A Logan Story (It's a long one)

Lots of hives.

Logan was about 6 months old when at Easter dinner I gave him a bite of my dinner roll.  We noticed that his face started turning red within 10 minutes.  So Braden ran home (since we were at a friend's house for dinner) and got the Benadryl.  Proper dosage was tricky since the label reads "children under 2 years: do not use".  So we just guessed and gave him about a quarter teaspoon.  As we were going home we set him on the floor to put Kayla's shoes on and Logan started vomiting.  After attempting to clean it up and profusely apologizing to our friends, we ran out the door.  We got home and started getting Logan ready for a bath to clean him up when I noticed he had red blotches/hives all over his body.  After his bath, they were still there.  And he was screaming.  A lot of screaming.  So Braden called MIT pediatrics and explained what was going on.  They told him that since Logan had hives and had vomited whatever was causing a reaction in him was affected two systems in his little body so we should go immediately to the ER.  I did NOT want to take him by myself, so Braden got Kayla into bed and we called a friend to come sit with her.  Luckily our friend had a paper to write (the same paper Braden worked on while at the ER) so he didn't mind helping us out.  We got to Boston Children's Hospital around 9:30 and stayed until 1am.  They gave him more Benadryl and just wanted to watch him to make sure he didn't need epinephrine.  The next day was his 6-month appointment with his pediatrician.  She recommended that he go to the allergist, but also warned that allergy tests for children under 1 have a lot of false positives and false negatives.  (We didn't go to the allergist.)

So happy to be at the ER with Mom and Dad in the middle of the night.

Poor swollen baby!

In May I went to get my hair cut.  Logan had had a fever that meds weren't lowering so I had made an appointment for him to go in that afternoon.  While I was getting my hair cut Braden was with the kids. Since Logan wasn't taking a bottle and it had been hours since he had eaten, Braden gave him some of the cereal puffs.  I got home, we all went to the doctor, and Logan's face started swelling, and swelling. I interrupted whatever the doctor was saying and said, "he's having an allergic reaction, he needs Benadryl right now!"  She finally understood that the situation was serious and got him some medicine.  Then she hemmed and hawed about whether we should take an ambulance or drive ourselves to the ER.  She even stopped one of the other doctors and asked her what we should do.  Braden finally said, "we'll drive ourselves" and we left.  (Needless to say, we were quite unimpressed with some of the doctors there at MIT pediatrics.)  So off we went.  This time, Braden dropped me off with Logan (second time around is much less scary) and he took Kayla to run errands or play on the playground.  Logan was swollen, red, and had hives.  After about an hour and a half, one of the doctors said she didn't think he needed epinephrine.  Ten minutes later a different doctor came in and said Logan should get epinephrine.  The nurse finally came back in and I asked her which doctor we were going to listen to.  Another 15 minutes goes by and it's decided that Logan should get the epinephrine.  According to the doctor though, we can leave as soon as it gets administered.  The nurses say they want us to stay for 20 after  to make sure it is taking effect and he is doing ok still.  So nice that everyone is on the same page!  (NOT!)  Since the nurses are the ones that actually give him the shot, we stayed.  Within 10 minutes the swelling and redness was going down.  His eczema cleared up for several days afterwards too!

Still swollen, red, and sad.

So we made an appointment to see the allergist.  She was so much more helpful than I was expecting.  After a very unhelpful dermatology appointment for his eczema, I didn't have much hope for the specialist there at MIT Medical.  The allergist proved me wrong though.  She did a simple skin test which showed he was reactive to the two types of egg proteins.  He tested negative for everything else that was tested: milk, wheat, strawberries (the puffs had strawberry puree in them), and a few other things.  So we bought some milk-based formula (hooray for less expensive formula!).  Braden was taking both sets of Grandparents and my younger sister to the airport after his graduation while I was at church with the kids when I ran out of our soy-based formula and gave Logan his first taste of milk-based formula.  BIG MISTAKE.  20 minutes into Relief Society Logan downed the 8oz. bottle and promptly upchucked it all plus everything else in his system.  Thank goodness for kind RS sisters!  I think four women came rushing over with baby wipes and paper towels to clean it all up.  My loving friend took Logan from me so I could attempt to clean up my shirt and skirt and get out the Benadryl (which we learned to keep in the diaper bag at all times).  She helped give him his medicine to attempt to calm the reaction then proceeded to remove his filthy clothes.  Everywhere the vomit touched was covered in hives.  I grabbed my stuff and Logan and rushed to the mother's lounge where I could finish cleaning us up.  And he threw up again.  So he was out of clothes and I was soaked.  I tried calling Braden to let him know the situation but he wasn't answering his phone (it was on silent because of church).  So I tried to clean us both up as best I could and decided to take the chance that I could find Braden in his class.  Clad in only his diaper and blanket, I cradled Logan as I walked down the hall and miraculously ran into Braden!  By the time I told him what happened it was time to pick up Kayla from nursery and we headed home.  I called up the allergist the next day and made another appointment.  She prescribed him an epi-pen that we now carry around with us.  She also decided he needed a blood test done.  I was so nervous!  I don't like needles but Logan was a champ and sat still for the first time in his life while getting his blood drawn.  We left for Utah four days later.  I got a message on my phone from the allergist saying that Logan is allergic to wheat, eggs, and dairy.  I am so grateful to know what it is he's allergic to so we can relax a little bit.  And I'm glad he can have soy and corn.

So what do you feed a baby that is allergic to wheat, eggs, and dairy?  Lots of fruits and vegetables, Kix, quinoa, and we tried deli ham for the first time today.  We always have the Benadryl nearby in case something causes a reaction.  I scour the internet for ideas, but most allergy-sensitive recipes only leave out one or two of his problem-foods.  Most importantly, what do I do for a birthday cake for him???

Happy kid when we know what NOT to feed him!