Superbowl Party
We had a good time at our friends' house for the Superbowl party last night. It was just our church home group (a.k.a. care group)--three families at the moment.
When DH told Malamute Rescue Couple that I didn't want to have Baby E around corn chips, they were quite willing to substitute potato chips instead. There was no popcorn, either. Just lots of cookies, potato chips and dip, sub sandwiches and other snacks.
Nothing crumbly and corn-based, but of course nearly everything would have had corn and/or soy derivatives in it. We just tried to be as careful as possible about cross-contamination and exposure.
I brought some allergy-safe food to share, and everyone tried to be careful about not having traces of other foods on their hands when serving themselves from our safe food. Malamute Rescue Lady even swept the floor after most of the eating was done.
AJ and M&M had a fabulous time playing with the four kids close to them in age while the adults watched the game and visited.
Baby E slept in DH's arms for most of the game. When she finally woke up, she was in a great mood.
Baby E was especially excited to see her friend Baby H, who just turned 1. The two girls are already great friends.
##########
E kept making "baby" signs toward H, but when we would ask her if H was a baby, E's reply was an emphatic "NO!" I'm not sure if she was saying "baby" to refer to H, or if she was trying to tell H about her doll.
DH and Malamute Rescue guy had fun helping the two babies interact with each other.
The men in our care group are such tender, caring, involved fathers and husbands. They really encourage each other in that. One of them has a bumper sticker that says, "Real Men Love Jesus." These guys truly try to live out in their lives the idea that "Real Men Love." Of course, it's the women too, so I guess I should say "Real Christians Love."
We've been talking a lot in our church services and in our home group lately about the commandments to love God and each other, and how those two are intertwined. I hope it's true that one of the greatest signs in our lives that we are Christians is the love we show to those around us. That's certainly our goal, as individuals and as a group.
One of the most valuable things about our home group is the sense of family. Loving and supporting each other, encouraging each other in our spiritual walk and in living Christlike lives, holding each other accountable, praying with and for each other, helping each other in tangible ways, and studying the Bible together. That's what it's all about. It's a growth process, of course--one I'm really glad to be a part of.
Speaking of loving one another, Baby E even shared her precious doll with Baby H--something she doesn't do often. Baby E and Baby H kept handing it back and forth, cuddling and kissing it. H really loved the doll. After Baby E had been letting H hold her doll for a while, Baby H grabbed Baby E and gave her a big kiss. It was awfully cute.
Shortly after we got home, Baby E started saying "ow" and patting her head and her tummy, and then she had diarrhea. She slept through the night, but this morning she's grumpy, tantrumy to an extreme, and uncomfortable in her head and tummy. The mild rash on her cheeks has been a near-constant this week, so that's nothing new. But her behavior is consistent with a mild allergic reaction.
Even though we tried to be as careful as possible, apparently she got into traces of an allergen. It could have been from the floor, from one of the other kids' hands, or something like that. With that many people and that much food around, it was pretty much inevitable.
Short of keeping her in a bubble, it is truly impossible to keep Baby E from ever being exposed to trace amounts of her allergens. But we don't want her health issues to isolate her and keep her from ever doing anything. We want her to have as normal a life as possible--playing with friends, going places, sharing her toys.
We mimimize the risks as much as possible, and maybe we need to look at doing more handwashing (of both Baby E and the other kids) on occasions like this. But we have to balance the risks with the need for Baby E to be able to interact socially with people. It's not something we would do every day, but occasionally I think it is worth risking the likelihood of a mild reaction for Baby E to be able to take part in a valuable life experience.
Even though she feels miserable today, I think Baby E would say that getting to play with her friends last night was worth it.
When DH told Malamute Rescue Couple that I didn't want to have Baby E around corn chips, they were quite willing to substitute potato chips instead. There was no popcorn, either. Just lots of cookies, potato chips and dip, sub sandwiches and other snacks.
Nothing crumbly and corn-based, but of course nearly everything would have had corn and/or soy derivatives in it. We just tried to be as careful as possible about cross-contamination and exposure.
I brought some allergy-safe food to share, and everyone tried to be careful about not having traces of other foods on their hands when serving themselves from our safe food. Malamute Rescue Lady even swept the floor after most of the eating was done.
AJ and M&M had a fabulous time playing with the four kids close to them in age while the adults watched the game and visited.
Baby E slept in DH's arms for most of the game. When she finally woke up, she was in a great mood.
Baby E was especially excited to see her friend Baby H, who just turned 1. The two girls are already great friends.
##########
E kept making "baby" signs toward H, but when we would ask her if H was a baby, E's reply was an emphatic "NO!" I'm not sure if she was saying "baby" to refer to H, or if she was trying to tell H about her doll.
DH and Malamute Rescue guy had fun helping the two babies interact with each other.
The men in our care group are such tender, caring, involved fathers and husbands. They really encourage each other in that. One of them has a bumper sticker that says, "Real Men Love Jesus." These guys truly try to live out in their lives the idea that "Real Men Love." Of course, it's the women too, so I guess I should say "Real Christians Love."
We've been talking a lot in our church services and in our home group lately about the commandments to love God and each other, and how those two are intertwined. I hope it's true that one of the greatest signs in our lives that we are Christians is the love we show to those around us. That's certainly our goal, as individuals and as a group.
One of the most valuable things about our home group is the sense of family. Loving and supporting each other, encouraging each other in our spiritual walk and in living Christlike lives, holding each other accountable, praying with and for each other, helping each other in tangible ways, and studying the Bible together. That's what it's all about. It's a growth process, of course--one I'm really glad to be a part of.
Speaking of loving one another, Baby E even shared her precious doll with Baby H--something she doesn't do often. Baby E and Baby H kept handing it back and forth, cuddling and kissing it. H really loved the doll. After Baby E had been letting H hold her doll for a while, Baby H grabbed Baby E and gave her a big kiss. It was awfully cute.
Shortly after we got home, Baby E started saying "ow" and patting her head and her tummy, and then she had diarrhea. She slept through the night, but this morning she's grumpy, tantrumy to an extreme, and uncomfortable in her head and tummy. The mild rash on her cheeks has been a near-constant this week, so that's nothing new. But her behavior is consistent with a mild allergic reaction.
Even though we tried to be as careful as possible, apparently she got into traces of an allergen. It could have been from the floor, from one of the other kids' hands, or something like that. With that many people and that much food around, it was pretty much inevitable.
Short of keeping her in a bubble, it is truly impossible to keep Baby E from ever being exposed to trace amounts of her allergens. But we don't want her health issues to isolate her and keep her from ever doing anything. We want her to have as normal a life as possible--playing with friends, going places, sharing her toys.
We mimimize the risks as much as possible, and maybe we need to look at doing more handwashing (of both Baby E and the other kids) on occasions like this. But we have to balance the risks with the need for Baby E to be able to interact socially with people. It's not something we would do every day, but occasionally I think it is worth risking the likelihood of a mild reaction for Baby E to be able to take part in a valuable life experience.
Even though she feels miserable today, I think Baby E would say that getting to play with her friends last night was worth it.
Labels: allergies, just life, muddling motherhood, spirituality
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Posted by purple_kangaroo at 12:16 PM[Permanent link]
6 Comments:
The picture of the two girls is just too cute!
So lovely!
Is there a corn and soy free baby version of zyrtec available? ie: something you can give her prophylactically?
Ditto your sentiments on the care group. We lead a "care group" (We call them Life Groups - as Jesus is the Way, Truth, Life - and other places we've been to call them small groups - potato, potahto, lol) at our church and also did the super bowl party (our first mtg of the new groups - we reorganize every January).
Glad you had a good time, even if there was a minor allergic cost.
(hugs)
Thanks, Diane.
Liz, we are working on getting Benadryl compounded free of Baby E's allergens. I really hope it will work for her and that she tolerates it well. It would be wonderful to be able to give her something to help her get over allergic reactions faster and to make them milder.
Mommyham, I hope your group goes well this year. Starting up with a new group is always challenging and fun.
Glad you all had fun at the party. Thanks for sharing the photos. My daughter kept pointing excitedly to the screen and saying "Baby 'chair". That's her version of a sentence these days.
wow, you have your hands full.
peace be unto you and your family.
God is good
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