Welcome to our clubhouse!

It was November of 2012, and it had been one of those perfect sunny fall days. My sweet little Mazzy Mae had played happily all morning, eaten lunch like a champ, and was now settling down for her afternoon nap. She was 1 year old at the time, and we had decided to mix things up a bit for her lunch. Her pediatrician had given the green light for peanuts, so we decided to spread a little peanut butter on her toast...About 20 minutes into a nice quiet nap my little sweetie woke up quite agitated. Now at this point one would probably assume I would link it to the peanut butter I had just fed her, but I failed to make this connection right away.

Maybe it was because it was a good 20-30 minutes after she had eaten it. Or maybe it was the fact that it was cold out, so she was fully bundled from head to toe, causing me to miss the hives that covered her little body. And when babies cry their faces get red and swollen right? So, in an effort to calm her we bundled up even more and headed out for a brisk walk. Mazzy loves to be outside, and walking is one of her most favorite things to do. Into the stroller I put her, and she seemed to settle right down. As we where walking I noticed she had developed a little cough..."poor thing maybe that's why she can't sleep" I thought.

It wasn't until we got home about 30 minutes later that I started to peel back the several warm layers. Underneath to my horror I found big red hives covering her back, stomach, and down both legs. I called her pediatrician immediately, and was instructed to get to the E.R. right away. How could I have missed this? What if she had passed out on our walk, I would have just thought she had fallen back asleep? What testing will they need to do on my baby? How is this going to affect us/her for the rest of our lives? These are just a few of the questions that flooded my mind on the way to the hospital. A couple weeks later it was confirmed...My Mazzy has a peanut allergy.

Chances are, if you've found us it's because you have a similar story to tell. And you now find yourself trying to navigate the world of food allergies. I don't need to list statistics for you, because you've already read them all. And I don't need to tell you again how tricky/scary it can be to have a little one with a food allergy...you already know. So, let's try this a different way. We've created the Food Allergy Kids Clubhouse to be a positive resource. A place to come and find non food ways of celebrating. A place we can post positive food allergy articles and stories. A place for me and I'm hoping you to post your little everyday triumphs. Because we simply need to hear that our kiddos are going to grow up just as happily and fulfilled as the next kid.