Fast forward to March 8, 2007 at 9:36 pm. My little precious bundle of screaming joy was born. Paxton was rushed to the NICU immediately because he wasn't breathing very well. After the longest 14 hours of my life until that point, he came to be with his momma and daddy doing just fine. Apparently he had what they call "lazy white boy syndrome." Since he looked just like Scott I was so happy to know he did get some of my genes (I too can get lazy from time to time!). I was so excited to breast feed and was convinced I was going to have such an easy go at it considering Paxton latched on immediately. So we go home and in an effort to be the best breast feeding mother in the world I am eating tons of protein, ie, dairy and nuts, and nursing around the clock. And that is no exaggeration. If Paxton wasn't nursing he was screaming. And I don't do screaming baby very well so that means he was nursing all the time. Since the screaming never EVER stopped I thought maybe he was starving or something. Like my milk wasn't enough to fill him up. When he was 3 weeks old I gave him a bottle of formula. This resulted in several hours of vomiting and a trip to the ER. Good times! So I keep nursing and eating my protein and Paxton keeps screaming bloody murder for the majority of 2 solid months. Being a first time mom I have absolutely no clue what to do. I vaguely remember ordering colic remedies off the Internet at 3 in the morning while sitting on the bathroom floor with the tub water running (this was the only thing that would calm him down a bit). In the midst of my constant google searches for "colicky baby" I come across info that links milk protein to colic. So I cut all dairy out of my diet and up my nut intake to make sure I get my protein in. This helped a little but not completely. I was advised by my pediatrician to stop nursing for 2 days and give him Nutramagin formula to see if that helped. Two days later we had a different child. This was all it took for me to realize that nursing was not helping him, but upsetting his tummy so bad. Obviously, I quit nursing and switched to this special formula right away.
Fast forward to Paxton's first birthday. What I am fast forwarding past is severe exczema, wheezing, and several respiratory infections. I knew he had problems with milk but also knew there was such a broad spectrum of problems he could have. I wanted him to have allergy testing, but most doctors are hesitant to order this type of testing on a 1 year old. I had a hunch for some reason that he was allergic to nuts. One day I took a little bit of peanut butter and rubbed it on his cheek. And what do you know...HIVES. This was enough for our pediatrician to order the tests and sure enough he's severely allergic to milk, eggs, and nuts. All that peanut butter I was eating in an effort to make my little buddy grow up big and strong was making him sick!
We haven't had nuts in our house in over 3 years. We avoid nuts like the plague. My parents and sister have even gone nut free to avoid any form of cross contamination. (This is just one reason they are awesome!!) It is hard to eat out. It is hard to travel. It is hard to go to a birthday party. And the list goes on. But we manage and try our best to make it as normal as possible. I make some mean peanut-free vegan baked goods these days. If you're ever in the mood for a good vegan muffin let me know! We take Paxton to the allergist next week and I pray that he has outgrown some of his allergies. Although if he has not I won't be sad. It is just one thing that makes him who he is and I love him just that way.
On a side note, Scott and I were talking about what we want to do on our first vacation sans children in 5 years. This is how the list went, in no particular order:
1. Lay on the beach
2. Sleep sleep sleep!
3. Eat bags and bags of reese's peanut butter cups, peanut butter and jelly, and snickers.
Doesn't that sound romantic! :)
