Or better yet, why do people write these things? They just get me all angry and then I want to leave nasty comments (but I don't because I'm better than that - or at least that's what I keep telling myself).
I found this one today in my RSS feeds. It's called The Food Allergy Hype is Nuts. And it wasn't the worst one I ever read. But it got me thinking. And then I got angry. And I wrote about it over at my WEGO Health blog.
What's your opinion? Why are food allergies so polarizing? Why is there such a backlash?
And on a brighter note: Check out the interview I did with No Whey Mama. She's a wonderful dairy free food allergy advocate. You can also check her out at her blog.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
I have a confession to make
and get your minds out of the gutter, it's nothing like that.
My confession is: I'm embarrassed to rattle off my son's food allergies. I know, I know that sounds really weird. But when I say "My son is allergic to wheat, rye, barley, oat, egg, peanut and tree nut", in some weird sort of way, in my mind, it sort of sounds like I'm bragging. It's sort of like I'm saying "My kid is allergic to all that crap, what have you got"?
Most people look at me like A. We're freaks or B. They feel sorry for us. And I don't want either of those things. I just want people to know what they need to keep away from my child. I usually don't start off by telling people WHAT he's allergic to. In fact, depending on the situation, I don't SAY anything. I don't need to.
After his doctors appointment, we had a birthday party to attend. The hostess knows he has food allergies. But the birthday boy was the only one that we actually knew at the party. Everyone was a new acquaintance. Which was kind of nice, because we met a lot of really nice people tonight. I brought the Little Man's safe food and cup cake. The Hostess asked me if he was able to eat a hot dog and since I didn't know the brand she was using I thanked her for asking but said that we would stick to what we brought. The only other issue at the party (other than hand washing after eating) was a Playdoh/craft table (She knew about food being an issue about forgot/didn't realize about allergens in crafts). I knew the Little Man wouldn't touch the Play Doh, but I was worried about cross contamination (see photo below).
During dinner, I gave the Little Man his lunch box of safe food and everyone sort of looked at me sideways. Most of the people didn't ask, even though I knew they wanted to. At this point the Lego's had been the hit of the party and no one had touched the Play Doh table, but one well meaning parent was trying to harness the energy of 9 active boys and opened the Play Doh. My son wandered over, looked at it, made a comment about "wishing I could play with that" and moved on. So I figured I had to "fess up". I started to explain what he was allergic to and how we found out. Everyone was good about it, very sympathetic. Then another mother showed up a little late and I had to go through the whole "My son has food allergies" talk. And she was aware of them too because her husband works in food service at a very exclusive school in our area and "they do amazing things with peanut free offerings". Yes, but my son is severely allergic to WHEAT and there is a Play Doh table so I just want to make you aware of that and that there are other allergies out there. Everyone was very gracious but I still felt a little "weird" about the whole thing. One lady was off on her own and eyeing up the situation not really saying much to me. After I whipped out my safe cup cake and stood back like the food police she came over and said "So, your son has food allergies". "Yes" I replied, and rattled off my list. She is a radiologist with four kids and with a doctor for a husband and we just settled into an easy conversation. I felt like she "got" it. Like I didn't have to apologize for being an over protective allergy mom. She got it. No explanation needed. It's rare that I feel that. She and I talked for the rest of the party while I kept an eagle on my son and the Play Doh (which I'd like to ban like an illegal substance by the way).
The party was good. Both boys had fun and made new friends and so did I. It occurs to me that I know how my baby feels. He feels like the "odd man" because I do too. I can't eat (totally yummy pizza and cake because I don't want to contaminate myself) and he can't either. I can't fully relax and enjoy myself with new friends and he can't either. The party is fun, but not as fun as it is for "normal" people because you always have to have your guard up. Because if you don't, you get this:
A contact reaction from either the Play Doh or the pizza (I'm betting Play Doh becaue the boy that poked him in the face was making a sculpture right before we left).
It was totally minor. One hive. Didn't need Benadryl. BUT had I not had that eagle eye.....
(P.S. according to the Othopaedist the clavicle is healing nicely but has a way to go. He can go without the sling and wrap for now but I still have to keep him kind of inactive - no running, jumping, ball sports/balls, climbing, slides, swings, light sabers, swords, fighting, wrestling, etc. - good luck to me!)
My confession is: I'm embarrassed to rattle off my son's food allergies. I know, I know that sounds really weird. But when I say "My son is allergic to wheat, rye, barley, oat, egg, peanut and tree nut", in some weird sort of way, in my mind, it sort of sounds like I'm bragging. It's sort of like I'm saying "My kid is allergic to all that crap, what have you got"?
Most people look at me like A. We're freaks or B. They feel sorry for us. And I don't want either of those things. I just want people to know what they need to keep away from my child. I usually don't start off by telling people WHAT he's allergic to. In fact, depending on the situation, I don't SAY anything. I don't need to.
After his doctors appointment, we had a birthday party to attend. The hostess knows he has food allergies. But the birthday boy was the only one that we actually knew at the party. Everyone was a new acquaintance. Which was kind of nice, because we met a lot of really nice people tonight. I brought the Little Man's safe food and cup cake. The Hostess asked me if he was able to eat a hot dog and since I didn't know the brand she was using I thanked her for asking but said that we would stick to what we brought. The only other issue at the party (other than hand washing after eating) was a Playdoh/craft table (She knew about food being an issue about forgot/didn't realize about allergens in crafts). I knew the Little Man wouldn't touch the Play Doh, but I was worried about cross contamination (see photo below).
During dinner, I gave the Little Man his lunch box of safe food and everyone sort of looked at me sideways. Most of the people didn't ask, even though I knew they wanted to. At this point the Lego's had been the hit of the party and no one had touched the Play Doh table, but one well meaning parent was trying to harness the energy of 9 active boys and opened the Play Doh. My son wandered over, looked at it, made a comment about "wishing I could play with that" and moved on. So I figured I had to "fess up". I started to explain what he was allergic to and how we found out. Everyone was good about it, very sympathetic. Then another mother showed up a little late and I had to go through the whole "My son has food allergies" talk. And she was aware of them too because her husband works in food service at a very exclusive school in our area and "they do amazing things with peanut free offerings". Yes, but my son is severely allergic to WHEAT and there is a Play Doh table so I just want to make you aware of that and that there are other allergies out there. Everyone was very gracious but I still felt a little "weird" about the whole thing. One lady was off on her own and eyeing up the situation not really saying much to me. After I whipped out my safe cup cake and stood back like the food police she came over and said "So, your son has food allergies". "Yes" I replied, and rattled off my list. She is a radiologist with four kids and with a doctor for a husband and we just settled into an easy conversation. I felt like she "got" it. Like I didn't have to apologize for being an over protective allergy mom. She got it. No explanation needed. It's rare that I feel that. She and I talked for the rest of the party while I kept an eagle on my son and the Play Doh (which I'd like to ban like an illegal substance by the way).
The party was good. Both boys had fun and made new friends and so did I. It occurs to me that I know how my baby feels. He feels like the "odd man" because I do too. I can't eat (totally yummy pizza and cake because I don't want to contaminate myself) and he can't either. I can't fully relax and enjoy myself with new friends and he can't either. The party is fun, but not as fun as it is for "normal" people because you always have to have your guard up. Because if you don't, you get this:
A contact reaction from either the Play Doh or the pizza (I'm betting Play Doh becaue the boy that poked him in the face was making a sculpture right before we left).
It was totally minor. One hive. Didn't need Benadryl. BUT had I not had that eagle eye.....
(P.S. according to the Othopaedist the clavicle is healing nicely but has a way to go. He can go without the sling and wrap for now but I still have to keep him kind of inactive - no running, jumping, ball sports/balls, climbing, slides, swings, light sabers, swords, fighting, wrestling, etc. - good luck to me!)
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday and Tuesday, I guess
What day is this? They are all running together.
I finished the bathroom painting yesterday. Yay, it's done. I trimmed on Sunday and rolled on Monday. Sunday's post made it sound like I just decided to paint on a whim and that was not the case. I bought new bathroom decor (towels, shower curtain, rug, soap dishes, etc.) back in May but never put them out because I needed to paint the bathroom. But painting just never happened. Then when the Little Man injured his collar bone and was recuperating in the guest room (aka room I put my junk/things I don't know what to do with) and I had to look at that new bathroom stuff every day. It got to me. It's almost August and I STILL hadn't painted. So Sunday was the day. And it's done. And the bathroom stuff is in place. And I'll take a picture of it before the boys destroy it and post it here on the blog. They promised me they'd keep the bathroom looking all nice and new, but they're boys so you know that's not going to happen.
Tonight we tried to do some "outside summer stuff". We caught lightening bugs. Which apparently we don't do enough because the boys had NO idea how to catch lightening bugs. Man, I'm a slacker mom. How can they NOT know how to catch lightening bugs? Well, tonight they got a crash course and I think they are up to speed. I have 50 million mosquito bites from the process, but they now know how to catch bugs. And we roasted marshmallows. On the grill. Because I was feeling lazy and didn't want to start a fire in the fire pit. But the grill worked just fine and we even made S'mores. Of course the Little Man got the short end of the stick because I don't have safe allergy friendly graham crackers, but I'll tell you that in a pinch, these allergen friendly Cerrone Cones broken up work just fine for S'mores. At least he didn't seem to mind.
And we read two chapters from the Star Wars chapter book that we've been reading since April (slacker mom, again!) and they are finally asleep.
Tomorrow the Little Man goes back to the Orthopaedist for another x-ray of his collar bone and I really hope things are healing well. He's so down because he can't play like we wants to and he can't go swimming. School starts in four weeks and I feel like I'm trying to cram all of our summer fun into 4 weeks since we've had so much illness and injury. Keep your fingers crossed that she gives us the green light to do more things!
I finished the bathroom painting yesterday. Yay, it's done. I trimmed on Sunday and rolled on Monday. Sunday's post made it sound like I just decided to paint on a whim and that was not the case. I bought new bathroom decor (towels, shower curtain, rug, soap dishes, etc.) back in May but never put them out because I needed to paint the bathroom. But painting just never happened. Then when the Little Man injured his collar bone and was recuperating in the guest room (aka room I put my junk/things I don't know what to do with) and I had to look at that new bathroom stuff every day. It got to me. It's almost August and I STILL hadn't painted. So Sunday was the day. And it's done. And the bathroom stuff is in place. And I'll take a picture of it before the boys destroy it and post it here on the blog. They promised me they'd keep the bathroom looking all nice and new, but they're boys so you know that's not going to happen.
Tonight we tried to do some "outside summer stuff". We caught lightening bugs. Which apparently we don't do enough because the boys had NO idea how to catch lightening bugs. Man, I'm a slacker mom. How can they NOT know how to catch lightening bugs? Well, tonight they got a crash course and I think they are up to speed. I have 50 million mosquito bites from the process, but they now know how to catch bugs. And we roasted marshmallows. On the grill. Because I was feeling lazy and didn't want to start a fire in the fire pit. But the grill worked just fine and we even made S'mores. Of course the Little Man got the short end of the stick because I don't have safe allergy friendly graham crackers, but I'll tell you that in a pinch, these allergen friendly Cerrone Cones broken up work just fine for S'mores. At least he didn't seem to mind.
And we read two chapters from the Star Wars chapter book that we've been reading since April (slacker mom, again!) and they are finally asleep.
Tomorrow the Little Man goes back to the Orthopaedist for another x-ray of his collar bone and I really hope things are healing well. He's so down because he can't play like we wants to and he can't go swimming. School starts in four weeks and I feel like I'm trying to cram all of our summer fun into 4 weeks since we've had so much illness and injury. Keep your fingers crossed that she gives us the green light to do more things!
Monday, July 27, 2009
How I spent my Sunday
The day started off with this:
And I knew that this type of behavior in the house all day was not going to be good. So I packed up the boys and took them to the park so they could burn off some energy.
Starting down the trails
I'm not sure what he's doing, but you can see he still has lots of energy.
He got a little ahead of us.
Random stuff:
In the nature center there was a "Learn about ground water" exhibit with Lego's. It looked cool until they realized they couldn't rip them apart and build what they wanted.
Learning about local animal life.
Fish
A puppet theater. It was riveting.
Then I thought I should paint the boys bathroom. I have no idea what possessed me to do that and at this moment in time, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.
You can't tell from the photo, but it's blue. VERY VERY BLUE. Bluer than it looked on the color chip. It's called Balmy.
I finished it today. Now I'll have to put the whole thing back together tomorrow. Yea, seemed like a good idea at the time.
And I knew that this type of behavior in the house all day was not going to be good. So I packed up the boys and took them to the park so they could burn off some energy.
Starting down the trails
I'm not sure what he's doing, but you can see he still has lots of energy.
He got a little ahead of us.
Random stuff:
In the nature center there was a "Learn about ground water" exhibit with Lego's. It looked cool until they realized they couldn't rip them apart and build what they wanted.
Learning about local animal life.
Fish
A puppet theater. It was riveting.
Then I thought I should paint the boys bathroom. I have no idea what possessed me to do that and at this moment in time, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.
You can't tell from the photo, but it's blue. VERY VERY BLUE. Bluer than it looked on the color chip. It's called Balmy.
I finished it today. Now I'll have to put the whole thing back together tomorrow. Yea, seemed like a good idea at the time.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Peanut allergy cure? Same old stuff
It's the same old articles, hyping the same old (mis)information. I wrote about it for WEGO Health. You can find it here. What do you think?
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Nine Years Ago Today
Happy Anniversary to my Husband!
I love you!!
Nine years ago. Sounds like a long time, seems like yesterday.
I love you!!
Nine years ago. Sounds like a long time, seems like yesterday.
Monday, July 20, 2009
You probably thought things were getting better by now,
but you'd be wrong. I took the Little Man to the pediatrician today because as of Saturday his ear hurt, his eyes are red and oozing, his asthma is really bad and his throat hurts. Diagnosis this time: Double ear infection, sinus infection and of course his illness induced asthma is really bad.
At least we have some antibiotics this time.
Things can only go up from here, right?
I feel bad for him.
He'll be missing 2 birthday parties this week.
And one is his girlfriends.
Shhh.... don't tell him.
Maybe he'll forget.
Poor guy.
At least we have some antibiotics this time.
Things can only go up from here, right?
I feel bad for him.
He'll be missing 2 birthday parties this week.
And one is his girlfriends.
Shhh.... don't tell him.
Maybe he'll forget.
Poor guy.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Trip to the ER - take two
Yes, we ended up back in the ER today. Same child. Different ailment.
He seemed fine this morning. Fine, except that he was in pain from the broken collar bone (or broken clavicle as they call it in the ER). But he fell asleep around noon. This is not unlike my son. He gets sleepy and still likes to nap. But usually that is around 2pm-3pm. He was really quiet and I was enjoying it until I heard him crying (more like wailing) around 2 pm. I had checked on him periodically and he had seemed fine. But around 2pm he must have vomited. I went running. When I got there, he was hot. REALLY HOT. His temp ended up being 104 F and he was really lethargic.
I called the pediatrician and her secretary said "Oh she's in a meeting today and I'm just here answering phones. I've been instructed to tell everyone to either go to Urgent Care or the ER". Huh? What? She's out and there's no doctor on call? Well that just stinks. I've never taken him to an Urgent Care and this seemed out of the realm of the CVS Minute Clinic. So back to the ER we went (and another $150.00 co-pay).
He was burning up, very sleepy and refusing to walk. I had to carry him from the parking lot into the hospital (note self: If I ever build a hospital I will have ample parking by the ER. It was a long walk).
They remembered us from Saturday. We even ended up in the same room. Turns out he has a stomach virus. The poor kid is miserable and so so sick. My heart breaks for him. Not only is he in so much pain, but now he's violently ill too. It just doesn't seem fair.
He was also supposed to have his peanut challenge tomorrow. Clearly that is a no go. I almost feel like it's a sign (If I believed in signs. Which I don't. Or am trying not too). We'll reschedule that one for a later date. Maybe a much later date. The poor kid has been through enough.
Now I'm just hoping that we can stay out of the ER this weekend. They are really nice there, but I think we're good on ER trips for 2009. We maybe good through 2010 too.
He seemed fine this morning. Fine, except that he was in pain from the broken collar bone (or broken clavicle as they call it in the ER). But he fell asleep around noon. This is not unlike my son. He gets sleepy and still likes to nap. But usually that is around 2pm-3pm. He was really quiet and I was enjoying it until I heard him crying (more like wailing) around 2 pm. I had checked on him periodically and he had seemed fine. But around 2pm he must have vomited. I went running. When I got there, he was hot. REALLY HOT. His temp ended up being 104 F and he was really lethargic.
I called the pediatrician and her secretary said "Oh she's in a meeting today and I'm just here answering phones. I've been instructed to tell everyone to either go to Urgent Care or the ER". Huh? What? She's out and there's no doctor on call? Well that just stinks. I've never taken him to an Urgent Care and this seemed out of the realm of the CVS Minute Clinic. So back to the ER we went (and another $150.00 co-pay).
He was burning up, very sleepy and refusing to walk. I had to carry him from the parking lot into the hospital (note self: If I ever build a hospital I will have ample parking by the ER. It was a long walk).
They remembered us from Saturday. We even ended up in the same room. Turns out he has a stomach virus. The poor kid is miserable and so so sick. My heart breaks for him. Not only is he in so much pain, but now he's violently ill too. It just doesn't seem fair.
He was also supposed to have his peanut challenge tomorrow. Clearly that is a no go. I almost feel like it's a sign (If I believed in signs. Which I don't. Or am trying not too). We'll reschedule that one for a later date. Maybe a much later date. The poor kid has been through enough.
Now I'm just hoping that we can stay out of the ER this weekend. They are really nice there, but I think we're good on ER trips for 2009. We maybe good through 2010 too.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The birthday party that kind of was
What do you do when you plan a birthday party at a "play" place and your son breaks his collar bone? You have it anyway and the boy suffers through it. I couldn't cancel it. It was already paid for and there was no way to reschedule. I felt awful for him. We tried to make the best out of it for him.
The party had a Star Wars theme, because right now both boys are into "all things Star Wars".
Because of the food allergies, I always have a hard time with the food menu. I can't do pizza. I can't do hot dogs or hamburgers (no buns). I can't do sandwiches (no one seems to like the gluten free bread). And because the party wasn't at our house, I needed to take something kid friendly, that traveled well, was easy to eat, and didn't really need to be hot.
My solution:
Put the food on a stick (solves the bread problem) and call it Light saber munchies.
I used a combo of safe lunch meat (ham, turkey, salami and pepperoni), veggies and cheese and put them on bamboo skewers.
I did the same with fruit, but forgot to take a picture of those.
Last year I did the Wall-E cake, and this year I was looking for something much easier. I used Gluten Free Pantry cake mixes and made cupcakes and put them in Star Wars themed cupcake boxes.
It doesn't get any easier than that.
The birthday boy
You can tell by the look on his face that he wasn't too happy to be sitting there
At least the other kids had fun. When he's better we'll do something special with him.
At one point, he had a cute little buddy.
The kids seemed to like the Light saber Munchies
The birthday boy seemed like he had some fun
And his cute buddy hung with him most of the evening
I'm sure this will not be the "best birthday ever" in his memory. But we tried to make the best of it. Hopefully his sixth birthday will be injury free and a lot more fun.
The party had a Star Wars theme, because right now both boys are into "all things Star Wars".
Because of the food allergies, I always have a hard time with the food menu. I can't do pizza. I can't do hot dogs or hamburgers (no buns). I can't do sandwiches (no one seems to like the gluten free bread). And because the party wasn't at our house, I needed to take something kid friendly, that traveled well, was easy to eat, and didn't really need to be hot.
My solution:
Put the food on a stick (solves the bread problem) and call it Light saber munchies.
I used a combo of safe lunch meat (ham, turkey, salami and pepperoni), veggies and cheese and put them on bamboo skewers.
I did the same with fruit, but forgot to take a picture of those.
Last year I did the Wall-E cake, and this year I was looking for something much easier. I used Gluten Free Pantry cake mixes and made cupcakes and put them in Star Wars themed cupcake boxes.
It doesn't get any easier than that.
The birthday boy
You can tell by the look on his face that he wasn't too happy to be sitting there
At least the other kids had fun. When he's better we'll do something special with him.
At one point, he had a cute little buddy.
The kids seemed to like the Light saber Munchies
The birthday boy seemed like he had some fun
And his cute buddy hung with him most of the evening
I'm sure this will not be the "best birthday ever" in his memory. But we tried to make the best of it. Hopefully his sixth birthday will be injury free and a lot more fun.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Injured
Here we have one 5 year old boy with a broken collar bone.
(photo removed because seemed TOO interested in it)
Hubs and I went out for the evening when we got the call that the Little Man got injured. Our big night out ended up being a big night out IN the ER. He was a tough kid and handled it really well.
So he's convalescing in the spare room because there is a TV in there (hence the flowered sheets). Now I just have to keep a busy five year old boy quiet for 3 to 4 weeks while it heals. Good luck to me.
(photo removed because someone seemed too interested in it)
(photo removed because seemed TOO interested in it)
Hubs and I went out for the evening when we got the call that the Little Man got injured. Our big night out ended up being a big night out IN the ER. He was a tough kid and handled it really well.
So he's convalescing in the spare room because there is a TV in there (hence the flowered sheets). Now I just have to keep a busy five year old boy quiet for 3 to 4 weeks while it heals. Good luck to me.
(photo removed because someone seemed too interested in it)
Friday, July 10, 2009
Learning to let go....just a little bit
The last few weeks have tested my trust as a food allergy Mommy. I usually keep a pretty tight reign on my son, but he's five now and starting to venture out into the world without me a little bit (and trust me... it's baby steps for both of us).
Last weekend a mom of one of preschool friends called to ask if the Little Man could come over for a play date. The boys had not been very close until the last month of school so she and I had never really talked or engaged much. She seemed quiet, I'm quiet so I think we both retreated to our "shy corners" and just stayed there for the two years the boys were in preschool together. But over the last month of school, the boys got to know each other and became friendly. They will also go to Kindergarten together in the fall so it is nice that they have become friends. I know I had mentioned to this Mom about the Little Man's food allergies, but it was sort of in passing. I never mentioned the entire scope of what is involved. So when she called, I was really hesitant to let him go. My side of the conversation went something like:
"Little Man has multiple food allergies. He's allergic to wheat, rye, barley, oat, egg, peanut and tree nut. I will send snacks with him and he can only eat the snacks that I send. I will also send the EPI Pen and when my husband drops him off (I had the stomach flu) he will show you how to use it. If you do not feel comfortable with that we totally understand and would love to have ______________ over at our house instead. We have never let him have a play date with anyone other than our neighbor or grandparents that are used to the EPI Pen so this is new for us too. Believe me, we totally understand if this is something you don't feel comfortable with". I sort of blurted all that out in one nervous run on sentence and sort of hoped that she would say that she didn't feel comfortable and that her son could play at our house instead. But she said that she would be OK with it. So then I had to give my son the talk. "DO NOT EAT ANYTHING UNLESS MOMMY PACKED IT FOR YOU. Do not play with play dough and do not play with paste. If you do not feel well at any point let Mrs. _________ know and she will help you. And remember, DO NOT EAT ANYTHING UNLESS MOMMY PACKED IT FOR YOU. Now what did I just say to you"? And he repeated it back to me just fine and we practiced it over the next few days. When my husband dropped him off, he was nervous too. It was a weekend so the boys Father was home too. My husband explained everything to them, gave them a training on the EPI Pen and what to do in case of a reaction, gave them the safe food and left our son there. It was the longest 2.5 hours of my life. But everything was fine. The boys ate the pretzels I sent, drank the juice boxes I sent, road bikes and played Lego's.
I knew this situation was coming. He's starting Kindergarten in the fall and I know he'll make new friends and want to go to their houses. I just thought I had a few more months before I'd have to deal with this. I guess this was a nice practice run for what is to come. And I'm sure we will run into people who will say that they are not comfortable dealing with the Epi Pen and food allergies. And even though I'm sure my son will be hurt, I'd rather they be honest about it then put him in a situation that isn't safe.
Then my second "trust" situation was Monday at scout camp. I worked with Older Boys den and the Little Man went into the "Tot Lot". Tot Lot is where all the siblings go who are potty trained but too young to be scouts. So even though I was there, I wasn't really there. I packed up all of his safe snacks and two separate packages of Epi Pen's and Benadryl that contained emergency action plans. I filled out his medical sheet and said a prayer that all would be well. When we arrived at camp on Monday I dropped him off at Tot Lot and explained that he had food allergies and could only eat his safe snacks (they had Cheez-its and pretzels for all the other kids). I gave the leader one of the Epi Pen packs and my cell phone number and said if you need anything or if you have any questions call me. Then I took the other Epi Pen pack over the the nurse that they have on site. She wasn't there yet, so I had to leave it at the nurses station but I was already aware that she was more than aware of food allergies and knew what to do. I went back to check on the Little Man and he had already made friends and was having a ball so I gave him my "DON'T EAT ANYTHING UNLESS MOMMY PACKED IT" speech and went to work with Older Boy. I tried to keep an eye on the Little Man throughout the day and every time I looked at him, he was smiling and having fun. I went to get him at lunch time but he wanted to eat with one of his new friends instead of me so I then had to let her Mom know about the food allergies and that he could only eat what he brought (She let me know that her daughter had PBJ for lunch. He's not inhalant allergic so I said just don't let her touch him without washing hands). The day was stressful because I was trying make sure that we didn't lose any of the 10 boys in our den while trying to keep an eye on the Little Man from a distance. But we made it through with no problems. When I went to pick the Little Man up another women was helping out in Tot Lot that hadn't been there when I dropped him off. She explained that she got there late and didn't know about the allergies. She tried to give my son Cheez-Its and he said "No, I can't have those. I have food allergies and can only eat from this bag". Then she said he rattled off all of his allergies. On one hand I was angry that the allergies weren't communicated to everyone working there (but it was volunteer by mom's, so it's not like they are experts on how to handle this stuff) but on the other hand I was happy that he is learning how to advocate for himself. At least all of my preaching and harping is sinking in.
So I think that's enough trusting and letting go for a while. I can't take the stress level. A little bit at a time is good. And for now, I'm good.
Last weekend a mom of one of preschool friends called to ask if the Little Man could come over for a play date. The boys had not been very close until the last month of school so she and I had never really talked or engaged much. She seemed quiet, I'm quiet so I think we both retreated to our "shy corners" and just stayed there for the two years the boys were in preschool together. But over the last month of school, the boys got to know each other and became friendly. They will also go to Kindergarten together in the fall so it is nice that they have become friends. I know I had mentioned to this Mom about the Little Man's food allergies, but it was sort of in passing. I never mentioned the entire scope of what is involved. So when she called, I was really hesitant to let him go. My side of the conversation went something like:
"Little Man has multiple food allergies. He's allergic to wheat, rye, barley, oat, egg, peanut and tree nut. I will send snacks with him and he can only eat the snacks that I send. I will also send the EPI Pen and when my husband drops him off (I had the stomach flu) he will show you how to use it. If you do not feel comfortable with that we totally understand and would love to have ______________ over at our house instead. We have never let him have a play date with anyone other than our neighbor or grandparents that are used to the EPI Pen so this is new for us too. Believe me, we totally understand if this is something you don't feel comfortable with". I sort of blurted all that out in one nervous run on sentence and sort of hoped that she would say that she didn't feel comfortable and that her son could play at our house instead. But she said that she would be OK with it. So then I had to give my son the talk. "DO NOT EAT ANYTHING UNLESS MOMMY PACKED IT FOR YOU. Do not play with play dough and do not play with paste. If you do not feel well at any point let Mrs. _________ know and she will help you. And remember, DO NOT EAT ANYTHING UNLESS MOMMY PACKED IT FOR YOU. Now what did I just say to you"? And he repeated it back to me just fine and we practiced it over the next few days. When my husband dropped him off, he was nervous too. It was a weekend so the boys Father was home too. My husband explained everything to them, gave them a training on the EPI Pen and what to do in case of a reaction, gave them the safe food and left our son there. It was the longest 2.5 hours of my life. But everything was fine. The boys ate the pretzels I sent, drank the juice boxes I sent, road bikes and played Lego's.
I knew this situation was coming. He's starting Kindergarten in the fall and I know he'll make new friends and want to go to their houses. I just thought I had a few more months before I'd have to deal with this. I guess this was a nice practice run for what is to come. And I'm sure we will run into people who will say that they are not comfortable dealing with the Epi Pen and food allergies. And even though I'm sure my son will be hurt, I'd rather they be honest about it then put him in a situation that isn't safe.
Then my second "trust" situation was Monday at scout camp. I worked with Older Boys den and the Little Man went into the "Tot Lot". Tot Lot is where all the siblings go who are potty trained but too young to be scouts. So even though I was there, I wasn't really there. I packed up all of his safe snacks and two separate packages of Epi Pen's and Benadryl that contained emergency action plans. I filled out his medical sheet and said a prayer that all would be well. When we arrived at camp on Monday I dropped him off at Tot Lot and explained that he had food allergies and could only eat his safe snacks (they had Cheez-its and pretzels for all the other kids). I gave the leader one of the Epi Pen packs and my cell phone number and said if you need anything or if you have any questions call me. Then I took the other Epi Pen pack over the the nurse that they have on site. She wasn't there yet, so I had to leave it at the nurses station but I was already aware that she was more than aware of food allergies and knew what to do. I went back to check on the Little Man and he had already made friends and was having a ball so I gave him my "DON'T EAT ANYTHING UNLESS MOMMY PACKED IT" speech and went to work with Older Boy. I tried to keep an eye on the Little Man throughout the day and every time I looked at him, he was smiling and having fun. I went to get him at lunch time but he wanted to eat with one of his new friends instead of me so I then had to let her Mom know about the food allergies and that he could only eat what he brought (She let me know that her daughter had PBJ for lunch. He's not inhalant allergic so I said just don't let her touch him without washing hands). The day was stressful because I was trying make sure that we didn't lose any of the 10 boys in our den while trying to keep an eye on the Little Man from a distance. But we made it through with no problems. When I went to pick the Little Man up another women was helping out in Tot Lot that hadn't been there when I dropped him off. She explained that she got there late and didn't know about the allergies. She tried to give my son Cheez-Its and he said "No, I can't have those. I have food allergies and can only eat from this bag". Then she said he rattled off all of his allergies. On one hand I was angry that the allergies weren't communicated to everyone working there (but it was volunteer by mom's, so it's not like they are experts on how to handle this stuff) but on the other hand I was happy that he is learning how to advocate for himself. At least all of my preaching and harping is sinking in.
So I think that's enough trusting and letting go for a while. I can't take the stress level. A little bit at a time is good. And for now, I'm good.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
He's 5 today
Happy Birthday to my baby boy!! How can he be 5 already?? It seems like just yesterday he was born. I still think of him as my "baby" but clearly he is not. He's moved on from baby, toddler, preschooler and in the fall he'll be a Kindergartener. Time flies by too quickly. I just want to slow it down.
Just like the song, you are my sunshine.
I hope you have a wonderful and blessed day! Happy Birthday Sweet Boy.
Love,
Momma
Just like the song, you are my sunshine.
I hope you have a wonderful and blessed day! Happy Birthday Sweet Boy.
Love,
Momma
WEGO Health
I have 2 posts for WEGO health:
1. Check out my interview with Peanut Free Mama! You can find it HERE. And leave me a comment and let me know what you think. Or if you are a health activist and would like to be interviewed, let me know that too.
2. WEGO Health has a Twitter Power Tools Webinar at 8 pm EST on July 9th. It's free and open to all health activists. I attended the webinar last month and I highly recommend it if you use Twitter or are thinking of using Twitter. The presenter, Shwen Gwee is excellent (@shwen). It's 45 minutes long with 15 minutes for Q and A at the end.
(This will be a sticky post until July 9th. Scroll down for new posts)
1. Check out my interview with Peanut Free Mama! You can find it HERE. And leave me a comment and let me know what you think. Or if you are a health activist and would like to be interviewed, let me know that too.
2. WEGO Health has a Twitter Power Tools Webinar at 8 pm EST on July 9th. It's free and open to all health activists. I attended the webinar last month and I highly recommend it if you use Twitter or are thinking of using Twitter. The presenter, Shwen Gwee is excellent (@shwen). It's 45 minutes long with 15 minutes for Q and A at the end.
(This will be a sticky post until July 9th. Scroll down for new posts)
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Just checking in
Yes, I'm still here. I'm feeling much better, just busy!
Older Boy is at Scout Camp this week and I had to work it on Monday. Otherwise I'm just trying to get caught up on things.
The Little Man's birthday is tomorrow and even though his party isn't until Tuesday, I still need to do a "family party" tomorrow night. I've been getting that together and still planning for the party on Tuesday.
You can find me at Everyday Health today.
And I just want to remind you that if you are a health activist (which I know many of you are) and you Twitter or are looking at getting into Twitter, WEGO Health is putting on a free Twitter webinar tomorrow at 8 pm EST. You can find out more information and how to registar HERE. Don't forget it's FREE! So sign up. You know you want to. All the cool kids are doing it....
That's all for now. The kids are asking for lunch :)
Older Boy is at Scout Camp this week and I had to work it on Monday. Otherwise I'm just trying to get caught up on things.
The Little Man's birthday is tomorrow and even though his party isn't until Tuesday, I still need to do a "family party" tomorrow night. I've been getting that together and still planning for the party on Tuesday.
You can find me at Everyday Health today.
And I just want to remind you that if you are a health activist (which I know many of you are) and you Twitter or are looking at getting into Twitter, WEGO Health is putting on a free Twitter webinar tomorrow at 8 pm EST. You can find out more information and how to registar HERE. Don't forget it's FREE! So sign up. You know you want to. All the cool kids are doing it....
That's all for now. The kids are asking for lunch :)
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Happy Fourth of July
(photo courtesy of flagandbanner.com)
This blog has been interrupted by the stomach flu. I've been struggling with it all week and finally just gave up and crawled into bed on Thursday. So while everyone else is outside enjoying fireworks and BBQ, I'll be in bed enjoying DIY Networks sizzling summer weekend and ginger ale. The good news is that I think I can now refurb our bathroom and build an outdoor kitchen.
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