no more needles

WOW... It has been some week.

Julianna Update:
8 months next week
one tooth has broken the skin
19 pounds


A couple of months ago Julianna started doing this cute thing where she pulled at her clothes, particularly the tummy. We just thought, how cute she doesn't like clothes. 
After it continued and she began to scratch her neck and the scratches were much more frequent that we decided to ask the Dr. about it. He suggested we get her allergy tested.

Tuesday morning we had an appointment at Heldberg Allergy center for J to get her tests. if you are wondering. If you have never had it done it is a very painful experience watching your child be poked and cry out in pain only to be unable to stop the pain. I told Julie (MIL) that I am so thankful that God has blessed us with a relatively healthy baby.  I need to pray more for parents and families that are struck with illnesses that are threatening the lives of their child.

Anyway, the office was very nice and extremely helpful with everything. Even when they stuck her they were so apologetic. They did 3 "panels" on Julianna's back, one for food related, one for animal, and one for outdoor items, each containing 8 items that could cause a reaction.

I think one of the worst parts was they had her face me as they pressed the needles in to her back. Oh, my goodness! They sweet little face with those big tears are enough to break my heart. I am telling you, if she could have talked I would have bought her whatever she wanted.

After review the test, they confirmed she has a pretty significant case of eczema and that is the reason for the red splotchy skin and her itching. When they reviewed the reaction it said mainly eggs and milk. They Dr. told me to cut down my dairy intake, the problem is... I don't eat a lot. We drink almond milk, I don't eat eggs unless they are cooked in something. They did find it interesting that she showed a reaction to the control test, which made them wonder if it was due to the eczema.
This led to a recommendation of a blood test to confirm what, if any, she is allergic to.

Wednesday was the blood test. They first tried her arm. After another loud scream and two sticks they couldn't find her vein. Next up they tried the ankle, where they only got one of the 10 cc's they needed. While she was screaming I noticed the nurse scoping out my babies head... I knew they were going for her head next. Poor Julie, this whole time she is crying and trying not to pass out at the sight of blood.
The nurse then told me the would have to strap her down and this really was the only option since J is so, "well Loved"- read: Chubby, that the couldn't find a good vein. I wanted to stay with her, but they told me I had to sit on the bench on the other side of the room, but couldn't hold her hand. At this point the other nurse told us we should probably go to the waiting room. I made the decision to leave, due to the fact that couldn't even touch her and all I could do in there was watch her suffer. It was really hard to go out to the waiting room and listen to her cry, but even more traumatic when they brought her out and she gave me a sad lip with the, can't catch my breath because I have been crying so hard whimper.

Now we wait...ten whole days to get the results.

On a much brighter note they gave us a prescription for lotion for J's skin and after 2 days I can see a huge difference. This is what they mean when they say baby soft!