So after confessing to my pediatrician like I was back in the confessional at my Catholic School, about not feeding the little one as much “real food” as I should have been… I was pleasantly surprised to hear her response. She more than agreed with my decision. She was also impressed with the progress we had made so far with food. I know I know, you know this already ☺

What you don’t know yet is that she may have agreed a little too much with my thoughts on not introducing food very much yet. By the end of our conversation, she was referring us to a Pediatric Allergy Specialist, “As Soon As Possible” because she felt that he was a “High Risk Baby.” Did I miss something?? High risk? I mean, I’m a nurse, if he was I risk I should have known this! Did I not understand the gravity of his condition and totally miss something? In all reality, I think I had just not allowed it to be a serious issue. We had such great support from everyone around us they it didn’t seem like a big deal. Also, we had not had any major hiccups since this whole process started. The only thing we were “behind” on was food introduction. Right?!

What led us to the referral was my initiation of a conversation about reintroducing peanuts and tree nuts into my diet. Additionally, I was concerned about his lack of exposure over the past 6-7 months. Research shows the earlier the exposure to potential food allergens, the less likely the child is to react or to seriously react. Of course, they should only be introduced into the child’s diet once advised and allowed by your pediatrician. I wanted her advice on how to go about reintroducing these particular allergens into my diet. I also wanted to know how to eventually allow him to be directly exposed. And that was it! That’s when she turned me over into the hands of the specialist. The pediatrician felt that because the symptoms were continuing despite extensive food elimination, he was at risk for more systemic reactions if he was directly introduced to particular foods.

Referral

My appointment at the pediatrician’s office was on a Friday. On the following Monday morning (President’s Day) we received a call that he had an appointment set up with the specialist for that Thursday. Wow!! Getting into a pediatric allergy specialist in less than a week; on a holiday week no less! That is unheard of!! What was to come!? I felt nervous, anxious, and excited all at the same time. Finally, we were going to get some answers on what exactly he is allergic to and potentially what the severity of these allergies are. I am also super pumped to see what I can add back to my extremely limited diet!! Yay for baby and yay for mommy’s hungry tummy!!

Good vibes for positive results!!