Hiking, Gardening, and Allergens

We've had a fabulous weekend.

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Today at church, I actually tried putting Baby E in the nursery. She was making too much noise during the church service, so I decided to give the nursery a try. I haven't really done that since she got mobile, partly because I was afraid of her being exposed to allergens and partly just because she does fine staying with me at church. But now that she's walking, it's harder to keep her sitting still and quiet in church.

I had an opportunity to talk to the person in charge of the young children's services a week or two ago. She said they do have a few kids with food allergies. They're very careful to avoid exposure to allergens, and they do take food allergies seriously.

They were feeding the kids goldfish crackers in the toddler nursery today, so they suggested that I take Baby E over to the infant room. I explained Baby E's situation to the ladies there, and showed them how to use her epi-pen just in case. She did great--she loved being in the nursery, they loved her, and we didn't end up with any allergic reactions.

I even got to enjoy the communion service without having to worry about keeping her quiet. Last time we had communion I just stayed in my seat and reflected alone. But this time I stood in line with DH and walked with him while he got the elements. It made me feel part of the service a little more.

DH and I are going to find out whether we can keep some safe grape juice and crackers at the church that I can use for communion. For now, just taking part with prayer and reflection without physically taking the elements is working fine for me.

Yesterday DH was still not feeling well, so he and Baby E stayed home while my dad took the older girls and me hiking in the mountains, at his favorite fishing spot.

It was so beautiful, with the trees starting to turn color and the sunshine filtering through the evergreens. We hiked out to the river and then climbed over rocks and stumps to get down to the water.

The girls were great sports. AJ got wet up to her thighs, but loved it and kept going back for more. M&M kept slipping on the rocks and falling down, but she'd just laugh and get right up again.

It was especially fun for me being out with my dad, seeing the girls experience the same places I have such great memories of going with my dad as a kid. Some day soon, I hope we can actually go fishing up there.

On the way home, we stopped at my grandparents' farm. We enjoyed visiting with them, and we got to pick some fresh produce out of their garden and fruit from their orchard. It's so nice to have some fresh fruits and vegetables that I know are free of corn derivatives.

Baby E has been having a lot of low-grade allergic reactions this week. Friday night she was up several times earlier in the night, then was wide awake and fussy for 3 or 4 hours before finally falling asleep again around 7:30 a.m.

Several times lately she's ended up with all her classic symptoms--being up most of the night crying, pulling on her ears, etc.--and we haven't been able to pinpoint for sure what she was reacting to. When it can be something as simple as touching something contaminated and then putting her hands in her mouth, sometimes it's impossible to tell what's causing the problem.

I think we've finally identified two more sources of hidden corn and/or soy.

One is Hodgson's Mill flour--supposedly they dry-clean their machines between grinding different grains by running cornstarch through them. So the fresh bags of whole-grain wheat and spelt flour I opened last week are probably contaminated with small amounts of cornstarch.

Other mills probably use the same procedure, so we may just have to stop using any breads and crackers unless I've made them myself from flour I've researched and know to be safe, or Baby E has eaten them willingly several times without a discernable reaction. She often won't eat storebought products like that anyway, but when she does it's sometimes hard to tell whether she's having a reaction or what she's reacting to.

The other newly discovered problem food is maple syrup. I've been using maple syrup as a sweetener in quite a few things because it seemed like a safe thing and is a whole-food product rather than a refined sugar.

Baby E has always hated maple syrup--she immediately spits out anything that has discernable maple syrup in it. I thought she just didn't like the flavor, so I've been eating it myself and using it fairly extensively in baked goods, etc.

In doing some research to see if people with allergies to maple tree pollen usually have issues with maple syrup, I discovered something very interesting.

Maple syrup manufacture commonly includes the addition of a defoaming agent to keep the syrup from foaming too much or boiling over while it's being cooked down.

This anti-foam agent can be a few drops of lard, butter or cream, or--most commonly nowadays--vegetable oil or a commercial defoamer made of mono- and/or diglycerides. I am guessing that the vegetable oil is commonly soy or corn oil, and we know that mono- and diglycerides are often corn and/or soy derived as well.

So it's quite possible that maple syrup contains trace amounts of corn and/or soy.

As we well know by now, even trace amounts can be quite sufficient to create ill effects for Baby E.