What CAN she eat?

I love Emory's new allergist. After a ridiculous number of positives on the pediatrician's environmental allergy test, we decided to see a specialist to do her food testing. We did a skin test today and will have a blood test done tomorrow. We won't have the blood test results for about a month, but according to the skin test, she definitely has some food allergies. She tested positive for peaches, carrots, apples, potatoes, corn, chicken, beef, tree nuts, milk and egg whites. However, the doctor is most concerned about her reaction to peaches, carrots, and tree nuts. She said to remove them from her diet and to closely watch the others. I'm surprised about a few (milk, chicken, beef) and not at all surprised about others (peaches and carrots). We are to carry her Epipen at all times and watch her closely as she tries new foods. I have to say that I'm happy we did the test and can do something to make her feel better. I'm also very happy that most of these things are easily avoidable. The doctor also said that most kids outgrow their food allergies by age 5 or 6. I was so nervous about this test that I haven't slept very well this week. I was worried that either she would be allergic to everything or nothing. At least now we know and can do something to make her feel better.

October OPAM

My project for October was to make Emory's room allergen free. An allergen free bedroom in next to impossible so I did what I could. Along with cleaning the carpet and deep cleaning everything else, I removed all unnecessary fabric including bed skirt and curtains. To cover her windows I decided to paint blackout shades so that they were still decorative but easy to clean. I also, finally, made a hair bow holder for the thousands of bows the child has acquired. Her room still looks a little bare, however, her skin has been doing very well (more to come on this subject when we finish her allergy testing on Wednesday).

Finally October!

I couldn't wait for September to be over! We saw the pediatrician FIVE times in that awful month. October is starting out much better, I must say. Emory's eczema is FINALLY starting to look better. I know, you are sick of hearing about it, I feel like it is overtaking my life. I was playing online and found a site that recommended putting an oil based moisturizer on while still in the bathtub. I decided that there are a lot of crazier things that I could try, and this one seems to be working. We are going for an allergy test on Monday, hopefully, that will give us a simple solution. I just pray that it isn't something like milk or wheat, or even worse, nothing at all. I'm the kind of person that needs to know what to expect and how to fix whatever is wrong. The pediatrician also did blood work to rule out any autoimmune disorders or a thyroid problem. I truly do not believe that there is anything seriously wrong but I figured he is just being cautious.

On to better topics...

Eric took the day off work today because things are getting ready to be really busy for the next few months. His promotion officially begins this month. I love that he works for such a great company.

We took advantage of having Eric around and went to the Children's Museum of Phoenix. I was surprised to see how many things there were for toddlers. Emory's two favorite things were the curtain made out of ping pong balls (think bead curtain only much, much larger) and the slide. The slide had a real staircase, not just a ladder, that Emory figured out how to go up and down by herself. Another mother said "Wow, she sure is confident!" my thought was "OMG, what have I gotten myself into?". Needless to say, Emory fell asleep on the way home.

As if we hadn't done enough for a one year old, we decided to go to the pool after nap time. Yes, we went swimming outside in October. (Have I mentioned that I love the weather here?) Emory barely let me get my cover up off before she was in the water. She reminds me of her cousin Jenna in that aspect, maybe the eczema is just the beginning of her fins starting to grow. Our pool has a beach entry so Emory can walk around in a large portion of it. Brave girl that she is however, goes to the deepest part she can walk in and dives face first trying to swim, repeatedly. I think it might be life jacket time.

I, of course, forgot to take my camera to the museum and the pool, therefore, you get to see Emory's first taco (which she LOVED), another picture of her blotchy skin and a naked bathtub picture (FYI- I already took the rubberbands out of her hair).