I Learned My Lesson Well

My husband Philip is observing the Catholic tradition of Lent. That means for the next month, on Fridays the only meat he'll eat is fish. So last night because of Jonathon's physical therapy running late I stopped and got him some fish and chips instead of making some kind of cheese, fish or veggie thing.

  Background on moi. I'm allergic to shell fish and after exposure to it several times throughout my life.. it's gotten worse every time. Now, it's not like I do it on purpose. Sometimes rice or another food is cooked in the same pot, strainer, or vat or they used the same spoon and I can have a reaction that way. If that's the case it's not as bad as eating it outright. I've even had a reaction when I kissed my husband and he had had shrimp hours before. Because of my allergy I really try to stay away from restaurants that cook shell fish in the same area or kitchen as other food (fast food joints are the worst.. they have small kitchens). I've scared many a waiters asking questions about how they cook their food and where and in what pot.

 Okay, now were back to last night. I brought it home and added the fish to the table along with our leftovers that we had. (It was late and everyone was starving) We put Kaylee in her high chair and occasionally we would give her a small bite of something from the table. The only thing she'd never had before was the fish. She only had about 5 tiny pieces.

 The next morning I'm getting ready for a day with the sisters at church and I notice some red blotchy marks on her legs. Philip undressed her all the way and sitting before us was a baby covered with a welt like rash. The first thing that came to my mind was.. fish... She must be allergic to it as well. Then I started to recall an article I had read in a baby magazine stating that you should wait until the babies 1st birthday before introducing foods like fish.

  Needless to say I felt terrible about inflicting the same thing I've experienced on my baby. I totally knew how she felt. I ran and got some Benadryl and gave her 1/2 teaspoon. After a couple of minutes discussing it with Philip I decided to take her in to the ER and have her evaluated and make sure her throat wasn't swollen.

 After disproving NW Hospital's "15 min pledge" she was seen by a doctor. He said that the Benadryl was the thing to do and all was good with the muchkins lungs and throat. 

 So since then her rash has gotten a little worse and she's a little fussy. But she'll make it.. even if her mom has momentary brain gas at times.

The pictures aren't very good. I snapped them fast and I was trying to keep her from taking a head dive off the couch.