When You Give a Baby a Peanut

When you give a baby a peanut, it will cause her to have an allergic reaction. I mentioned Scarlett's possible food allergies in the babies' 9 month post. We had blood drawn after her 9 month check up, and the results came back a week later, positive for peanut and tree nut allergies. We immediately made an appointment with an allergist and picked up her prescription for an EpiPen. This morning we met with the allergist to discuss her results and management of her allergies. I want to jot this all down now while it's fresh in my brain. Maybe it will help someone going through the same thing we are, but mostly I'm sure I'll forget something and look back to this post later.

Her blood work came back positive for peanut, almond, and pine nut allergies, but negative for walnuts. She did have a reaction to walnuts and has eaten pesto on many occasions with no issue. The Dr. said when it comes to tree nuts, it's best to avoid all of them if even one test comes back positive. They are all so closely linked that any of them can cause a reaction even if an allergy hasn't been confirmed, hence her reaction to walnuts. So she will be completely nut free. No Chik Fil A, no Reese's cups, no Nutella. Sorry kid! Clark on the other hand needs to be exposed to as many nut varieties as possible. Since he hasn't had any reactions yet, it lessens his chance of developing an allergy if we continue his early exposure.

I had read mixed things as to whether limited exposure can help the body build immunity when it comes to allergies. I asked about that, and the answer is no. There is no evidence to show that continued exposure can "cure" a food allergy. Less than 20% of kids with nut allergies will outgrow them, and the only thing you can do is wait and see. On top of that, even though Scarlett's reactions have been very mild, any exposure could potentially be serious. So, strict avoidance it is.

When discussing why some kids develop food allergies and others don't, the doctor explained it like this: Children have a predisposition for allergies because of their parents. Rob's dander allergies mixed with my seasonal allergies and mild asthma as a child, predispose all of our kids to allergies. As babies they can develop eczema or food allergies and when they are slightly older then can develop seasonal allergies. Harrison has seasonal allergies, Clark had eczema, Scarlett gets food allergies, and so far Brooke has lucked out.

We won't be doing any further testing at this time, but she will get retested in a year and then again a few years later. For now we read labels like crazy and make sure she isn't exposed to any nuts. At the grocery store tonight I picked up a carton of vegetable broth, and sure enough it has almonds in it. In vegetable broth! Why? We have to have an EpiPen and Benadryl with her at all times. If we suspect she's been exposed we give her Benadryl right away. If she has a reaction, we are supposed to give her the EpiPen injection. I thought the EpiPen was mainly used when there was a serious reaction, and it should be, but in her case it's also used to prevent a serious reaction. I seriously hope I never have to give her an injection. I'm pretty sure I would be sobbing while stabbing her in the leg.

I know there are millions of people that deal with food allergies every day, but it seems daunting. More so than when I was cutting out milk and soy, I think because it could potentially be life threatening. We have been telling Brooke and Harrison how important it is that they don't share any of their food with Scarlett, and they seem to get it. Telling them their sister could die if they share their peanut butter toast is pretty easy to understand, even for a 4 year old.

If you have kids with food allergies, any tips for managing? Restaurants that are really great about handling food allergies, or places that are completely nut free?

Favorite Books - 4 Years Old

I know I've mentioned time and time again how much Brooke and Harrison love books. They have loved story time since the day the came home from the hospital. Reading to them is how I used to keep them happy at bedtime when we were waiting for Rob to get home from work. I am a firm believer that a kid can have too many toys, but never too many books. Their closet doubles as their library. and it's slowly running out of room. Pretty soon they are going to need a bigger bookshelf. There are a few books that have been on the favorites list for a few months now, so I thought I'd share. 

Beautiful Birds As the title says, this book is beautiful. The illustrations are amazing. We discovered this book through the library, and I immediately ordered a copy once we had to return the one we checked out.  It's an alphabet book that is sure to get kids interested in birds.

ABC-3PO Our whole house is Star Wars obsessed. This book adds kid friendly humor to the Star Wars alphabet. Definitely one of their favorites, and mine too. It's great when their favorites are ones I enjoy reading. The illustrations are pretty great also.

Hello My Name is Octicorn The first time I read this book I couldn't stop laughing. Harrison and Brooke still laugh every time we read it, even though a couple of the jokes are over their heads. I never complain about reading this one.

The Princess in Black This is actually a series of chapter books. There are currently 3 with another one set to release next month. H and B both love reading about Princess Magnolia and her adventures fighting monsters. These books are especially fun to read if you have a good monster voice.

If I Had A Gryphon We love all of the mythological creatures in this book! Maybe Tyson and Jules aren't so bad after all. ;)

Star Wars This series of books puts each of the Star Wars movies into 5 minutes of kid friendly reading. There are also companion books like "I am a Pilot" or "I am a Jedi." Harrison and Brooke both pick these to read frequently.

As an added bonus, I thought I'd throw in a few of our favorite Halloween books also. Peanut Butter & Brains is a new one this year. We love The Walking Dead, so this is a cute twist on zombies for H and B. Creepy Carrots is one I loved last year, and they were mildly into. This year they like it a lot more. We read Fright Club last year at Barnes and Noble, but didn't buy it until this year. They think all the little creatures are hilarious. Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet we borrowed from the library last year. They've been asking about it a lot lately, so I ordered a copy from a third party sell since it's out of print.

Scarlett and Clark - 9 Months

9 months! What?!?! How are we here already? 3/4 of a year. A close friend of ours just welcomed a new baby girl last week. There's nothing like holding a newborn to make you realize how little your babies aren't. As much as I love newborn baby snuggles, I am all about this age with Scarlett and Clark. They are mobile! They are crawling, climbing, opening and closing doors, discovering everything they can. We've done some minor baby proofing, but it is probably time to start locking up our cabinets.

 

Eating is a major focus of our days. The babies are eating 3 meals per day, and occasionally a snack as well. Breakfast is fruit and cereal or some other breakfast carb, occasionally eggs. Lunch is turkey, cheese, or yogurt and vegetables. Snacks are some type of baby food. Either a pouch, puffs, yogurt drops, etc. Dinner is whatever we are eating or steamed vegetables. Clark is not crazy about pouches, but Scarlett sucks them down. They have both decided they love water and gulp it down when given a straw sippy cup.

I mentioned during their 8 month posts that we are being extra cautious with food introductions. Scarlett still develops a rash if dairy gets on her skin, but no problems ingesting it. We tried peanut butter this month on two separate occasions. The first time Scarlett developed a full body rash. The second time she had no reaction at all. She did only have one bite the second time. They tried banana walnut oatmeal, and this caused a rash to develop for Scarlett, presumably from the walnuts. Clark has shown no reaction to any foods. When the babies were in for their 9 month well check, Scarlett had blood drawn to check for peanut and tree nut allergies. We are currently awaiting those results before we decide how to proceed.

We have been trying to transition from 4 nursing sessions during the day to 3. Some days it goes well, other days the post afternoon nap nursing session is a must. On days they do nurse after their 1pm nap, they skip their snack. They are both still nursing once or twice at night. Scarlett is usually up twice, and Clark once. The only time he is usually up before 4 am is if she wakes him.

Sleep is still pretty much the same. Naps at 9am and 1pm. They nap anywhere from 1-2 hours per nap. Nighttime sleep starts at 7pm. Clark wakes up between 4 and 6am and then is back to sleep until 7 or 7:30. Scarlett is skipping her 11pm nursing session much more frequently. She also wakes between 4 and 6am and then goes right back to bed until 7am. We dropped their cribs and got rid of their musical mobiles and crib bumpers this month. As soon as we got rid of their mobiles, Scarlett started sleeping longer more often. They were able to turn on their mobiles themselves and I thought that would help put them back to sleep if they turned on their music. In reality, the mobiles were making them more alert when they did wake, and making it harder to fall back to sleep. I definitely don't miss hearing Scarlett's mobile multiple times per night.

Clark

• crawls on hands and knees
• can go from crawling, to sitting, to standing with no issues
• is pulling up to his knees and sometimes feet
• is determined to figure out how to climb the stairs
• has his two front bottom teeth, and is about to get his top two any day
• just got the all clear to stop iron supplements
• is wearing size 12 clothes and size 4 diapers
• bites arms, legs, ankles, anything he can get his mouth on
• is like a big mouse. He loves cheese
• weighs 20 lbs 8oz
• is 29.5" tall

Scarlett

• is army crawling her way around the house
• loves to dance, and by dance I mean rock back and forth to music
• sings "ba ba ba ba" in response to Harrison singing to her
• loves closing doors and playing with the bottom drawer in our bathroom
• loves yogurt, and gets upset if you're eating some and not sharing
• is starting to show increased interest in story time
• wears size 12 cloths and size 4 diapers
• weighs 21 lbs 4 oz
• is 28.25" tall
• is holding at 2 teeth with no signs of any new ones making an appearance soon
• wakes up and immediately dirties her diaper almost every morning. Happy morning surprise for me ;)
• is spunky! I'm pretty sure when she is older she will be the ruler of the pack

Now that we're closing in on a year, it's probably time to start planning their first birthday party. Planning a party for a birthday that falls between Christmas and New Years has me a little intimidated. I'm not even sure when to fit in a party around all of the holiday festivities. That's a topic for another day though, and a challenge I'm sure we'll figure out. For now, happy 9 months babies! We are loving seeing your personalities develop. You are both so happy and full of life. Each day with you is truly a blessing.

Back to School

This morning I am sitting here in peace and quiet, enjoying my iced coffee while Scarlett and Clark nap. There's no screaming coming from the basement, Harrison isn't telling me he's hungry for the 5th time of the day while his unfinished breakfast is still on the counter, and Brooke isn't trying to talk me into letting her watch TV before she does her chores. My big kids are back at school today and as exciting as that is, I feel like our summer got away from us.

I had my "How the heck is it almost time for school to start?" moment a couple weeks ago. I realized we didn't make it to The Y pool all summer, we didn't spend nearly enough time at the park or splash pad, and there was not enough ice cream consumed by any of us. That's how things go when you have two babies who set your daily schedule, but I was determined to fit as much summer fun into two weeks as possible.

Ice cream for dinner. keeping the babies up past bedtime so we could have an extra half hour of time at the park, multiple zoo trips each week, one last day at the lake, staying up late to ride bikes in the cul-de-sac or draw with sidewalk chalk. I think we made it out of the house every day for some kind of summer fun.

Yesterday we closed out our summer break with one last lake day. We got home early enough to get everything ready for the first day of school today. They picked out their clothes, got backpacks ready, and we packed their lunches. Their teachers sent them home with Jitter Glitter, glitter to put under their pillows to help them with any night before school jitters. They were both so excited to sprinkle their glitter and get to sleep so they could wake up for school today. This morning Brooke was so excited to go, and then Harrison declared he no longer wanted to go. That's pretty typical for him.Once we got to school though, they were both ready. They both even skipped out on hugs and kisses goodbye.

They are going all day this year, and I'm already looking forward to picking them up this afternoon. Not before the babies and I have a nice quiet trip to Target where I don't have to hear anyone ask me if they can get a new toy after I've already told them no for the 589th time though. Happy first day of Pre K, Harrison and Brooke!

Why I Decided to Sleep Train My Babies

Sleep training is one of those push button topics of parenting. People's opinions regarding sleep training are almost as strong as their opinions on breast vs bottle. Most parents have a deep belief in one method or another, and if you don't agree with them, they're going to tell you about it. That's not always the case, but look at any Facebook parenting post, and you'll see how opinionated many parents are.

I know I was positive CIO, cry it out, wasn't for us. Then I had kids who refused to sleep without nursing before, during, and after their naps and nighttime sleep. While I could deal with the sleep deprivation, Harrison couldn't and eventually refused to let me help him to sleep. He wouldn't let me nurse him, rock him, snuggle him. We both cried for 5 minutes, and then a miracle happened. For the first time in his 9 months of life, he fell asleep on his own, and stayed asleep for more than 45 minutes. CIO worked really well and really quickly for Brooke and Harrison.

With Scarlett and Clark I wanted to avoid CIO. We made sure the babies had designated sleeping places, not our bed, and we put them down awake. We had babies who slept 8+ hours at a time by 2 months. I thought for sure we had lucked out and that maybe we actually knew what we were doing the second time around. Then the 4 month sleep regression hit.

We had moved the babies to their cribs for naps, and they were still sleeping in their rock and plays at night. Naps went from an hour or two to never more than 45 minutes. Clark went from sleeping 10 hours straight to waking every couple hours. Scarlett wouldn't sleep more than 45 minutes at a time, and as soon as I put her in her rock and play, she'd start to cry. I reread Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby, and we started light sleep training. Not cry it out, but checking and consoling until they would fall asleep. Clark is a much better sleeper than Scarlett, so she needed a lot more consoling.

3 weeks into sleep training, and we'd made zero progress. Scarlett was still up all night and wouldn't sleep for more than 30 or so minutes at nap time. She was constantly tired and was waking up Clark, making him tired too.

One morning while I was getting the babies ready for their first nap, Brooke came in and started pestering the babies and talking back to me. After asking her repeatedly to stop, she got lippy with me and I smacked her. She rarely gets smacked, so she wasn't expecting it. It threw her off balance and she fell off the bed. Talk about a parenting low. I still hate that I reacted that way.

It was a major wakeup call that things couldn't keep on the way they were. I was exhausted, the babies were exhausted, Brooke and Harrison were desperate for attention. Our entire lives were revolving around the babies sleep, or rather their lack of sleep. Starting that same morning we began stronger sleep training.

We decided we would let the babies cry for short increments and slowly let them cry more and more if needed. 5 minutes, then 7, then 10. Within a couple days, we were seeing major progress. Our naps were back to 90+ minutes. Night wakings started to settle into a predictable routine. We're not anywhere close to sleeping through the night on a regular basis, but that isn't the goal. Yes it's the end point, but I feel like sleep training is a process. I wanted my happy babies back who weren't exhausted. I wanted my sanity back, which I have, mostly. I wanted more time to spend with my big kids, which happens now.

Most nights and naps now, the babies go down without any or with minimal crying. When we messed up their routine with a week at the lake, we had to let some crying happen. They now know how to put themselves to sleep and can make it through sleep cycle transitions. When they wake up in the middle of the night, they still get to come nurse, just not every hour. If they are having a particularly bad nap, I'll let them come snuggle in our bed and try to soothe them back to sleep. It's not about ignoring them all night, it's about letting them learn on their own while still being there when they really need it.

So this is where we are. 7 months in, learning to sleep on our own, but still a ways away from sleeping 7pm-7am, although Clark has done it twice. Scarlett hasn't come close since she was 3 months old. For the time being we're very ok with still waking to nurse. We may revisit our decision again in a couple months, but for now it works for us.

I'm not sure where exactly I'm going with this post, but I feel it's important to talk about some of our not so great parenting moments, and to share some of our more controversial parenting choices. I know sleep training isn't for every family, but for some families it is the right option, and that's ok. It has turned out to be the right option for us with all of our kids. I'd love to hear if and how you decided to sleep train, and how old your kids were when they started sleeping that glorious 12 hour stretch. While we aren't pushing for uninterrupted nights, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to the day it does happen.

Scarlett and Clark - 7 Months

Seven Months! If last month was all about getting them into a more predictable schedule, this month was all about taking that schedule and messing it up. They proved that they are true champions and rolled with whatever we threw their way. We spent 9 days at the lake which was definitely not ideal sleep conditions. Then once we got back back home and into our usual routine, employee changes forced me to take them to work with me 6 days in a row. It was definitely not ideal, but thanks to their laid back demeanors and a helping hand from our niece, she's a life saver, we made it through the week without too many tears. 

They also had their first bedtime without me here. Even though they don't nurse to sleep, nursing is a big part of their bedtime routine. There may have been a few extra tears, but they rolled with the changes. It helps that our friends that were watching them are parents to two young kids and know what they're doing.

The babies are all about food. They definitely look forward to meal time, and have even come to expect it. If we are eating while they are in the living room, they will let me know they're not happy about it. They've tried cucumber, carrot, zucchini, broccoli, avocado, blueberry, nectarine, banana, kiwi, watermelon waffles, apple sauce, pasta, Happy Baby Creamies, and even a little ice cream. They seem to enjoy vegetables more than fruits right now. Zucchini and carrots are definite favorites. They are doing the whole hand grab to pick up their food, and they're getting pretty good at it. Now that they're eating a couple times a day, they're also getting sink baths a couple times a day. They love sink baths!

When we did have a day with nothing going on, we'd spend it at home trying to get in two good naps. Thankfully naps have become very predictable when we're home. Night time sleep is getting better too. Clark slept through the night, 7:30p-8a for the first time. It only happened once, but still awesome. Instead of waking three times a night, we're down to twice a night most nights, and sometimes only once. Even though I'd love to get a solid 8 hours, I don't mind that they are still waking to eat most nights. Especially with me being gone at work frequently, I think those 10-15 minute nursing and cuddle sessions are good for all of us.

Clark has been working so hard on trying to figure out crawling. He has perfected the backwards scoot, but can't quite get the forward arm movement going. Scarlett still shows zero interest in crawling, but she is doing really well at sitting unassisted. She can sit for 30-60 seconds before needing a balance check. I definitely wouldn't sit her up and leave the room, but she's sitting up while playing all of the time now. Clark can sit briefly on his own, but he'd much rather be on the floor working on his crawling game.

Clark

• still has zero teeth, much to my surprise
• loves sleeping in, and often has to be awoken in the morning
• started iron supplements after I requested his levels be tested. His RLS is almost completely gone
• still has cradle cap. Mostly it's just on the soft spot on the top of his head
• started steroid cream to clear up his eczema. His skin looks so much better
• is constantly distracted by my phone
• looks less like his brother each day. He still resembles Harrison, but they aren't mirror images anymore like when they were babies

Scarlett

• is a morning person. She wakes up so happy, and always before her brother
• has discovered the freckles and moles on my arms and chest. She tries to claw them off while nursing
• still shows zero interest in leaning to crawl
• is obsessed with screens. Surfing social media during nursing is becoming a thing of the past
• has a new favorite person. She lights up when Robbie comes in the room
• looks bald but has a full head of soft blond peach fuzz

I am really looking forward to the last few weeks of summer with these babes. August is my favorite month of the year. Now that they're starting to sit more reliably, I think there will be many pool and splash pad visits over the next month. Eating out is about to take on a whole new level of fun for these guys too. Exposing H and B to our favorite restaurants was so much fun, and I can't wait to do it with Scarlett and Clark. Indian food buffet, here we come! This is such a fun age of exploration and new experiences, and I can't wait to see these two take it all in.