About a month later it began to be holiday season. We LOVE the holidays at our house and were enjoying ourselves when my daughter who was then 3 started with what we thought was a cold. Every night, we would do the same thing. Put her to bed, about an hour later, she would be throwing up. I honestly think I washed her bed sheets/blankets every night for about 3 weeks. We went to her pediatrician and they said it must be a virus. We finally couldn't take it any more and decided to take her to a ENT. They graciously got us in on the last day of the year. After talking a little they decided to test her for allergies, both food and seasonal. When it popped up that she was allergic to corn, I thought no problem this will be easy. What I really found out was that my life as I knew it was over. No more eating out without careful planning, no more "little treats" as she liked to call them. It was hardest because she didn't understand why everyone else could eat things and she couldn't. At first when I started reading labels, I was amazed at how many things contained corn. I was at a loss. What was I going to feed my girl? After a couple of days of searching for foods she no longer threw up, her "cold" went away and since then, she rarely has had any problems except for when she eats corn. Although she still struggles with not being able to eat what others have, I have been able to find or make almost anything without corn. She loves it when I say, guess what I made for you because its like a new door has opened for her.
A few months later, our son who was 15 months was losing weight, not eating well, and almost looked like he was withering away. Back to the ENT to do more tests and found out Gluten/Wheat was on the list of foods that bothered him. Back to the drawing board again with finding out foods to eat. This time was probably the hardest because he had eggs, corn, dairy, and now gluten. At first I was reluctant to start my child on a Gluten-free diet even though the tests came back positive for a gluten allergy. I didn't want people to think I was crazy, or think I was too sensitive. Really those first six weeks were torture... should I keep him on or take him off. After six weeks, we tested it and bang sure enough every time he consumed gluten, his stomach blew up like a balloon, and he had poo from head to toe. During those six weeks my little baby began to shine again. He began to liven up and seemed happy. He started gaining weight and then we knew this was the path we needed to take. At first the food we fed him looked about as good as dog food. But with a little help from some dear friends and some trial and error, we have made significant progress.
A year and a half later, here I am. I am not an expert. I do not have all the answers. But there is one thing I do know. What we have experienced was not easy but with a little bit of elbow grease, prayers, and a lot of trial and error, we figured out what works for us. I'm sure there will be more surprises along the way, but we found life after allergies. We found happiness amongst challenges. It was amazing how we went from devastated that our kids wouldn't be able to eat foods like other kids, to "hey I can make that!". I remember seeing my daughters face the first time we made cupcakes with REAL frosting on them. She smiled, jumped up and down, rushed over and said "Thanks mom!! That is amazing!" And that right there is why I am starting this blog, so that I can share what knowledge I have with those who may be struggling to find life after allergies. I will post recipes, attempts at recipes, menu plans, brand names, and some other tricks I have learned.
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