A review of Vermont Nut Free Chocolates

I ordered some chocolates from Vermont Nut Free Chocolates. Most chocolates, even chocolates that aren't made with nuts, still contain traces, and I wanted to avoid these because of Ben's allergies. Also, although some people can outgrow food allergies, they usually don't outgrow nut allergies.

I like the Smurtles, which are like the nut free version of turtles, but I've been kind of disappointed with the pure chocolate stuff.

It tastes like Russell Stover's or Hershey's rather than a fine chocolate like Jacques Torres. I haven't yet tried their Skippers, which are a version of nut-free M&Ms, but I do think that though these are cute for kids, they aren't in the same class and some gourmet chocolates.

I see that the Chocolate Box, https://www.bechoctomistic.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=31&osCsid=365ce5b49b2d8810cdaaa7190ef3b9a1, has chocolate for special diets, but it seems to be sorted into categories, and I wonder if they have a lot of gluten-free, nut-free, egg-free stuff.

Kinnerton also has some nut-free stuff.

I'll have to continue the search for gourmet nut-free chocolates.

Gluten free pie crusts and peanut allergies

I've seen a lot of posts about gluten-free pie crusts lately. This is heartening, but has anyone seen any egg-free, wheat free pie crusts?

Also, it seems as if peanut allergies are really increasing. I just read a news article about how Kourtney Kardashian's young son had an reaction to eat peanuts. Experts claim that it's not related to all the vaccines that kids get, but what is it? When I was little, I don't remember anyone having peanut allergies, and now it's like every other kid it seems. Also, why don't most kids outgrow nut allergies as they do with food allergies? It seems like no one has answers.

I still feel bad that Ben might not be able to eat peanut butter, Reese's, peanut butter Sunday topping, etc. If anyone finds a great egg-free, wheat free pie crust recipe, let me know. Sometimes, it seems like such a pain when you have to do more than one substitution.

Allergy Appointment

Ben had a followup appointment at the allergy doctor. I can't even remember when his last appointment was. May maybe?

The allergy doctor said Ben was looking much better, but she didn't think that we needed to retest him for food allergies since his test results would still probably be the same. I think that Jamie was hoping that we could retest him again now. She's very slow and methodical. For example, she suggested circling days on the calendar when his nose runs so that we can see if he is developing seasonal allergies.

She also suggested that I avoid fish and shellfish--in addition to wheat, eggs, and nuts--just in case he might be allergic, even though he hasn't tested positive for a fish allergy. I think Jamie would like for us not to have to watch everything, read every label, and I have to admit that it would be nice to just be able to order a pizza instead of having to plan for every meal.

I've been trying to eat more fruits and vegetables, or at least buy more fruits and vegetables. Sometimes, I don't always end up eating the things I buy.

As for treating sneezing and runny nose, we're going to try Claritin. Zyrtec does not seem to be working. We really hope that he does not develop asthma, but he's high risk because of eczema and food allergies. It's frustrating to think that we may not be able to stop it.

Flareup

Ben had an eczema flareup yesterday. He had red spotchy patches on the bottom of his legs, behind the top of his diaper and on his back. I'm not sure what caused it, but we have some theories.

Theory 1:
The shoes. But I don't think it's that. I hope it's not that. They're the good kind of Stride Rite baby shoes, and that would not explain the flareups on his back.

Theory 2:
The polyester pants. He was wearing polyester pants. We try to dress him in all cotton. How did this happen? Were they a gift? Did I buy them? I'm not sure.

Theory 3:
Nuts. I got caramels on Thursday from a place that also makes and sells nuts. They process the caramels on shared equipment. So, it could have been that. Ben has an allergy appointment later this month, so I might ask if we should get him retested for allergies and when.

The good thing is his flareup has calmed down. We'll be looking to see if we can narrow down the cause. Eczema, allergy suffers, which of these seem most likely to you?

The Hunt for an egg-free, wheat free, nut free Birthday Cake

The quest to find someone to bake Ben a nice looking birthday cake has been long and stressful and is finally at an end.

I looked all over. I locally locally. I looked nationally. I even went to New York City.

Bigger cities like New York and Chicago have more options for gluten-free, egg free diners, but the problem is that they usually won't deliver cakes.

Baby Cakes in New York will deliver some baked goods, but they told me when I visited their store that they don't deliver cakes long-distance though they do ship other baked goods. I thought about just ordering cupcakes. But I wanted Ben to have a cake, and the same cake as everybody else. (Aside: Some of the baked goods at Baby Cakes were very good. I especially liked their brownie bites. I wasn't as into their corn muffins.)

Evanston, Illinois also has its own gluten-free bakery. Rose's Bakery. Unfortunately, they do not deliver their cakes long distances either although they do sell some of their other baked good online. I haven't tried their products yet, but I am interested in doing so.

Pittsburgh, PA, also has a gluten-free bakery, Gluuteny, but apparently they mostly cater to people with Celiac Disease because they won't make birthday cakes without eggs. They told me that if I wanted to, I could buy a mix from them and make it myself. I could also do that with a Betty Crocker mix from the store.

Finally, I tried a new route. Instead of mainly searching for gluten-free, I searched for vegan, and I found a vegan cafe in Pittsburgh, The Quiet Storm. The person I talked with there by email was very nice. He recommended that I contact Deanna at My Goodies Vegan Bakery. She's gonna bake my baby a vegan, wheat free , nut free cake. Yay, finally, the search for a an egg-free, wheat-free cake, nut free cake is done.

Cherrybrook Kitchens--Friendly to people with multiple allergies

One of the companies that's friendly to people with multiple food allergies is Cherrybrook Kitchens.

Jamie found two of their mixes at a local farm market store. We tried the cookies first, and I wasn't a fan, but then we tried the brownies, and I liked the chocolate chips in them. They did have a slight chalky aftertaste, but, overall, they were pretty good.

I also like the story of this company, which you can read here: http://www.cherrybrookkitchen.com/aboutus/patsy_story.php

I don't know if egg-free, wheat-free, nut free products and getting better, or if I'm just getting used to them. I've been pumping for the last few days, and, so, I've been able to eat wheat. But it's not really that great. I think I'll be fine without it again.

Here's a picture of the brownies that we made with the Cherylbrook Kitchens Mix, above.
I would be open to trying their other products, if I can find them. It looks like you can also order their products from their website, but there are shipping fees. I plan to look for these mixes, especially the brownie mix, again. I'm willing to also give the cookie mix another try.

Food Allergy Resources, Food Allergy Frustrations

As many of you know by now, my son, Ben, (10 months) is allergic to eggs, wheat, nuts, peanuts and (some) tree nuts. When I first heard the results of his allergy tests, I was sad and stressed. But I wanted his bad eczema to stop bothering him, so I tried to stop eating everything with those ingredients in them. It was hard, at first, especially because I didn't realize how many things contained those ingredients in hidden forms. And candy, good God with the nut warnings.

One resource that has been great is the Kids with Food Allergies Network. They have a enewsletter, a forum, and a facebook page. I mainly just use the enewsletter and the facebook page. Right now, they have some very helpful ideas for snack tips: http://www.facebook.com/kidswithfoodallergies?v=wall&story_fbid=144872768870331.

Two sites that I discovered from there are:
https://www.nonuttin.com

and

http://www.vermontnutfree.com/index.shtml.

The first website sells many products that are free of all of the eight most common allergens. (As always, however, be sure to read labels.)

The second site is not free of all allegens, but they do sell a candy that appears to be like an M&M but is nut free called a Skipper.


One thing that has frustrated me, however, is that many companies cater to just one allergen. For example, some gluten free bakeries won't bake without eggs, and, if you try to order from a regular bakery or candy store, well good luck. Most places are so afraid of an accidental reaction and liabbilities that they don't even care to cater to people with multiple allergies. Therefore, I'm going to try to support companies that do cater to people with multiple allergies. I'm going to post a list of some of these companies soon.

Happy cooking. Happy eating, and happy shopping.

Saturday Stress or sometimes a boy just needs his mama

And sometimes his mama just needs a break, a rest, a nap. Times when his mama just needs to get away from said boy and take some time for herself.

Ben was scratching his chest tonight. I don't think it was allergy related. But it may have been stress. I was gone most of the day, and he seemed to miss me. His sleep schedule seemed to be disrupted because he took a nap later than usual, and he woke up cranky and hungry.

I gave him a bath, as usual, only not usual because the last few nights I had been bathing him purified water. Our water went out Wednesday morning, and there was a boil water advisory for 48 hours, and I didn't want to use possibly contaminated water to bathe him. So I used slightly colder purified water. He didn't like that at all.

Tonight, it was back to regular water, but he still didn't want to be in the bath. He kept trying to get out. I told him no when he grabbed my glasses, and he got upset and started scratching his bare chest. I don't think it was allergies, just stress. On night like this, I'd like to scratch something too.

If my baby can't eat it, I don't want it

Someone asked me recently why I still couldn't eat eggs, wheat, or nuts. After all, I'm not the one who's allergic--It's Ben.

Reason one: I'm still breastfeeding. Yes, Ben is almost 10 months old, but the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that you breastfeed for at least the first year. I know I haven't done everything right. For example, we've had to supplement from the beginning because of my work schedule.

Although some of the egg-free, wheat free foods are expensive, it's probably still cheaper than formula feeding Ben all the time would be. The formula we use, when we use it, costs $25 a can.

Reason two: Ben is starting to eat table food, and he's reaching for our food. I don't want to be sitting there eating peanut cake when I know he can't have it. That's just mean. I want Ben to eventually be able to eat everything that we eat, and, if that means that I have to eat not-the-best tasting rice bread, then fine. So, even after I stop breastfeeding, whenever I'm around Ben, I will not be eating anything that he can't also eat. Is that always easy? No, but Ben is definitely worth it.

Egg Free, Wheat Free Cookies

Lately, we have been using bananas as an egg substitute in recipes, but the problem with this is that everything ends up tasting fruity.

Tonight, Jamie decided to break out the gluten-free Betty Crocker cookie mix. We had a mix for gluten-free brownies from some other brand that did not require eggs, but the brownies by that brand were pretty gross, so we decided to revisit the Enter-G egg substitute even though my first attempt at using it did not go well.

The cookies tasted really good (really good), but their consistency was somewhat crumbly. This may be due to the fact that there were too many cookies on a sheet, because of the egg substitute or because Jamie used parchment paper. I did the last batch without it, and I'm waiting to see if they turn out more solid once I remove the last batch from the cookie sheet. They look good. Don't you think?

Gluten Free Pizza

I did not have high hopes for the gluten-free pizza crust that we picked up at Nila Jo's, the health food store around here.

You have to make the dough yourself, which was the first problem. We're usually pressed for time, so, normally, if we make a pizza, we just use premade crust. As far as I know, there are no gluten-free premade crusts.

The pizza dough mix is made by Namaste Foods. It is called Gluten Free! Pizza Crust Mix and is made in facility that is free of gluten, wheat, soy, corn, potato, peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, casein.

Jamie made the pizza crust. But, first, he had to run to the store to get a pizza pan, tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, and he also got chorizo, just to try. Jamie had to grease the pizza pan, preheat the oven, combine the mix with oil and water and beat with an electric blender then smooth the batter onto the pan with a spatula. The directions said to cook the pizza crust for 20 minutes without toppings and 10-15 additional minutes with them.

The pizza exceeded my expectations. As Jamie said, "It tastes like regular pizza."

See for yourself above.

Precious Time

I've been away from Ben this week at a conference out of state. And I've taken advantage of this time in order to well, eat pizza. Yes, pizza and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and everything I can't have while I'm feeding Ben. My plan for the week is to pump and dump. Sometimes, pumping feels like such a pain, is such a pain.
I wonder if there will be a time where I will idealize the inconvenience of feeding, pumping and look back on this as precious time.
Sometimes I wonder if anything that we remember was wonderful was really wonderful. I'm sad to be away from Ben but also glad. Glad to be somewhere where his demands don't come first, at least not for a few days, and, yet, on the other hand, I miss him terribly. I do feel like only part of me is here.
I wake up and think where is my screaming, crawling, squawking baby?
In a few days, it will be back to scanning labels and limited diet, so I will try and enjoy the time while I can even if part of me wants to hold him and kiss him right now. When I get him back again, will another part of me want just as forcefully to be away from him, to be a woman who is other than mother, who is just myself.

Rush and Rush Until Life's No Fun

When I think about this past week, the lyrics from the Alabama song come to mind:


I'm in a hurry to get things done
Oh I rush and rush until life's no fun
All I really gotta do is live and die
But I'm in a hurry and don't know why.

Jamie's been gone, I've been trying to get my work done, and things have been chaotic.

Ben's eczema flareups have come and gone and come again. He gets dry patches. He gets red patches, but, at least, he's mostly not itching.

We use his prescription shampoo and Cerave cleanser to bathe him daily. We use his steroid cream in the morning on days he needs it. Two or three times a day we use Epicream, a prescription cream, and the rest of the day, it's Cerave with every diaper change. We vacuum his room daily, bathe him daily, try to get the food that he smears off of his face off.

Things have been so hectic. One night just flows into the next. All of this has made me appreciate having Jamie's help. Usually, he stays up with Ben at night and vacuums the rooms and helps (or bathes Ben by himself). I don't think I could do this alone, and I'm glad that I don't have to. I'm a little disappointed that we don't have more family in the area to watch him sometimes, but we do what we can. Some days, like yesterday when I ate Rice Krispie Treat after Rice Krispie Treat and didn't know if I would make it through today, are rough. But, then, so far, every time I've been able to get up and do all of my work, and it has been okay. It will be okay. We will get through the daily routine of cleansing and vacuuming and moisturizing and feeding and changing and watching and nursing and then all over again and again and again until he's walking then driving and we won't remember, or, if we do, we will have romanticized the toughness and the temptation to think How on earth will I do this? Can I make it today? And we will make it because we have to. A little one depends on us.

He's a Doll

When I think back over the last few months, I can see that, in many ways, we've been lucky. We haven't had to call his doctor many times with emergencies. The exception was the one day he threw up and I couldn't figure out why, but, a few hours later, he was fine. Eczema has been frustrating, but, as his doctor pointed out, there are worse things.

Trying to control eczema without steroids was frustrating, but I was given so much contradictory advice. His doctor didn't think he needed them, but I can see now that we should have used them much, much, much sooner. The first dermatologist gave him steroids only, and that's not really a good long term plan for managing eczema.

I read somewhere that uncontrolled eczema can flare up without much reason. So, now, finally, it seems like we have this under control. He's not all red everywhere. He's not covered in rashes. Now, when we take him out, people don't say, "Oh, can't you do something about that rash?"
Instead, it's, "Oh, he's a doll." I feel like sometimes that we've been so caught up in managing these issues that we haven't or at least I haven't been able to enjoy him being a baby. On June 2, Ben will be eight months old. Probably five of those months have involved struggling and battling with eczema. Now, it seems like we have a good routine going.

Put Cerave on him with every diaper change. Put Epicream Barrier Cream on him two-two three times a day. During flareups, use Desonide Steroid Cream. Bathe him daily, usually just after dinner, though this can be adjusted. Use Niz Prescription Shampoo. If he's having a flareup, apply Elocon or Elotone (Ben's sleeping on me so I can't get up to check), to his head. Also, we, usually Jamie vacuums the upstairs daily, especially where he sleeps, and we wash his sheets 2-3 times a week. Yes, this leads to more laundry, but we haven't been buying cream after cream, lotion after lotion, hoping that something would work.

If you had asked me a year ago, I think I would have thought doing all of these things would be hard, but now they don't seem so hard. They just seem necessary. And, now that Ben's eczema seems to be under good control, we can just enjoy the little milestones of babyhood. He's crawling and teething and pulling himself up and then crying when he falls back down. He's smiling and laughing and chasing the dogs and seeing things he wants and going after them and getting mad when one of those things happens to be something that he can't have. He is, always has been, a good baby, and now his skin looks good as well.

Dermatologist #2

Ben has his followup appointment with the allergist on Friday. We are now switching him to Children's Benadryl since neither Zyrtec or Claritin seems to be working to help stop the itching. On the Benadryl bottle, it says do not use on children under 2. Probably because you really have to be careful with the dosage. For sunscreen, the allergist recommended just trying pure Zinc Oxide cream. Zinc oxide is the active ingredient in many diaper rash creams. It was an hour-long appointment but helpful. He will go back to the allergist in September.

Today was our appointment with the second dermatologist. We almost thought of canceling since Ben's skin has been doing so much better since we started on the steroid. But we didn't know what to do to manage Ben's eczema once he stopped the steroid, and, also, Ben scratched himself last night on places where we hadn't put the steroid. So we went.

The office was crowded, but the wait wasn't as long past his appointment as the last time. Our appointment was at 12, and they saw us at about 12:15.

The dermatologist that we saw wasn't the dermatologist but a physician's assistant, but she seemed really nice and knowledgable. She told us to stop using Disney's Gentle Naturals and go back to Cerave, but Cerave in combination with other things. When I mentioned that Cerave seemed to irritate him, she said that any moisturizer would seem to irritate him if it was put on an area where he had cuts from scratching. She also said that she didn't know of anyone who was really allergic to Cerave.

So we are going to keep using the steroid but then stop using it when the inflamed spots clear up and then also use another lotion in spots where he tends to flareup to prevent the flareups. Then, she also prescribed a shampoo and a special lotion for his head to clear up cradle cap and stop the scratching there.

She also told us to get an allergy mattress cover for his crib, vacuum his room daily, wash his sheets 2-3 times a week, give him a daily bath (or squirt him down if we can't bathe him) and then apply a moisturizer. We will go back in a month. I forgot to ask about sunscreen, but the allergist had recommended that we try just regular zinc oxide cream. We tried to find that at Target but they didn't have it. At Target today, we looked for an allergy mattress cover for Ben's crib but couldn't find that either. We dropped off all four of the prescriptions at a local pharmacy. I am wondering how much they will cost, but if they help Ben's skin clear up and stay cleared up, they will be worth it.

Steroids

Ben's skin has looked so good these last few days that it seemed like a miracle. I thought it was a miracle.

My last post was about how Ben was scratching so bad that he bled. And he's had this one scab on the side of his face for months and months that finally went away as if by magic.

Only it wasn't a miracle, and it wasn't magic. It was steroid. Jamie put the Desonide that the dermatologist had prescribed on him without telling me. I didn't know until today.

I have mixed emotions about this. On the one hand, I am glad that is working. On the other hand, I wonder if it's only a temporary fix. Will the eczema go back to being just as bad after we stop the course of steroids? Also, should we have tried this months ago, since it is working so well.

Ben has his appointment with the second dermatologist on Monday. Should we have waited till then? We've only had these steroids for a few weeks, so it's not like we could have started too much sooner? But should I have used them as soon as I got them?

Does anyone have experience with using steroids for eczema or skin flareups? Did the skin stay cleared up after the course of steroids stopped?

Scratches Till He Bleeds

Yesterday, Jamie and I went to pick up my bike. I tripped--on the curb on the way into the store and scratched up both hands and one of my knees. I felt like an idiot--like something out of a movie for complete nerds. I was bleeding. Later, Ben would bleed.

Someone asked me yesterday morning if we had Ben's itching under control now that we knew what he was allergic to. I didn't know what to say, but, now that I've thought about it, I can say that it's not that simple. As the allergist said, his scratching isn't always related to what he eats. Sometimes, he scratches when he put him down in his crib. I think that's because he hates being there. Sometimes, he scratches in his car seat. Yesterday, while we were in route to the bike store or there or on the way back, he scratched the scab off the side of his face. That is the worst problem area. But I had hoped that, this time, he would finally heal.

Maybe we didn't put enough lotion on him while we were out. We had left his diaper bag in the car, and he had an eczema flareup. Maybe the lotion isn't working as well as it used to, though we gave him a bath last night, and most of him, except where he scratched himself last night in his crib looks good.

Ben fell asleep around 9 or 10, and we took him upstairs. He woke up around 12ish. He was only crying for a few minutes I think, because Jamie had just checked him and said he was asleep. I went to check on him and his right arm was covered in blood. It looked worse than it was, but it was nonetheless alarming. What caused him to be so itchy? Was it the new shampoo--we tried Neem? Was it the fact that he had not yet had his allergy medication. He was on track to get it just at that time that he woke up.

We will change the time that he gets it so that he gets it before he goes to bed. Somehow, the schedule got off track. His allergist appointment is this Friday. We'll ask what we can do. And his appointment with the other dermatologist is coming up soon.

After I found him like that, we cleaned his face with water and put only Vaseline on that spot, just in case the lotion was irritating him.

I checked him this morning and his skin looked good, except for that spot. We're trying a different diaper Huggies Pure and Natural. We couldn't use Huggie's when he was younger because of blowouts and leaking, but unlike most Pampers I've seen these are fragrance free.

Ben is in a good mood this morning. He's playing in his Exersaucer, and he's already had some tummy time. After he scratched himself, I stayed up with him for about an hour to make sure he was okay and he wouldn't scratch again. We really need to do something about that spot. For now, we'll only put on Vaseline, give his allergy medicine earlier and hope that one of his doctors has a good solution.

Gluten-Free Date Night

Jamie and I went on a full-blown date on Friday, something we haven't done in a while. There have been other days where we've rented a movie and brought it home or gone to a quick take out meal with Ben, but this was a movie and dinner, without Ben.

First, we dropped Ben off at my parent's house in the South suburbs of Pittsburgh. Then, we backtracked to the Robinson Towne Center area. We went to see the remake of The Nightmare on Elm Street movie at the new movie theater out that way. We both remember the film from childhood, but Jamie is a bigger fan than I am. I used to watch the films at sleepovers with my Crestline Drive girlfriends along with other films such as The Shining and a movie in which the creepy killer asks the overwhelmed sitter, Have you checked the children yet?

Jamie and I went to a late afternoon movie. He got popcorn, which is naturally gluten-free, and I got Coke. Then, we went to P.F. Chang's. We've never been there before, and I'm not sure if we would go there again, but they have an actual separate gluten-free menu, and I asked to make sure that the menu items that I ordered did not contain eggs or nuts. We ordered the chicken lettuce wraps, and I got a salmon with ginger and veggies. For dessert, I got this flourless chocolate dome thing. After dinner, we went to the R.E.I store, and I semi-impulsively decided to buy a bike. Except the decision was not that impulsive at all. I bought one a few years ago at Wal-mart, and it's just not very good. It's hard to shift gears and hard to use. Maybe it never really worked right. We are picking up the bike tomorrow. It's a pink Townie bike. I like that it's easy to drive, easy to break, and it only has three gears. Our date night culminated with a trip to Starbucks on the way home after picking up Ben from my parent's. During the night, the sky thundered, Harley the dog shivered, and Ben screamed. It was back to real post-baby life. We were glad to get Ben back, but we also enjoyed our night apart from him.

Earth's Best Shampoo and Body Wash May not be Best for Ben

So, I decided to try Earth's Best Shampoo and Body Wash on Ben about a week ago. At first, we just used the shampoo, and it seemed fine. After we used it, he wasn't scratching his head until it bled, so it seemed like a success. But, then, yesterday, we used it as a shampoo and body wash. It had been a while since Ben had had a bath. I'm not sure why we had waited so long. Even though many people now believe that daily baths can help inflamed skin, sometimes they can dry out Ben's skin, especially his head.

Yesterday, his skin was looking somewhat red and inflamed, especially on the sides of his face where his cheeks meet his neck. Those seem to be the worst spots, along with the back of his head and behind his knees, but the difference is the scabs in those spots are really hard to heel since they are so easy for drool to hit and Ben to scratch.

Now that Ben is eating fruits and veggies pureed, his poop has changed texture. This has led to sore bum and led us to try and figure out which diaper rash cream is best.

The rash around the line of his diaper is gone. I believe that the Stage 3 Pamper's Cruisers were causing it. We switched to Earth's Best, but that didn't help. What we didn't realize at the time is that they are made with wheat. We switched to Seventh Generation. Although the rash around his diaper line cleared up, some of the rest of him got red. Maybe that was even the partial cause of his sore bum? Also, the diapers aren't absorbent enough for at night. Two nights in a row, they leaked. So, we switched to Stage 3 Pampers for Sensitive Skin. These seem to be working well in terms of absorbency and not causing a rash along the diaper line.

In the meantime, to try to clear up the sore bum, we have tried: Balmex, Desitin, Bordeau's Butt Paste and Badger Balm. Badger Balm didn't seem to work at all for Ben. In fact, when we applied it to behind his knees, they seemed to get worse. In the past, Desitin has always worked, but I stopped using it and switched to Balmex to try to get rid of the diaper line rash. I don't think now that that was the cause of it. Butt Paste seems to work better than Balmex, but the rash is still there.

I don't think that there is one remedy that is going to work for every baby because every baby's skin is different. In the meantime, I ordered three new shampoos on Amazon for Ben. The ingredients in Badger Balm Baby Balm are: *Extra Virgin Olive Oil, *Golden Yellow Beeswax, *Castor Oil, *Calendula Extract and Essential Oil of *Roman Chamomile. Does anyone have any idea about which one of these ingredients could be irritating him? I don't think it's calendula, since that is in the Disney's Gentle Naturals that we use on his head. As for the Earth's Best Shampoo and Body Wash, I wonder if the lavender could be irritating him. Why don't they just make it fragrance free? The reason why we tried it is that none of the fragrance free things we tried worked either including Dove for Sensitive Skin as a Shampoo. Thanks a lot, Mr. Overcharging Dermatologist. But, still, Ben's skin looks a lot better today, so it's back to more frequent baths. Also, the Zyrtec seems to be helping even though we had to use generic yesterday until we can get some of a non-recalled batch.

Product Recall on Allergy Medications, Tylenol, and more

Hello, everyone,

I just wanted to let you know about a product recall that may affect your child's medication. McNeil Corporation is administering this recall because "some of these products may not meet required quality standards."

This recall affects certain batches of Children's and Infants Tylenol, Children's and Infant's Motrin, Children's Benadryl, and Children's Zrytec.

More information on the recall can be found at: http://www.mcneilproductrecall.com/page.jhtml?id=/include/new_recall.inc.

I checked the NDC number on Ben's Zyrtec and Tylenol, and both of his medications were in the recalled group.

If you have some of the recalled products, do not return it to stores. McNeil is offering a high-value coupon or a refund.

Itchy Neck, Diaper Dilemma, and Gluten-Free at Chipotle

The last few days have been eventful. I attended my sister's graduation on Saturday and had a friend visit on Sunday. Because I wasn't home Saturday, I didn't have as much control over the food as I was eating as I normally would. I ate things that looked like they were wheat free, but I wasn't sure--leftover grilled fish for lunch plus some rice. At a graduation party at my sister's friend's mom's house--some salmon, roasted potatoes and meat. But did one of these things possibly contain gluten?

Ben was itching his neck yesterday, more so than he has recently. There are a few possible reasons. One is that I may have accidentally eaten something on Saturday that irritated Ben's skin. Another is the Desitin. I switched back to this because part of his bum is red and sore. The diaper rash has cleared up along the edge of his diaper now that we've switched from Pamper's Cruisers to Earth's Best to Seventh Generation, but he's been using his bum a lot, and that's where it's sore now. We really liked Pampers Swaddlers, but he started getting a rash all the time around the edge of his diapers. I think it was around the time he switched to Cruisers. Earth's Best are absorbent, but they contain wheat, and that gave him a rash also. The rash is gone with Seventh Generation, but they aren't as absorbent, and he's been getting pee all over him at night. We're going to now try Pampers for Sensitive Skin. There's also Huggie's Pure and Natural, but we've never liked Huggies and have had absorbency problems with them. So, hopefully, these will work. I also am curious to see what cream will help with his sore bum. I'd like to use A&D ointment, but that contains Lanolin. Does anyone have any recommendations for a cream or ointment for soreness? Should I just try Vaseline? I also bought Bourdeau's Butt Paste to try.

Last night, we were wanting Mexican food for dinner, but since Ben was itchy already, we decided not to chance the local Mexican restaurant, since we're not sure if they have anything truly gluten free. But I had read that Chipotle is really friendly for people on a gluten-free diet. Almost everything, except for some of their burritos, is gluten-free.

According to their website:

I want to avoid gluten. What can I eat at your restaurant?
Most people wanting to avoid gluten can eat anything we serve except for our wheat burrito tortillas, our soft wheat taco tortillas, and possibly our hot red tomatillo salsa (there is a small amount of distilled vinegar in it which some gluten-oriented websites still say might be problematic, although most don’t).
Everything else is fine to eat for most people wanting to avoid gluten, including our crispy corn tacos, our corn chips, and our burrito bowls (no tortilla). However, you should know that it’s possible our corn may have a small amount of gluten from potentially co-mingling with gluten-containing grains in the field.
If you are highly sensitive and would like us to change our gloves, we would be happy to do that at your request. Additionally, because our folks work with wheat tortillas all day long, there may be the possibility of cross-contact in our restaurants. We encourage you to carefully consider your dining choices ("Speak," 2010).

Wendy's and Arby's also offer some gluten-free options, but they aren't as extensive. What about you, dear readers? Do you have any good advice about absorbent diapers for sensitive skin, sore bums or gluten-free dining? Signing off, for now. . .

Meltdown in Aisle Four

I went to Giant Eagle to pick up a few groceries, and, as it usually does, a few items turned into several items. I found myself craving things I couldn't have like chocolate covered prezels and Lorna Dunes and pathetically checking the ingredients, thinking, Maybe these Lorna Dunes or these Oreos will be made without wheat flour? I sadly searched the boxes of the Ginger Snaps, the Vanilla Wafers, cookies I haven't eaten years, and yet, because they are not forbidden, they seem so appealing.

A few things were wheat free, but then there were Ben's peanut allergies to consider. Diana's Bananas, which I love, is made with peanut oil. I found myself thinking, Maybe I can eat Frosty Paws, an ice cream for dogs, but I think--though I did not check--that that contains forbidden ingredients too.

I was going to get Ben some Gerber's oatmeal cereal since the Earth's Best says it may contain traces of wheat, but the Gerber's is made with wheat flour. One night a while ago, Ben had a bad eczema flareup, and we think it might have been caused by Gerber's rice cereal, which has numerous ingredients. Earth's Best just has a few.

I did find---some corn tortillas, which appear to be wheat free, some ready-to-eat spare ribs, some awesome lunch meats to make an antipasta salad with, and a not very good Hershey's Carmel candy bar, which I scarfed down at the cash register and later regretted. It is made in a facility with nuts maybe but did not appear to contain them. I also got yummy looking hot-Italian sausage, splurged on Delmonico grilling steaks, got some Bob Evans garlic mashed potatoes and some other meat stuffed with meat as well as organic burgers plus two kinds of lettuce for the salad and plum tomatoes for Jamie.

If Ben continues to have these allergies, I don't want him to feel deprived of anything, so I'll continue to scour the stores and special order when I need to so that he doesn't feel deprived.

What's in your diapers?

So, we've been battling diaper rash around the edge of the diaper. It started with Pampers. Someone suggested that he might be sensitive to Earth's Best. I never dreamed that Earth's Best diapers could also cause irritation because, guess what, they contain wheat.

According to their website, the diapers contain "natural absorbant material such as corn and wheat." Really? Seriously? Why don't diapers and other skincare products have a stronger allergy warning? I would never even think to consider that diapers contain wheat. I'm looking into Seventh Generation Diapers now. I emailed the company just to make sure that they don't contain wheat too. For now, we're back to Pampers.

This world is rough for people with food allergies. Sometimes, it seems like eggs, milks and nuts are in everything.

The Baskin Robbins ice cream and cake commercials are really starting to get to me. I want ice cream and cake. And Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. And apple pies. I ordered more Lucy's Cookies from amazon today. We're out. For now, I'm enjoying my Food Should Taste Good Gluten Free Corn Chips and holding my beautiful baby.

I Think It's Going to Be Alright--Ben's not Scratching

Ben is sitting on the floor playing with the toys in his Ocean Wonders gym. His cotton gloves, which often are a bit gross from being covered with saliva, are off, and he's not scratching.

I think that's worth repeating. He's not scratching, not even trying to.

We decided to try--again-- The Disney's Gentle Naturals a few days ago that his doctor has recommended. The first time we tried it, he was too red and irritated, so we thought it wasn't working.

Jamie reminds me that these creams don't work instantly. He think I have a fast food mentality.
Sometimes, if they are going to cause irritation, they do work instantly, but they do--rarely--provide instant relief.

Also, we switched Ben back to Zrytec a few days ago. Claritin didn't work at all. We're giving it to him twice a day--half a teaspoon dose each time, what his allergist said to do. In times when he starts to scratch, this seems to calm it down. I don't know if the fact that we switched to the non-generic helped or if it's the fact that the lotion that we're using-for now--doesn't irritate his skin. Knocking on fake table wood.

Ben's head is very dry though, and we're still searching for a non-irritating shampoo. This afternoon, we did wash his hair in Dove for sensitive skin. So, we'll see over the next few days if it irritates him.

Ben's head has been very dry not just today but lately. We were rubbing olive oil on it, and that seemed to help with the dryness, but Ben was also itching his head a lot. So we decided to try not doing that. His allergist said that we could try Head and Shoulders, and we did try it once, on one spot, but I'm afraid to try it on his whole head. I don't want to cause a Johnson's Baby Shampoo-style rash.

Regarding diaper rash, Ben has been a little red and irritated down by the edge of his diaper. Earth's Best seems a bit papery, so we decided to return to Pampers since he wore them so long without a problem. The other rash he had on his back might have been due to lotion on Desitin. We should know in the next few days if that gets better. Here's hoping.

Hold the Cerave

Since so many people had recommended Cerave, we decided to try it again over the weekend. It did seem to moisturize, and it didn't seem to cause an instant rash, but then Ben itched at his poor, irritated neck--all night.

We weren't sure if it was the Cerave. Maybe his neck was just really irritated to begin with, so stupidly, not wanting to change too many things at once, we kept applying it. When it was really bothering him, we applied Vaseline instead, and that seemed to soothe him.

Also, on Sunday, when we went to Target, we got some Vaseline in a tube. Jamie thinks that Vaseline in a tube is easier to apply. Some other things we did were--we switched his allergy medicine to Claritin. This did not seem to help at all, so we went and got non-generic Zyrtec. Ben's allergist had recommended the non-generic of Claritin, so, after trying that, I thought maybe we should try the non-generic Zrytec.

Ben's regular doctor had recommended Disney's Gentle Naturals. It looks like now that they're just Gentle Naturals, minus the Disney. I had bought the Baby Eczema Cream and tried it before when his skin was really, really irritated and hadn't seen any results, but after applying mostly Vaseline to Ben's neck yesterday, we decided to try it again.

The base of the cream is basically Vaseline--Petrolatum, so it's not like the cream is all natural, but that is a good base for Ben because it seemed to soothe him. I was worried that some of the other ingredients--the natural ones--would cause an allergic reaction, but, so far, they haven't.

In addition to seriously irritating Ben's neck, the Cerave did not seem to help Ben's other eczema spots--behind his knees and in the creases of his arms get the reddest. With his neck and the sides of his face, there is the added nemesis of drool, especially now.

We also switched Ben's diaper rash cream from Desitin, which did work if he got red to Balmex because his doctor recommended not using fish oil, though I don't know why. Balmex also has an ointment, which has a Vaseline base that we purchased. It does not seem to irritate him. Vaseline bases seem to work well for him, as long as they don't contain Lanolistn.

I'm also not sure why the Disney's Gentle Naturals is working on him when California Baby had started to irritate him. Could it be the coconut?

My Poor, Red Baby

Ben is finally sleeping now, but I'm not sure if I can because he's been scratching himself in his sleep, and I don't want him to wake up and scratch himself for a long time while I'm sleeping.

Like everything else, the Aquaphor helped for a few days, and then it hurt. He probably does have a Lanolin allergy. So we tried just olive oil. This didn't seem to be enough for the most irritated place on his body--his neck. We tried corn starch. The corn starch just dried him out too much.

So we tried Lubriderm for sensitive skin. He cried when I put this one. I gave him and bath and tried Johnson's Head to Toe Fragrance Free Baby Lotion. He got a rash all over him.

Then, we put on Cerave. It didn't seem to cause immediate irritation, but he's been scratching most of the night. For Ben, moisturizes for 24-hours equals irritates for 24 hours. What do I try next? I wish that I didn't have to wait so long for the appointment with the other dermatologist.

I wonder if the Claritin is helping even less than the Zyrtec did. It makes me mad because Ben is the cutest, happiest baby. He wakes up and smiles, at me, at Jamie, at the dogs. He's friendly and sweet, and he doesn't deserve to be itchy and red and sore all the time. There's all this technology everywhere, and yet it's so hard to find something that will help keep a little boy from scratching himself until he bleeds. I just don't understand why science doesn't know more about how to manage this condition by now.

On the Bright Side

On the negative side, Ben has been to three different doctors in the last few months--his regular doctor, an allergist and a dermatologist. He is allergic to more things that I imaged he could be--wheat, eggs--both yolks and whites--, cashews and peanuts and possibly other nuts as well since he hasn't been tested for all of them. His skin is super-sensitive, and we have had a hard time find a good lubricant, soap and shampoo. We switched his Diaper's recently to Earth's Best because the Pamper's Cruisers were irritating him or seeming to. Sometimes, figuring out what is bothering him is like playing Clue but without a card that explains the answers.

But on the bright side, Ben is a happy, healthy baby. He is meeting his milestones. He rolls over both ways and sits up for short periods of time. He is drooling and may be teething. We're going on day 2 and 1/2 of Aquaphor and, so far, no itching.

We have a plan in case Aquaphor fails--Vaseline or zinc oxide or Lubriderm for sensitive skin. We tried Lubriderm Advanced Therapy, and it irritated him. But, eventually, hopefully, his skin will become less sensitive, or, at least he'll be able to tell us what hurts and what does not.

For now, in spite of the daily craziness of caring for a small, mostly helpless being, things are going well.

All Natural is Not Allergy Free

The other day we started putting Burt's Bees Thoroughly Therapeutic on Ben. I started doing this because we were absolutely desperate to find something that worked. We had been using cocoa butter and olive oil. Olive oil seemed to help, especially on his head, but we had to apply the cocoa butter all the time, and it still wasn't stopping the dryness.

The ingredients in Burt's Bees Thoroughly Therapeutic are: water, sunflower oil, vegetable glyerin, coconut oil, stearic acid (vegetable fat), beeswax, glucose (sugar), aloe barbadensis leaf extract, honey, orange wax, rosemary leaf extract, milk powder tocopherol (vitamin E), xanthan gum (natural thickener) sucrose stearate (sugar emulsifier), sodium borate (natural borax), fragrance, glucose oxidase and lactoperoxidase (natural preservative).

Anyway, last night, Ben started scratching, so I gave him his Zyrtec and put on Burt's Bees, but the Burt's Bees wasn't helping. It was making it worse. So we gave him a bath--before the bath we tried Borage cream, and that didn't help either-- and washed his hair in Dr. Bonner's Magic Soap Baby Mild. This contains water, organic olive oil, organic coconut oil, organic jojoba oil, citric acid and vitamin C. So far, this does not seem to be irritating his skin.

We tried Cerave. This did not help either, and we had to give him another bath. By not helping, I mean making the itching worse. At this point, I did not know what to try. But we had to try something, find something to soothe his skin and keep it from getting more dry.

I decided to try Aquaphor. We had tried it before, and it hadn't seem to help. Eucerin, which is made by the same company, made his skin turn red, so I thought maybe he had a lanolin allergy, but we recently discovered that these travel wipes that he has been using also contain Lanolin, and they haven't bothered him, so maybe no Lanolin allergy.

Anyway, the Aquaphor seemed to soothe him. But we won't know for a few days if really helps or not. Sometimes, it takes that long for an allergy to show up. In the meantime, I called his allergist, and we're going to try and figure out if the Zyrtec is helping by taking him off it and then giving it to him when he's itching to see if does anything. If that does not work, we will try children's Claritin. Also, she recommended trying zinc oxide on his skin. We're going to wait and see about the Aquaphor first.

But the goods news is that my shipment of Lucy's cookies came, in four varieties.

The Doctors

I woke up yesterday with a feeling of anticipation-- as if it was my wedding day or the first day of school. I know that sounds somewhat pathetic. After all, it was just a doctor's appointment. Only a doctor's appointment.

But we had been struggling with Ben's eczema for months, and I was hoping for--the impossible. A miracle cream to make it all go away or at least someone to sit down with me and talk to me about lotions, sunscreen, shampoo.

What I got was a 45-minute wait only to see a doctor for five minutes. When I asked about lotions, he said, "You're going to put him on something called Cetaphil." I'm not sure if he believed me when I told him that it makes Ben break out. When I asked about soap, he gave me samples of Dove for sensitive skin. But there's a difference between sensitive and supersensitive. Dove for sensitive skin still contains a long list of ingredients, all of which could be potentially irritating. The terms hypo-allergenic and fragrance free usually still mean break out for Ben. When I asked him what to use on Ben's head, he said, "Just use Dove. It's not like he's going on a date or anything."

Then, he prescribed a steroid. I said I was concerned about potential side effects. One side effect is potential thinning of the skin. He said, "Don't worry, Mom," and said he'd check back on him in two weeks. All that excitement, all that anticipation--for that? I was so mad. I had been condescended to. None of the stuff I wrote down about all the stuff we'd tried was even read. We got the prescription for the steroid, only to discover that it contains sodium laurete sulfate, a skin irritant. I decided that we would ask Ben's regular doctor about steroids when we went in today.

Ben's skin has been getting better over the last few days, although there are still times when he scratches himself until he bleeds. Burt's Bee's Thoroughly Therapeutic, which I discovered at the drugstore by accident, seems to be helping. I had read on the Internet that honey has healing properties and has been found to help heal difficult wounds. But I can't really put honey alone on him. It would make a mess. And, if I used a band-aid on his face, he would eat it off.

Ben's regular doctor said he doesn't think he needs steroids--yet. So, we'll keep putting lotion on him. And I have appointments with Ben's allergist and a different dermatologist next month. For shampoo, we may try Dr. Bonner's Baby Mild Castille Soap. I got it at the Natural Store today. It was nice to be able to take out all my frustrations by buying sweet potato chips, Glutino glutin free pretzels and shampoo.

Olive Oil, Cocoa Butter, Burt's Bees

So, we have been using olive oil and cocoa butter as a moisturizer for the last few days. The olive oil has helped a lot with cradle cap, but none of these things was a very long lasting moisturizer, but what we were using before, Vanicream, seemed to be irritating him. We're still putting Vaseline on after baths, but putting it on all the time makes a big mess. The olive oil made a small mess yesterday when Ben kicked the bottle over. I got a small bottle from Rite Aid that says sweet oil emollient. I have read though that extra virgin olive oil is better.

The cocoa butter seemed to be just as good at moisturizing if not better than the Method Baby lotion that we tried on one of Ben's legs over the weekend. We washed his hair in their shampoo too, and though the shampoo didn't seem to be extremely irritating, it did seem to dry out his head. We probably should have put olive oil on afterward, but we wanted to see what would happen if we just tried the shampoo alone.

I had bought some Burt's Bees products at the drug store the other day. I didn't try them right away, however, because I wanted to call his allergist to see if coconut would likely cause allergy problems since he is allergic to peanuts and cashews. Some people consider coconut to be a nut; others consider it to be a fruit.

Today, though, we got desperate. I had been putting olive oil and cocoa butter on all morning, but when Ben took Jamie out for a little while, in the car on the way back, Ben had removed his cotton gloves and had started scratching his neck until it bled. The allergist called back this morning and said that coconut would probably be okay. So I put on Burt's Bee's Thoroughly Therapeutic with honey and orange. I had wanted to try Burt's Bee's before, but some of their products contain nut oils or wheat, so, if you have food allergies, you have to read their labels carefully.

Burt's Bee's lotion made Ben's skin feel silky smooth. I'm not sure if it also made it a little red, but we had to do something to try and moisturize his skin so he would stop scratching. This product does have a rather strong fragrance. While we are trying to use fragrance free products, I felt that we should try this lotion. Aside from the back of head ( where he likes to scratch and seems to sometimes just do it as a reflex, Ben is not scratching now. I hope that this continues through the night. Ben is also rolling over a lot and reaching for different objects including toys, lotions and Maggie the dog.

Lucy's Cookies and Food Should Taste Good Chips

Well, Lucy's Cookies are strangely addictive even though they do kind of have a bit of an aftertaste. One of the reviewers on Amazon wrote, "Something is awry with these cookies." But I'm just happy to be able to eat any cookie without eggs and nuts. There are also these wafer things that I have been eating, which aren't bad.

I found that the one store that is listed as having Lucy's Cookies does not have them. Another health food store in the area did have them but only had one kind. So far, I think the cinnamon thins might be my favorite. All of the cookies are actually thin and hard, perhaps because they are made without eggs and very sweet.

Our dog, Maggie, seemed to like Lucy's Cookies. Our dog, Harley, however wasn't jumping off the couch for them as she would a steak. Our cat, Rocky, ate them at first but then abandoned them to Maggie. He didn't seem to like them as much as he likes kettle corn.

One good discovery is that Amazon has just begun selling Lucy's Cookies. It appears that they have four kinds--chocolate chip, sugar, cinnamon and oatmeal. I have tried all but the oatmeal.

Jamie also found some glutin-free chips, made by Food Should Taste Good. He bought the multi-grain kind and the sweet potato kind. According to the Food Should Taste Good website, the chips come in several varieties including multi-grain, jalapeno, sweet potato, buffalo, chocolate, olive, the works!, lime, potato and chive, cinnamon, yellow corn, blue corn and cheddar. Maggie and Jamie really seemed to like the chips. I preferred the multi-grain to the sweet potato and ordered more on Amazon. I am pleased to see that Amazon carries these also.

In other news, Ben has getting recurring diaper rash around his backside just at the edge of the top of the diaper. Someone I know told me that many babies have latex allergies. He's only had this problem since he's been in stage 3 Pampers. He did not have this problem in stages 1 or 2. We are thinking of trying Earth's Best Diapers. Also, I have started applying Balmex since Desitin didn't seem to clear it up.

However, one good thing is that we may have found a shampoo that we can use on him. We tried Method Baby last night, and it didn't cause him to scratch very much or get cradle cap, but we do still need to apply olive oil to keep his scalp from getting too dry.

Sweet Attack--Dr. Lucy's Cookies

It was like torture being able to smell those brownies yesterday but not being able to eat them. There's a health food store about 12 miles from here that sells Dr. Lucy's cookies, which are egg-free, nut free and gluten free. But, yesterday was Sunday, and it didn't seem to be open because I called and called, and no one answered.

I was so not happy because most of my other gluten-free snacks had run out as well, and I just wanted sweets. I had been up the night before with Ben and didn't feel like baking again. Jamie had me call of the closest Starbucks (about 12-15 miles away), and they said they had some Dr. Lucy's cookies. Jamie drove out there around dinner time while the roast finished cooking in the oven. But, when he got there, they only had one kind, so he drove to a second Starbucks to get more. So far, I've only tried the chocolate chip, and they really aren't bad. I think you can tell that they are egg-free, wheat free but they are far better than the horrible rice bread that I have been eating at lunch. Or the awful rice waffles I recently tried. Those products make me want to never eat rice again.

I am glad that products for people with allergies are becoming more mainstream. I am going to try a second variety of cookies soon and will report back.

Egg-Free Wheat Free Baking

I was so excited to discover Betty Crocker's gluten-free mixes at Giant Eagle the other day.

I thought that I could just use the Enter-G Egg Replacer in the recipe even though the box does say, "It works best in scratch recipes."

The Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Brownie mix called for a half of stick of melted butter and two eggs. So, I put in 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of egg replacer plus 2 tablespoons of warm water. But did I mess up the proportions? Did I use two tablespoons for each one, or is the egg replacer just not going to work for this?

When I mixed the dough together, it was so thick, I didn't know if I could get it to spread in the pan at all. It was more like squish in the pan.

I set the oven timer for 26 minutes, which is the minimum for a 9 by 9 pan. When I opened up the oven when the timer went off, the dough was sizzling. I thought maybe it wasn't done, so I left it in for four more minutes. It may have been overdone because, by the end, it hard started to burn, and it turned out to be completely hard. I don't know if I just need to use another egg replacer or bake from scratch. I saw on the Internet that someone suggested using banana as an egg replacer. But what would the proportion be--one banana for one egg?

I found this egg-free, gluten free recipe on the Internet, but maybe I'll try bananas next time. Or maybe I should contact Betty Crocker to see if they could recommend an egg substitute.

In the meantime, my burned hard as rock brownies are stuck to the pan. I guess I can try digging them out.

Catching Up on Cleaning. . .

. . . seems unlikely to happen soon.

For one thing, there's all these ineffectual baby lotions, everywhere. Jamie tried to put them into a box, but then we got more. I called the allergist today, but she had left for today, because I wanted to know if I should try coconut products on Ben. He has wheat, egg, peanut and some tree nut allergies, but how likely is he to be allergic to coconut? After all, some people consider coconut to be a fruit.

A great discovery is that Betty Croker now makes gluten free cake, brownie and cookie mixes. I saw them at Giant Eagle the other day and grabbed them all up, even though they were $4.29 each. I did find an egg substitute at the natural foods store that actually doesn't contain eggs. Unfortunately, many egg substitutes like egg beaters still contain eggs.

Other finds--

Ethnic Gourmet, which I had for dinner the other night. It was pretty good, but unfortunately, it is is being discontinued. I had chicken tikka masala.

A lot of Hormel products advertise that they are gluten free. I picked up some bacon and ham.

In the Kosher section, I found two kinds of Joyva Joys--Marshmallow Joys and Chocolate Covered Jelle Joys--that do not appear to contain eggs, wheat or nuts. I read the ingredients carefully. Some of the other Joys did have problematic ingredients.

Cascadian Farms Organic Oats and Honey--These are really good and gluten-free. I attempted to have them for breakfast as cereal, but, even though I went to the store several times yesterday, I forgot to buy milk. So, dry granolas followed by a late morning decaf iced white chocolate mocha.

I made pork chops and fried apples from a can for lunch. Who says I don't eat fruit? I'd like to clean more, but I'd also like to catch up on sleep.

Freak Incident or Allergic Reaction?

I didn't post about this at first because I was too freaked out. But I'm posting about it now. That way, I'll have a record about what happened in case it ever happens again.

On Tuesday afternoon after I finished teaching, I came home to watch Ben. He hadn't eaten anything that day other than my milk and Similar Alimentum, which he has been on for the last few weeks ever since we switched him from Enfamil. All I had eaten was Quaker Oats instant oatmeal with peaches for breakfast and a bunless hamburger from Wendy's for lunch with pickles plus a Coke and a small Frosty.

I hadn't tried any new lotions on him that day. It had only been Vanicream and Vaseline. The only new thing I did was rub some olive oil on his head that I got at Rite Aid.

I was sitting on the chair and holding him around 3:30 or 4 p.m. when he just started throwing up. I was so surprised. I didn't know what to do. It was all over him, and all over me. When it seemed like he was done, I decided to give him a bath, but I couldn't find his baby bathtub. (It was drying over by the window). So I took him upstairs and bathed him in the regular tub. I thought he was okay then because he laughed at the cat, but he threw up some more in the tub and some more in the hallway once I took him out.

I took him downstairs, and he fell asleep sitting up. He also may have just been tired. He had been waking up a lot the last few nights. His skin looked whiter than normal. It almost looked as if all of his eczema was all gone.

When he would wake up, his face would turn red, and he would start coughing, and then he'd go back to sleep. At 4:30, I called his doctor. They said to bring him in tomorrow if he didn't feel better and to make sure he got lots of fluids. So, I made an appointment. After a while though, he woke up and stopped coughing. It almost seemed like he had been choking on something and was trying to get it up. But I couldn't figure out what. I remembered from the Baby First Aid class that if a baby is coughing you should just let him coughing because that can mean that he is trying to clear his airway. We had taken infant CPR, and I would have done it had I needed to. I also would have called 911 if necessary but he was breathing the whole time. Even while he slept, I watched for the rise and fall of his chest, and I didn't put him down until much later once I was sure he was okay.

My Baby is Like a Sheet Cake Pan

Ben and Jamie are gone for the next few days. This will hopefully give me some time to catch up on a few things, including cleaning.

Vanicream, though not superirritating, does seem to be somewhat irritating. We're going to try and go as chemical-free or as low chemical as possible.

I know that some people dislike using petroleum-based products on their babies, but we're not about to put stuff with nut oils on a kid with with nut allergies. Although almond oil may be okay, we're not sure. He is not allergic to almonds, but we don't want to cause him to develop an almond allergy. I read somewhere that people are less likely to have a problem with almonds than other nuts. Also, he had a terrible reaction to Cetaphil, but that may have been the other chemicals in it rather than the almond oil. I wish we could use Burt's Bees, but a lot of their lotions contain nut oils. Some of their products may be okay, but I'm not sure if coconut would irritate Ben, and that's found in a lot of all natural skin care products. Some people say it's a tree nut. Some say it's not. The whole thing is driving me nuts.

So yesterday we greased Ben up with Vaseline and olive oil and cocoa butter. The allergist said that sometimes simpler is better. If we try one ingredient things for a while, then at least we know what is irritating him.

I need to go shopping. I'm running out of Amy's Organics Gluten-Free things. These things can be a little pricy though if you buy them at a natural store. I'm wondering if Giant Eagle has some gluten-free Amy's.

I'm thinking of trying this shampoo and lotion, which L. recommended. I contacted the company for a list of ingredients, and it seems like the shampoo and lotion might be okay to try on Ben.

I wonder if I should wait until after the dermatologist appointment though. I don't want to put more money down the lotion money pit. On the bright side though, the facial sore likes like it might really be healing.

Aveeno Baby

I decided to try Aveeno Baby Daily Moisture Lotion again yesterday since so many people have had success with it.

I put it on a small area, and he didn't seem to have any reaction so I put a little more on. I went to Giant Eagle to get a few things with Ben. He was scratching the side of his face with the cotton gloves on though by then, and it was bleeding. So I pretty much knew I was going to need to give him a bath.

I do bathe him in Aveeno Baby Oatmeal Bath, and that seems to help. Yesterday, however, I used the adult oatmeal bath because we only had one packet of the other, and they don't sell those at Giant Eagle.

One of the things I had gone to get was Aveeno Baby Wash and Shampoo. I can't use the regular Aveeno shampoo because of Ben's wheat allergies. A lot of people have said that they have had good results with the Aveeno Baby Wash, even those with sensitive skin, but because I know that Ben's skin is supersensitive, I used it only on his head. We had used it before a while ago, but I couldn't remember why we stopped, so I thought it was worth a try again.

The ingredients and potential irritants and warnings for this product can be found at: http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=brands&id=10001006.

Aveeno Baby Wash contains Sodium Laureth Sulfate, which can cause skin irritation in many people. I think that even Johnson's No More Tears contains a less irritating ingredients. In addition to irritating his skin, however, Johnson's No More Tears also worsened his cradle cap in some areas. I am actually not sure if the Aveeno Baby Wash irritated him or not because his skin was already irritated by Aveeno Baby Daily Moisture Lotion.

On the other hand, we did notice that his skin felt moister. I have begun to wonder if the Vanicream is drying it out, and that's why I was looking for a new moisturizer in the first place. I am also starting to wonder if the Vanicream is slightly irritating his skin because he itched after I out it on this morning.

We may have to just try one ingredient things. We tried cocoa butter a while ago when his skin was really irritated, and it did not seem to help. I am hesitant to try it again because I don't want to cause an allergy.

We've been using Neosporin on the sore spot on his face, and it seems to be helping. I think it would be healed by now if things didn't keep happening to reirritate his skin.

According to the Less Toxic Guide, you can use straight olive oil as a moisturizer, so perhaps we will try that with one spot on his head, but, again, I am hesitant to try it all over for fear of causing an allergy. But at least we can use Vaseline. And oat baths.

"All We Are Is Just Another Brick in the Wall"

Last night was a bad night. Ben was scratching and waking up very frequently. His skin was dry. We were tired.

This morning, I decided to call a dermatologist.

The first dermatologist, who has an office in our town, said he could see us next week, but the only problem is, while he's in our network, he's not a preferred provider, so we'll have to pay $105 for the office visit.

The second dermatologist, who has an office about 15 miles away, is in our network and can see us--at the end of May.

The third dermatologist, who is not in our town but is in our network could see us--in August.

Sometimes, it just seems like things shouldn't be this hard. Why can't somebody help my baby without charging us so much money?

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

So, I decided to try the Exederm Ultra Sensitive Skincare Intensive Baby Moisturizer.

As I've said before, the Vanicream seems to be working but wearing out quickly. As LW suggested, however, this could be a probably with the humidity in out house. We haven't had the Crane humidifier plugged in downstairs for the last few days. We have had the Winnie the Pooh Humidifier on at night, but I'm not sure how well this is working to increase the humidity in his room. I looked at the humidity levels on the hydrometer last night, and it was 28 percent before we turned the humidifier on. This morning, the levels were only 32 percent. That's not good enough!

Anyway, last night, we decided to give him a bath because he was scratching at his neck. We're wondering if he might have a slight allergy to squash, his first food aside from rice cereal. His neck turns slightly red when he eats it, but maybe his neck just turns red when he eats. He doesn't swell like he did when we applied Aquaphor. There's an interesting chart on Wholesome Baby Food.com that shows how likely you are to be allergic to a food. Squash isn't the most likely food allergy, but it is possible. He's had squash a couple of times over the last few days. The first day, he turned really red, but that could have been due to other factors. He has seemed to enjoy eating it overall.

This morning, he looked pretty good, but I am just frustrated because the Vanicream seems to wear off so quickly.

Our bath routine now is bathe him in Aveeno baby oats and then apply Vaseline. Well, after I put the Exederm on, his neck turned red, and he got little red bumps on him. We waited a few minutes and then decided to give him a bath since it seemed to be irritating him. While I was getting his humidifier plugged in and turned on, he scratched his neck and made it bleed. I feel bad. We're only trying to help him, but it's been tough figuring out the best remedies.

His allergist said it would be okay to give him Zyrtec twice a day, so we're going to try that. Since the Exederm moisturizer cream seemed to irritate him, I don't know if I should try the shampoo again. Is there any shampoo out there that won't irritate him?

Gluten-Free: What can you eat?

When Ben's allergist said that he was allergic to wheat, at first I didn't really understand. For some reason, I thought, okay, no wheat bread, no problem.

In that moment, I didn't think flour. I didn't think cake. I didn't think pizza. I didn't realize how prevalent wheat is. Ben does not have Celiac disease. What he has is a wheat allergy, an allergy that we hope he outgrows. But, since I'm still feeding him, Ben's allergies to eggs, wheat, peanuts and some tree nuts, have meant radical changes to our diet.

At first, I didn't think I'd be able to eat anything, but the doctor reminded me: He's not allergic to corn or oats or soy or beef or chicken. But being Italian, my diet consisted of a lot of wheat. Pizza, pasta, cake. Wheat was like a staple of my daily life.

But because of Ben's wheat allergies, I've learned that there are a lot of things that I can eat that aren't made with wheat. One thing that is used as a substitute for wheat is rice. There's rice pasta and rice flour. I just found an egg substitute today that is wheat free. The regular grocery store did not seem to have an egg-free egg substitute.

For lunch today, I had Amy's Mexican Tamale Pie.



It's made with organic vegetables and beans. It is gluten free and contains no dairy. I also found some pretty good gluten-free pretzels by Glutino. The one thing that I haven't been quite able to get used to, however, is rice bread.

Facial Sore

Most of Ben's eczema flareup is clearing up though he does have what looks like a little diaper rash at the edge of his diaper on his back.

We've cut back the amount of baths since his skin is not inflamed. We last bathed him on Wednesday and are thinking of skipping the bath tonight because his skin was very dry Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

I called the doctor's office yesterday to ask if it would be okay to put Neosporin on this one sore on his face.

Other spots have healed, but this one spot just keeps flaring up. At times, it has appeared like an oozing sore. It doesn't look infected, but every time it would start to heal, it would flare up again, or he would scratch it or rub against it. It's an awkward place--on the side of his face--the perfect spot for rubbing against and within easy reach of his hands.

We do use cotton gloves on him most of the time though he has learned to take them off.

Since the return phone call that we got from the doctor's office was of no help, we decided to try Neosporin. It is gluten-free, and none of the ingredients looked to be particularly irritating, but you never know.

We applied it last night and then this morning. We want to apply it when we can watch him since obviously we don't want him to get it in his mouth. The skin appears to be, hopefully healing, but we're keeping our fingers crossed.

To bathe or not to bathe--that is the question

It used to be that people recommended that babies, especially babies with dry skin and eczema, bathe only 2 or 3 times a week.

Ben's doctors have mentioned this, but now, it seems like a lot of people are recommending a daily bath followed by the application of a moisturizing lotion or Vaseline.

So, we have been giving Ben the daily Vaseline baths, and it seems to have helped with his flareups, but this morning when Ben woke up, his skin seemed pretty dry.

We've been bringing Vanicream upstairs with us--in case we need to apply it during the night.

Overall, our new routine seems to be helping, but we are thinking of changing it up a bit. The website Keep Kids Healthy.com suggests that if your child's skin can't tolerate a daily bath, then you should bathe him every other day. So, we may give that a shot.

Also, the Exederm shipment came yesterday. I don't want to overwhelm Ben's skin by trying new lotions all at once. So, we just tried the shampoo last night.

On the plus side, Ben has stopped scratching his head most of the time since we stopped using Mustela. Also, that one inflammed area of cradle cap that he was constantly scratching at is now gone.

The allergist said that this would be frustrating at time and a lot of trial and error. Even though there is still that one spot on Ben's face that we can't get to clear up, and I'm not sure if the Zyrtec is working, I feel like we are making good progress.

I called the baby doctor's office about that spot on his face that keeps getting reaggrevated by drool, and he suggested trying a lotion with a fragrance. I'm definitely not doing that. Also, he doesn't know the allergy test results yet or anything. We've talked to the allergy doctor a lot lately but not so much Ben's regular doctor.

At one point, he recommended applying Johnson's 4 or 5 times a day. That definitely did not work. Now, he recommends trying Disney's Gentle Naturals. We tried that for cradle cap a few months ago, and it seemed to help, but then a few months ago, we tried it again, and it only seemed to make his red skin more red. I don't have the heart to try it again. If we do try anything new, we will definitely patch test on a completely non-irritated area. I never realized the importance of patch-testing.

Also, the allergist recommended trying new lotions one on one leg and one on the other to see what helps and what doesn't. I think we're going to get this figured out. . .

Johnson's No More Tears is a lot of Tears

Johnson's baby shampoo claims that it is "as gentle to the eyes as pure water."



The ingredients in it are: Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate, Sodium Tricedeth Sulfate, PEG-150 Distearate, Fragrance, Tetrasodium EDTA, Polyquternium-10, Quaternium-15, Sodium Hydroxide, Citric Acid, Yellow 10, and Orange 4.

Looking at the ingredients, it seems like there are many possible irritants. Possibly the dye, possibly the fragrance. Though these things probably wouldn't irritate most people, Ben is not most people.

We bathed Ben last night in Vaseline, water, and baby shampoo. He liked the bath and splashed around. A few minutes after the bath, he started scratching and itching, especially behind his ears where the baby shampoo went.

Someone at my doctor's office (not the doctor) recommended that we try this on him. It didn't work. Well, it made his head smell good, but I should have known better than to use anything with a fragrance.

We ended up having to rinse his head off and then bathe him in Aveeno baby oats and Vaseline again to get rid of the chemicals. Because it was so hot last night, we put him to bed in nothing but a diaper and the cotton gloves that he wears to keep him from scratch.

He woke up a few times during the night scratching, so I put some Vanicream on him at 3 a.m. I also put a onesie on him since with the fan on and the window open, his room had finally cooled to 75 degrees.

The reason why we were looking for a new shampoo is that the Mustela foam shampoo for newborns was drying out his head, and he has persistent cradle cap in one spot on the back of his head. So was the California Baby before that. I ordered some fragrance free shampoo from Exederm. I'm just waiting for it to come.

I'm also looking for a good sunscreen. I want to avoid nut oils and parabens.

In spite of the shampoo problem, Ben's neck is starting to look better, and he's scratching less frequently, so we may be able to give him squash again. He first had it on Easter, but we didn't know if it was caused by the heat or a lotion or the squash, so we stopped giving it to him until his eczema was under control. Today, so far, so good.

And Sometimes a Rash is Eczema

The Desitin that we put on Ben did seem to soothe him, but it also dried out his skin. So, in the middle of the night, I put some Vanicream on him.

I started using Vanicream a few days ago. Someone on an eczema discussion area recommended it. It's supposed to be good for extremely sensitive skin because it's free of lanolin, dyes, fragrance and parabens.

Popular eczema remedies Aquaphor and Eucerin, which are made by the same company, contain Lanolin. Lanolin is used for its soothing properties, but it is derived from sheep's wool, and so it irritates some extremely sensitive skin.

Sunday night, however, I switched back to Cerave because I felt like Vanicream wasn't working quickly enough, though it did seem to be helping. Cerave contains ceramides, which are supposed to release the lotion over a longer period of time (24 hours) so you don't have to apply it as often. But Cerave contains parabens, and this may have been what caused Ben's skin to get so red and itchy that we had to give him an extra dose of antihistamine in the morning.

Yesterday, Ben's skin remained red and itchy. That's why J. suspected heat rash. Also, Sunday night, we had Ben in a long-sleeved sleeper but with the AC on. The sleeper may have been too heavy. Other nights, however, if we dress him too lightly, he ends up shivering. In order to prevent SIDs, we have not put Ben to bed with a blanket. When is it okay to use a blanket? Some people use 100 percent cotton blankets, which are breathable, but, due to complications after Ben's birth, I am more cautious.

I'm not sure if the corn starch was helping. I'm not sure if we gave it a chance. But the Desitin was temporarily soothing. We're trying to figure out if the neck rashes were caused by heat, drool, eczema or more than one.

We put cotton gloves on Ben to keep him from scratching. Unfortunately, due to much use lately, all of the gloves are in the wash, so I'm holding his little hands, and, today at least, he's not scratching as much.

Sometimes a Rash is Just a Rash

Lately, the skin around Ben's neck has been so red and irritated that I was worried that we were going to have to put him on steroids.

We bathed him in oats; we bathed him in Vaseline, and most of the rest of him cleared up except that one area. He was scratching and scratching last night and this morning. The Cerave I put on him did not seem to help. In fact, it seemed to make it worse.

Then, it dawned on my husband that the area where it was really irritated is the area where the throat rubs against the chest. He suggested that we try cornstarch, and then I thought well if it's irritated because it's too wet and not too dry, then what might really help is diaper rash cream.

So we put some Desitin on him. The active ingredient in Desitin is Zinc Oxide, which is used to treat many forms of skin irritation. This explains why his antihistime was not helping to stop the itching.

Some itches are the result of allergies. And some itches are the result of a rash. Sometimes, it is easy to overlook the obvious.

Allergy Baby

One of the things I worry about is. . .what if Ben doesn't outgrow his allergies?

What if he develops asthma? (I have asthma, so this is not an unreasonable fear).

What if he's that dorky kid with the inhaler and the special food that no one wants to invite over to their houses or to their birthday parties?

What if he has to sit in the corner eating rice cakes while every other kid enjoys Reese's Peanut Butter Cups?

Shopping for his allergies has been challenging. But, luckily, we discovered a store that sells gluten-free products and is close to where we live: http://www.nilajo.com/retailer/store_templates/shell_id_1.asp?storeID=22B87C8A252142BE8EDF2EC0B8D16B07.

The thing is though that we can't really go "all natural." We tried all natural remedies and his skin still flared up. That's because, and I didn't realize this, people can have allergies to all-natural things like coconut oil, aloe or, even, calendula.

Calendula is the favored ingredient in many natural creams, but when you put it on and the wound oozes pus, well. . .

One natural food brand that I'm really liking is Amy's Organics. Have you tried Amy's Organics, or can you recommend any other brands that are friendly to people with allergies?

What Causes Allergies?

According to the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America, about 20 percent of Americans have allergies, and 8 percent of children under 6 have allergies.

The foundation states that, "Like baldness, height and eye color, the capacity to become allergic is an inherited characteristic" (2005).

But just because you have a genetic predisposition to develop allergies to a substance, this does not mean that you automatically will.

The foundation states that exposure to the allergen also plays a role in whether or not you develop an allergy.

Because I have allergies, I feel bad that my son also has them. It makes me wonder, what went wrong with my genes? Will Ben battle allergies all his life, or will he outgrow them? Is there anything that I could have done to prevent this?

Some evidence suggests that breastfeeding can help prevent allergies, and Ben was mostly breastfed, but not exclusively. If I had not given him an formula at all, could I have prevented this?

Do you have allergies? Did your parents have allergies? What do you do to manage them?

Vaseline Bath

One thing that seems to be helping Ben's skin is Vaseline baths. When I first read about the idea on the Internet, it seemed crazy, but my husband wanted to try it.

The other day, however, Ben's skin was so red and inflamed that anything seemed worth a shot. So, we did it.

It didn't cure Ben's eczema, but it really helped to restore some of the hydration to Ben's skin. We bathed him again in Vaseline last night.

Actually, what we've been doing is a bath in Aveeno Baby Bath. The Aveeno lotions don't seem to help, but the oat baths do seem to soothe.

Ben's allergist recommended using all fragrance free products on him. This has made shopping for shampoo, for example, to be challenging. We've decided to try this shampoo, which I ordered from the Internet the other day: http://www.exederm.com/baby-eczema-shampoo.html.

Ben has such extremely sensitive skin that he is irritated by both herbal remedies (not sure which herbs are the culprit, however) and harsh chemicals. A lot of over-the-counter lotions and creams contain potentially irritating chemicals or nut oils. Apparently, hypoallergenic just means that the general public would not be sensitive to a product, but Ben is not the general public.

I am learning so much about allergies and eczema. Before, I only had a vague idea of what eczema even was, and now, I am reading and learning and hoping to relieve Ben's super-irritated skin.

We just upped the dose of children's Zyrtec, which was prescribed for Ben in March. So, hopefully, this will help.

If you are also an eczema and allergy sufferer, what worked for you?

Skin Problems

Our son, Ben, who is 6 months-old, is a perfect miracle. However, his skin problems have been less than perfect and less than amazing.

He started developing problems with redness and cradle cap in the first few months of his life. At first, we didn't know what it was.

Upon seeing his red, irritated skin, our doctor pronounced, "It's perfectly normal." He said he thought it would go away on its own.

The doctor recommended using Johnson's Baby Lotion three or four times a day. That didn't work, and, in fact, it seemed to only be irritating his skin. We tried everything that was recommended to us.

Aveeno Baby Lotion didn't seem to irritate his skin, but it didn't seem to help either.

California Baby Calendula Cream seemed to help at first, and then it didn't. We also tried the super-sensitive lotion, and that didn't help, and it also smelled somewhat unpleasant. The Calendula Lotion from California Baby made his skin very itchy.

Eucerin and Aquaphor made his skin red and swollen.

In March, we took Ben to an allergist. She said that helping relieve his skin problems will be trial and error. She gave us samples of Cerave to try and suggested putting one lotion on one leg, and one on the other.

I try to just use one lotion at a time, but when his eczema causes skin inflammations, sometimes it is tempting to just keep putting on lotion after lotion. This does not work, and is not a good idea.

I'm learning that a lot of things in lotions, even supposedly hypoallergenic lotions, can be irritating to people with skin sensitivities.

Ben's allergist recommended that we rip labels off of products that irritate him and put them in a notebook. This can begin to isolate the cause of the irritation. This is a plodding method. I wish there was a cure right now because I don't want my baby to suffer. He is healthy and good tempered, and we love him so much.

A final note in this first post: We had read that eczema can be related to food allergies. We had a blood test done to test for food allergies. Ben is allergic to eggs, wheat, peanuts and some tree nuts. I am feeding him, so this means that I have had to alter my diet. This has been a challenge, but hopefully it will lead to healthier diets for all of us.