New allergist

Today, we will be checking out a new, LOCAL allergist. I have heard that others have had positive experiences with him and we are in need of an allergist....or any doctor at all to help guide us in the right direction. So, cross your fingers (and toes)!! We have had some uncertainties in the last year. Brynn has experienced some symptoms that don't seem to fall under the FPIES category, but we have just been managing them on our own. Don't get me wrong, she has progressed and is doing very well, looking very healthy etc, but I feel like we need more guidance--or ANY guidance would be nice... (after all, I am NOT a real doctor...I just play one). =) As you probably know, she has also been diagnosed with eosinophilic gastritis and eosinophilic colitis. The GI doctor who diagnosed Brynn literally said, "wow, it seems like you got struck by lightning 3 times! All 3 of the diagnoses are so rare."......and then a few minutes later, basically said "well, good luck!!" So, our goal today with the new allergist, is to get someone who will guide us and work WITH us in figuring this all out. We haven't done a whole lot of trialing foods recently. Brynn is content with her safe foods and is completely done with her formula. She will occasionally ask for some, which we let her have of course. I can't say no to a little boost in nutrition. She really wanted to try some regular peanut butter a couple months ago and that turned into a success. She is enjoying her Natural Skippy peanut butter (only 3 ingredients!!). We attempted to re-trial apples and bananas, but she still had reactions to both of them. We did, however, retrial green beans (basically because we were at Grandma and Grandpa's house and everyone else was picking them from the garden and eating a few here and there and she wanted to as well!) and it was a pass! She isn't a huge fan of them, but we do get a few in her at least. =) A couple weeks ago, we re-trialed eggs. She had a scrambled egg Saturday morning and one Sunday morning. We didn't see any symptoms at all. Monday and Tuesday were crazy days for us, so she didn't have eggs those days. Wednesday morning, she woke up covered in hives and feeling itchy. We gave her allergy meds, which seemed to clear them up later in the day. Thursday, she woke up with hives all over. Again, we gave her the allergy meds and hoped they would go away again. They did not, and then she started complaining of a "yucky" throat. What does "yucky" mean to a 3 year old? Does it mean she has a sore throat? I know you can get a rash with strep. Does it mean she was refluxing from the egg? Reflux is one of those symptoms we see occasionally that we aren't really sure why. It would fit under the EoE (eosinophilic esophagitis) category, but as far as we know, she doesn't have that diagnosis. Or does "yucky" mean her throat was itchy or worse, felt like it was tightening? We, fortunately, haven't had to deal with any IgE (regular) food allergies as of yet, but it could be that too. I had my fingers crossed that it was strep (Yes, I'm that crazy mom who HOPES for a simple illness like Strep, so we don't have to add more to Brynn's list of food issues). Friday morning, when she was covered again, I brought her to the doctor, who was convinced it HAD to be strep because it wouldn't make sense to have a reaction to a food she had eaten days prior. Haha. Both the rapid and 24 hour strep tests were negative. The doctor we saw also thought it was just crazy that we don't have a doctor taking the lead for us. I (kind of jokingly?) asked if she wanted to be that doctor, and she just chuckled, so I took that as a no. =/ We clearly haven't given her eggs again and we won't until we know for sure it wasn't caused by eggs or until we have an epi pen on hand as a precaution. Over the course of the summer, we have also realized she reacts to gnat and mosquito bites. She swells like CRAZY. She had a bite on the side of her head, like by her temple, and she woke up in the morning with her eye swollen shut. She had another one on her forehead and it looked like she fell and cracked her head on a cement floor. The bites on her legs are just as bad. Poor girl. I'm hoping the allergist will test today for at least the eggs and bug bites. I will post an update after her appointment, probably tomorrow. Fingers crossed for a brave allergist, who wants to help us figure this all out and guide us in the right direction!! Thanks!

Loooong overdue

Life has been so busy; it is hard to keep up with this thing! Brynn is doing fabulous right now.  She is up to 16 foods now, plus some baking ingredients as well!  She had her 3 year well-check about a month ago and she is growing like a weed--70th percentile for height and 35th percentile for weight.  =)  We are currently working on just expanding on her already safe foods.  For example:  she can have corn and oats, so we found Marshmallow Matey's!! (Aka Lucky Charms) She LOVES them.  A few of her other favorite snacks are no longer sold in stores around here, so we are venturing out and finding some new ones.  I don't like buying cases of crackers online...she will never eat all of them before the expiration date!  Oh, and did I mention online it would be close to $7 per box of crackers? Ugh.  Anyway, she is now loving her Marshmallow Matey's, Honey Wheels and Alphabits. 

We recently re-trialed apples and it was still a fail. Bummer.  It actually took a few weeks to convince her to try it again. She has her mind made up that she is not going to try any new foods (or re-trial any previous fails) because she doesn't want her tummy to hurt.  She says, "That makes me sick, I only eat MY food!!"  She has quite the attitude about it too.  So we aren't pushing her too hard.  Life is so much more enjoyable when she is feeling well (for her AND the rest of us)!  We did get her to try kale after awhile though.  We made kale chips (oven-baked with sunflower oil and sea salt).  They aren't her favorite, but she will eat at least a couple a day, which is great since they are loaded with nutrients. 

She loves it when she can have the "same" meal as everyone else.  We try to make similar foods as often as possible.  We found whole wheat tortillas at Trader Joe's that are safe for her, so when we have tacos, we make her a taco as well--whole wheat tortilla, ground pork, and Daiya cheese.  Or if we have hamburgers, she gets a pork patty with her cheese on her special bread/bun.  She has come across a couple situations where she has gotten mad because she couldn't have the same treat as other kids.  It's really hard to watch and it just breaks my heart.  But, we are working on always having extra treats/snacks with us just in case.  We have safe homemade cupcakes and her coconut ice cream (or Grandma makes a yummy strawberry ice cream)  on hand, so we are always able to grab something to take with as a treat. 

Overall, she is doing fabulous and we will keep on truckin'!  When she is ready to try another food and when things slow down a bit for us, we will start picking out what's next.  Right now, she is enjoying the beautiful weather and feeling great!  Thanks for all the love and support throughout this journey!