Bummer

I guess I can't say I was surprised this week to find out Sam is more me than Keith in the allergy department. 

On Monday morning we went to the allergy doctor to confirm what I suspected.

I can't believe the allergy test is basically the same one I had when I was little.  Seriously?  We haven't made leaps and bounds in technology in this area?  We really have to poke the little guy 50 times with extracts that will irritate and itch?  Why not a blood test?

The twenty minutes of torture totally made my iphone worth every penny.  I was able to distract him with Ice Age videos.  When a video would stop, the crying and itching would start.  Video back on...silence.

Thank you Steve Jobs!

So the most surprising bit O' information we found out is that Sam has a mild allergy to Peanuts.  The kid has been living on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  Oops!  We were told to cut that out ASAP.  He has never had a reaction but I guess we just don't know if he is developing an allergy or growing out of one.

See the faint whitish stripe across his nose.  That is clue #1 called an allergy line.  Kids with allergies get it from rubbing their noses all the time.

The mark on his cheek was eczema, clue #2, caused by the peanut butter remnants left there from his daily sandwich.  Okay...so I guess I lied in the statement above...I guess you can call that a reaction to peanut butter... 

 I feel like such a good Mom.

Allergies and Asthma are a bummer.  I blame them for my lazy tendencies.  I told the doctor I was avoiding an official diagnosis for Sam because when I was growing up I used that diagnosis as an excuse to be lazy.  I never had to run the mile in PE because I had a note from my doctor.  If I got tired playing basketball in 8th grade I would act like my asthma was acting up.  I don't want Sam to have the same excuse.  The doctor assured me things are different now and the diagnosis means physical fitness is more important than ever.

So, like my friend Josh, I always look for the upside of things.

I am excited that with this one, I have already found it.

I mentioned to the doctor about a training program I had started for running. 

My sister told me about this program called Couch to 5K. 

It slowly builds up your endurance and gets your butt off the couch and ready for a 5K run.

The doctor told me it sounded like a perfect thing for Sam to do with me.

So twice this week, after dinner, Sam and I have headed out with our running shoes on and have jogged/walked a two mile path around the neighborhood.

Better than just getting 30 minutes alone together is that he talks the ENTIRE time.  He tells me about school, his friends, why he is shy sometimes, movies scenes that make him laugh...whatever crosses his mind.

This to me is a total blessing. 

I would have never thought to take him on my training runs at his age.  The idea of him and I being running/talking partners throughout his childhood motivates me to keep it up.  I fantasize that if this becomes our  thing then maybe he won't go through a phase in his teenage years when he won't talk to me anymore.  Anything to keep the communication lines open. 

I think it is never too early to start.

I know allergies impact a bazillion people in this world but it is sad as a parent to find anything wrong with your baby.  I just hope he never has a best friend who jolts him awake at night during sleepovers with a hard smack to the head to tell him he is breathing to loud.  That is one of my worst asthmatic childhood memories.  Why the hell did I spend the night at her house?...on an old carpet with no padding next to pile of dust mites below her bed...not to mention the cat...and her mother who smoked. I don't think I could have piled more of my triggers together and I was there at least twice a week.  Ughhh....bad childhood memories...stories for another time.

Oh!  It just dawned on me...another positive spin...a perfect excuse not to allow sleepovers!