Peanut

Ironically we call baby Jace "peanut" at times. On the fourth of July we came home from church and sat down for lunch. Adam, Bear, and I were eating peanut butter and honey sandwiches. Jace had not tried peanut butter yet. It is on the list of forbiddens if you will. When Barrett was a baby I think we were told to wait til 18 months or 2 years to try it do to the risk of allergy. I had not heard so much of the warning this time around and no one in the family really has food allergies, so even after Adam asked about it, I decided we would try it. I gave Jace a few small cuts of sandwich. He ate them and seemed to enjoy the first few bites. Then he started getting really fussy and crying. He threw his food off his tray and we sternly told him no. The crying escalates now. We put him down in the floor as we cleaned up. I prepared to put him to bed, thinking all the fussiness was due to being overtired. Adam picked him up and I looked at his face. It was covered in hives. His eyes were swelling more by the minute. We headed to the ER. By the time we got there, his bottom lip was fat and his left eye was nearly swelled shut. The hives still present. Fortunately, his breathing was never effected. His oxygen saturation remained 100%. Such a blessing! The Lord was watching out for Jace. A dose of steroids and Benadryl, and a bit of observation and we were on our way home with orders to follow-up with his pediatrician.

We continued Benadryl for 48 hours and steroids for five days. The following Wednesday we followed up with our pediatrician. He ordered a blood test to check for allergens to specific foods. The test came back with allergens to milk, eggs, and peanuts. We were instructed to follow-up with an allergist. We found a pediatric allergist in the Birmingham area. We followed up last Thursday. The performed more allergy testing. Thankfully, the milk didn't really show a reaction under the prick test. The eggs and peanuts were both quite reactive, but the peanut was definitely the most severe. Fortunately, he did not react to any other substances such as tree nuts or shellfish. He tolerated the whole thing very well--such a tough little guy! We have an epi-pen now and feel better equipped to care for him. We follow-up again in 6 months unless necessary to do so sooner.

All in all this was a very scary ordeal, but it could have been SO much worse. We could have lost our sweet baby. It really makes you think. I am certain he will have a reaction again at some point. And it may be worse than before, but fortunately we are better prepared. We trust the Lord that he cares for our sweet child even more than we do and that he will take care of him and us as we walk through this trial. In the grand scheme of things a peanut allergy is a grain of sand.