More allergies...

Greyson has informed me that he, in addition to being allergic to milk, he is allergic to girls.  In his words, "they make me sick"  How funny is that?  Out of the mouths of babes.

Guess this means he is growing up!  He has hit the "girls have cooties" stage.

Speaking of growing up, he had his first overnight sleepover last night.  Yes, I am that mom.  I took pictures of him with his overnight bag, with his cousin (who was also sleeping over) and of him in the car (even though he was not looking, he was already on the way!)..sigh.  My baby is growing up.

Allergies suck, part 2

Today, we had another delightful (smell sarcasam) trip to the allergist.  As Gunner is allergic to eggs and they grow the flu shot in eggs, he has to have it administered there.  Here was a run down of the fun:

9:10 pick up pediatric dose of flu vaccine
9:35 arrive at allergist
9:45 meet with allergist (who speaks english, but is very hard to understand) explaining to him why we are there
10:00 test for serum reaction
10:15 check for reaction.  ok to do a partial injection, inject 1/5 of the shot
10:30 check for reaction
10:45 check again, administer more of the injection (poke 3)

By this time, Gunner has figured out when 2 nurses walk in, he is getting poked.  And he is NOT happy.

11:00 check for reaction...at this point he has super flushed cheeks and is hot and kinda wheezy
11:15 recheck
11:30 recheck...asked how close we lived to a hospital and if we had an epi pen..reassuring much?

So at 11:45 he zonks out.  Sleeps until 2:40..needless to say with the question we were asked on the way out, I was checking on him about every 30 minutes, very similar to the newborn neuroticism that is even more intensified when you have a preemie, you know...the breathing checking?  fun.  yeah, fun.

The one bright moment of the appointment was when the nurse was going to poke him and she notes "At least he has meaty thighs!"  To the mom of a 33 week preemie, it was the one good thing I heard.

Allergries stink...

Today, we did our annual allergy testing for Greyson and initial testing for Gunner.  Greyson has been allergic to milk since his first birthday.  The nasty reaction seen below was the result of a cheeto innocently shared by his older cousin.  This was how we found out he was allergic to milk...well something and it prompted our getting him tested.

So, what did we find out this year?  Greyson had a skin test for just milk.  They tested with the extract and fresh milk, which is supposed to be more reactive.  He had a little itching at the site, but no noticeable reaction.  They actually deemed it a NEGATIVE reaction, which means he shouldn't be allergic to milk. 

So on to the food challenge.  This entailed dipping a tongue depresser in milk and touching it to his tounge.  They wait 15 minutes to see what happens.  At about the 15 minute mark, Greyson starts itching his eyes and I notice a little puff in his upper lip.  They give him some benadryl.  We are waiting for our paperwork and I notice his cheeks under his eyes are puffing up.  This earns him an epi-pen injection and a dose of a steriod to counteract the allergen.  So, despite the negative skin testing, a positive food challenge, told us he is still allergic to milk, but outgrowing it.  Maybe next year.

Gunner had his first test.  They did the traditional 6 panel test, which tests for the most allergen prone foods.  He had a significant reaction to eggs, but no milk.  This actually doesn't surprise me, as Greyson was allergic to eggs his first year too.  So, I have wearily started introducing milk to him to see what happens.  I am mixing a 1:4 ratio on the milk and thus far no reaction.  He has also had some yogurt melts with no reaction.  I don't know what to do with a child that is not allergic to milk!