Food Allergies Alert!

A recent post on getallergywise.blogspot.com reminded me again of how important it is to stay on top of Liam's food allergies. Yes. Is it confirmed. Liam does have some significant allergies that we need to be cautious of.

A while back, I wrote a post about food allergies as I pondered Liam's averse response to eating rice. His rice reaction remained consistent over numerous occasions of trying to feed my Asian boy some rice with no success. Over the course of the past 8 months, I cautiously introduced the standard mild, low allergic foods - peas, carrots, yams, green beans, bananas, apples, chicken, etc. Even then, Liam displayed signs of random sensitivity related to foods with a delayed 24-hour period reaction.

For his first birthday, he had a pumpkin muffin, and right after his face turned red. I didn't think much of it, but the next day, he had his first taste of cake. This time, his face swelled red immediately and a rash of red dots formed. Both instances screamed "egg". So, sure enough, when we saw the pediatrician, a suspicion of egg allergy was enough to warrant a visit to the allergist.

Ah.. the allergist... secretly, I was hoping we would get the referral. It has been difficult figuring out what to feed Liam because he would keep having reactions to foods. He has been living off of yams, bananas, and milk for most his 1+ year life as those were the only foods I could confidently deem safe.

So... the results... my little, sweet boy is pretty much allergic to EVERYTHING. Okay.. I'm exaggerating, but he is allergic to a lot of things and has sensitivities to a lot of things.

1) Peanuts
2) Eggs
3) Fish
4) Shrimp
5) Peas
6) Carrots
7) Green Beans
8) Kale
9) Avocado
10) Rice

He is allergic to items 1-4, and he is sensitive to items 5-10. 8-10 have not gone through allergy testing, but Liam's reactions/symptoms indicate a sensitivity. Anyhow, my boy cannot be vegetarian. He is a-okay, no reactions to meat, but seriously.. carrots, peas, and green beans! Carrots are in EVERYTHING. I realize now why his reactions in the past were seemingly random. I would cook things in vegetable broth.

2012 has been challenging to provide healthy and nutritious meals for the whole family. I spend way too much time trying to plan and figure out what to buy, what to cook, and then cook different dishes to accommodate everyone's eating habits. Between all of us whether it be allergies, or diet, or simply likes/dislikes of food, there is always one dish that someone can eat, as well as one dish that someone cannot eat. Hopefully now with an idea of Liam's allergies, 2013 will be easier in planning meals for the family!