Jack

Oh, my little sweet Jack.

Jack has had trouble with his skin for quite a while. I'd say since he was 3 months old. He developed cradle cap, which lead David to Shave Jack's head. His cradle cap improved, but his face got worse and worse, then I started noticing a rash on his stomach. It got worse and worse. Eczema runs in my family, so I figured that is what it was, and I treated it as such.

At the boys' 4 month check, my pediatrician put it out there that he may have a dairy allergy, as eczema can be a symptom of his system rejecting the cows milk protein. I thought, "there is no way. " Stupid. I can't believe I thought I knew more than my doctor. In my defense, he doesn't have reflux or ever spit-up, he is gaining weight like a champ, and he never fusses. But I digress...if the doctor suggests something, it is worth considering.

2 weeks later, I said enough is enough - I've got to do something about this rash. So I took him back to the pediatrician, and she said, "let's put him on hypoallergenic formula for a few days, and see what happens." (I am still nursing)...

Lo and behold, 2 days later, he looked SO much better. He wasn't rubbing his face anymore . He still has traces of eczema, but it looks better. He just looks....I don't know...better.

BUT - I have worked my ass off for 5 months nursing. I am not about to quit now. Just when it is getting easy. So I am now completely diary, egg, nut, and soy-free. Why all of those? Well we can't be sure exactly what it is that bothers him, so we must eliminate it all. Slowly, I will introduce things back into my diet to see if/what gives him a reaction.

It is funny how excited I get when I find something I can eat. For example: there is a certain brand of pita chips that doesn't have soy (pretty much all the food in the middle of the grocery store has soy). And one of the breads at Subway doesn't contain soy. I have also noticed that there are a few things on the Chipotle menu I can eat. Other than that, it is basically fruit, meat, and veggies. At least I'm bound to lose some weight : )

I'll do anything I can for my little baby boy Jack. I didn't eat sugar for 4 months due to gestational diabetes, so I'm no stranger to dieting to keep my kids healthy.

Hopefully he grows out of his allergy by his first birthday.