Our Allergy Experience

I get asked by so many about Kennedy’s allergies/intolerances. So I thought what better way to share than to create a blog post about them!

I want to start off by saying, if you feel that something isn’t just right with your child pursue it. If someone isn’t listening to you and is brushing off your concerns then find someone who will show concern and care towards your concerns. You are with your children the most. You know them the best. Don’t give up if you know there truly is something wrong.

I distinctly remember the moment I knew in my gut that something wasn’t right with my baby. Kristian, Kennedy and I were up fishing with my in-laws that day. I remember nursing Kennedy in the car because it was cooler to run the A/C while she was being fed and our bodies were next to one another. After she had finished eating I sat her up, burped her multiple times, and was holding her while enjoying the cool air. Right at that moment Kennedy spit up EVERYTHING she had eaten. All over me, the passenger seat, and car door. She continued to do this every feeding for the rest of the day and week.

Now Kennedy isn’t the first baby I’ve know to struggle with a dairy intolerance. I have a close friend who’s boys both struggled with a similar intolerance as infants. They are both older than Kennedy so I somewhat knew of the signs before I saw them in Kennedy.

After the constant vomiting we saw eczema all over her cheeks, back, and chest. Then it was mucus in her stools which was the main sign I knew to look for because of my friends children. After the mucus came blood in her stools. Now when you see blood coming out of any part of your child it’s scary. By the time we saw blood though we knew what was causing it and we were on the road to fixing it. Through it all she would cry and cry while nursing and mostly any other time unless she was sleeping. She was terribly uncomfortable always. It was 8 weeks from the time I removed dairy and soy before she was completely healed.

Once we saw the mucus we were on the phone with her doctor at the time trying to get in to be seen for a possible intolerance. Now at the time I was so frustrated that her doctor wasn’t listening and wouldn’t see us. He told us not to cut dairy because she would outgrow it. But I knew that wasn’t the right answer so I explored and found the lady we see now and am SO extremely grateful we did.

Now, Kennedy is still intolerant to dairy. We did have to remove soy and all gassy foods at first. Once she was 3 months (she was diagnosed at 6 weeks old) we added gassy foods back and at a year she outgrew her soy intolerance. We did try to introduce dairy then as well but she couldn’t tolerate it. I am still hopeful that she will outgrow her dairy intolerance. I do worry she won’t though. If she comes into contact with dairy or someone kisses her/touches her that has just eaten or touched dairy she breaks out in a rash. So before we try and introduce dairy again I would like to meet with an allergist to be sure it’s just an intolerance and I’m not going to do harm to her by trying to introduce it. So I’ll keep you up to date!

Feel free to reach out or leave a comment if you have any questions! If you feel like your baby struggles with an intolerance investigate it. I’m so glad I did. Now Kollin is dealing with the same things but this time around we know what to do immediately.

Kollin Ray Stewart’s Birth Story

From the start, my pregnancy with Kollin was so drastically different than my pregnancy with Kennedy. Morning sickness, the way I carried, the way my body even felt was so different, terrible skin, and contractions from so early on. From the moment they stopped my contractions at 34 weeks I was mentally ready to be done with my pregnancy. My body ached and I contracted constantly which didn’t help the aches.

By 39 weeks I was so done. We had been into L&D 3 times at that point because my OB wanted me to track contractions and make sure my cervix wasn’t dilating with my contractions. After talking with my nurse a few days before my weekly doctor’s appointment she had eluded to the idea that my doctor would most likely induce me after my appointment if my contractions were still consistent and my cervix had dilated more.

We got to our appointment that morning at 9:40am. My contractions still consistent and i was dilated to a 3 and 75% effaced. Sure enough, my OB sent me over to L&D to be admitted and started on pitocin. We were fully checked in with my IV started along with the pitocin by 11:45am.

My doctor came over on her lunch break at noon to break my water. Right as Kristian decided to head to the lobby and get himself some ibuprofen. I remember texting Kristian to hurry up so he could make it back and hold my hand but it really wasn’t terrible at all. She had to try a few times but eventually she was successful.

The first few hours didn’t bring much change. I dilated to a 4 by 3pm but didn’t move much more. My contractions were stronger and every 2-3 minutes apart. I spent the whole time on the birthing ball to be more comfortable. By 4pm my contractions were pretty uncomfortable so I asked for the epidural at that point. It was in my plan to get the epidural I just worried about getting it too soon and having it wear off by the time I was ready to push. The anesthesiologist was in the process of giving another epidural that was taking her a while so it was about 4:45pm by the time she got into my room. By that point I had reached transition and part of me wishes I would’ve just continued naturally because I’ve been told transition is the worst part.

By 5pm my epidural was in and I was able to rest some. They checked me after my epidural was in and I was at a loose 5 almost 6 in dilation. I rested until about 6pm and baby boy started to drop his heart rate during contractions. I changed positions from straddling the peanut ball to sitting up and crossing my legs over the top and that seemed to help. My doctor came in about that time to let us know she wasn’t worried about the way his heart rate was dropping because it was most likely from his head being compressed down during each contraction.

At 6:30 my nurse suggested I get my birth photographer there. She had a feeling that once my body decided to get things going at the end that it would go quickly. My photographer arrived and shortly after she got there I had my mom text my step dad to bring Kennedy so she could be in the room while her brother was born. If I remember correctly that was at about 7:20pm.

Shortly after messaging my step dad baby’s heart rate began to to really decrease during contractions. Which really had me and my mom worried! I remember sitting and watching the monitor with my mom and waiting for the nurse to come in but she never did.

8pm came and I kept looking at my mom telling her I needed to push during each contraction. That I just felt so much pressure and discomfort. I called the nurse in and shared that with her as well. She asked if I wanted her to check me or my doctor. I wanted my doctor to check me but she was delivering another baby so I would have to wait 5 minutes… that was the longest 5 minutes of my life!

As my OB walked in I heard Kennedy outside the door. She asked if she should let them in and I asked her to wait. Kristian and I knew she would need to get oriented and if I was ready to push when she checked me we would just have Kennedy wait to come in until after to avoid her being emotional and worried.

My doctor checked me and sure enough, I was complete and ready to push. My body had been telling me! They began to prep the bed as my doctor turned to Kristian and said “Would you like to deliver your son?”

Kristian sat there for a minute thinking about what he wanted to do. You could see in his eyes he wanted to but was a bit intimidated by the idea. Finally after having a contraction while he was deciding I looked at him and said something along the lines of “Do whatever your comfortable with but just hurry and decide!” Everyone laughed and Kristian decided to go for it and help delivery our baby.

I pushed for 15 minutes! That last push was so painful but I think it helped me get him here as quick as I did. My epidural didn’t work as well this time as it did with Kennedy it seemed so i felt a lot more. After that 15 minutes our baby boy was here!

As Kristian handed him to me I remember just being so in love. He looked so much like his sister in so many ways but he was his own in so many others. Those first moments are the best. Studying his fingers and toes… his ears and nose! Seeing my husband crying because he was finally here. My mom crying and hugging Kristian while they both were so excited and happy.

We pulled Kennedy in after they finished cleaning me up a bit. It still was a bit much for her so she took a few walks around the hallways before finally being comfortable. She gave us a few dance moves and eventually climbed up on the bed with me to see her brother and share a cracker or two with me.