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Did I Fail My Child With Food Allergies?
Last week, I felt like absolute garbage. More specifically, I felt like diaper trash that had just been ignited inside a dirty dumpster. And I don’t mean that I felt physically ill. I felt mentally and emotionally HORRIBLE. I was a gross, stinky, dumpster fire mess. Honestly, I had more colorful words to use, but…
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Disney World with Food Allergies
We did it! Family trip to Disney World, check! Admittedly, I was very nervous. My husband and I have two young children (ages 4 & 2) and they both have food allergies. The idea of navigating food for an entire week away from our home was truly intimidating. We rarely eat out as it can…
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Self-Compassion as a Food Allergy Mom
“Self-compassion is key because when we’re able to be gentle with ourselves in the midst of shame, we’re more likely to reach out, connect, and experience empathy.” – Brene Brown Mmmm. Reread those words and let it sink into your soul for a moment. To this food allergy momma, that quote is a soft lullaby…
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The 3 Things My Food Allergy Family Needs
I am absolutely terrified of being in water. Specifically, lakes, rivers, and the ocean. I’m mostly okay with pools. Mostly. And for anyone wondering, I do promise I shower and practice healthy hygiene habits. Mostly. 😉 Kidding aside, why this fear? Well, there are many reasons. Murky waters, creepy looking fish, things with teeth, and…
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6 Food Allergy Tips for Eating Out
“Let’s just stay home.” This is how I felt during the first couple of months after my sweet 8 month old baby was diagnosed with food allergies. The amount of information I was learning about food allergies was like drinking from a fire hose. Every instinct in me wanted us to cocoon around our family…
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7 Food Allergy Safety Tips for Family
After my daughter was first diagnosed with food allergies, my husband and I grieved. But what we didn’t expect was that it would also greatly impact my parents emotionally. I think they cried and researched information as much as we were for the first few months. For all of us, it reactivated medical trauma we…
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I’m Not Sorry For Our Food Allergies
I remember the first time I ordered food for my son in a restaurant. First of all, I was terrified. Second of all, I was pretty new to the food allergy advocacy world. I was still trying to figure out what I even needed to ask for and I had not had a lot of…
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My Food Allergy Trauma Responses
“After all, when a stone is dropped into a pond, the water continues quivering even after the stone has sunk to the bottom.” ― Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha Memoirs of a Geisha is hands down one of my favorite books of all time. Such an incredible story told through bone shattering trauma and pain.…
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My Secret Fear as a Food Allergy Mom
“Lauren, worry comes with the territory.” I had heard this probably a thousand times before I became a parent. In my twenties, I worked with teens and their parents. Often times, the parents would say something to me along these lines in a light-hearted tone. It was almost as if they were saying, “You just…
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Food Allergy Parents Are Not Overreacting
“Katie, calm down. She didn’t eat any of it. It’s really not a big deal.” We were at a family gathering and my daughter had her own safe meal. However, my toddler, fast as lightning, reached over and grabbed food off of another child’s plate. I was concerned about possible cross-contact with her allergens based…
Food Allergy Mom
Support from two moms who’ve been there