Last June, I published a post about Levi’s spit up, calling him  “Sir Pukes- a- Lot.”  Oh, how I long for the day when he was just puking!  Since then his puking has found a diagnosis.  Yes, it seems Sir Pukes- a- Lot has company; others have been afflicted with the same regurgitating phenomenon: experts call it “reflux” (or GERD).

Oh, but this wasn’t the extent of Levi’s afflictions.  No, Eczema soon came on the scene, a skin condition resulting in dry, rashy patches of skin.  In between wiping up puke streams and puddles, I shook my head and lathered the boy with the creams and lotions recommended by our doctor.   

When we went in for his 9 month well check,  Sir Pukes-a-Lot hadn’t gained an ounce since his 6 month check up.  I was now sufficiently freaked out.  The doc seemed slightly concerned, asked us to feed him more protein and fat, and to see us in a month to check his progress.

What’s that?  Did she mention the eczema and reflux may be related?  Did she caution us about food allergies?  No; but in her defense, perhaps she thought I had more sense.  Maybe she thought I would actually pay attention to recommended dietary guidelines for infants.  I wish I had.  Instead (a little distracted with a new pregnancy and a new home search), I only briefly researched this GERD thing, and hoped Levi would grow out of it soon. 

A few weeks later- sure that Doc wouldn’t object too much to introducing eggs early if they might fatten the scrawny fellow, I fed them to him scrambled.  That’s when we learned that Levi also had food allergies.  Thank heaven for Benadryl; Levi survived Anaphylactic shock at ten months old.  Here he is around that time, just before the idea of Levi being in the fridge would give me a heart attack:

I crawled into the Doc’s office that afternoon mortified.  She was kind, reassured me, and prescribed an epipen. 

Now, if your a parent with a child like Sir pukes a Lot, I can tell what you’re thinking.  You’re thinking:  This is the part where she refers me to an allergist for further evaluation and testing for other allergies, right?  This is the part where she mentions that dairy in my diet may be contributing to the excess vomit coming from the nursing baby, right?  Surely this is where she mentions that reflux, eczema, and food allergies often come as a package deal,  (along with asthma, by the way- I might want to watch out for that); she’ll explain this is all something called “atopic.”  She’ll give me a pamphlet, or refer me to a web site or something…..

Sorry to disappoint, readers.  Not one of those things happened.  If they had, things the following winter might have gone differently….

(This post to be continued.  Watch for future post on “Mr Sickley”)