Diary of an At-Home-Food-Challenge

Note: There are two to three actual "days" between each day recorded as I decided to start out giving him something every two to three days.

Day 1 - After soliciting advice from other parents I settled on starting our challenge with Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Bars which contain non-fat dry milk. I broke off a piece and asked him to have a bite. Much drama and face making. He finally puts it in his mouth the whole time making yuck faces. I only get one bite in him. He says "Watch me closely Mom. In case I get sick." Yeah, like I didn't want to just sit and stare at him with the Epi in my hand. After a while I asked if he was itchy. Yes, he said. I little spot on my knee here and on the back of my hand....
"Are you itchy in your mouth, throat or lips?" "No." No hives or vomiting followed. I breathe a sigh of relief.

Day 2 - I try a Nutri-Grain bar again. I can't get more than one bite in him. No reactions.

Day 3 - I decided to switch tactics in order to get him to eat more. I make Bisquick biscuits using 2% cow's milk. He eats the entire biscuit and asks for another. I laugh and tell him we will need to build up to 2 biscuits. No outward reactions.

Day 4 - I do biscuits again. They seem to have already lost their appeal. He only eats half of one. No reaction.

In between Day 4 and 5 the weather heats up, the pollen starts to fly and Max spends most of the weekend outdoors. The windows are wide open and everything in the house is coated in a fine green dust. Saturday I notice Max's face looks puffy.

Day 5 - Already tired of making biscuits I buy some plain Goldfish Crackers. Max looks terrified at the thought of eating Goldfish Crackers. Have I really instilled this much fear in him. I explain I can't always make biscuits. These aren't the cheese kind they just have milk baked in them. He eats two, thinks about eating a third but doesn't. His face looks horrible.

By Monday (yesterday) morning his face is so puffy his eyes are becoming slits. His cheeks are red and rough. I call the allergist. Though it is probably pollen related she asked that we postpone the challenge as we cannot tell right now what he is reacting to. So there ends the food challenge and thus began the frantic me, closing up the house yesterday, turning on the air, vacuuming, dusting, mopping, and changing bed clothes. I'm exhausted.

I gave him Claritin and Nasonex last night. He already looks better.

Ace of Cakes

Today Max requested a Bakugon shaped cake for his Bakugon themed birthday party. I pondered how this would be possible and thought of Ace of Cakes (awesome TV show) and fondant. Then wondered if fondant was allergen free. Apparently it is just sugar and water. Then I found this recipe for fondant. And now I am pondering if I can really make a Bakugon cake ala Ace of Cakes. Hmmm. What a challenge. Problem is I will be coming off of 5 1/2 weeks of an intense teacher training course. Will I be up for a challenge the end of July?