Airplanes and Peanut Allergies

Today was an interesting day!!!

This morning we took Grammy to the airport.  She is going to kentucky, where I will meet her shortly for a girls trip with my sister and aunt.  More details on the trip after this weekend!!!   At the airport the kids (all 5 of them) really wanted to go see the airplanes. I knew I was not talented enough to take 5 kids into a busy airport by myself. So, I settled on terminal 4 parking. We drove to the very top and parked. It was perfect. We spent 20 minutes watching the planes land and take off. We had a perfect view of the planes taking off.  It's funny what I find myself justifying as entertainment these days.  But, it was a different and fun way to spend the morning.

Lunch on the other hand was different but not fun.  I decided to give the kids pb&j sandwiches today.  It is the first time I have ever done so because Arlo does not like pb&j.  But we are in a major lunch funk right now and I was willing to try pb&j again to see if taste buds have changed.  Well, taste buds have not changed and I find out Cohen does not like them either.  My boys are very picky eaters.  While getting the other kids cleaned up and trying to find something else for my boys to eat, I notice Cohen rubbing his eyes... hard.  By the time I get Arlo fed and down from the table I notice Cohen's face is all red and splotchy.  At this point I realize Cohen is having an allergic reaction to something and I need to do something.  Cohen only ate grapes, raisins, pretzels, yogurt and 3 small bite attempts at the pb&j sandwich.  He has eaten all the other things on a regular basis so the only thing I can think of is the peanut butter.  I wanted to call someone to see what I should do.  At this point he is breathing fine, just itchy and red all over even on his chest.  I have not yet needed to get a pediatrician for the boys since we have moved so I could not call his doctor.  Since he is breathing fine I did not want to call 911 so I called the closest urgent care to see if I should bring him in or just give him Benadryl.  The urgent care nurses stressed the protocol, but they tell me with peanut allergies it usually gets worse before it gets better.  OK... that worried me, at the same time Cohen starts making a weird noise with his throat.  Now, I started to get downright panicked.  I load up all 5 kids as fast as we can manage, while locking the door without having my keys, so I have to rush to find our hidden spare run around the house, get back inside and get my keys and finally lock up and go.  I am calling Tim to meet me at urgent care and trying not to cry.  When I get there, I lock the other 4 kids in the car and rush in to get Cohen into the doctor.  Only a few minutes go by before Tim arrives and goes and sits with the other kids while they take Cohen into triage.  Conclusion:  He was fine, the allergy started to go away on it's own which was a good sign.  But when he came in his heart rate was elevated past normal and he was definitely having a reaction to something.  He was given Benadryl and a steroid as a precaution.  We are supposed to have a follow up with a pediatrician to have Cohen tested for food allergies.  And when that happens I will give an update.  Until then, I am just grateful that everything turned out okay today and I thank my Heavenly Father for trusting me with my two sweet boys!

Obviously, I did not have time to stop and take pictures of Cohen's allergic reaction, but I wanted to post a little something of my sweet boy, so here is a video of Cohen with one food he is not picky about... CHOCOLATE (just like his mama!).