So when it comes to food allergies, this is an entirely new field for me and my family. I am learning new things and ways to navigate it each and every day. If you are new around here, I can quickly bring you up to speed.
Landon’s Allergies
Around 7 months we were told to introduce egg yolk to Landon, so that’s what I set out to do. I hard boiled an egg and mixed the yolk with a little of his formula not really thinking much about it. Whelp, he hated every single bit of the five bites he consumed (see below) before turning red then throwing up. In my heart I wanted to believe the taste of the yolk is what caused him to get sick, but in my gut (and after a quick allergy symptom Google search) knew something wasn’t adding up and I needed to call his pediatrician. After talking with her she wanted him to see an allergist, so off we went.
He took the scratch test like a champ, not even a flinch, but that is when our world turned a little bit upside down as not only did he come back positive for eggs, but also peanuts. We then did the necessary blood work to follow, which led us to find out he is severely allergic to peanuts, but his egg numbers allowed us to move forward with a baked egg challenge (yay!) to see if he can tolerate egg in a baked form and then eventually work his way up to “normal” eggs.
Baked Egg Challenge Appointment Day
So, the main purpose of this blog post is to share what I brought with us this day that came in super handy. When I asked on Instagram Stories if you all would be interested, my DMs were flooded with a “yes”. I tried to put on my Child Life hat when packing up our bag the night before, since I knew we would be there for a good 3 hours.
Aside from toys, the MOST HELPFUL item I brought along, was this travel high chair. It allowed him to sit comfortably and eat his muffin, drink water all while flirting with the nurses at the office. Otherwise I would have had to hold him and feed him the muffin on my lap and it honestly would not have worked nearly as well and I don’t think he would have consumed as much muffin as he did and needed to. I talked to a few other people, in which everyone said a high chair is never provided, so this was a must for me to bring, especially since I took him alone. I played fun music on my phone while he ate and saved the toys for after so he didn’t get distracted from eating the muffin and putting the toy in his mouth.
A few other helpful items…I took the bars off this play mat and just brought the mat part along so he had something soft to sit on and play on the ground during the “monitoring” phase. I also knew we would be there for a portion of Landon’s morning nap. Unless he is moving in the car in his car seat, napping on the go isn’t his strong suit (kid just loves a solid crib nap), but I knew I would have the most luck by wearing him in his carrier. When we had an hour or so to just hang and wait after he ate, I was able to turn the lights off in the room, put on the portable sound machine and wear Lan for a little nap in which he fell asleep right away from all the morning commotion. My biggest takeaway, is just bring something that can help your little one take a nap during the wait and create an environment to help them fall asleep. Lastly, from my Child Life days…when all else fails, use bubbles! The bubble wands are my favorite and always work well. This helped keep him busy and also got him to look up so they could look under his neck/chin area when the eczema started to flare.
Post Appointment Update
So that about sums everything up for now. Sadly, they couldn’t pass Landon just yet sine his eczema did flare up and start to itch at the end. But, we are going to get his eczema under control and try again in two weeks so every finger and toe is crossed for a successful second visit!
Like I said above, I am no expert and just learning this new normal for us one day at a time, but happy to share our experience and process as we go along. As always, please feel free to share any resources that you all find helpful and handy!