Not Always What You Expect

Life does not always give you what you expect.  While life has not been "hard" on us, it has not been easy on us either. Both of our kiddos have had some trials and for me, have taken a toll at one time or another.

Here is the health challenge we have had with Noah...

Noah was born very healthy, one week and one day late and 9lbs 2 oz, 22 inches long.  He was overcooked I tell people.  He was lifting his head off my tummy, seconds after he was born.  From the beginning I chose to breastfeed and from the beginning Noah had a rumbley tummy and seemed miserable.  I cut out different foods from my diet and discovered he could not handle dairy well, including when I ate it.  Not even 2 months after he was born, I got so sick that I had to stop breastfeeding for 11 days to take antibiotics. Unfortunately, I did not have a back stock, so we had to put Noah on formula. For a full 8 hours, Noah screamed bloody murder becuase he wanted Mommy's milk and could not have it.  He finally gave in and drank almost 8 oz.  After this, Noah got half Mommy's milk and half soy formula.

 At one year, we decided to try gradually putting him on whole milk like all other babies get.  He seemed to adjust just fine, or so we thought.  At 13 months, Mike left for his first deployment and I was left with a sick baby.  I thought it was just a cold, but 2 months later, Noah still had a runny nose and was constantly wheezy.  I took him to his 15 month checkup and the doctor gave him a clean bill of health.  Immediately I told the doctor, no, he always has a runny nose and wheezes for no reason.  The doctor double checked his ears, nose and throat and said words that were horrifying to me.  "We are going to check Noah for allergies." They did a RAST test and 2 weeks later I got a phone call from the doctor while I was at work.  I was told that Noah did indeed have allergies, but one of the allergies came as a surprise; I was told he had allergies to dairy and to peanuts.  The worst thing was that the nurse asked if I would like an appt with the doctor.  Are you kidding?! Of course I wanted an appt.  I needed to know what I needed to do next to get Noah feeling better.  I am going to assume like all other parents, I felt like a failure for a bit.  I let him down.  I couldn't make a healthy baby and then I was too stupid to notice the difference between a cold and allergies. And the whole idea of a peanut allergy made me feel like my whole world was closing in and that there were SEVERAL things that Noah would never get to experience.  The worries about Noah having a reaction if he was around someone who had eaten a peanut butter sandwich or heaven forbid, being on an airplane and they serve those stupid little bags of peanuts.  It felt like we were now restricted to things that would keep Noah safe from interacting with anyone that might worsen his allergy.  It was something that I lay in bed at night and lost sleep worrying over.

When we went and saw the doctor (who thought an appointment was optional), he told me how bad Noah's allergies were.  For allergies, Noah's numbers were low for both.  We were told that the dairy usually gets better and most kids grow out of the allergy by kindergarten and that the peanut allergy ONLY gets worse.  I was horror stricken that if we kept peanut butter in the house and he got a whiff, it would only make it worse.  I went home and cleaned out our cabinets, and let me tell you, it did not leave much.

Luckily, Noah adjusted quickly to soy milk and did not notice the huge change in his diet.  (I did, it was like starting solids all over again with him and I was having to start with brand new foods that neither of us have ever tried, all the while Noah and I were on our own and Mike was trying to be as supportive as possible overseas.) Noah's runny nose and wheeziness faded quickly and I finally felt my little guy was finally healthy and happy like he should be.

Noah is now getting ready to turn 5 in November.  He still has allergies, but it is not the same.  In January 2010, while Mike was on another deployment, my Mom and I took Noah to National Jewish to have Noah retested.  We felt that this was necessary, since I had read a few articles stating that the RAST test was not accurate for children under the age of 5.  Noah was 15 months and right before he was tested, he had eaten peanut butter and had no trouble that I had noticed.  This time the testing at National Jewish consisted of two tests, the RAST test and a scratch test.  For both tests, Noah tested negative for allergies to peanut butter and the dairy test showed positive.  The RAST test numbers had actually improved and they were about half of what they used to be.  So like our original doctor had said, it was getting better with age.

The next step was to come back to the hospital and do a peanut challenge.  So on a cold day in January, we went back to the National Jewish Hospital. Just Noah and I for a day at the hospital to see if Noah would have a reaction or to see if the sun would start shining and we would be able to add another food and so many more options of things to eat for Noah.  We arrived early and the children's ward was empty. Noah became quite uncomfortble with the sterile environment and stayed close to me.  The nurse called us and they checked Noah's weight, height and temperature.  She then asked me what the best way would be to let Noah eat the peanut butter.  I told her on a cracker. She said that she would get that ordered and would be over in a mintute.  By the time she came back, the ward was awake and there was a handful of kids hanging around.  The nurse brought us the peanut butter, but apparently had been sleeping while we were talking because she brought it in a little white paper cup.  Noah looked at it and said "No." My heart dropped, I never thought that it would go like this, I thought he would try peanut butter and we would find out if he had an allergy or not. So for the next three hours, I tried to bribe Noah into trying peanut butter, we even went to the gift shop and spent almost $2.00 on a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup to get him to try it.  Nope, apparently Noah was having a stubborn moment and kept the door closed to a new menu at our house. 

Noah is able to tolerate a little bit of dairy now.  He can have a little ice cream, a slice of cheese, or a cup of yogurt.  If he has too much we know, but it is a step in the right direction.  Just the other day I asked Noah if he would let Daddy and I take him to the hospital again and try peanut butter. Besides looking at me like I was stupid, he told me he would not try peanut butter, even if is was a peanut butter cup (he does not know what he is missing), but I know he would LOVE it. 

I have a strong feeling that Noah does not have a peanut allergy, I do not know if he grew out of it or never had it, but besides Noah we know one other little guy that had low allergy numbers like Noah for peanuts, who no longer has the allergy.  I would like to think that Noah can eat it but now chooses not to.  After all, nowadays he has alternatives, like sunflower butter, and he LOVES it.  While I know lots of other people who have had experiences more challenging with their kiddos, this is the story of ours with Noah.  Personally, this originally brought me lots of tears, but in the end, I think it has made us stronger as a family.  I truly believe that God only gives us as much as we can handle and no more.   Kyli's story will follow soon.