Pass the Almonds, Please

About a month ago, I took the babe in for a food challenge.  Our allergist, Dr. E, believed the babe was ready to try her first ever nut.  The almond.  The beautiful, tasty, and seriously missed (by me) almond.

For 5 years I have not had almonds in the house.  And for 5 years I have missed those tasty little buggers.

When the day came, the babe and I packed off to the allergist office for our 7:00 a.m. start time.  We had our books, games, crayons, DVDs, and of course, a container of pure almond butter made in a dedicated almond only (i.e. peanut and other tree nut free) factory (not so easy to find, and in case you're wondering, it's called Barney Butter).

To say I was nervous would be an understatement.  To say the babe was nervous would be a serious understatement.  But we were there on a mission, and we were both in it to succeed (thankfully, the babe had passed her previous 3 food challenges).  On a side note, my feisty girl can really amaze me; at times I truly wonder how a 5 year old can be so strong.  Dealing with life threatening food allergies at such a young age has shaped her and caused her to deal with issues other kids her age couldn't imagine.  You've gotta respect the hell out of that, at least I do.

And guess what?  After six hours of gradually increasing amounts of almond butter and more vital checks than I could keep track of, it was determined that the babe can now eat almonds.  She has outgrown her allergy.  And I can not explain how thrilled I am. 

We are making so much progress, and by knocking off almonds, we can now look at knocking off a few other nut candidates over the next year.  While it is unlikely we will ever be able to say good bye to the dreaded peanut allergy, there is a good chance that the babe, over time, will continue to outgrow her tree nut allergies.  And that is progress my friends; THAT is progress.

So here's to almond butter and jam sandwiches. Because frankly, soy nut butter just wasn't cutting it for her anymore.