Allergies... Keeping Things Interesting

I often contemplate all of the things our kids will teach us as we raise them and wonder what interests they will pick up and how their personalities will evolve.  Our lives are so ordinary and our kids are so mellow and laid back, we weren't expecting any curve-balls.  We are learning about what it means to plan meals that are dairy-free for a little girl with a milk-allergy.  As it turns out, almond milk is delicious and quite nutritious as well.  It has plenty of calcium and vitamin D which makes a great substitute for cow's milk for Veda... mommy may be making the switch as well.  We shall see, almond milk is about 3 times as expensive as cow's milk.  Right now I am hoping that she will continue to love eating avocados since that is one of her main fat sources... unfortunately it is becoming a significant fat source for me as well.  Not good.  But truly delicious.  :/  

  Steve and I are meeting with a dietician next week to get more ideas about dairy free products, recipes and cooking with milk substitutes.  I am hoping the session will provide more answers than our visit with an allergist at the university.  That was just an odd experience.  Basically we were able to observe a clear reaction to milk after a scratch test that bubbled up on her back.  Luckily she is not allergic to peanuts, almonds, eggs and she did not react to soy either.  The doctor confirmed that she is allergic to milk and needs to avoid it.  I asked if she could have milk in baked goods and he told us to avoid it completely.  That about sums it up.  I understand that he is a doctor and not a nutritionist or dietician but I was hoping for more information as we left there.  We did receive a booklet on treating Eczema if anyone is interested in that.  Steve and I must have repeated 3 times that Eczema is really not a major concern and we know how to treat it but he really spelled that out for us over and over.  Great, really useful for us right now.  Thanks!  Anyway, we will keep totting our Epi-pen and do our best to keep Veda from getting ahold of Sawyer's chocolate milk and shreds of cheese that have been dropped on the floor.  Lord, we pray to never require the use of an Epi-pen. Amen.  

Here are a few pics from our visit to the allergist.  We were responsible for entertaining Veda without touching her back for a full 30 minutes.  It was interesting.

Roarrrrrr