No Peanut Allergy!!

I keep reading conflicting studies for and against early introductions of foods that people are most commonly allergic to. Some "experts" say to wait till a child is 2-3 before exposing them to peanuts/peanut butter, strawberries, shellfish etc if there's a family history. Others say that early exposure will prevent or decrease the chance of an allergy arising. Some even go as far as to say that when a woman is pregnant or breastfeeding she should/shouldn't consume these foods as well.

With a family history of peanut allergies on his paternal side, we were very cautious about not exposing E to any peanuts/peanut butter just in case he was also allergic. At his 18 month appointment I asked his pediatrician if we should come up with some sort of game plan since I was told to wait at his 12 month appointment. He suggested we just get E tested at the allergist they refer their patients to. That way we don't have to worry about giving E some peanut butter outside of the ER :) We called and made an appointment and went today to get tested.

(9 little dots on his back)

E got tested for all tree nut allergies and guess what?? All tree nuts came back negative for a reaction! I don't know why I'm so excited about this but I am. I mean... thinking about not being able to give my kid a PB&J sandwich just seemed so sad to me. Not that having a nut allergy is horribly tragic or anything ;) I mean... my husband is allergic and seems perfectly happy about the fact.

The procedure itself was super simple. The grid they used to place the oils on his back looked like a plastic grid with dots. I thought the worst... they were going to prick him or knick his back so that he'd have little cuts on his skin. Nope, not even as bad as a pinch. The nurse just applied a little bit of pressure to the grid and the oils were on. We left his shirt off for 15 minutes and I had to keep a close eye on him in case he tried to reach back and itch himself (which he didn't even attempt once). Here's how he spent his 15 minutes:



After the test was done the allergist spoke with us about what to do next (introduce peanut butter in small amounts over a 4-7 day period just like any other new food) and gave us ideas/options for #2 once she's old enough to try peanut butter out. All in all I am really glad I got him tested. I was so worried that this would be a painful experience for him but he wasn't even phased by the whole bit. Daddy was quite happy to hear this too!