Ever see the movie Gremlins? You know, the movie where the cute little cuddly critter turns into a monster?! Sometimes living with a child with food allergies makes me think of that movie. We're constantly thinking "don't feed him" (without checking ingredients)!
We spend our days reading labels, scouring the internet for a better understanding of terms, and educating people in our circle. I am a member of several facebook groups that offer support, receipes and even suggestions for dining out. We've learned what foods have hidden dairy, I even have screen shots like this on my phone for quick reminders:
I know the FDA rules for labels, and that we have to be cautious because it's not required to label for cross contamination, shared lines or "may contain" but could prove just as deadly to consume such a food. And then there's this....
We shop around the perimeter of the store more than we ever have in our entire lives. Almost all of what we eat is made from scratch, I can't tell you the last time I prepared a boxed meal. Yes, it's better for all of us. But darn it, sometimes a box is just more convenient. Not to mentuon I'm frequently making him his own modified version of our meal.
It pains me that I have to be mindful of cross contamination, not just in a restaurant, but also in our own home. Did I put that spoon into our pot of food, or his pot of food? I've had to throw out an entire pan of food because of this error. We joke when I find reciepes titled "One pan...." because inevitably it's always at least 2 if not more.
We've debated buying this shirt for Lincoln to take some stress out of gatherings.
Thankfully our friends are amazing at asking permission, and Lincoln is pretty darn good at asking an adult if he can have something, rather than just grabbing. Just last weekend a dear friend asked if he could give Lincoln "cream" soda, fearing it may have milk. I love that our friends take things as serious as they should be. But if an adult places a food near him, he is going to assume it's ok to eat, and it has given us some scares of accidental ingestion.
The girls are on just as much of a high alert. The other morning Regan called to me "I think Lincoln has hives".....not how I wanted to start my morning. They check labels, they always say "go ask mom" but more importantly, they keep an eye on him to be sure he's only eating something we approve.
It's getting a little easier but will never be easy. Fingers crossed that he grows out of these allergies, but in the mean time, we won't be letting our guard down.
