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Feeding Food Allergens to Siblings
“How are we supposed to do this?” I sobbed. I was sitting on our bed, venting to my husband while blowing my snotty nose. We had just started introducing peanut butter to our second child, which was one of our daughter’s food allergies, and my anxiety was racing a hundred miles per hour. How long…
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A Food Allergy Mom is Always On
What food will be there? Will they take the food allergies seriously? Does this have nuts in it? Wait, why is this label different than last time? Is the staff at kids camp trained on epis? Will this restaurant be able to accommodate us? Our neighbors invited us over for a BBQ, how can I…
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Food Allergy Grief is a Real Thing
Give sorrow words. The grief that does not speak whispers the o’re-fraught heart, and bids it break. – William Shakespeare Unlike the wise words of Shakespeare, I’m a master suppressor of emotions. I don’t usually use words to express my sorrow. Instead, I suffocate them. If anything feels uncomfortable, I bury it deep down inside…
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How to Call Companies About Food
I like to call companies in my spare time so that I can ask questions about how they manufacture their foods. Listening to the alluring voice of a robotic automated service makes my heart skip a beat. The adrenaline starts pumping as I type out a bunch of numbers in an attempt to reach a…
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10 Comments That Broke My Mom Heart
“Katie, be careful with your words. Words are kind of like toothpaste. Once it’s out, you just cannot put it back in.” When I was little, that verbal reminder usually came about because I was yelling at my brother for stealing and beheading my Barbie dolls. My mother would first listen, then pull me aside…
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Food Allergies and the Playground
When your child is diagnosed with food allergies, all of a sudden, regular, everyday things, like going to the playground, become something you wonder about. I had never noticed the amount of food at playgrounds until my children were diagnosed with food allergies and we started to venture out to public parks and playgrounds. One…
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Managing a Food Allergy That’s Not Top 8!
Without a doubt, living with an allergy to a Top 8 food is difficult. Conversely, managing an allergy that is not on the Top 8 list can add a whole new level of complicated. If you are new to the allergy world, you might even be wondering what a “Top 8 allergen” or “non-Top 8…
Food Allergy Mom
Support from two moms who’ve been there