Insect Repellent. Formula. Preschool.

Insect repellent. Formula refusal. Preschool and Ms. B

Insect Repellent

It’s been a busy month for Carter.  We went camping the last weekend in August. The weather was perfect but the mosquitoes weren’t. I wasn’t prepared for a bug problem since there weren’t any last time we went, but they were loving Carter. The local store had an all natural insect repellent whose main ingredient was citronella. I weighed the options and figured a reaction through skin would most likely be delayed and wouldn’t hit until we were already home. The alternative was a little boy covered in bug bites.

We applied repellent, careful to keep any from getting into his mouth. 2 hours later, like clockwork, he started to get cranky and irritable. Then his fever shot up.  His heart began to race. His breathing was quick and shallow. The reflux kicked in full force and he had several vomiting episodes. These symptoms lasted all night. By 7 am, he wasn’t any better. Carter and I came home, while the rest of the gang finished up the camping trip.

Carter napped from 1:30 to 5 pm and then slept from 7:20 to 8:30 the next morning. Lesson learned: Skin reactions can happen as quickly as ingestion reactions.

Formula Refusal

We are also battling a formula refusal. Carter usually drinks 24 ounces of formula a day. He went on a 5 day formula strike. By the fifth day, he barely had the energy to walk.  He finally laid down on the bed, asked to be covered with his blankie, and gave in to the formula consumption, drinking a full 6 ounces. It seemed to be his last resort. He is still not back to regular consumption amounts and we are working on finding a safe multivitamin and entertaining the idea of making our own coconut based formula.  I am wondering if the soy oil in the formula has reached a build up level that his system can no longer tolerate. More guessing. More detective work.

Preschool

Carter started preschool on August 23. He goes 2 days a week from 11:45 to 5 pm. I pack his lunch and his snack and he has goodies in case there is a special treat in class. He hasn’t cried at all when we drop him off. In fact, he cries when we pick him up! He genuinely loves going to school and it was one of the best decisions we have made for him.

When I picked him up on Thursday, he started telling me all about Ms. B. I asked him who Ms .B was and he said, “Me teacher”.  They are taking very good care of him. And we couldn’t be happier.

Ms. B got her first real FPIES experience when one of Carter’s classmates brought cupcakes for everyone.  Carter got to have one of his safe lollipops, but he kept asking for and pointing to the cupcakes. It was a hard situation for her, having to tell him no over and over and redirect his attention. When she relayed the story, she got tears in her eyes.

Just as Carter affects everyone he meets with his warm smile and contagious laughter, FPIES leaves its own mark. It is not just family that struggle with FPIES and it’s not just family that make an FPIES child’s care their priority.  We are all in this together.