A fun week with my little man!

This week our beloved Ms. Betty is in Nicaragua on a mission trip, so with no childcare I had to stay at home...what a shame. LOL I have had so much fun spending time with Connor. It has been extra nice just to do things at a leisurely pace since things have been so hectic and crazy the past few months. Our house is finally in order after the hardwoods and kitchen were redone. A few minor things need to be done to be completely finished but the major things are complete. We have been playing outside in the kiddie pool and Connor is loving it this year. He is taking to the water much better than last summer. He seems to get a little more daring each and every year. Here are some pictures of him from Tuesday.

Today we did something that was not so much fun. We finally went to see an allergist since Connor has been battling a sinus infection for quite some time. The antibiotics finally cured him but the doctor and I thought it was about time we got some answers on his allergies once and for all. We got some good news and some bad news. Really it was a lot of bad news. The good news is that we now know what Connor is allergic to. The bad news is that he is allergic to EVERYTHING and there really isnt any thing we can really do to treat it until he is 3 or maybe 4 depending on what route we take. Seriously, there were only 3 things that he had a negative reaction to. His back had the biggest red whelps all over it and it was almost as unbearable for me watching him go through the skin test as it was for him going through it. He pretty much screamed for 20 minutes straight as they pricked and prodded him and then had to sit there for 15 minutes to see what kind of reaction he had. I had to restrain him so he couldnt itch or touch his back. Here are all of the things he is allergic to (half of them are things I cant pronounce)

Milk, Egg White (severe), Egg Yolk (severe), Corn, Soy Bean, Peanut (severe), Histamine, Cats, Dogs, DM Mix ??, Horse, Elm, Willow, Birch, Tag Elder, Oak, Pecan, Hickory, Walnut, Pine, Sycamore, Ash, Maple, Box Elder, Bermuda, Johnson, Perennial Rye, Timothy, Ragwood Mix, Mugwt Sage, Lambs Qtr, Kochia, Russn Thistle, Sorrel, and Chaetomiun

I really liked the doctor, he was one of those who doesn't sugar coat anything and gives it to you straight up. When he walked into the room after the test was over he looked me in the eyes and said, "He is going to have a pretty rough go of it." This wasn't good news to hear but I am trying to look at the bright side of things. At least it isn't a fatal disease or something that requires surgery, etc. He told me that there aren't alot of options for Connor since he is so young and allergic to so many things. He put him on a nasal spray to use every day of the year, along with Zyrtec which we have been using. He said he couldn't get the preferred allergy shots until he is 4 or 5. Since his allergies are so severe it would be more like 4. He said that we could do the allergy drops under the tongue starting at 3, but almost never administers those until children are at least 4. He said that in Connors case he would definitely start at age 3. He doesnt prefer the allergy drops over the shots but in Connors case would start something like the drops so we can start treatment a year earlier. The other bad news is that they aren't covered by insurance and can be very costly. At least $100 a month if not more. He told me to stop giving Connor milk and start giving a calcium fortified orange juice. This is going to be bad especially since Connor would prefer chocolate milk over anything else. Corn is also one of his favorite foods and one of the only vegetables he will eat. Please pray for us as we try and decide how to treat this and what we will feed him from day to day. I felt like things got so much better when he turned 2 and now we are starting all over again. I guess I will have to bring out the diaper bag again and pack it with foods and drinks anytime we go anywhere. Our hope is that Connor will outgrow this and eventually be able to live outside of his little bubble. Tomorrow we have to go and have blood work done so that they can see the severity of each allergy. We both thought that Connor had been through enough today, however I am dreading tomorrow like the plague. As soon as we see a doctor he starts crying and that was before today. I cant imagine what tomorrow is going to be like. Please say a prayer for our little boy!