Better Eat My (GFDF) Wheaties!

For several years I've wondered if our oldest has food allergies. I've wanted to get him tested for quite some time, but I haven't due to my fear of how he'd react to the testing (blood draw). I suspected my own food allergies. I decided to pursue my health first and underwent all the testing myself in hopes of getting better educated and in hopes of reducing the number of tests my son would have to go through. Once I had my food allergies mostly figured out and my diet under control I had the confidence and experience to pursue his food allergies. I put off  getting him tested for as long as I possibly could, but after watching him struggle to get through a 45 minute soccer class without sitting or laying on the floor in exhaustion and frustration I decided it needed to be done. After seeing him cry because he couldn't run as fast or as far as the other kid it was time. After watching him tucker out at tumbling class next to kids who were still moving full steam ahead, I realized it was time. And after rushing him into the shower after his eczema had a painful reaction to the chlorine at the pool, it was clear I needed to do something. A friend of a friend who has children with food allergies of their own had been "through the ringer" of doctor's appointment and was able to recommend a pediatrician who, even though he's over seventy years old, is open to new and somewhat alternative medicine and food allergy testing. I could not be happier with this doctor. He's a breath of fresh air. He is a combination of sweetly old fashioned (he called me himself with the test results) and eagerly open minded. He's guided us step by step through the pediatric food allergy testing process and has helped us to determine that N has numerous food allergies (approx 22) at various levels. Right now we are focusing on the highest reactors (most of which are dairy) and we'll pursue his other allergies after we decide if we're going to do any more testing. In the mean time, we are educating N, his teacher, his friends and family in what he can and cannot eat. We've purchased children's books about food allergies and donated one to his class room to educate his friends. We're making trips to the grocery store to explore new foods. We've found some we've liked and given the thumbs up to and some N doesn't like that got the 'ol thumbs down. And that's okay. I told N I have worked through lots of foods to find things that taste good to me and I will work through it with him to find what he likes. Our most recent finds are soy chocolate milk that he can take to school. He won't drink it every day, but he likes that he can drink chocolate milk like the other kids. We've discovered that some instant pudding mixes do not have dairy in them and can be successfully made with almond milk. We'll learn how to package those up for school lunch treats. A friend told us that Oreos are dairy free! Yay! We're also working on trying new fruits and veggies and "real" meats to maintain a healthy diet.We're having fun looking at pinterest for gluten free/dairy free (so we can all eat them) muffin recipe for breakfast. All the cooking is a little extra work for me, but I'm rewarded on a daily basis knowing and seeing with my own eyes that N is feeling better. We went for a one hour hike in the woods the other day. In the past he may have had the endurance for 1/4 to 1/2 that amount of time. We started reducing his dairy intake before vacation and he was able to walk all over the theme park with less whining and fatigue. Today, after a full day of school, N came home and asked to play "Red Light, Green Light." We did. Then the boys wanted to play baseball, so we did. Then they wanted to play soccer....we did. After dinner he came upstairs and asked to do my exercise tape. It's low impact and safe for a child his age to do, so I put it in and did it (for the second time today) with him. The whole time he had a big smile on his face and kept saying,  "I feel good, Mom. I feel good!" I held back tears of joy. Our hard work is paying off! I'm sooo glad I feel as good as I do because I'm gonna need all the help I can get to keep up with him! Better eat my (gluten free, dairy free) Wheaties.