Non-food treat Halloween

Halloween officially kicks off the holiday season in our house. First comes Halloween followed by a pile of November birthdays, Thanksgiving, a couple December birthdays, Christmas, New Years and then Valentine's Day finishes off several months of candy, food and celebrations. This year will be our first holiday season managing food allergies and I'm already stressed about it. I've decided, for my own sanity's sake, that I'm going to take on each event individually instead of thinking of the daunting "Holiday Season".

Last year Bug was only three-months-old for Halloween so we didn't trick-or-treat. Instead we took lots of pictures of her cute ballerina costume and handed out candy to the neighbor kids in costume (don't get me started on the teenagers who show up without a costume carrying a pillowcase for their candy...). Of all the trick-or-treaters last year I remember one little girl vividly. The four- or five-year-old girl dressed as a princess said, "Trick-or-treat" and when I dropped some candy in her bucket she said, "Does that have peanuts?" Her mom nicely piped in and said, "It's ok, honey, we'll check everything when we get home."

After they left I remember thinking how cute it was that the little girl asked about peanuts and what a great job her parents had done teaching her to ask. What I didn't know at the time was the terror her parents must have felt that night while trying to make sure their food allergy child had fun but also stayed safe. I also didn't know that my three-month-old ballerina and the cute little princess had something in common. Food allergies.

Bug isn't old enough to trick-or-treat this year but we've decided to take some steps to make food allergy kids feel more included during a holiday focused almost completely on candy. We're participating in a non-food treat Halloween and I couldn't be more excited! This year we'll hand out glow sticks and glow-in-the-dark bouncy balls instead of candy. I ordered them online using Amazon Prime and spent about $20. In years past we've spent way more on candy and I usually eat my fair share before the evening is over. We're also displaying this sign on our mailbox so parents know we have non-food treats. Not only is this great for food allergy kiddos that may feel excluded but it's a healthier option for all kids! We all know childhood obesity is on the rise so why not provide non-food treats for all kids?

I'll keep you posted on how it goes. Fingers crossed the neighborhood kids don't protest and egg our house!

Awesome glow bracelets!

-Garlic Free Mama

Food allergy awareness week

I didn't know it was food allergy awareness week at the time. All I knew was my beautiful nine-month-old daughter was covered in hives and vomiting.

My little lady bug had been playing on the floor when she accidentally got into some peanut butter. She took a handful, wiped it on her face and then took a big bite. Immediately she started getting hives on her face and her lips were red. Within 30 minutes the hives had spread to her neck and chest. I called the doctor and they instructed me to give her a high dose of Benadryl and watch for more symptoms. By the hour mark Bug started to throw up. She was acting very clingy and just wanted to be held. I called the doctor again and made an appointment for her to see the doctor that night.

Not long after I hung up the phone she threw up again and I noticed that the hives had spread to her stomach and back. My husband got home from work as I was cleaning up from the second round of vomiting. Bug started to act tired and we decided we needed to go to the emergency room.

That was the scariest 10 minute car ride I've ever been on. Bug was in her rear-facing car seat and her image was slightly distorted in the baby viewing mirror. She was lethargic and kept trying to fall asleep. We keep talking to her and shaking her a bit to keep her awake until we got to the hospital.

We finally arrived in the ER parking lot and I rushed Bug inside while my husband parked the car. As soon as I said, "she's having a reaction to peanuts!" The ER door flew open and we were immediately in triage. A nurse first looked to make sure her airway was clear. Luckily, it was. They took her temperature and it was 103.2. I could feel the heat radiating from her body.

Within minutes we were in a room and an ER doc was again checking Bug's airway. Again, it was still clear. Once we determined her airway was not in jeopardy, everyone calmed down a bit. She was given Motrin for the fever and a steroid to lessen the hives. After 4-5 hours in the ER, Bug was discharged and we made the trip home not fully comprehending what had happened that night. We knew Bug had peanut butter and we knew this was an allergic reaction.  But what we weren't mentally ready to understand was that our lives changed forever that day. Our sweet little girl had an anaphylactic reaction to peanut butter.

May 14, 2013 fell in the middle Food Allergy Awareness Week and we were suddenly far too aware of food allergies. Since then, we've been in a journey of avoidance, allergy doctors, epinephrine and research.

- Garlic Free Mama