Sinking revelations

There are so many moments in your life that change you forever - many you don't even realize. The day I met Marvin - I never would have thought 13 months later we'd be walking down the aisle, heck, he never even really did more than say hi that first meeting. Taking my job at Waggener Edstrom oh so many years ago ultimiately brought me here. Having a child of course is completely life altering, but I am talking about the realization that you have to change for the betterment of you and your family.

Matthew has been fighting eczema and we knew that he had some allergic reactions to eggs, so we took him to the allergist to confirm what he's allergic to. Come to find out it is almost everything - eggs, peanuts, treenuts and to lesser degrees soy and milk. Do you realize how much of these foods are in things you eat EVERYDAY? This was my ah-ha moment - our life will change. We can't do the simple and quick anymore.

For example, we can't go to Chic-fil-a anymore (our favorite restaurant right now for Matthew) - the only thing Matthew can eat is the fruit cup. Most things breaded are done so in an egg wash - that means chicken nuggests are out. So many of the pre-packaged foods contain soy and milk products. Wow - this could potentially be a serious lifestyle change.

Our other option is to continue to have him eat the foods in low doses - like a small amount of egg in the chicken nuggets or egg in a cake and handle the reaction. Right now it is manifesting itself as eczema. How far do we go?

I hate to think that he is "that kid" who can't eat anything and always has to have a special snack. I also dread going overboard and becoming some kind of neo-hippy eating only whole vegatables and grains. While there probably is some merit to that, my goodness, I hate to think I am going to spend all of my free time in the kitchen. I am sure we will work around it. Our allergist wants to watch Matthew as he thinks he will be a good candidate for desensitization, but we can't start that until he is 2.

I am hopeful this is something that he outgrows, but in the meantime, the outcome may be a healthier diet for all of us!