Greatlly. And Allergy Alert Cards!

I just think this is a greatlly <---- OMG. Do you see that? I'm not correcting it so you can see this. Greatlly. It's a combination of really and great. I think at the last second, I decided to with "Really Great" instead of just "Great". My hands are faster than my brain. Or not as fast, or just as fast? Or maybe I just can't explain it! I love when that happens. I do pride myself on my fast typing skills ~ I am one fast b.i.t.c.h. when it comes to typing because I used to like "playing" Mavis Beacon. I am a NERD. Thanks, Mavis! Hahahaha :)

Okay. So back to the original topic at hand. {At hand, ha. I'm so funny. It must be my new hairdo.}

I saw these really great allergy alert cards on TinyPrints today. I am their FB Friend and they posted a link and that's the only reason why I'm bloggin' about it. TinyPrints in no way sponsored this post.

{However, if someone from TinyPrints is reading and would like to sponsor a giveaway/review for my blog ~ I'd love to get some of these and see if they are as great & useful as they appear to be! If you're here on my blog for the first time, Snowdrop has a peanut allergy AND a milk allergy. It'd be great to be able to pass these out when we go to restaurants or to my parents house!}

{Picture courtesy of TinyPrints.Com} 

ANYWHO, I think they are super cute, and a really great idea! :) {See that, I got it right this time. Really. Great. Two separate words!} Part of me feels like it's a little... forward (?) to just hand the waiter this card ~ but the other part of me thinks, WOW! This could save my daughter's life someday! (It might!) Having a physical reminder might help our waiter/tress/chef remember easily that they need to be cautious with our food. I know how BUSY it can be in the restaurant/food industry and from that viewpoint ~ this could be useful! :)

Okay. That is all for now! Time to clean-up the girls ~ they had the LONGEST lunch EVER today. It's already 1:26pm! They started eating like an hour ago! :)

Peanut Allergy, I tried to be short. Truly. I did.

Snowdrop has a peanut allergy. This information we know because I saw her have an allergic reaction to the peanut butter I fed her for lunch and then I had to fly to Walgreens with all three girls to save her from it.

Her doctor agreed with my description of the reaction and prescribed us a Peanut-Free Lifestyle, along with two Epi-Pens (one for home, one for Gigi's).

For the record, I love PB. I eat a jar of it every few months, just by myself.

Without question, I'd move to a peanut-free-state if I had to in order to keep my baby safe.

On the way home, I cried and cried. And then I embraced my germ-phobias and cross-contamination-phobias because it means all that phobia stuff, just prepared me for the attention to peanut-free that I'll need to be... In our home. In other peoples' homes. In public.

Snowdrop is lucky to have me as her mom, because I'm good at being careful. Better safe than sorry.

Of course, upon calling my mother to tell her what happened and upon telling my husband what happened, BOTH of them completely disregarded me and our doctor in full ~ my mother said she doesn't trust our doctor for not having Snowdrop allergy tested. My husband isn't willing to change our lifestyle because it's not "for sure" that she has the allergy.

Since when are the classic allergy signs not a "for sure".

Especially with peanuts.

Her reaction is for sure enough for me. And our doctor. You know, the lady who spent years earning a medical degree and learning these things so she could help patients like my children. I find it so degrading, so irritating, so offensive to the work I have put in as a mother, that my husband doesn't trust me OR her on this. Aside from all this, she didn't give a lifetime expiration date on this ~ she just said the next couple years and then we can try peanuts again. Two years. That's all. Two. 2. Dos. Deux. Not the rest of our lives.

Anyways, we're getting a blood test done tomorrow {and I'll post as soon as I know the results!}. Actually, WE is a little exaggeration. My husband, who can't stand to hear his babies cry and who hates the sight of blood, he gets to take Snowdrop in. He gets to hear her scream, he gets to watch the nurse stick her a few times until they find the right vein. And as much as I'd like for the test to show that she doesn't have an allergy to peanuts and that I'm wrong.... there's a tiny {okay, not too tiny} person inside of me who can't wait to introduce our new Peanut-Free Lifestyle to everyone involved in our life. You know, right after my middle finger goes up and I get my slice of Humble Pie.

I need a very strong drink.

{don't worry, i won't start drinking until naptime.}

{that was a joke.}

{really it was. i won't actually start drinking until the babysitter gets here.}

{teehee.}

Peanut Butter

{this is not a post about adoption or my adoption ~ lord, that will be a reeeeeeeeeally long post! but it does play into it a bit}

I am adopted. While adoption is a wonderful thing, it often comes with some drawbacks/bummers. Like the fact that back in the 80's no one thought to have the biological family fill out family medical history forms. This plays into my life every time I have to fill out any sort of health related information. "Adopted", I write across the page ~ as if it's a jail sentence. It's not a jail sentence. It was an incredible gift and indescribably selfless of my birthparents. And I'm thankful for that but I can't help often feeling like the pages of my life are blank. Missing just those little pieces that are important enough to finish the whole project. And this only really bothers me when the issues come up.

Issues like Peanut Butter.

I waited until Snowdrop was older than 1 year (okay, so it's only been a few weeks!) and I could swear I've pulled nuts out of her mouth before... and I really don't know how she could have avoided the taste of sandwich remnants from under the table.... Of course, you know where this is going. I gave her half a slice of bread with the thinnest amount of PB smeared on it. She LOVED it, of course because our family LOVES anything with nuts {the immature schoolgirl in me just fell in stitches}. And as I started to wipe her up once she had finished, she started whining and wiping her eyes in fury. Her hands were just rubbing all over her face. Her hands and face were now bright red, and covered in white dots. Immediately I knew she was having an allergic reaction.

I held my bearings for long enough to check that she wasn't having difficulty breathing. Then I placed a call to the doctor to see what we should do. I know all signs point to the hospital, but she really wasn't having trouble breathing. So the doctor told me to give her some Benedryl, which of course is not something we have at the house. I practically hung up on the nurse and flew next door with my baby to see if they had any Children's Benedryl. They didn't answer and at the time I had completely forgotten that there is another family on our block with young kids like ours. I flew (there was a lot of flying that afternoon) back into the house and told the girls to put their coats and shoes on. I said that Baby Snowdrop is very sick and we need to get her medicine right away. I must have been really convincing because God Bless their little hearts, they got right down from their lunch and got to the door. We piled in the car and I drove, emergency flasher on, 90 miles an hour to Walgreens. No actually I hit 90 on the highway there. (It's only a 3 minute drive on the highway, much longer on the regular roads.) We were flying.

We flew (more flying) into the Walgreens and I made a mad (seriously it was mad, like crazy-mad!) dash to the wrong aisle, and then a few more wrong aisles until I found the Benedryl. I flung my baby on the waiting chairs outside the pharmacy and the pharmacist, God Bless him, waved me on and didn't make me pay first. He didn't have to do that, but Lord knows I wasn't paying first. My baby needed her medicine!! The doctor's office said 3/4 teaspoons, and because I'm paranoid about medicine, I only gave her 2. Mainly just to make sure I wasn't getting it wrong and also just because my body is funny about medicine and I don't want to make my kids feel sick. Medicine is paid and we drive home, a little slower than the speed limit. I believe with all my heart that God send angels to help us there. I know it. I know they helped usher my children out the house and into the car and got us swiftly and safely to Walgreens. Thank GOD they built this Walgreens. The next closest one is 10 minutes, easily.

By the time we got home, I could tell the rash was already going away. PHEW. I gave her another 1/4 tsp when we got inside. And within a little while it had pretty much all disappeared.

So I had to call back the doctor's office & tell them she's alive and the Benedryl worked and make an appointment with the pediatrician so we can come in and discuss allergies and where they'll send us to get her tested. It's just so scary, especially peanut allergies, and I just really hope that if she IS allergic to peanuts that it is a mild allergy so I won't have to worry about being in public and accidentally touching something that has peanut on it and her having a reaction.... My heart really sank when the receptionist said that I'd need to come talk to the doctor about it and get more information about Epi-Pens. {Okay, you should know before I even wrote that part that said "Epi-Pens", I just burst into tears. It's seriously just so scary! Taking a breath now....} Working at a bakery for so long, and with a boss who is actually "Deadly Dangerous" allergic to peanuts, has totally prepared me for the careful attention needed when handling peanut products near someone with an allergy.... so that's postive, right? Looking for the postive here!! I just really wasn't expecting this. It's a major curve ball.

I just wish there was something I could have done to prevent this, or that I had known about it. It just really sucks when these things creep up on me. And it's just doubly crummy-feeling because it reminds me about the things I dislike about (my) adoption. I just wish I knew more than I do; it would change a great many things.

ANYWAYS, we're heading to the doctor this morning to talk about everything so I'll post an update when I know one. Do any of you or anyone in your family have peanut allergies?

Please, If you pray to someone or reflect or meditate or wish on stars ~ just say a little something for Snowdrop. Thank you. And maybe one for me, so I stop worrying. For like an hour. I just need an hour of mind-peace.