HIVES!!!

Don't know why he got them but Jax broke out in severe hives after his piano lesson tonight. Doctor thinks it either could be from the cold virus he has been fighting for 5 days, the cold medicine we have been giving him, or something environmental at his music class. He is on Benedryl tonight and they are almost gone. Thank goodness.  Very scary for momma. 

Food Allergy Test Results

The test results are in and it wasn't what we thought. It seems that Jaxon is allergic to citrus fruit (oranges, lemons, grapefruit, etc.). It was one of the only things that was in his blood stream at the time of testing to cause a strong enough reaction. We still believe him to be allergic to dairy but since we restrict his diet there was no evidence of it even in his bloodstream. We will continue to restrict dairy and add oranges to the list since we don't feed him lemons or grapefruit really. He was eating almost daily at least one serving of oranges either at home, daycare, or grandma's house. It will be something he misses for sure.

I need to ask about the level of this allergy since citric acid and lemon juice are added to many products as preservatives and/or for vitamin C supplementation.

Food Allergy Testing

This past week Jaxon has developed a mild eczema rash and a bought of restlessness. I suspect that his daycare is not following our request that he not be served any dairy. He was listed as having pizza and milk on Friday at school. Because of this he has had trouble falling asleep and seems to be abnormally wound up. I took him to the doctor today and they feel that he is old enough for food allergy testing. We suspect that milk is one of the major culprits behind the rash but the doctor wonders if he may also have a wheat allergy as well. We completed the test right there in the office (a simple finger prick), which Jaxon handled very well. We have to wait two weeks for the results but it may give us some good information to help Jaxon be more himself again.

If he is then it is a good time for us all to revamp our diet. It has been recommended that I also go on a yeast free diet to help my sinus and ears from being constantly congested. Maybe this is what we all need to be healthier. More to come...

Mystery Solved #2: Roseola

We have had the worst couple of weeks lately. Jaxon first had a UTI and then less than a week after finishing his antibiotics for that he got a really high fever--about 102.7. Funny thing is that there weren't really any other symptoms except lethargy and fussiness. It all started on Saturday. By Sunday he was so lethargic, feverish, and miserable that I took him into the Children's Hospital After Hours Clinic in Bellevue. They tested him for another UTI (negative) and for the Flu virus (negative). He had no signs of an ear infection but had a high fever and just looked horrible. They said he must have some virus and sent us home. He continued to have a fever for two more days. Drew and I were both beside ourselves with worry. The unknown factor and the level at which Jaxon was sick was hard to endure. Finally this morning he woke up for the first time in 5 days without a fever and seemed to be mostly back to normal in terms of his energy and personality. I went to work happy knowing that my little guy was feeling better again.

I came home from work today and went to go pick him up from his crib after his afternoon nap to find him covered from head to toe with a rash. I was immediately concerned and thought to myself "jeesh, how much can this kid go through? Now he has a rash. Ughh." I called his pediatrician and left a message for her to call me back. I looked rashes up on the Dr. Sears website to see if I could figure it out. From the descriptions I determined it was Roseola. A few minutes later his doctor called back and said immediately that it was Roseola before I could even suggest it.




Jaxon's rash
It was such a relief to finally have an explanation for his mystery fever and then rash. Luckily the worst part of it is over and the rash should go away within the next few days.

Hopefully this is it for awhile. We all need to some rest. :)

Mystery Solved: UTI/Bladder Infection. :(

Jaxon has had a fever for the past few days and has been increasingly more fussy during the day, as well as in pain at night. We thought it was teething. Then we took him to the doctor on Thursday thinking it may be an ear infection. It wasn't an ear infection so our doctor thought it was maybe a small virus. Yesterday, he continued to be more fussy. At times he was inconsolable. Last night I put him in the bathtub for his nightly bath. He loves baths. Not last night. As soon as his little butt hit the water he was climbing the wall screaming to get out. He began to pee as he did this and wailed the entire time he was urinating. Then it stopped. The peeing first and then the crying. It was the first clue to what might be wrong (finally). I put Jaxon to sleep pondering this evidence.

Then he awoke an hour later. Crying. I comforted him to sleep. Then he awoke an hour later. Crying. I comforted him to sleep again. This cycle continued the whole night. It was a very long night for us. The only person he wanted was me. So I, again, did not get much sleep. It was pretty easy to get him back to sleep once whatever bothered him enough to wake him ceased. It just kept waking him up. The peeing. :(

This morning he woke up at the crack of dawn (literally-it wasn't even light out yet). I tried to change his diaper but he began to scream in pain as pee sprayed everywhere. He continued to cry until the peeing stopped. It was so bad that Drew got up to come help me. I had my proof. I needed to call the doctor but it was 6:00 a.m. on Saturday so I decided to wait until after his first nap.

After his first nap Drew went in to get him and change his diaper. The same exact thing happened. I called the doctor straight away. We met her down at her office an hour later. Fortunately for us, Jaxon peed everywhere during the examination right after I sterilized him and the doctor was able to catch it in her sterile cup. He cried through that as well. Otherwise we would have had to tape a sterile bag to his you know what. She got enough for two lab tubes to be sent off for testing and for a test strip dipping. That test strip confirmed that Jaxon has some sort of infection in his urinary tract system. Most probable is a bladder infection but we won't know exactly until the lab results are in in a few days. We decided to start him on antibiotics and an analgesic for the pain. He will also be drinking some 100% Blueberry Juice to make his system inhospitable to the bacteria and some Throat Coat Tea for his tummy and throat (the medicine can be upsetting to his tummy--the throat tea has the same ingredients for the tummy but tastes better). Hopefully, tonight he will be able to sleep a little better and my baby will no longer be in pain. It has been so hard not to be able to help him especially with something he has to do and has no control over yet. The worst part was not knowing what was wrong for a couple of days. There was just no way for him to tell us until it was painful enough. So sad.

On a side note...while we were there I was able to weigh him (for dosing information). He weighed 19 pounds 12 ounces give or take an ounce. He moved too much to get an exact reading (as usual). He remains in the 25th-50th percentile for weight. I think he will be around 20 pounds at his 9 month appointment in a week and a half.