An Update on Meghan

So Meghan has had anything but the easiest first year. The poor baby has been plagued by terrible tummy aches, gas, fussiness, sinus congestion and because of all of these things she does not sleep well. So of course we don't sleep well. We've tried everything that we can possibly think of and have visited 4 different doctors. We've received 3 different opinions from acid reflux to small nasal passageways. Our last stop was my pediatrician when I was a kid. He keyed in on allergies and ran a whole bunch of allergy blood tests and determined that the poor kid has an allergy to something but results were inconclusive. Enter Dr. Welch, an allergist down in San Diego. Supposedly he's the best and heads up the Immunology Department at UCSD. We started to get hopeful in that this guy surely should be able to figure out what's going on.

After a long drive on Monday, a couple of skin tests and a fantastic conversation with Dr. Welch, it was determined that there are a couple of potential diagnoses for Meghan. The first and most simple is that she is allergic to milk of all things because her skin test showed a reaction. 10 months of this poor baby's suffering and it's milk. So we're trying soy milk now and hoping for the best. He also mentioned that the poor kid's ears are very cloudy and most likely that is a function of her allergy as well. Lastly, it's possible that she may have some structural abnormality in her sinuses. So for now we're going with soy products instead of milk products and waiting for a month. If nothing changes, we go see an ENT and Meghan gets an endoscope up her nose and put under general anesthetic for a CAT scan. We are hoping and praying for the soy to kick in so that we don't have to put her through any more than we have to. We're going to get to the bottom of this and refuse to give up.

She had a couple of other reactions to other allergens and we're strongly encouraged to replace all carpet in the house in favor of a hard surface like tile, wood, or a laminate because of dust and mold and to keep the dogs outside (yes, dogs plural but more on that later). Poor Jupiter (the guinea pig) has been banished to the laundry room. We're also supposed to limit stuffed animals and keep house dust to a minimum. Hmm, sounds like a great time to invest in a cleaning lady!

So possibly good news about Meghan, a fantastic healthcare provider and an awesome Middle Eastern lunch (chicken shawarma - my favorite!), Monday was a great day. Things are looking up and we can almost see a good night's sleep in the future. Maybe someday those Samsonite bags will remove themselves from my eyes!