Yesterday was another fun-filled day with my darling newborn. We went to to see an allergist. The wee man had a red and dry rash on the backs of his legs, elbows and tummy. Our pediatrician saw him last week for his 4 month appointment and was a little concerned.
So off we went to the allergy doc - she was very nice - even though she was going to make my dear one cry. She took a thorough health history - I say that grinning since he's only 3.95 months old - and included us in the history.
He was examined by 3 doctors (I knew he was special and deserved it :) and all 3 concluded that he most probably had an allergy to milk. Next steps - test for allergy. Normally that wouldn't be too difficult, however, da wee man is a wee one. The scratch test (and yes, they really do scratch him to inject the allergen) was performed to include dairy, egg yolks, and egg whites. They marked on him with a SHARPIE! My little one was tough, but he still cried. I thought that was the worst part... I was wrong.
The test came back negative, but I was informed that "false negatives" often occur in babies. So why the H*ll did you just do that AND make him cry if you thought it would be negative. SO then they had to draw blood for another test. Blood - from my baby - you must be joking. And you want me to hold him down whilst you are doing it... you are insane.
But I did - and he survived. He only whimpered a little. Kudos to the wonderful nurse who did it. She was a pro and used a different technique than I had seen before. She was very gentle. We go back in month to see the results.
In the meantime, I can't eat any dairy for 2 weeks and then no eggs for 2 weeks. This ought to be fun - I live for cheese! If it will make my little one better, its a small sacrifice to make. I brought him home to our amazing nanny who scooped him up and gave him the TLC he needed. Stay tuned.
Here are a couple of more recent pics. Did I mention I melt when he smiles. Oh --- and I think he laughed :)
So off we went to the allergy doc - she was very nice - even though she was going to make my dear one cry. She took a thorough health history - I say that grinning since he's only 3.95 months old - and included us in the history.
He was examined by 3 doctors (I knew he was special and deserved it :) and all 3 concluded that he most probably had an allergy to milk. Next steps - test for allergy. Normally that wouldn't be too difficult, however, da wee man is a wee one. The scratch test (and yes, they really do scratch him to inject the allergen) was performed to include dairy, egg yolks, and egg whites. They marked on him with a SHARPIE! My little one was tough, but he still cried. I thought that was the worst part... I was wrong.
The test came back negative, but I was informed that "false negatives" often occur in babies. So why the H*ll did you just do that AND make him cry if you thought it would be negative. SO then they had to draw blood for another test. Blood - from my baby - you must be joking. And you want me to hold him down whilst you are doing it... you are insane.
But I did - and he survived. He only whimpered a little. Kudos to the wonderful nurse who did it. She was a pro and used a different technique than I had seen before. She was very gentle. We go back in month to see the results.
In the meantime, I can't eat any dairy for 2 weeks and then no eggs for 2 weeks. This ought to be fun - I live for cheese! If it will make my little one better, its a small sacrifice to make. I brought him home to our amazing nanny who scooped him up and gave him the TLC he needed. Stay tuned.
Here are a couple of more recent pics. Did I mention I melt when he smiles. Oh --- and I think he laughed :)
PS - Our nanny loves to dress him up!
