Nicky is allergic to milk. 
When I gave him lunch on Wednesday (an egg yolk and a TINY bit of American cheese), he started getting red around the mouth and breaking out into hives right before my eyes. He wouldn’t stop itching and his face was all red and looked like a hundred mosquitoes had bitten him. I took him to the doctor right away; I didn’t get to see our regular doctor, but I did see Dr. Vitullo, who was WONDERFUL! He sent us for bloodwork and gave me a prescription for an Epi-Pen Jr. to have in case of emergency.
I took Nicky yesterday morning to have his blood drawn. I was so nervous, but the ladies were great! One held his arm and the other put a teeny, tiny tourniquet on him and drew his blood while I held him. He mostly didn’t like being held down; he only fussed and wiggled a bit while he watched her take blood (ew!). They said that he was way better than the big kids! I’m so proud of my baby!
We tested for several things, including egg yolks and whites, even though he has had egg yolks before. We just got a call from the nurse today that Nicky has a strong allergy to milk. After looking around on the internet, Chuck and I decided that we should see a dietitian to help us manage the situation, since I should be avoiding dairy foods as well. We will need to find alternative sources of calcium that we can include in our diets. Our insurance will cover as many visits as his doctor sees necessary, so we’ve got an appointment on June 19th (unfortunately, the earliest we could schedule). For right now, it’s not really a problem, because there are plenty of foods that he can eat and that we still have to introduce to him. However, this will definitely delay our introduction of other highly allergenic foods, like nuts and fish. Nicky’s 9-month check-up is in about a week and a half, so we’ll discuss everything with Dr. Shin at that time.
I should also note, for those of you that don’t know, an allergy to milk is not the same as lactose intolerance (an inability to digest the main sugar in milk). Lactose intolerance doesn’t involve the immune system, whereas milk allergy can produce anaphylaxis, which is why we now carry the Epi-Pen everywhere Nicky goes. Dr. Vitullo said that the reaction will be worse next time he is exposed.
This is strange; we don’t have food allergies ourselves, and I don’t think anyone in our families does. About 2-3% of babies have an allergy to milk, and breastfed babies are much less likely to develop one. Now, he’s more likely to be allergic to other foods, as well as non-food inhalants, like dust mites or pollen (which I think he is, anyhow), and also more likely to develop asthma or eczema. However, the very good news is that most babies outgrow their milk allergies, usually by 3-5 years old, although some babies don’t outgrow it.
Motherhood has proven to be a source of worry that I’ve never had before, and this has increased it exponentially! I know that everything will be fine and that we’ll manage, but this makes me so nervous about exposing him to other foods. Until our consultation with the dietitian, we’ll stick to the foods that we know already and add more fruits and veggies, as well as chicken. And maybe I can just keep pumping breastmilk for him until he’s 30. 