This past month has been more of a learning month than activity month. We have spent a lot of time practicing with the walker (or pretty much anything else Half Calf can move while walking, like the stool in the kitchen or his stroller). Since it is that time of year, we are also trying to get out into the sunshine whenever possible and walk to the park or go on hikes. Or get out into the liquid sunshine at times, since we also spent a night camping with friends from California (and soon to be England) Matt and Adrian. And of course we have done additional allergy testing, both blood work and skin tests, so have more information to deal with on those fronts. Plus a couple rounds of sickness have worked their way through the household this month, which also impacted the things we were doing (or more correctly, NOT doing).
We will start with a ‘walking update’. Half Calf spends a lot of time on his feet, which is obviously good for learning to walk. He stands and/or pulls himself up all the time. However, he still does not actually try to balance. When using his walker, he leans very far forward and pushes. It looks like someone pushing a lawnmower uphill. When walking while holding a stationary object, he is much better about staying vertical. We do try to get him to stand and lock his knees but most of the time, without anything close to hang on to other than a parent, he just sits down. I am not sure what all that means other than to say it seems like we are still a ways from walking, though making progress.
Our other big topic this month is allergies. I know, it seems like we discuss this every month but unfortunately it is a rather significant portion of Half Calf’s life so far. He returned to the allergist and had some bloodwork done and then followed that up with another round of skin tests to try and figure out food allergies. This will get a little science-y but just go with me on this for a minute. The first thing tested was Immunoglobulin E, which are antibodies created when the body reacts to allergens. What we learned is that Half Calf has a level that is 8x higher than the normal upper end of the range for kids his age, which explains why he is so sensitive to every exposure. Actually I should back up slightly first. Empirically, we have noted that when his body does not like something, within a matter of minutes he starts to scratch and his skin turns red plus many times he gets hives as well. So if he has eaten something with an ingredient that his body reacts to or if he touches something his body reacts to, we generally get a very quick and noticeable result. And he does not need big exposures to react as we have previously seen when someone holds him who has dog fur on their clothing or they use a more highly scented detergent for their laundry. Essentially this test confirms that yes, when exposed to allergens, even minorly, his body severely overreacts.
We also tested a few specific food allergens, either common ones for kids or specific items we felt caused reactions previously. Here are a few of the significant highlights:
- Milk
- Result: Highly allergic to milk in all forms (ie, even non cow milk).
- Plan: Avoid dairy completely. A lot of kids have this one and many outgrow it so we will see what happens.
- Soy
- Result: Highly allergic in his blood. Not allergic on his skin.
- Plan: Odd, right? The plan now is to keep giving him very small, regular doses on the assumption that his body is capable of reigning the allergen in based on the skin test.
- Egg
- Result: This was a dual test, allergic to one protein, not the other.
- Plan: He can only have “well mixed, well cooked eggs” and we need to also keep giving this in small doses. The “well mixed, well cooked” means for instance, no pancakes as the egg is well mixed but not well cooked. Basically he needs baked goods; the official guidelines at this point are 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Another common one with kids that many outgrow.
- Sesame
- Result: Highly allergic.
- Plan: Avoid (not hard, this is not a super common ingredient). Testing for this was a shot in the dark; he reacted to some pine nut hummus one day even though he had plain hummus before. So the obvious guess would be the pine nuts but in looking up the label with the allergist to check the ingredients, it also had tahini which is made from sesame. The learning point for us on this is that if Momma didn’t make the food herself, we will have to get good at doing this and don’t assume it is the obvious ingredient.
The fact he is allergic to both milk and soy is actually a huge problem. He is outpacing Momma’s milk production now so we are trying to transition to formula. And every OTC baby formula is either milk or soy based. We even tried some of the ones for kids with sensitivities to milk and he still reacts to them. So at this point it looks like we get to use a pricey prescription one that he tolerated well. We also have finally given in and pre-dose him with allergy medicines every day. We had been trying to avoid giving him unnecessary medications but have accepted these are necessary for him.
Other than that, still a super happy, chatty, usually calm baby who is growing a lot since he is eating so much more than even a month ago.
Such a cutie!! Glad you are able to identify things to avoid! Our son, 23, found out last year, that he is allergic to eggs, corn and dairy. His eating habits have changed, but he manages well! Hang in there…you’re doing great!!!
He is so cute. Had a great visit with your Mom. My granddaughter has allergies mainly peanut, but so many things use peanut oil so it is a challenge also kiwi if she even touches it she swells and turns red.