So, we recently learned that Cassie is allergic to milk and nuts. It wasn't a huge surprise, since all sorts of allergies run in our families, but we were certainly hoping that she'd somehow escape it! The doctors say she'll likely outgrow the milk allergy before age 2, and the nut allergy is more mysterious...we'll just have to wait and see. Poor Erik could hardly believe it - a life without peanut butter? HIS daughter??? He could live on the stuff! At least she doesn't know what she's missing, right?!?For now, though, Cassie is having lots of fun trying out new foods such as soy yogurt, Italian ice from the ice cream shop, avocados, and even soy ice cream sandwiches, as seen in this pic! I've learned to skim every label for the off-limits items of whey, casein, peanuts and tree nuts. It's amazing how many items contain milk and/or nuts! Things I would have never guessed, like toast or toddler chicken sticks. Even a little corner of a baby biscuit will cause Cassie to break out in hives - tiny traces of milk in there. But with the increased focus in recent years on organic foods and using specialty diets to treat certain illnesses (such as avoiding gluten and casein as a way to help treat autism, as Jenny McCarthy's latest book discussed) - there are actually tons of great food options out there now for kids with food restrictions. They make soy-based everything! Who knew? We're hoping this isn't something Cassidy will need to deal with forever, but if her allergies happen to stick around, we're happy to see that it would be very easy for her to manage.
