We got a call from the pediatrician's office last night with the results of Gemma's allergy testing. She tested positive for a mild milk allergy and a mild egg allergy. Our doctor is out of town, so we won't be getting into the details a whole lot until we see him again in 3 weeks for Gemma's weight check. In the meantime, we are supposed to begin transitioning her from formula to soy milk. I am hoping that this goes much better than when we tried to transition her from breast milk to soy formula. She hated the soy formula so much that she would make herself throw up whenever we tried to give her any of it. Also, despite months of trying, she still has not gotten the hang of using a sippy cup - all she wants to do is chew on it. So I am not anticipating a smooth transition from the bottle either.
Due to her food allergies, we are supposed to avoid foods with milk and eggs in them for the time being. Hopefully she will eventually grow out of these allergies, but in the meantime, her food options are pretty limited. It is amazing how much stuff has eggs and milk in it - basically everything but straight up fruit, veggies, and meat. Also I know that cheese, yogurt, and eggs are generally good foods for babies this age, but those are off-limits to Gemma. I guess I could try to hunt down some soy-based cheese and yogurt, but I am sure I will have to branch out and do my grocery shopping somewhere other than Wal-Mart then! Also, she really needs to grow some more teeth! She got her bottom two teeth around 6 months of age and has gotten no more teeth since. We are still just feeding her purees primarily, since she can't really chew.
But anyway...at least we know for sure now about her allergies and can work around them. And we were actually relieved that her allergies weren't more extensive - she had also broken out in hives after some turkey and a fruit mixture, but nothing else showed up on the test. So we are thankful for that, but would definitely appreciate prayers that we can get this girl transitioned from the bottle to a cup, from formula to soy milk, that she will one day outgrow her allergies, and that she will grow some more teeth so she can eat more food! :)
3 comments:
Poor little Gemma. Judah only has three teeth still. But he's pretty good at chewing with his gums. He likes when I share my potato chips with him, and he loves graham crackers. Who needs teeth?
-jeff
Here's my advice (for what it is worth!) - Just focus on getting her to take the milk first before you worry about taking away the bottle. Dr. Traynham (we switched to him by the way) told me that as long as Liam was off the bottle by around 15 months it was ok. Basically, he said don't rock his world too much - baby steps! Also, I have a friend whose child has the same allergies and she is kind of a fanatic about cooking and finding new recipes that her son can eat so I will ask her if she has any good tips!
Ha! Maybe I should try to feed her potato chips - she does need to bulk up after all. Kelly, that is great advice - I was already figuring that out pretty quickly through trial and error this morning. She didn't seem to notice the difference in her milk so far, but is struggling with the sippy cup. Since she is underweight and due for a weight check in a couple weeks, I am not going to worry about switching from the bottle right now so much as I am focusing on getting her enough to eat and drink.
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