do, while constantly clinging to the hope that things will get better.

    On another note, I would like to award you with the 'Very Inspiring Blogger' Award. Your candid honesty of your daily struggles with living with food allergies literally 'pulls at my heart strings'. I totally 'get it'! I have posted the rules...come on over and view the other 14 nominations...and be prepared to be inspired! Susan H. @ The Food Allergy Chronicles.

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  4. MagdalenaMarch 8, 2013 at 11:11 AM

    Thank you Susan! So sweet!

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