100th Post

When I logged on today, I noticed that this would be an historic post. Number 100. Ideally I would write something very reflective and/or profound, but instead I will write about WHEAT. Yes, friends, we are back to being a wheat-inclusive family after many moons. I took Clara to the allergist on Wednesday, and after four long hours we discovered that Clara's alleged wheat allergy was indeed a thing of the past.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the process of a food allergy "oral challenge" (as I was until just a few days ago), the appointment basically consists of a standard scratch test (allergens poked under the skin of the back) followed by eating ever-increasing amounts of the food in question until either a reaction occurs...or not. So first she ate a quarter teaspoon of Cream of Wheat. Then we waited for 15 minutes. Then she ate a half teaspoon. Then we waited for 15 minutes. Then a full teaspoon, then two teaspoons, then a tablespoon! Two tablespoons! You get the idea. We ended up with her eating a full cup (although there was mercifully a bigger jump between the cup and whatever came before than the tiny increments we started with). And everything was fine!

I actually had no idea how long the appointment would take and was therefore very underprepared to keep Clara hostage in an exam room for four hours. (Eventually I just resorted to letting her crawl around on the floor, which seemed so gross to me that I had to pretend I wasn't there and read a magazine instead; she, of course, loved it.) But all's well that ends well, as they say, and we have been gorging ourselves on all things wheat ever since. Animal crackers! Saltines! Graham crackers! Wheat bread! Biscuits! Nothing is off limits!

Of course, since CB still has her other allergies, we are still forced to be creative. Yesterday we had dairy free chicken and dumplings, and I will say that biscuits cooked with soy milk are actually quite good. When the wheat is back, everything is good.

We go back at the end of July for a re-test of eggs, milk, and peanuts, plus additional tests for fish/shellfish and tree nuts. I'm not keeping my fingers crossed, but I am hopeful...