Growth brings change...

Lately I have been struggling with my son's health issues. He will be one in eight days, and is still dependent on formula. He will not eat finger foods, mostly because we are at a loss of what to give him. He is allergic to numerous foods, and it is hard to find things he can have safely. My sister has been pressuring me to get a second opinion, so I called a pediatric allergist. No better way than to see a specialist, right? We went this morning, and had a skin prick test. I had a difficult time with that, it seems so barbaric. They basically stuck his little back with eighteen foods that he has shown some reaction to, along with other varieties to hopefully give us some hope. There have been a lot of people praying for him, including his parents. Today, we got amazing news. Booger is no longer allergic to wheat, peas, or cherries. While this seems small compared to the severity of his peanut, tree nut, cow's milk, soy, banana, and dog dander, it opens a whole new world to us with relation to his eating habits. MY BABY CAN HAVE CHEERIOS!! HE CAN HAVE PUFFS!! While it seems so silly to some, this is the biggest step for us. We are now waiting for next week's meeting with a nutritionist for more options and solutions to help our family adjust to giving him new foods. There is a 50% chance he will outgrow milk, soy, egg, and banana by his second birthday, 75% by his third, 85% by his fourth. The doctors are trying to get our helath insurance to cover the formula, and hopefully that will help our finances. I know God is going to heal him, and apparently it is going to take time, but it will happen. I know it. This is such a relief to us, and we are so grateful.
We also got word that as of now, our brother will be leaving in June for deployment. This is six months later than we were anticipating, so I will take it. Patience, it's a pain in the butt but totally worth it.

Oh, by the way, the dr. also said the best way to get rid of these allergies is total avoidance. That means a few more years of no nuts at all. So keep reading labels when we are around!!