The Early Warning Signs We All Missed

What food allergies can look like, when you don’t know it’s food allergies.

My son had his first allergic reaction to eggs one month before he turned 1-year-old. A blood antibody test later showed that he was also allergic to peanuts, and tree nuts. The eczema, weight loss and refusal to nurse were all major red flags leading up to his diagnosis. Nonetheless, flags that went unnoticed.

I quickly learned what eczema was when my 4-month-old’s face became so red and irritated that it was painful just looking at him. The dermatologist assured us however, that for as red as his little face was, it wasn’t causing him any pain; and the consistent baby smiles and giggles proved this to be true.

When he started losing weight (also around 4 months), his pediatrician immediately recommended supplementing with formula. I was not on board. I was planning to breastfeed this baby until he was at least 1-year-old!

I sought out a Lactation Consultant, who confirmed that I had all the right technique and was doing everything I was supposed to, but he continued to lose weight. And meanwhile, our pediatrician was urging me to start formula like the clock the was running out in a tied game, in overtime.

So, I started supplementing, which of course tanked my supply. The last day I tried nursing him consisted of blood curdling screams and pushing against me in protest. I’d be mad too, if I wasn’t getting enough to eat!

“She would eagerly start to eat, and then stop a few seconds later, screaming and arching her back in pain. I knew she was still hungry, but she wouldn’t eat.”

This was my story exactly! The arching back, the confusion and frustration passing between mom and baby, and back again: I thought you were hungry and now you won’t eat, what’s going on?!

The “If only” thoughts didn’t waste any time flooding in — If only I would have done an elimination diet to be able to keep nursing that first year…If only we would have done a blood antibody test to know which allergens he was reacting to… If only we knew he had food allergies, we could have spared him from having an allergic reaction altogether that fateful September day.

Here I am, figuring all this out now and still asking questions — Why didn’t the dermatologist see his eczema as a red flag? Why didn’t his pediatrician question his weight loss more? I suppose, pediatricians refer you to a dermatologist for skin matters, and dermatologists to a pediatrician for feeding matters.

The only ones seeing the big picture were my husband and I, and as first-time parents, with zero previous experience with eczema, breastfeeding, and ultimately, food allergies — we were completely in the dark on all of it.

Although we learned many lessons the hard way, I still consider us to be one of the lucky ones. We avoided his allergens for SEVEN full years. We definitely had some close calls, but not once did we have an emergency situation that required us to use his EpiPen. And today, he has officially outgrown two of his three allergens (insert confetti!).

I recognize that this reality is not the same for others though, nor will it be for many to come, which is why I’m sharing my story. Parenthood comes with so many other potential challenges (and I’m talking in addition to the extreme sleep deprivation and post-partum symptoms), food allergies just happened to be mine.

Let’s keep supporting, and learning from each other, as we continue to figure out this parenting stuff, one day at a time. ❤

Subscribe here to read more stories from me, and thousands of others on Medium.

Related posts:

This is my very first submission to Hope * Healing * Humour. Greetings. I look forward to dropping by your page. I’m excited that my writings have found a new home. This poem was originally going to…

In a typical project path, an analysts would use Tableau Desktop to create workbooks then they would use Tableau Server to publish a workbook or data source on Tableau Online. There is an option to…

Regarding office printers in Phoenix, you need a reliable machine that can handle high-volume printing. Look for a printer with fast printing speeds, a large paper capacity, and easy-to-use features…