Name That Rash!

our sweet girl snuggling with her bunny

she loves her cereal!

I'm so frustrated!!!

So after advice from a few friends regarding Kemble's rashes with the baby food, I decided that I would try some homemade food, in hopes that it was the processing or preservatives in storebought food that was causing her reactions. Oh, I forgot to mention, we tried applesauce on Tuesday (after a week of rice cereal with no rash) and it gave her a rash identical to the sweet potato rash almost immediately. It went away almost immediately too, but of course I was worried about a more serious reaction occurring all day afterwards. Anyway... today I mashed up a banana, mixed it with a little formula, and gave it to her. Unfortunately, she again broke out in a rash. It took a little longer to happen this time, in fact she'd pretty much finished them off before the rash appeared. The rash was slightly different this time, on just one side of her face and spreading down more towards her eyes... but still virtually the same type of rash: flat, red splotches. She loved the bananas, and I was so disappointed because I just knew this was our fix.

I haven't called the doctor's office.... when I called on Tuesday to see where to go post-apple-rash, the nurse really frustrated me. She said that a small, brief rash was "not something to really worry about". I disagree: obviously her body is fighting it, for whatever reason. I'm thankful that the rashes are small, brief and seem to be the only symptom, but that doesn't change the fact that it is not normal for a body to break out in a rash upon eating something, period. She then went on to say that I should hold off on apples and sweet potatoes, and keep trying things until we find something that doesn't cause a reaction, she said "try something totally different, like pears"..... Yes, because pears are totally different from apples?!?!. Call me crazy, but that sounds like a bad idea. Do you continually jump off a ladder to see which rung you can eventually jump off of without breaking a bone? Allergies are not something I want to mess with, because you never know how many introductions to a food will be the last one before a serious reaction occurs. On the other hand, if she is just a little hypersensitive to the foods, continual introduction could desensitize her, but I'm not going to assume that's the case until I have had a little more education than a nurse's opinion.

We have our six-month (wow!) checkup in 2 weeks, so I'll talk to Dr. Adams about it then I guess. I'm debating whether or not we should see a pediatric allergist, or wait and see what Dr Adams says and go from there. I know they say that to reduce allergies, wait until 6 months to introduce solids, so I don't know if that means that it's too late, or if we should just wait a little longer (being a month early, Kemble's adjusted age is still at almost 5 months, instead of almost 6).

I feel like since Kemble's been born, it's been one thing after another. First the prematurity/jaundice/anemia/etc, then the apnea and the second nicu stay, then we battled reflux issues, then the cold that wouldn't quit, and now this. I am so ready for some normalcy!! I realize that our problems are pretty mild, relatively, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm so ready to have a 100% healthy little girl!! My heart is so tired of aching with worry for her!