A lot has happened over the past few months with Braylon. Mostly good things. And a few very scary things. I am so fortunate to have a very happy and (aside from allergies) healthy baby. All in all, 99% of the time, he is GREAT. But that other 1% of the time, he scares the sh*t out of me. I am not here to be dramatic, but anaphylaxis in a baby is terrifying. Unfortunately his Epipens have gotten some use, but thankfully, they work exactly like they should and he recovers well. More on that in a little while, will start off with a play by play over the past few months. 


6 months: 

Things really start to get fun around 6 months. Braylon’s personality started to shine through. He got so much more interactive. And he seems to think that Josh and I are the COOLEST and most HILARIOUS people on this planet. 

Braylon got his helmet off after wearing it for about 6 weeks. It’s one of those things I was skeptical about at first, but you can’t argue with the before and after results. He wasn’t bothered by the helmet at all, it didn’t it interrupt his sleep or play. People ask me about helmet therapy now and honestly, I would just trust the pediatrician and orthotist. Braylon’s situation was pretty black and white since he was in the “severe” category so choosing to do the treatment was an easy decision for us.

Lots of fun things happened from months 6-7. He got his two bottom teeth. He learned to sit up all by himself. He discovered how hilarious peek-a-boo is and even laughs when Grammy does it over FaceTime. He said his first word....DADA. Which of course he said non stop and even in the middle of the night. DADADADADA. :) We went through a little sleep regression where he was up, wide awake, and ready to play around 4am. This lasted for a couple of weeks but we all powered through and he is sleeping consistently through the night again.

7 months

Month 7 started with Halloween, we dressed him up as Mickey Mouse. Super cute! He discovered his hands and learned to clap. He still LOVES music and claps, jumps, and dances to the beat. He also discovered his nose, he learned to scrunch it up and sniffle which is so endearing. He started to say MAMAMA. He started to play with puzzles and hold/throw books. He still loves his “Giraffey” teething toy.

The first week of November Braylon had a major anaphylactic reaction after eating baby puff cereal. He started off just rapid fire sneezing and coughing back to back to back. His nose was running uncontrollably. Honestly it just seemed like the worst cold that came on so quickly, which was so puzzling. Then came the facial swelling and difficulty breathing and swallowing followed by itching and hives. Things escalated so quickly and when realized he was having an allergic reaction, I looked at Josh and said, “WHAT DO WE DO?!” To which he replied, “WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME?!” You can have all of the medical training in the world, when your kid is the one with an emergency, your mind goes BLANK.

We acted quickly and gave him his Epipen which thankfully his allergist prescribed due to his severe eczema and subsequent skin prick testing which revealed a few food allergies. The Epipen worked quickly, thank goodness. We rushed to the ER, not knowing if we were in the clear or not. But he was back to his normal happy self by the time we got to the waiting room. He was able to eat, breathe, and interact normally again. They monitored him for a few hours then we were discharged home. Braylon slept fine that night. We did not. Start the paranoia of parenthood. 

He’s had a few more allergic reactions since the initial one. A couple were caught early and symptoms resolved after Benadryl. Others required the Epipen, which I’m so thankful works quickly and effectively. I am so much more paranoid and nervous than I’d ever thought I’d be as a parent, but for now we have to keep a very close eye on what I eat/he eats/others around him eat. We are working with his allergist to get some clarity on the situation. I don’t want to be dramatic about the allergies. Things could be much worse. I just hope we can better understand his allergies so we don’t have to go through another anaphylactic reaction again.

8 months

We have kept the same bedtime routine in terms of books, bath, nursing, then bed. He went through a couple weeks of having no interest in falling asleep at bedtime. He was more interested in looking around and playing. I know his brain and body are growing at lightning speed and his curiosity is reaching new peaks. From what I understand, this seems normal for his age.

Braylon had his first flight, he seemed to travel well and was easily occupied at this age. From what I hear traveling gets more difficult as you reach toddler years. So for now, we will call this a victory. We had a really great Christmas celebrating with family and friends. Although it seems apparent that Braylon has more “stranger danger” awareness and fusses for a little while if Josh or I pass him off to someone else, he eventually seems to warm up.

Currently: 

I am still breastfeeding which is going well aside from having to restrict what I consume according to what Braylon is allergic to. But this boy loves to eat. He is very interested in solid food, which also is challenging because there’s a lot of foods he can’t have at this time. Reading ingredient labels was something I’ve never really done before but is now the norm. But I’d say his favorite solid foods are cheerios, sweet potatoes, squash, pears, and apples. 

It’s easy and hard to believe its been 9 months with our sweet boy! What a ride this has been. The past couple months have been more scary than I’d like with ER visits and more allergy woes. But to keep things in perspective...it’s just allergies, things could be much worse and I’m thankful for such a happy and strong baby. Looking forward to the next few months, we will keep working on crawling and eventually walking! 

-Kristen