I’ll start with the good news, right up front:

As of now, it appears that Lucy is not, in fact, allergic to peanut butter or eggs!

Y’all, I am so relieved. I was ready to hear the opposite news, and ready to make the subsequent lifestyle changes, and I know we would have managed just fine, as many people do. But I’m really glad that we don’t have to do that.

The sort of not great news is this:

The allergist thinks that what we saw was a contact reaction, and Lucy has really sensitive skin.

Apparently, this is quite common in very young children, and he was not concerned. We do need to be careful, though, and until she’s a little older and neater, if we’re feeding eggs, peanut butter, or other allergens or irritants, we should feed them to her, rather than letting her feed herself. (Lucy will NOT like that, but it will be fine.)

The allergy test itself was super interesting. Did you know that these tests have a 50% false positive rate? I didn’t. Or that they are 97% accurate when they come out negative? I didn’t know that either. Lucy actually reacted to everything, even the negative control, but the doctor was able to measure anyway, and was not worried at all. It was very reassuring, and we got some good advice for introducing allergens in the future. (Happy to share, if anyone is interested or curious!)

Lucy did not enjoy the tests, and still has some little marks on her back, but she was back to herself within a few minutes. And today she’s just doing her usual stuff. All’s good here. Just ask the napping people:

So, that’s that for now. And hopefully for good. Being a parent really is a whole new world!

Well, this is not the post I expected to write this week. We’ll start here:

Nutritionist, food-savvy, and parent friends, I need your help!

Because, alas, it appears that Lucy is allergic to peanuts. (And eggs. But I’m much more worried about the peanuts.)

We’ve fed her peanut butter several times, and thought we were in the clear. I was relieved, because I love peanut butter. Like, love it. Like, ate it constantly during my pregnancy and breastfeeding, always have it on hand, believe it is both a healthy snack and a dessert, eat it on a spoon in a pinch kind of love. It seems we will not be so lucky.

Yesterday, while eating a peanut butter sandwich, Lucy developed a small rash on her face, and it spread to her neck, arms, and belly. It wasn’t that bad. It didn’t look like hives, and disappeared quickly, so we weren’t sure how concerned to be. A call to the nurse line at our pediatrician’s office sent us to the emergency room, which felt excessive. And it was, because a later, follow-up call from our pediatrician – when we were most of the way to the hospital – confirmed that while this looks like an allergy, we could just monitor for worse symptoms. There were none. She is fine.

Thank goodness.

We cleaned EVERYTHING. And we’ve been advised to get rid of any peanut products in the house for now. And I’m getting a new high chair, because it is impossible to clear all the peanut butter off of the one we have. (Lucy is a leisurely, messy eater. It’s beautiful to watch.)

And now, until we have our next appointment and can hopefully get a referral to an allergist to confirm what’s going on, we feel like we’re operating in the dark. I’m not too worried about the egg allergy. It’s apparently quite common in very young children and in many children will go away when they’re older. But peanuts? I’ve heard that one’s scary. Neither Graham nor I have any major allergies, and aside from checking food labels and being careful, I have no idea what to do here.

So, friends, do you have experience with peanut (and egg) allergies? How do you handle it? Know of any great peanut butter or egg alternatives? Have favorite recipes that use neither? (Seriously, cookies! I have to be able to make her cookies!) Have any good advice for how to approach this situation?

What I’m saying is: Tell. Me. Everything.

And also, thank you! I do, in fact, get by with a little help from my friends. And I’m so grateful!