Peanut Allergy?

Ditching peanut butter, for sure. 

Over Christmas break we made a ton of Christmas cookies, just like we do every single year. Being that we are in New York this year, the kids wanted to bake with the ultimate baker -- Nana. They were so excited to experience holiday baking with their Nana and I for one was super stoked to make one of Justin's favorite cookies in the process -- peanut butter reindeer kisses. All the kids were eager to mix, roll, and bake and they did such an awesome job being the best helpers! Liam tried one of the cookies and immediately he said, "Is that peanut butter?! I don't like peanut butter!" We have always known that Liam doesn't like peanut butter but we just assumed it was a preference... not an allergy. At one point after baking, Nana asked Liam to just give the cookie a try. Justin and I also encouraged Liam to try something he's adamantly refused in the past (exposure and trying new foods, or rather encouraging them is totally something we do). 

Moments later, our son's eyes were watering and his cheeks were red. The allergic reactions he'd had during the summer here in New York (we assumed he had seasonal allergies, bug allergies, grass allergies, etc. something allergy-related) quickly emerged, and immediately I knew -- our son has an allergy to peanuts. Albeit, a mild reaction... still a reaction nonetheless. I tried to think back on the summer and if Liam had exposure to peanuts, peanut butter, nut butter, etc... was this something that we overlooked? Instant guilt took over. Our poor baby boy. I had no idea. Even with the mild reaction, it warranted a call to PEDS and hopefully a referral to an allergist. Liam is the only kiddo we have that has had eczema since infancy and the correlation between eczema and peanut allergies happens a lot more than I'd ever thought to research.

The good news, from what I've gathered, is that infancy/toddlerhood eczema typically phases out around age four or five (we are literally just a couple of months away from that age range) and since Liam's reaction to peanut butter was mild, there is a good chance he might be able to consume them in the future. But we don't know if his eczema will go away and if it doesn't and Liam truly has atopic dermatitis, this allergy may never go away. Truthfully, we don't have to stock peanut butter in our home and it is certainly not a must have for the kids... but I am glad we know about this. It's important to know for get togethers, parties, school, etc. It wasn't until this moment that I realized the true significance in schools going completely nut free. God forbid something happen to our son for an allergy he didn't ask for that is completely out of his control. 

Our fingers are crossed that an allergist can give a more depth view into what we are dealing with here but until then... peanut butter is out the window, off the table, and we are permanently shifting to sun butter. The good news is, sunbutter has been in our home for years since our kids have mainly gone to nut free schools. We already use it,  and it is still an excellent source of protein and iron.