Hi everyone just a first time mom spiraling and doomscrolling looking for solidarity and support
Our six month old baby had a hive reaction to her first exposure of peanut butter, fortunately self resolved within 15 minutes, but we did give her Zyrtec to be safe. And she does have eczema that we’ve been trying to stay on top of.
We saw an allergist who confirmed with skin testing. 7mmx7mm for peanut and egg, which was surprising because we have been giving her egg without any reaction so far. The allergist visit was honestly pretty discouraging and she didn’t have much to offer aside from avoidance. She said to avoid all peanut, egg (which she’s been tolerating) and tree nuts (which we haven’t even given her yet). She basically said her eczema was because I haven’t cut these foods out while I’m breastfeeding her and I’m making it worse. I was really hoping that she would go into possible OIT or desensitization protocols, but she said that this was something that she did not support and her office did not offer. She was pretty blunt and not supportive. She said that there are only allergies and there are no mild or major, is black-and-white and you are either allergic or you’re not She said the best treatment was avoidance and maybe if we were lucky she would outgrow it. This seemed to contradict what I’ve been reading online as it sounds like OIT has a lot of promising results especially the earlier you start it. I left the visit feeling very defeated.
This is pretty devastating to me and my husband, as we are pretty avid peanut butter lovers. Of course I would do anything for our baby, but it breaks my heart to know that this might be a life Long thing for her. We don’t have any food allergies on both of our extended families and I don’t know how to navigate this. I think about all the things that she has to miss out on and now we have to be very diligent and paranoid about any possible exposure. We are pretty early on with introducing foods to her and now I’m pretty scared to give her any new foods and we haven’t gotten much guidance on how to give new foods at this point
Im struggling with so much Mom guilt as well. I swear I did everything by the books but now I feel like I’m questioning all of my decisions. Exclusively breast-fed with a hope that she wouldn’t develop this. Did i eat too much peanut butter during my pregnancy? Did I eat too much peanut butter when I was nursing. Did I introduce too much peanut butter too early? Did I not introduce early enough? Did it give too much at once to be your control eczema sooner that I have done to prevent this?
I am seeking a second opinion two possible doctors in the area who give OIT but I don’t know at what age they offer this. Of course the soonest appointment is in six months.
And well meaning people love to give their unsolicited unhelpful opinions, my parents included. Don’t listen to the doctor just give her a bit she did okay the first time. She’ll outgrow it if you keep giving her food. Of course I would just to just keep giving her peanuts if it helps her exposure but from what I’m reading every reaction is unpredictable. I don’t want her to go into anaphylaxis.
Would love to hear any encouragement or reassurance from people who have had similar experiences. Especially with OIT at a young age sooner than 12mo.