Friday, August 23, 2013

Introductions

My name is Calie and I'm a mommy to two wonderful boys. Garen is 2 1/2 years old and Brennan is almost 10 months. My husband Phillip and I have been married for almost 5 years and together for 12 years (high school sweethearts). We have lived in the Twin Cities for 9 years! (Insanity I tell you!) We are both from small town Iowa and never thought we would be up here this long but now can't imagine leaving.

We had our first son in January of 2011 and besides some early bumps in the road, Garen has grown up to be a healthy toddler. He loves his cars, trains, books, the outdoors, and his brother. Brennan came along in October of 2012 and I knew immediately on Day 3 that something wasn't right. It has been a long road trying to figure out exactly what was making Brennan sick. He received the official FPIES (food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome) at 7 months old.

I'm starting this blog to chronicle Brennan's FPIES journey to hopefully raise some awareness and help others going through it. I want to go back to the beginning and share those early days of not knowing, share about all the doctors visits, his first extreme reaction, food trials, and where we are today. I want to talk about how others respond, where to find support, and lots more. I am still breast feeding Brennan and have had to alter my diet to keep him from reacting. Hence I've become pretty creative in the kitchen. I will share lots of recipes!  Lastly, I want to share our everyday lives and how FPIES impacts what we do and how we do it. Even though FPIES has been and will continue to be a challenge for Brennan and our family, it doesn't define who we are. We are still extremely blessed and thank the Lord everyday for these two precious boys. We take this journey one day at a time relying on Him to sustain us and give us guidance.

Read along as we grow FPIES wise together :)