A couple of Fridays ago, Braden’s teachers called us because he may have eaten a peanut or something else that was in the same container. When Brian arrived, Braden seemed shaken up, but only because the teachers were so closely monitoring him.

When we got home, Braden’s eyes puffed up slightly, and the doctor’s office said to give him some Benedryl (the first sip he puked up, but he swallowed the second sip just fine) and to monitor him. Fortunately, he didn’t have any trouble breathing, and he seemed in better and better spirits as the day progressed.

We think that Braden didn’t actually eat a peanut but maybe a raisin or whatever else was in that container. In the meantime, we got another refill of his EpiPen.

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Braden no longer drinks his soy milk. This just occurred over the past week or so. He won’t tell us why he doesn’t like it anymore. He has proven he would rather be extremely thirsty than to drink even one drop of milk.

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Braden is getting better and better at potty training. At home, he’ll often head to his potty to pee (sitting down) without our prompting. He still won’t poop in the potty, though.

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Carson smiles so much more easily than Braden ever did. When we smile at Carson, he’ll often smile back. He’s also discovered his thumb, and he’s able to calm himself down by sucking on it (Braden never did this).

Journal allergies, potty training

Braden turned three two Fridays ago (Feb. 3). We submitted his photo to Ch. 3 News (our CBS affiliate), and he liked seeing himself on TV.

We had a birthday lunch planned, but Brian had a bug and was sick all day. Braden had the bug first; he came into our room Monday night covered in vomit. On Tuesday, he seemed fine, but he vomited when he got to school, so Brian took him home.

Kristin was then sick on Wednesday and Thursday. Fortunately, Carson avoided being sick!

Anyways, we rescheduled Braden’s birthday lunch for the following Sunday at the Nitty Gritty. It was nice to have both sides of the family there. Braden loved his presents.

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We bought the book “Bringing up Bebe,” which is about French parenting. While we’ve only gotten through the first three chapters, we’ve already implemented the “pause” technique. Instead of rushing over to Carson every time he makes a noise at night, we wait to see if he’ll fall back asleep.

Indeed, the majority of the time he falls back asleep. The book says that parents are the ones screwing up the sleep cycle for their newborns by tending to them too often. Babies need to learn to fall back asleep on their own. In most cases, Carson just has gas/poop.

Currently, Carson only wakes up once per night for feeding; previously, he got up 3-4 times a night!

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Braden is very clever. Before, when he needed to reach something, he would pull a chair over. Now, to reach things even higher (like his animal crackers), he’ll use a broom.

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At Braden’s allergy appointment a few weeks ago, the doctor said that Braden’s dairy allergy is subsiding. Currently, we’re giving him just a little bit of real milk or even cheese each day. So far, he hasn’t had a negative reaction. We’re hoping to keep desensitizing him (as opposed to building up his tolerance).

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We had portraits taken of both Braden and Carson a couple weeks ago. Braden did surprisingly well; Carson had a few shots with his eyes open. We’ll order some soon!

Journal allergies, birthday, photos, sick, sleep

Braden had his one-year follow-up allergy appointment last Thursday. As it turns out, he’s still allergic to peanuts and tree nuts (even more so), as well as dairy. However, the doctor believes Braden will outgrow the dairy allergy, since the levels were so low.

Meanwhile, the doctor gave us the OK to give Braden a little egg (one-fifth teaspoon)–the levels were very low, and Braden had already had it when it was baked into foods. So we gave him a little scrambled egg on Sunday, and he did not have any negative reaction.

We will slowly increase the amount of egg over time, and hopefully he will still be fine. We’re also praying he gets over his dairy allergy by next year.

Just in case, we also purchased an EpiPen in case of any accidental exposure.

Journal allergies