Having a young child is a blessing. It’s a miracle. It’s amazing. Truly incredible! And truly mind-blowing confusing sometimes…
Colds, vaccinations, fussy periods, developmental phases, sleeping issues, picky eating, hunger strikes, and the list goes on and on. Once we figure out how to best handle one issue, we are welcomed by yet another situation, oops I meant, learning experience.
These little guys and gals like to keep things interesting for sure!
And for some of us, food allergies, eczema and other conditions are thrown into the mix of variables.
With or without food allergies, I have found myself playing detective with my husband, trying to determine the root of a fussy moment, day, or phase aka endless month!
Is it the start of a cold or virus?
Is it an ear infection?
Is it a reaction to a shot? Lord knows there’s a ton of vaccinations in those first years.
Is it a stomach ache?
Wait, why does he have a stomach ache?
Is it that he isn’t getting enough breast milk or formula? Is he hungry?
Maybe it is a growth spurt?
Oh wait, maybe he ate too much?
Is it “just a phase?”
Is it teething?
Is it a wonder week? Yes, I totally believe in them.
Is it sleep regression?
Are we using the wrong method of feeding? Of sleep training? Of parenting? Are we even parenting yet?
Did I put the diaper on wrong or uncomfortably?
Is it his clothing? The detergent?
Is it an allergic reaction? Is it an environmental factor? A new food allergy? An issue of cross contamination? Cross-reactivity? Our dog?
Is it something we don’t even know about yet?
Quick, let’s search on google….(You know you’ve done it!)
On today’s Tbt, let’s reflect back to a few of these incidences.
1) When my son was just weeks old, we experienced one of our first scares. After giving him a bath, he started to make a strange wheezing noise. We panicked! We called our pediatrician’s office and spoke to the urgent care staff since it was a Saturday night. They instructed us to take him to the emergency room. It turned out to be nothing but probably a reaction to being cold. We were relieved and felt slightly silly for “overreacting.” But, I believe overcautious is better than any regret after the fact.
What was the verdict? – Being cold +being a newborn that will sometimes make silly, random noises + being worried first-time parents doing a better job than we thought + sleep deprivation
2) At 4 months, my son stopped sleeping through the night for almost a month. For three weeks, we lost more than our sleep, we lost our minds coming up with different theories and trying out different solutions.
What was the verdict? – Teething + a wonder week/developmental leap + 4 month sleep regression + transitioning to the crib
3) Red rashes and hives on Saturday and Sunday mornings from October to December. This was before we knew my son was allergic to anything. While it wasn’t every morning after, looking back at it, it happened often after I ate cheese pizza.
What was the verdict? – Milk Allergy (Food allergies)
4) An overall eczema flare up happened in April. In addition to this, my son’s lip would get red when eating apples. Like that wasn’t confusing enough, it was also accompanied by a nursing strike which also added a whole other level of emotions and required even more time pumping. We started to worry. Was he allergic to apples now? He couldn’t be allergic to apples. He had eaten them safely every day for months. Right? Teething again? Early molars at 11 months? Ahhhhh…..
What was the verdict? – A virus causing his body to react strangely to apples for a week + seasonal allergies + cross-reactivity with pollen + sure enough, teething of the first two molars
These are just four of the many, many, MANY confusing moments, days, or phases. Looking back at them today has made me smile, knowing that we have learned so much throughout these times. It’s funny how even some of the most stressful times in life can bring us joy and knowledge when they become memories.
After my little guy’s initial allergic reaction, the most difficult thing to do as detective mom and dad was to distinguish an allergic reaction from cold symptoms or even teething. We are on guard all the time with food and even with skin contact. Despite the difficulty, I have been reminded that every baby…every toddler…every person is different. Therefore, with the guidance of your doctors of course, it is important to become the expert of your child or children.
For example in the course of these 17 months we have learned the following about my son:
- When teething, his eczema flares up and he may even get some random hives. Teething also causes his lip to get irritated when he eats berries even though he is not allergic to them. Actually, teething causes a lot of drama over here from eczema flare ups to barely eating.
- Sometimes, seasonal allergies will cause his skin to react to different foods even though he is not allergic to them. Apples and bananas have both had times of irritating his lip. We just take a brief break from them during these times.
- Right before my son is going to get sick, his skin has a day of being almost completely clear of any eczema.The first time this happened we were ecstatic, thinking that maybe he had outgrown it. Wishful thinking… It usually lasts a day then gets so much worse as the cold or infection emerges.
- Most viruses and infections also cause my son’s skin to become more irritated. In addition to that, some of these viruses cause his lip to get irritated by apples and bananas.
- And we continue to learn much more every day…
Although I find this added confusion to be one of the more difficult parts of food allergies, we have accepted it and already learned so much from it. Therefore, the final verdict is that even with its challenges, this journey of motherhood is truly amazing, so we smile on…
It’s not a journey that can be truly captured in words! I does bring out the detective in you amongst other things 😁
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I agree. No words can truly capture it. “Amongst other things” … Ha also so true!
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🙂
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You have had a rough time of things by the sounds of it. Allergies are such difficult things to work out, it really is like being a detective. I have sensitive skin and even now have to play detective if I get a new flare up. #momsterlink
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Skin flare ups and allergies definitely shake things up a bit. My husband also has very sensitive skin and will get “random” rashes or hives. Hmm…I wonder where my son gets it from .. ha
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your experience with it!
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The human body is a remarkable thing, and we can only guess at half of what is going on in it at any moment in time. It sounds as though you have got great insight into how many things can combine together to set off symptoms in your son, rather than looking for one unique cause, which seems like a really sensible approach. It is hard to see anyone suffering from a skin condition – I hope it does settle down for him as he develops 🙂
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Thank you for stopping by, reading and sharing your thoughts. I agree..the human body is definitely a remarkable thing. I believe that it will settle down as he matures and gets older. Thank you for your kind wishes. Have a great one!
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Ah yes, such confusing times anyway and throwing an allergy into the mix sounds like you definitely need to be a detective. It sounds like you are doing a great job of being detectives though! By the way, we had the four month no sleep developmental leap too, it drove me insane – I thought i’d broken my son! Great post #momsterslink
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I did not believe when they told me that there was a such thing as four month sleep regression or even the wonder weeks! I think it was more that I did not want to admit it. ha Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts. I appreciate it!
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I know this feeling all too well. I spend so long trying to guess the reason behind everything but sometimes she’s just being a baby. I too believe in wonder weeks though! Lexie can be a nightmare for about a week but by the end of it she can do all these new things! This past week has been one of those, she can now say mama and dada and stand against the furniture. All in one week… Crazy #PicknMix
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That has been our experience too! A crazy week of fussiness and craziness then leading to amazing developmental. Hearing Mama and Dada and seeing new skills totally makes it worth it all right? I still remember when a close friend told me in the early months about The Wonder Weeks and I brushed it off as so silly… Until one hit and I decided to download the app. According to the app, we just finished the last one this week. Very bittersweet. But we are now welcomed to toddlerhood 😄 thank you for stopping by ! Hope you have a great weekend with lots of “Mamas.”
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It must be so difficult when you are left constantly second guessing yourself, and with everything being a trial and error test nothing is fast and nothing is definite. I love your positive attitude to it and it sounds like you are winning more battles than you are losing 🙂
Thanks for linking up to #AnythingGoes
Debbie
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What a great way to look at it…playing detective. It really can be that challenging. But keep at it, it is so worth it.
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Thank you ! 😄
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You always manage to stay so positive! I would have lost my mind a long time ago and your poor little guy just seems like such a trooper through all of it. Thanks so much for sharing with #momsterslink.
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As always, thank you for the encouragement. Don’t get me wrong at the start of this, I did lose my mind for awhile. However, I knew that I needed to accept and own it, creating something positive from it. I needed to teach my son that his food allergies and skin conditions, or any challenges in life, cannot define him. So that is my greatest motivation on why I stay positive and smile on. =)
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It definitely is a detective job being a parent. Living with allergies especially! I have heard of the seasonal flare ups with food Thanks for linking to #PickNMix
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It definitely is! I keep saying that it is so challenging since he still cannot talk and express what is wrong or how he feels when he is eating a food. However, I know that with every new stage and age, new challenges will arise. Thank you for hosting!
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