Discoveries
that
change lives
Copyright ©
2003 Andrea Simanson All Rights Reserved.
Our son, Andy, had eczema from about 3 months old until we
pinpointed specific food allergies and eliminated those foods from his
diet. Just shortly after his first birthday, his skin cleared up
beautifully. The foods were the underlying cause of the eczema. I wish
I
had known this when he was 3 months old. I would have avoided these
foods myself, since I was breastfeeding, or would have switched him to
soy-based formula. It sure would have simplified life for all of us.
We had a baby who wouldn't sleep at
nights because he itched so bad. Part of the bedtime routine for Andy
was jammies and socks over each hand (which had to be pinned to the
jammies because he would pull them off) to keep him from scratching.
One doctor we saw told us she suspected food allergies and gave us the
phone number of an allergist. Another doctor told us it was just eczema
and to treat the symptoms the best we could (less bathing, lighter
blankets at night, topical hydrocortizone cream, even some medication
for the bad spots).
It wasn't until the peanut butter
sandwich incident at daycare (he was 10 months old) that we realized
there really were some underlying health issues that needed to be
addressed. That's when we had the allergy testing done. Through this
process, we discovered that he had a life-threatening allergy to
peanuts, as well as milk and egg allergies.
Andy had never slept through an entire
night the first year of his life. At 13 months old, I remember the
first
night he slept 8 hours, my husband and I literally rolled out of our
bed, to our knees and thanked God outloud for the night's sleep. We had
taken turns monitoring his nightlife (as we called it) and were both
exhausted. It was only the beginning of a several-month process of
recovering from sleep deprivation, as well as entering into the
discovery process about how to change our lives to incorporate our
multiple-allergy child into the picture.
It was a challenging time and yet one we
wouldn't
trade for anything. It brought us closer to God and each other. I
want to help others in similar situations learn to manage life and
enjoy their child as they trust in God. Those of you who have a child
with food allergies understand what I'm sharing about. If you've just
recently found out your child has allergies, I know what you're
experiencing. It can be overwhelming when you consider the changes it
means for your family's life. I found that reading about others'
experiences with allergies and researching the issues myself went a
long way to bringing peace to my life. I hope what I've learned will
help you as well. Sign up for a free "Family Chores" bi-monthly
newsletter, and you'll hear more about how we manage food allergies in
our family.
Sign up for our free
bimonthly newsletter full of family resources
|
