We are a home effected by multiple Food Allergies, it has drasticly changed the way we eat, the way we cook and the way we live our lives - because food is such a big part of life. We socialize around food, celebrate with food and handle food all the time!
What happens when that food makes you sick or is life threatening? What do children with food allergies do at Birthday Parties, at School, Playgroup or a friends house where everyone around them is eating fantastic food that they can't have? Having to, especially as a child watch everyone around you eat a delicious treat is hard.
There are so many challenges on many different levels when Food Allergies are involved. Families faced with the challenges of feeding their children when so many foods are forbidden is mentally exhausting, it will test your abilities and creativity.
Our youngest child (Mr 2) Is allergic to Wheat, Dairy, Eggs, Tree Nuts, Peanuts, Honey, Coconut and sensitive/intolerant to Soy.
The multiple food allergies mean we have to carry an Epipen encase Mr 2 happens to come into contact with a food that can cause a life threatening reaction.
Most 'packaged' and pre-made food contain one or more of the forbidden foods. This means we have to cook and pack all his food when out, it's time consuming.
As a food allergies mother my worries go further than what I will cook for snacks and dinner for the week ahead, I worry about the toys he touches at playgroup, the books we read at the library, the equipment at the park. I worry that he will be offered food he can't eat, that curiosity will cause him to try 'Just a Little' or that his food allergies isolate him from his friends.
There for us was nothing that 'caused' Mr 2 food allergies, he never had any other medical conditions. It was only once he started to pass 4 months old that we started to face eczema and vomiting, just the foods I was eating effected him while breastfeeding. I was forced to cut out all the foods that had been identified he was allergic to out of my diet while nursing.
It's amazing how well Mr 2 comprehends his situation with food. He has been exposed to wheat and eggs and experienced how terrible he feels when suffering an allergic reaction. We only need to remind Mr 2 that "It will make you sick." for him to (so far) happily accept that the food is forbidden because - it will make him sick.
I'm determined regardless of the limitations to give Mr 2 a diet that tastes and looks just as good (if not better!).
Caroline
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