The Allergist-The Long Version

Like mentioned earlier the time had come for Carter to visit his allergist. I always get my hopes up when we visit that there will be good news. The odds are on his side to outgrow both his egg and milk allergy, as the majority of kids do. But then again, he is my flesh and blood and medical luck doesn't seem to always be on my side..........

Carter was SO brave this trip. He use to scream bloody murder at the sight of a doctor or a room but he has really gotten over that. (It helps that he had no idea what they were going to do to him.) When the Dr. came in he sat so nicely on the table and let her look in his eyes, nose and mouth and even said "AHH" without prompting. Then came the hard part.

We had a great nurse who gave Carter the whole bin of stickers and a sack to decorate to his hearts desire. And he used enough stickers for a small group of children. This really helped to distract him as she had to write on his back and put drops of the allergens on him(she called them rain drops!) Then she told him that he would get some little "cat scratches." And if you've ever been scratched by a cat, you know that doesn't feel good..............

He did start to cry and said "OW, that really hurts me." But after a quick hug from mommy (am I bad for taking pics of this?) and more stickers he was back to his happy self. Thank heavens for McQueen and Mater stickers. He preferred them over a sucker. The nurse said she would be back to record the results in 10-15 minutes. Poor guy, it only took him about 4 minutes to produce "Highly Allergic Results."

It's hard to see but he had huge welts on his back but was very good about not scratching them. So no good news this time but our allergist is VERY hopeful that he will at least get on eggs someday. The FDA is in the process of approving and finishing up a study that introduces food allergens into people's bodies at microscopic rates until they can handle them. Much like seasonal allergies. So we wait patiently for this study to be approved so 1) the Dr. will administer it and 2) insurance will cover it. Which is the most important.

It's hard for me to think about my little boy dealing with serious food allergies the rest of his life so I keep hoping and praying he can outgrow them. I worry constantly about him and him growing up and being away from me where I can't protect him. I already have nightmares about school and school lunches even though that is years away.

He has such a positive attitude about his allergies(even though he only understands them at a 2 yr old level.) If you ask him "What are you allergic to?" He will respond "Milk and eggs. If I eat milk or eggs I get really sick and i have to go to the hospital and they have to give me shots." His last "episode" in November, although scary, was really a blessing to us. He remembers it vividly and can describe the events with perfect memory. He knows that eating "Yuckies" has a very negative effect on him. I'm hoping those memories will keep his curiosity to a minimum. He knows that he is "different" and drinks soy milk, eats "special ice cream" and can't have eggs. He even asks for soy milk when he asks for a drink.

Although a pain, we are certainly grateful that allergies are the worst of Carter's health problems. We know it could always be worse. The allergist did tell us that Baby Boy #2 has a 50/50 chance of having food allergies too, since they are highly genetic. We have to take special precautions with him in the future and are hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.

The day wasn't all doom and gloom though. Since the allergist is in Ogden we decided to buy a season pass to the Treehouse Children's Museum. And we plan to use it frequently and always after a Dr. appt as a reward!

He loved every minute of being there and kept true to his age.....we were in about each section for about 2 minutes before he wanted to explore something else. His pregnant mother would just have gotten comfortable when he was ready to move!

We were lucky to have Grandma E with us on this trip and Carter loved showing her all the neat exhibits. Plus she had a magic Mary Poppins bag that would magically produce candy-and never seemed to empty (much to my dismay and his delight!) Thanks for coming Grandma. Let's do it again in 6 months at our next appointment!

Perks of Being an Only Child

I decided to do an update without any big news or events. Just some cute pictures of Carter and funny things he does or says.

While at a friend's last week, she very nicely gave Carter an old tractor/trailer and excavator that is no longer played with at her house. (thanks Mary) Carter was of course in love with them and didn't put them down for about 3 days. He was begging to take the excavator outside to dig in the snow or dirt but after eating the snow from the front shovel I put a stop to that. I got creative and filled a cookie sheet with rice and let him dig and dump for hours. He was in heaven and played quietly for hours. I'm still sweeping rice off the floor though days later. There was a price to pay for his fun!

He's still in love with the garbage truck and the other morning while using the potty, he heard it at the library and came running. At least he managed to get his underwear up first!

We've kind of taken a step back in potty training and according to others this is totally normal but still very frustrating. He potty trained so quickly and with almost NO accidents and went a good 2 months with almost a perfect record. But this week he has kind of gotten "lazy" I guess and has an accident or 2 about every 3 days. And the frustrating part is that it doesn't bother him in the least. He's very nonchalant about it. We're really pushing sticker charts and positive reinforcement hoping that motivates him to convert back to my "perfect record boy!" Because truth be told, he will do just about anything for a stamp or sticker on a little piece of paper!

Carter's newest toy. A total and complete impulse buy from his daddy. Good thing he has a brother on the way to pass all these boy toys on to. He even talks about how he is going to share with his brother but then is always quick to ask "Brother will give it back. Right???"

I love this picture. Captures the beauty of being an only child. Here Carter is receiving his royal treatment of arm tickles. He completely relaxes and embraces this treat.

More random things I don't want to forget:

Our house is a NO shoes house (much to the dismay of others) and Carter has been taught this from a young age. He is now the self appointed Shoe Nazi and always makes sure no one steps one step on the carpet with their shoes on. He will even double check Neil when he gets home from work to make sure he doesn't sneak on to the carpet.

Carter recently learned what Toe Jam was and loves to check his toes to see if he's lucky enough to have toe jam in there. And then he wants me to clean out his toes! That is true love of a Mother to clean out Toe Jam.

We recently purchased a Video Baby Monitor to put in Carter's room and the next baby room. I have to say: BEST PURCHASE EVER. We love being able to flip on the screen and see what he is doing and whether he is out of bed or not, without opening his door. The first day was the best when at nap time he jumped out of bed and the second his feet touched the floor I called from the other room "Get back in bed." He looked around and tried to figure out how I knew he was out of bed since he slid out so quietly!

We head to the allergist for our yearly allergy test tomorrow to see if luck and statistics are on our side and he has outgrown his allergies. We're pretty sure he is still allergic to milk but we're crossing our fingers he's at least outgrown the egg allergy. Keep your fingers crossed!