Park Visit

We decided to walk to the park today after our naps. It is about a mile to the park passed the fire station.

I actually took him out if the stroller and let him slide (with my help of course) down two slides.

I have noticed parents often seem to forget to dress their children. If you are one of those parents, pay attention. I see parents wearing boots, jeans even a jacket and then they will be carrying a baby in a simple onesie. It's really common around here. I don't know why but just something I notice.

So poor Jace is probably over dressed especially for 70 degree weather. Although even with a long sleeved onesie, overall pants and a beanie his previous feet were getting cold so we had to leave.

Its the strangest thing... the walk by my moms causes mass hives. This walk made me feel like he was looking better. I suppose the allergy to the sun is perhaps once again off the table.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Toxic Chemicals

In my opinion breast feeding is clearly the best option for optimizing infant health. What do parents do who can't breast feed and their child has severe allergies? Try finding a formula that is soy free, dairy free, gluten free, and corn free. Besides allergies there are parents who want the absolute best for their children.

Besides breast feeding yourself the next best option are reserve banks where you can actually buy or trade breast milk. Unfortunately my child is so allergic to everything I'm certain that is not an option. The next step in our searching plan is to make our own formula. It sounds archaic and tree huggerish, but if you know anything about food and the FDA you might agree with me.

Infant formulas across the board have been found contaminated with all sorts of toxic chemicals. in the last couple years there have even been recalls.

For example, the CDC found perchlorate, a chemical from rocket fuel, in 15 brands of infant formula, including two brands that accounted for 87 percent of the market share in 2000. The top brands included Similar and Enfamil.

Other contaminants discovered in some infant formulas include:

Melamine (linked to kidney failure)
Dioxin
BPA
AGEs (advanced glycoprotein end products)
Genetically engineered ingredients
Fructose

Soy formulas should be avoided altogether. It infuriates me how soy has been deemed a healthy alternative when it's causes devastating health effects.

Phthalates, or "plasticizers," are a group of industrial chemicals used to make plastics like polyvinyl chloride (PVC) more flexible and resilient. These are found in everything including packaging.

We've all heard if BPA by now but does anyone know what it really does.
Structural damage to your brain
Hyperactivity, increased aggressiveness, and impaired learning Increased fat formation and risk of obesity (hence our country)
Altered immune function
Early puberty, stimulation of mammary gland development, disrupted reproductive cycles, and ovarian dysfunction
Changes in gender-specific behavior, and abnormal sexual behavior Stimulation of prostate cancer cells
Increased prostate size, and decreased sperm production
Diabetes
Heart disease
Liver damage

BPA is in everything.
Plastic water bottles
Plastic gallon milk bottles
Plastic microwavable plates, ovenware, and utensils
Tooth sealants
Canned foods and soda cans (most have plastic lining in the cans)
Baby toys, bottles, pacifiers, and sippy cups

The biggest thing when feeding your child why would you go to all this trouble to make something or buy organic only to put it in something toxic. I mean the baby bottles, the plastic cups and the liners. They get sanitized over and over. All that heat is just leeching toxic chemicals into your child's milk. Not to mention most baby formula comes in a can of some sort that is more than likely lines with BPA.

It's unfair! That's exactly what it is. My husband thinks they can't live in a bubble but my thoughts are keep them as healthy as possible so they have a fighting chance. No one is immune to BPA and sadly it's in EVERYTHING. People have gotten smart to it in recent years but chemists and scientists only created another binding agent that's even more toxic to replace it so they can deem their product as BPA free.

The simplest solution buy GLASS whenever possible. As for formula I have yet to find anything worth giving to my child. With the food allergies we have to be even more careful and we have yet to master a formula recipe he isn't allergic to.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Covered in Vomit

We had zucchini same as we've been doing for awhile. Then the husband offered him avocado. He seemed fine until I was feeding him before bed and he threw up all down my back in my hair then on my lap then down my shirt.

I went threw the vomiting with his sister as she was hospitalized for a long time because of it. I think going thru that makes me even more freaked out and over protective. I don't want to stay at the hospital for months and months. I don't even want to drive by it that's how long I felt trapped there with a sick baby.

He threw up breast milk this last one. All the zucchini and avocado has left his stomach. Maybe how he will feel better. My heart breaks for him. Now figuring out what foods caused this is the challenging part.

Mass Hives

Wednesday night Jace was sitting in the living room with dad and started to break out in hives.

It started with his feet turning red like an angry athletes foot burning red and spread up his legs arms and face. The odd part his abs and torso were spotless. The hives were so bad they started to blister and in the center were these white dots. I was heating up his food and it continued to get worse. We gave him a warm bath which it started to calm. Then I tried lotion. The aveeno Eczema cream and the got progressively worse. So bad to the point I was ready to go to the ER. I rushed to the pharmacy and found Benadryl.

The photos are after 1/4tsp of Benadryl. I hate giving him something that clearly states do not use if under the age if 6 YEARS! However even his lips started to swell.

The Benadryl calmed it enough that the swelling and blisters oozed out everywhere. (Strange?) but they still left they mark everywhere. This was the strangest outbreak as it's been 4 hours since his last feeding. For something that severe it is odd to me it was what he ate.

Food Allergies

My heart breaks seeing him suffer. Our last doctor's visit he had lost a pound. They placed him on thyroid medicine and digestive enzymes.

With trial and error I have discovered he's highly allergic to eggs, cashews, almonds, coconut, olive oil, sunflower seeds, cows milk and maybe allergic to corn and bread. I have yet to find a solution or for everyone who believes in formula one that would work. I am still breastfeeding. I added flax oil into my diet to try to get some fat. We will see if that helps.

I did find a recipe to make my own formula which I would highly recommend to those who can't breastfeed. The key to breast feeding that I've learned is calories. If you want to diet, you will never produce enough milk. I am in search of fat and grease and calories because I am breastfeeding. Oddly though the weight still came off no matter how much I try to eat. You have to pack your diet with calories to maintain a milk supply. I think most women are fearful of eating extra food in fear for gaining weight. It's worth it in the end.

Milk, cheese, beef, cashews, almonds, eggs, coconut milk and fish oils were all items that I noticed if I ate would help boost my milk supply. Unfortunately baby is allergic to most of them.

I will never understand formula users. I won't pretend to either. It is a choice so I will refrain from passing judgement. While I think there are better options, it just requires more sacrifice on the moms part. I can't say I'm not jealous. Breastfeeding is hard work but to me it is worth trying to ensure that my child gets the best possible chance there is.

I don't believe not producing enough milk is a reason. There is a reason your body isn't producing its because it requires consistency, dedication, calories, fat and sleepless months and months. I am on a very very limited diet meaning less calories and less fat which means I pump more than the average working mom to get enough milk for my child. In other words I am tired and don't have much time to myself but again it is worth it.

Before Acupuncture

These are photos prior to Jace trying acupuncture. The skin is inflamed red and extremely hot to the touch. It would ooze oils that literally would burn his skin clean off like acid.

We are not cured but its a relief to have patches of skin poking through. It's amazing what a different baby he is. With the majority of his body inflamed and hot he didn't want anyone touching or holding him that ran hotter. My husband is naturally hotter so he didn't want anything to do with him. Me on the other hand I run a degree or two cooler than normal so I was his relief.

Now that he's starting to heal he loves hanging out with his dad. They are so precious together which has helped give me a break as well.

Simple eczema rash

Eczema? This was a few weeks ago after an unexplained flare up. The hardest part about all of this is not knowing.

My problem is I feel like I did this to him. It really is heart breaking. I shouldn't have eaten this while pregnant or taken that or done this... At least this newest doctor tells me nothing I could've done its in our genes... Although I might've done something right by avoiding his shots.

While I'm not anti vaccines I did not vaccinate my children. Had I not had complications during pregnancy and had healthy children yes I probably would've done the shots. Only I have children with compromised immune systems.

Eczema is a blanket answer even if it is an answer. It's used to describe the allergic reaction or something unknown. Because it could be anything it is very hard to cure.

The bandaid cure is steroids. I feel bad for those parents that trust the doctors so willingly. Steroids will (hopefully unless your Jace) clear the reaction. However it doesn't actually clear the allergy. It suppresses it deeper into the child's body so he or she will have complications later on in life.

A couple at my daughters dance class has a boy Jace's age. He too was diagnosed with eczema. Only his parents use steroid cream. It sounds like they have to use it pretty regularly. If they don't use it the rashes will come back. I feel bad for them. Obviously their child is allergic to something or is having complications with something... So scary the long term effects it will have.

The weird part is the glossed over look he gets in his eyes when it happens. You can't tell in this photo but its heart breaking to watch as the hives or red tiny bumps slowly spread. You can literally see them spreading. This was after feeding which I may have narrowed it down to Coconut. So at least we are off coconut.

The New PEDs Dr.

I love our newest PEDs doctor. Maybe I am partial to him because he was my doctor when I was a child. He took all my notes and looked over them. He then looked at my child and said this is definitely not Eczema. 

Anyone who understand Eczema knows that steroids make eczema better not worse. Also eczema doesn't spread. By this time the red bumps were spreading down his child and across his neck. His arms were covered from fingers to elbows and his legs were covered from ankle to knees. The problem that was unexplained was that red bumps would suddenly appear and slowly creep across random areas of his body for no explained reason.

We were told to see a Chiropractor Doctor/Allergist. There is this theory in regards to muscle testing that you can decipher if someone is allergic to foods or items within close proximity to the person by how their muscles react.

He gave us an antifungal medicine to combat the effects of all the antibiotics that we had been given. Unfortunately because babies are developing it was quite possible that the interlining of his intestines were damaged. This was the first time that I had felt relief after visiting a doctor. He told me he wanted me to be on an everything free diet. In other words NO dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs), gluten (wheat, bread, pasta, pastries), soy, nightshades (tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, peppers), and YEAST. In other words my already limited diet was cut in half. 

The problem: my child's skin dries to the point where it cracks open and bacteria gets inside causing a staph infection. The solution was to keep the skin hydrated. How do you do that when every type of ointment caused the rash to get worse. He suggested that it was quite possible he was allergic to petroleum products.

This theory would make sense why vaseline base products made everything worse. Unfortunately the cream based brands didn't change Jace's condition, but this was an answer different than the blanket answer I kept hearing.

The Allergist

Breathing treatments

Since the Dermatologist made us worse we went to an allergist.


Diagnosis - Eczema
Treatment - 20 minute warm baths, food diary, no lotions or creams, use prescribed ointment
Medications - antibiotic, steroid ointment (stronger than Dermatologist prescribed), Albuterol for a breathing machine and a steroid for the breathing machine.

My child was hardly 4 months old and they gave him 5 refills of steroids and medicine that has serious side effects. I was appalled when I went to his office. First the PA argued with me about my allergies. I was highly allergic to Milk. I know so because when I consumed it prior to being pregnant I couldn't breathe. Whether someone diagnosed me or not I know that my body cannot handle dairy. The PA told me that blood tests are not conclusive in regards to allergies and that the only way to determine if my child is allergic to something is to feed it to him.

I had been keeping a food dairy for a few weeks, but they didn't want to look at my notes. They wanted me to write down everything from that point forward on their printed matrix. I went home with 5 prescriptions for a child that was 12lbs.

I researched albuterol and the harmful effects it has on people. I grew up with asthma. I had been pumped full of all kinds of inhalers and steroids. Had they figured out I was allergic to milk maybe I wouldn't have been tortured with inhalers and living a life thinking there was no solution but life dependent medicine.

Albuterol is a great rescue drug. If you cannot breathe, yes it is important to use. However, the same drug that allows you to breathe also inhibits this by making your body dependent on it. Thus a never ending cycle. It weakens your lungs and your bodies ability to breathe on its own. I have been without steroids and inhalers for 7 years now. When Jace was first given the breathing machine I had to sit with him and hold the mask because he was so tiny. I found that I was breathing in a lot of the fumes myself. I discovered a few times how my lungs cringed and it was almost hard to breathe for no reason at all like they were remembering the difficulties I once had.

I stopped the breathing machine. I filled the steroids but did not use them. I was stuck. On one hand I had a doctor telling me that my child was allergic to water and it was making his condition worse. His counterpart was telling me that I needed to bath him for long periods of time. His theory was to bath him long enough that the pores opened and you could cover him in the harmful meds he had prescribed. He thought it was an allergy not a skin condition. In other words I was doing this to my child.

I was already Gluten (wheat) free, dairy free, soy free, and peanut and almond free and strictly breast feeding.

I started with the bath using bottled water and bathed him until I couldn't stand it any longer. I tried the eczema creams at the stores. Every time any type of cream touched his face he would turn instantly red. By this point he was so red he looked like his skin had been burned. It oozed and crusted. It was so bad that he would scratch would later become infected.

After this point my PEDs doctor wanted to send us to another state. I decided he had given up with he wanted to pump us full of more antibiotics so I found a new PEDs dr.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

The Dermatologist

The peds doctor continued to pump us with antibiotics thinking our unexplained redness would go away. When it didn't... he sent us to a dermatologist...

The Dermatologist... he made me the angriest of all the doctors put together. He diagnosed my child with eczema before I had even removed him from the baby buggy. He laughed at me when I said it is not eczema. He didn't listen a word I said. He said that it was eczema and that I would be back in three days thanking him for saving my child. He said he could've diagnosed him from across the waiting room. Apparently all red faced babies who are teething have eczema.

Diagnosis - Eczema
Treatment - no bathing, cover the child in vaseline from head to foot, no water, use prescribed ointment
Medications - antibiotic and steroid ointment

He told me that it is a RASH, and it was nothing that I was doing to my child or that I was putting into my body because I am breastfeeding. His diagnosis was a RASH. He gave some speech about how my child was too clean and I bathed him too much. I hadn't bathed him in 2 weeks, but according to him the water I wasn't using was causing this red scaled bumpy skin.

Against my better judgement I went to the store and bought all the ointment creams he suggested. Vaseline, Aquafor, Eucerin, Steroids, and more antibiotics.

I covered my child's face from chin to forehead in vaseline. Within minutes the red rash around his chin and ears spread from ear to ear and slowly continued to crawl across his nose and across his forehead. I headed back to the PEDs doctor even more panicked. The PEDs doctor called the dermatologist while I waited to discuss his remedy. He stood by his answer saying that my child has eczema and that he stands by his diagnosis.

The steroids... I didn't cover my child in this medicine which was suggested. I took a tiny amount and placed it around his ear to see what effect it would have. The nickel size red patch reduced to the size of a dime and then a few hours later it was three times the size and oozing with a yellow liquid that turned into a crust and the next morning blood was oozing from his ear.

Photo - after ointment remedies (soon spread to nose and forehead)