My poor baby.

Jake saw the allergist today for skin testing. I don't remember this process being so hard on me when I did it with Kate. I guess I always felt like Kate was tough stuff and could handle it. Jake is my sweet, sensitive little guy. Watching him being poked like that was heartbreaking for me. He tried to be brave, but I think he was just so shocked by what was happening. That waiting time after the test was brutal. I had to hold his hands to keep him from touching his back and disrupting the results. He was so itchy and complained about burning and pain.

I was very surprised to learn that he is pretty much allergic to everything environmentally. He even had a huge reaction to dog, and he really isn't around any. That surprised me. Hamsters gave him a huge reaction, too. Weird. He's never even seen one. Well...we have a plan now. That's a good thing. I always feel better when I have a plan. We have to get a jump start on the spring season, so he'll start Claritin and Singulair on March 1. He'll use Nasonex nasal spray as needed this winter for some congestion. He also needs to use an inhaled steroid every time he gets sick. The goal is to avoid the use of any more oral steroid. The doctor told me that one year of inhaled steroid equals just one day of oral steroid in terms of the effects on the body. So...that's the plan. We'll see how the spring goes and then decide about injections.

My sweet little man was so darling when we left the office. He thanked the doctor for making him better, and he thanked the nurse for "poking holes in my back". Do you believe it??

After the visit we met Mama and Izzy at the mall. The kids saw Santa, rode the carousel, and we had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. I should have taken a picture of Jake eating. He ate an entire cheese pizza except for 1 1/2 pieces. This wasn't a kid size pizza...a regular one!  I am already shaking my head at the thought of feeding him as a teenager!

He loves Izzy so much. I have no idea what he's going to do next year when she's in kindergarten.