Eczema, allergies and Mom takes one for the team

I wrote a few weeks ago that the eczema on The Boy’s skin was getting out of control. Well, after meeting with a pediatrician and getting some blood work done, it looks like the final verdict is allergies. Just a few.

Wheat…Soy…Dairy…Eggs…Peanuts.

Wow. This is gonna change a few things.

Being exclusively breastfed means that Mom has had to, um, alter her diet a tad to bring it in line with our new reality, which is going to be tough. Rice is her best friend, at least for the next 2 weeks until she gets so sick of the stuff that she starts firebombing Chinese restaurants out of spite.

The good news is that 80% of babies will grow out of most of the allergies (the one exception is peanuts, which is around 20%), so hopefully this is not something that will continue much past his third birthday. And, with a diet that will consist of virtually no processed foods, lots of fruit, veg and protein, chances are we will all eat a little bit healthier because of it.

I’m in awe of my wife. Not once has she even considered that she would stop breastfeeding, knowing full well that breastfeeding is one of the best things she can do to give The Boy a fighting chance and help him grow out of all this. She has decided that the temporary inconvenience of giving up cheese, milk, bread, soy, ice cream, *insert any favorite food here* is minor compared to the benefits of breastfeeding.

It actually seems fitting that this is all happening around Mothers Day. After all, Mothers Day is when we celebrate all those unselfish acts that Mom undertook on our behalf to make us better people. And my wife is living it right now. And I’m very proud of her.