Growing babies

This has been a big week for us. 

Today Baby Margaret turned 6 months old and her very first tooth popped through on the bottom. 

Also, Rosie completed preschool this week. I'm a little freaked about having a kindergartener in the house. How did she  get to be so big!? 

I'm very proud of both my girls. But I also feel a bit sad that they are growing so fast. 

I made this hat

I made this hat.... And this baby. 

9 Days Old

Baby Margaret is nine days old today. 

She has the sweetest little face. 

How to use an EpiPen

First of all, let me just start by telling you that you don't get to stab someone in the heart when you administer an EpiPen.

I know. 

I was disappointed too.

You actually only get to stab them in the thigh.

And really, you don't even get to stab them.

There is no needle.

It's very anticlimactic.

When you live with someone with an anaphylactic allergy it's important to know where they keep their EpiPen and how to use it.

My mom's EpiPen came with a "trainer" for practicing. It even gives you audible instructions on how to use it.  It looks just like the real thing... except it black instead of bright orange.

It's quite easy to follow the step by step instructions. Remove the cap and then press it against the leg and push the button. Hold for five seconds and that's it. You can even do it though jeans.

In a way it's actually quite reassuring how easy it is to use. There is no throwing someone on a table ripping open their shirt and jabbing them in the heart.

Often times the person can even administer their own EpiPen if they catch their reaction early enough.

This is the real EpiPen

It is important to know, however, that after a person receives an ejection from an EpiPen they often begin to shake uncontrollably. This is often mistaken for a seizure. Really it's just the effect of the adrenaline shot they just received.

To reduce the seizure like side effect the person can take two benadryl BEFORE administering the EpiPen, if they have time.

After having to use and EpiPen it is recommended to go to the hospital. 

(The person receiving the injection, not the person giving it)

If you travel with a person who has an anaphylactic allergy ask them where they keep their EpiPen. It's good to know, just in case.

If you carry an EpiPen yourself, it is always a good idea to tell those you are with that you carry one and where it is.

You also might want to make sure they know how to use it.... 

otherwise they might try to stab you in the heart.

Food Allergies

This has been a rough year for our family. Each one of us has discovered and/or developed food allergies.

Apparently, according to my mom's specialist, when your environmental allergies are a constant extreme (for example, living on top of a den of skunks who have taken up residence under your house), or if you're under a lot of stress in your life, your body freaks out and all kinds of other allergies start to bother you. Like food allergies.

Some of these allergies could have always been there but get more extreme, while others can develop seemingly "out of the blue."

Food allergies are often genetic. So...blame your parents.

Food allergies are no fun. But they are very real.

Symptoms of food allergies often present themselves on your skin.  Your skin is your largest organ, and it's on the outside of you. So it's a great place for your body to tell you that something is not quite right on the inside.  Rashes, hives, eczema, itching, puffy eyes, mouth sores and even pimples and reacquiring breakouts can all be (usually are) the symptoms and signs of food allergies.

Intestinal reactions are also very common with food allergies. Gas, bloating, stomach ache, diarrhea, etc...

Other symptoms can be more serous and dramatic. Like your throat closing up and not being able to breath. This is called and/or leads to anaphylactic shock.

 Anaphylactic shock is defined as "an extreme, often life-threatening allergic reaction to an antigen to which the body has become hypersensitive."

 If a person has an anaphylactic food allergy DO NOT COOK THAT FOOD AROUND THEM!

Cooking the food, or with ingredients, that someone is allergic to will make them sick. The food goes into the air and is breathed in. This is bad.

Especially if it is an anaphylactic allergy.

This list has since been added to and updated...I forgot Tuna and oysters and nuts on my mom's

At home I am usually the person who makes the meals. I often keep everyone's allergies in my head and make meals that EVERYONE can eat. Sometimes I have to resort to making separate things for each person, but I am always VERY careful not to "cross contaminate." Everything is prepared on different plates with different utensils and in different pans.

And I NEVER cook with ingredients that will cause my mom to not be able to breath. Such as cilantro or coriander.

In preparation for the baby, and in planning on not being able to make the meals for a while, I made a list of all of our allergies and put it on the refrigerator to help William keep them all straight (there are actually a couple missing in this picture. I forgot to put my mom's Tuna and Oyster allergies).

I know this list looks crazy. I know it must seem impossible to feed people with such a list of food allergies.

I know it's frustrating and even annoying to try to feed someone that is seemingly allergic to everything.

Trust me.

It's more annoying and frustrating to BE the person who is allergic to everything.

But it is SO wonderful to not feel sick all the time.  I'd rather have it this way and be healthier and happier than ignore my allergies.

My mom doesn't have the option of ignoring her allergies. For her ignoring them can be life threatening. But I don't mind. As long as we get to keep her around for a good long time.

Besides.  We all eat healthier this way. So that's good.

If you think you might have a food allergy...

(it is my personal strong opinion that most people do have at least a mild one... we just ignore them because in Western medicine we are obsessed with treating symptoms instead of causes. "oh you have a rash? well stop scratching and here's another medicine for that." instead of "let's look and see what you are already putting into your body to cause that.")

If you think you might have a food allergy the best way to figure it out is to do a food journal.  The number one, most important thing we learned from my mom's allergy specialist is that a food journal is THE most effective way to diagnose an allergy (most tests for food allergies are not accurate! (especially the one for Celiac/gluten)).

Start with the most common allergies and take them out of your diet ONE AT A TIME
(that would be soy, gluten, wheat, dairy, peanut (yes, peanut oil counts), tree nuts, eggs, shellfish).

Then pay attention when you eat them again... how does your body react?
(and don't just take them out for a couple of days... do it for a week or two).

Another really good way to figure out a food allergy is to look at your family history.  Do you have any relatives that are allergic to anything? Chances are you are too... and remember, food allergies can develop later in your life... so if you're not allergic now... you might be later. Sorry.

So there you go. Just in time for Thanksgiving! Everything you never cared about knowing for food allergies.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving meals and the people you share them with... and please be considerate and conscience of those at your table with food allergies. They are not trying to be difficult... it's just how things are.

And please remember If a person has an anaphylactic food allergy DO NOT COOK THAT FOOD AROUND THEM!

It's a Girl!

We were blessed beyond words yesterday afternoon. 

Hilarious Obi

Obi is a funny boy.

He's so expressive and imaginative.

Here are a couple videos of him being very silly indeed.

 On Halloween we went to a Halloween party at our friends' house.

They do a GREAT job decorating for every holiday, but espeically Halloween. 

They turned their dinning room into a "spooky room" which the kids LOVED.

Obi especially loved playing with the skeleton at the table.

He might have had a little too much candy and no nap that day.

(turn your sound up all the way to hear his adorable laugh)

At snack time the other day Obi was pretending to be a crocodile.

Apparently crocodiles not only growl, they say tick tock.

Chronicle of a Belly

This might be a silly post. But I'm putting it here more for my self than for anyone else.  It's just pictures of my growing belly.
When I first got pregnant I was very freaked out that something would go wrong. I was actually more afraid than I was excited.
It wasn't until I hit 30 weeks that I really started to feel excited. That was when I really felt like we were really going to have a new baby.

Because I was so scared I made myself take pictures of my belly's growth precess.
So here it is. My baby growing inside my belly.
 

 15 weeks

20 weeks

22 weeks

26 weeks

30 weeks

35 weeks

 When I hit 35 weeks we got a little crazy with the camera.

39 weeks and 3 days

and having some contractions

40 weeks and some days and having no contractions.

Back Yard Boy

 Obi loves his "new puppy"

He loves telling people about her, he loves wrestling with her, he loves playing soccer with her and he loves walking her on the leash.

But sometimes he just likes to be outside hanging out with her.

Since we put the new fence up he's really taken to just being outside on his own. With the puppy.

I think we all feel safer about having the yard enclosed.

I peeked out the door to check on him one day (he was being awfully quiet) and found him just lounging on the railroad ties.

 This is apparently his favorite place to just relax and have a little personal quiet time.

He reminds me of our own little Huck Fin.