Yesterday and today brought three more diapers I wanted guaiac-ed, so this afternoon I drove the kiddos the 50 minute, 35 mile drive to our pediatricians office. They tested positive. Not even ‘trace’ – just flat-out, full-fledged “positive” (which is a negative as far as I’m concerned).
Combine that with his much more frequent spit-up, his eczema, his make-Mama-insane-clinginess, his bad sleep the last few nights, and I think it is safe to say he’s having FPIES build symptoms, not transition symptoms. I think we transitioned and came out okay with tolerating formula, but the slow build symptoms to the ingredients in the formula are starting to show up now.
I’m sure he could be getting something from somewhere; some unknown substance on our hands that is causing this. It just seems more logical to assume that what a strictly liquid-fed baby is reacting to is the liquid he is fed. The Elecare.
This is bad news, folks! This means that there is a decent chance Mr. Happy is sensitive to corn.
Corn…is Evil.
Corn is everywhere, and no one in this country is required to label if corn is in the product. Not to mention, it is in the packaging for most products, and packaging is never labeled! Board books are often made of corn. Tell me, do you know of any teething baby/toddler that hasn’t chewed on a board book? Exactly. Me neither.
So we’re still watching and observing. I’ll start going through our personal care products with a fine tooth comb, spending yet more time on the phone and internet to learn of all the ingredients they contain, and I’ll start nursing Mr. Happy again this weekend.
This is the really tough part; we don’t actually know what he is reacting to yet. I suspect oats, rice, sweet potatos and chicken based on what I ate in relation to his reactions in the past, but I don’t know anything absolute yet. So I am praying really, really hard that the 12 items on my menu are all okay for him; that he does not react to any of them and we can find Happy Baby again within the next month.
In good news, our allergist called today. She wanted to check on how Mr. Happy was doing. After chatting for a bit, she asked if I minded if she got the Allergist Team at Children’s Hospital on board with his care. Do I mind? Absolutely not! In fact, I was going to ask her about that at our next appointment. So now Mr. Happy’s team has expanded across the state.
That could make you feel important if it wasn’t for such a rotten reason.
Also, how awesome is our allergist? Her office is closed on Fridays. Yet she called me on Friday to check up on my son! She’s proactive, and willing to pull in other experts in the field to make sure he’s cared for properly. That kind of care breeds some serious loyalty in a Mama Bear, dontcha know!
By the way, does anyone recommend any at-home stool testing kits for blood? The 50 minute, 35 mile drive one way to the pediatricians office every time we’re suspicious is sort of ridiculous! Just one more adjustment to country living – now I have to create my own laboratory, too!
