Going Bananas

Just when I was getting cozy with the idea that our food trials were as ways off, I got a call from our pediatrician...

Dr. Boyce called to go over some results of Claire's labwork... Or lack thereof. Apparently, the celiac test was never performed because the blood sample was "too fatty". My heart stopped a second. The nurse at the allergist's office said everything was normal... Apparently, everything ELSE was normal. Dr. Boyce believes that (based on my description of our dramatic blood draw), because they stuck Claire in a particularly chubby part of her little arm, they extracted some fat in addition to the blood. While I like where his head is at, a "contaminated" sample is just one more thing that strays from "the norm". Nothing is simple... He didn't order a second celiac test because there is nothing in her medical history that would lead him to suspect that she has celiac disease. Namely, she's never eaten gluten and, therefore, never reacted to it. In conclusion, we decided to bring all this up with Dr. Liekly at Riley Children's to let him decide.

As soon as we established a likely cause for the "fatty" blood draw, I unloaded my list of questions on him. I know that he isn't an allergist and his areas of expertise are much more broad and much less specific in the allergy department, but I appreciated him listening-- even if I didn't totally agree with everything he said. It's just further proof that you can't take everything the doctor says at face value. We are our children's advocate, and we have to educate ourselves as such.

I told him that I was waiting to try solids with Claire until her appointment with Dr. Liekly, the day before her 7 monthiversary. I also told him that I was concerned that she wasn't getting all the nutrients that a baby of her age should be getting. Her appetite continues to increase and I'm worried that our exclusive breastfeeding isn't going to satisfy her much longer. He encouraged me to start solids now... I know that nothing is going to change between now and February 9th as far as my own fear goes. I also know that it's very possible that the ATOPY testing might be a ways off. Is it fair for me to keep her on a solid food strike simply because I can't bare the thought of sending her into another episode? For all I know, our triggers have already revealed themselves and the rest of the food world is her oyster... I guess we'll find out tomorrow...or the day after, or the day after that... It looks like we're starting with bananas tomorrow--that is, if I don't go totally bananas first. Breath....