Good-bye Peanut Butter - it's been fun!

I will admit that I would sometimes get annoyed with the "peanut-free" world we are at times forced to live in.  Sure in theory I completely understand why our schools, daycares, and camps need to be peanut-free however in practice there were days when life would have been so much easier if I could have just packed a PB&J sandwich for Cooper's lunch.

This all changed on October 20th when things "got real" in our house.  I had held off on giving peanut butter to the kids until they were 2 years old based on a combination of things I had read and advice from friends.  With Cooper I was a little more vigilant because he was the first child - with Miss Leah, I was still waiting until she was two but at the same time was not overly worried when she picked up a Honey Nut Cheerio off of the floor.  I had myself fooled that we had dodged this bullet.

So long peanut-butter toast!  Breakfast is looking a lot different these days!

So she'd been exposed to some things that contained nuts or that "may contain nuts" but I had never officially given her Peanut Butter. And let me tell you - we are a PB-loving family so for the most part I was just excited for her to finally be able to join the club.  Excitement quickly changed to concern when within 5 minutes of her having the PB she had broken out in hives around her mouth, and was rubbing her eyes like they were itchy.  There was no denying that she was having a reaction.  Luckily for us she was never in respiratory distress and within 30 minutes the hives were gone.

So for now we are awaiting testing but are living as if she has a peanut allergy.  I've started doing the research, have purged our cupboards and have started reading labels like a maniac.  As a precaution we carry an Epi-Pen (and pray that we'll never have to use it!)

Our fingers are crossed for this to all have been a fluke reaction - however we are prepared for the worst as we hope for the best. Regardless of how things turn out I now "get it" completely and am so grateful that I can send her to school or to daycare or camp and not have to hold my breath in fear - these places are safe and it's important that they be safe for all children.