Posted in Family
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These past few weeks have seen some big ups and downs in our lives. It all started almost two weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon. We had just finished our lunch at Moe's and were waiting for the two older boys to finish up. I nursed Ethan and Brady buckled him back in his carseat. All of a sudden, everything Ethan just ate came back up, forcefully. We were alarmed by how much he vomited, but knew that both of our older boys had occasionally done this. So, probably no big deal. Then it happened again on Monday, right at lunch time. And on Wednesday, and Thursday...Are you seeing a pattern? It was once a day just at lunch time. He also had a rash that came and went. So I started asking questions and doing research. I had come up with a few possibilities. One was a dairy allergy, seeing as how he threw up almost 6 hours after I would have milk to drink. The other was pyloric stenosis. This was worst case scenario and would result in surgery. So having done my homework, I called the pediatrician. We went in in Friday, but our regular doctor was out of town and we saw the guy who was covering her practice for her. While nice, he was rather young and hesitant to make any concrete diagnosis, other than to rule out pyloric stenosis (Thank you, Lord!). In fact, this doctor had never heard of infants reacting to dairy gotten through a mother's milk. I assured him I knew of several people who this had happened to and so he called a colleague and confirmed what I had said. We left that day with a preliminary diagnosis of milk allergy. I was told to cut out milk and keep eating other dairy as usual to see what happens. Then bring Ethan back the following Wednesday for a re-check. Yesterday was our re-check and we saw Katie, our regular nurse practitioner. After hearing all of the details again, she confirmed what Brady and I had already suspected: Ethan has a dairy allergy. He hadn't thrown up at all since Friday (after I cut out milk) until that morning. He vomited on the way to the appointment and I suddenly remembered that I had splurged on some ice cream the night before. So here we are on a road we never thought we'd be on. We're learning all we can about dairy allergies and I'm adjusting my diet accordingly. Right now, I'm switching to soy milk (it's really pretty good!), cutting out creamers, yogurt, ice cream (did I really just say that?!?) and cutting back on cheese. After a while, I'll try one of the above foods to see how Ethan reacts. There is a very good chance he will outgrow this and be able to enjoy all of the dairy products our family enjoys. (We are a HUGE cheese-milk-ice cream-dairy-dairy-dairy family.) So, if you would, keep us in your prayers as we embark on this new journey. (We never know what life is going to throw at us next and what things will come when we choose to become parents!) Also, if you have any experience with dairy allergies, I'd love your advice, knowledge, websites, etc. I'm still pretty clueless! Thanks! Oh and here's a picture of Ethan with his big brothers!  |
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Posted by JonV
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