We found out when Charlotte was 10 months old that she was allergic to peanuts. It was Thanksgiving and Trey was eating a cookie that had peanut butter in it. He dropped a large piece on the floor, and being only 2, just kept on going. Charlotte crawled toward the piece and put it in her mouth. We fished the piece of cookie out of her mouth when we realized what happened, and then 5 minutes later she started getting hives all over her body. A quick call to pediatrician, a dose of benadryl , and she was back to her normal self.
The pediatrician told us to avoid all nut products until further notice. Poor Charlotte had to eat sandwiches made of out sunflower seed butter. She ate them, but the rest of us thought it was disgusting. At 18 months she had a blood test done where they determined she was definitely allergic to peanuts. The test was just "barely positive" though, so at that time the pediatrician didn't think she needed an epi-pen. We were recommended to a pediatric allergist and went to see her right before Charlotte turned 2 years old. They did a skin prick test on her back and pricked her with all different types of nuts. The only one that swelled up on her back was the peanut prick. We were thankful that she was only allergic to peanuts, because that opened up a world of foods to her such as almond butter, hazelnut butter, granola, and other foods with nuts.
This past Christmas, right before she turned 3, she accidentally ate a piece of Trey's peanut butter sandwich. I wasn't sure how much peanut butter she got in her bite, so I called the pediatrician. They recommended not using the epi since she wasn't showing any sign of reaction. If she had shown any sign of an allergic reaction we would have used the epi, but after you administer it you have to go to the er to be monitored, so we don't give it unless necessary.
Based on the fact that Charlotte had no reaction to the bite of peanut butter sandwich, her allergist recommended doing a peanut challenge. We went last month to their office, a jar of peanut butter in hand, to determine if Charlotte was still allergic to peanuts. The basic gist of the challenge is you spend all day in the office and they keep giving you a larger quantity of the allergen and if you show no reaction, you are considered "allergy free." If there is a reaction, the doctor is right there monitoring everything and an epi pen is ready to be used at any moment.
We got to the office bright and early. Luckily, Esther was only 7 weeks old so she was still sleeping most of the day away. Charlotte was excited to play and eat peanut butter. They gave her 1/4 tsp and she ate it up. They came back in the room every 5 minutes to check on her and since she was showing no signs of a reaction they gave her a 1/2 tsp of peanut butter. I can't remember exactly, but I think they gave her more peanut butter every 20-30 minutes. Still no reaction so they gave her 1 tsp of peanut butter. A few minutes after the tsp of peanut butter she started getting small red spots around her mouth and on her chin. It wasn't full blown hives, but it was enough of a difference for the doctor to decide not to give her any more peanut butter.
I had really hoped her allergy had gone away, but that was not the case. We had to stay in the office 2 more hours to be monitored and make sure all the red spots had gone away and that no other reaction occurred. The doctor said we would wait another year and then try again. Her reaction was very mild and she is so young, so there is still a chance to outgrow the allergy.
For now Charlotte is still enjoying her almond butter sandwiches.
The pediatrician told us to avoid all nut products until further notice. Poor Charlotte had to eat sandwiches made of out sunflower seed butter. She ate them, but the rest of us thought it was disgusting. At 18 months she had a blood test done where they determined she was definitely allergic to peanuts. The test was just "barely positive" though, so at that time the pediatrician didn't think she needed an epi-pen. We were recommended to a pediatric allergist and went to see her right before Charlotte turned 2 years old. They did a skin prick test on her back and pricked her with all different types of nuts. The only one that swelled up on her back was the peanut prick. We were thankful that she was only allergic to peanuts, because that opened up a world of foods to her such as almond butter, hazelnut butter, granola, and other foods with nuts.
This past Christmas, right before she turned 3, she accidentally ate a piece of Trey's peanut butter sandwich. I wasn't sure how much peanut butter she got in her bite, so I called the pediatrician. They recommended not using the epi since she wasn't showing any sign of reaction. If she had shown any sign of an allergic reaction we would have used the epi, but after you administer it you have to go to the er to be monitored, so we don't give it unless necessary.
Based on the fact that Charlotte had no reaction to the bite of peanut butter sandwich, her allergist recommended doing a peanut challenge. We went last month to their office, a jar of peanut butter in hand, to determine if Charlotte was still allergic to peanuts. The basic gist of the challenge is you spend all day in the office and they keep giving you a larger quantity of the allergen and if you show no reaction, you are considered "allergy free." If there is a reaction, the doctor is right there monitoring everything and an epi pen is ready to be used at any moment.
We got to the office bright and early. Luckily, Esther was only 7 weeks old so she was still sleeping most of the day away. Charlotte was excited to play and eat peanut butter. They gave her 1/4 tsp and she ate it up. They came back in the room every 5 minutes to check on her and since she was showing no signs of a reaction they gave her a 1/2 tsp of peanut butter. I can't remember exactly, but I think they gave her more peanut butter every 20-30 minutes. Still no reaction so they gave her 1 tsp of peanut butter. A few minutes after the tsp of peanut butter she started getting small red spots around her mouth and on her chin. It wasn't full blown hives, but it was enough of a difference for the doctor to decide not to give her any more peanut butter.
I had really hoped her allergy had gone away, but that was not the case. We had to stay in the office 2 more hours to be monitored and make sure all the red spots had gone away and that no other reaction occurred. The doctor said we would wait another year and then try again. Her reaction was very mild and she is so young, so there is still a chance to outgrow the allergy.
For now Charlotte is still enjoying her almond butter sandwiches.
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| Up bright and early (see how dark it still is in the rest of the house)! |
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| Happily entertaining herself while the doctor keeps checking back in. |
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| This is how Esther spent most of the day. |
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