When food attacks!

From the March of his birth until the month of August 2007 my son enjoyed almost exclusive breastmilk feedings, but there were times when he needed formula to supplement. For example, he went from 6 lb 2 oz at birth to 5 lb 4 oz in the space of a couple of weeks.

We conscientious if newbie parents, we were stricken. I demanded that we get some formula and make him eat. He was a little slow to latch onto Mrs. Papí, and the transition from colostrum exacerbates any early natural feeding issues (what with dehydration, weight loss, ...& etc.). Mrs. Papí was still in the learning stages of her own breastfeeding process; we were beset by doubts. I felt it important to be somewhat forceful in the moment.

I got the enfamil, I don't know why that brand was interesting, but it is important to the tale of August 2007 that you know I had a cow's milk-based formula. August represented the last of six or so shots for my boy's vaccines. The child was beginning to reach up to his forehead with his (right) hand in a claw (much the way adults do in times of stress), scratching his temple when aggravated or somehow aggrieved. He would do this if his diaper were somewhat soiled, or if he was starting to pass the coo phase of his feeding requests. There was nothing to it at first, only the strange--too mature seeming--reaction to stress.

Later in the month of August, he began to abrade his forhead and chronically scratch portions of his face and arms. Sores began to show (a knotty looking skin break on his upper arm above the bicep, cracks in the soft inner elbows, a pink and wet sore on his temple and atop his head), and at first we followed it up as though he was scratching himself to ouchies. His hands were and are rather strong for his age and we were not getting guidance in the matter.

At one time that fall, my young one had bandages all over his face and arms and Papí could see that his handiwork was doing no good. I intended that the bandages would at least protect the young one from his menacing scratching, but the bandages were creating new and hideous spreading for these now oozing sores.

Finally, we obtained a recommendation for an allergist. Really still I do not know why this is not the first call in the instance. We had already visited the hospital after feeding the boy some pancakes (he had shown symptoms of not being able to breathe after eating a piece the size of a dime). Dr Lenoir is a very capable allergist who set us straight on numerous points regarding the causes and effects of the issues afflicting our dear young one.

We tested blood and from this we saw risk factors for certain foods. This is not the pin-test, but its prediction for eggs was 30+ out of 100 (100 being as deadly serious as imaginable) as we already knew. We also found that he had a milk allergy.

He is prone to develop sores and other abrasions and skin cracks when he ingests something containing milk or its solids. These eruptions can take days to clear up after the offending food is eliminated.

Once we took Dr Lenoir's advice and cut out the milk, the little one's skin health began to return. Cetaphil also helps with protecting his skin from daily chafing.

Bearing in mind that the boy already ingested a good deal of milk proteins and other solids from his experience with formula, and reflecting upon no such sores and cracks in those past months' time, I still feel that this allergic eruption coincides closely with the vaccines. The internet, of course carries extremely contradictory information on this issue. The timing makes me jump to this conclusion. The symptoms of the milk sensitivity manifested close after his final shots.

We were so relieved to move past this struggle. We could put aside the steroids prescribed for the skin, we put aside the mupiricin prescribed for the infected oozing, and we put aside all the bandaging and other foolish attempts. The young one soon moved onto crawling.