chocolate/cocoa allergy

[menomena]

shoot me now. i think my girls - both - have a chocolate/cocoa sensitivity. ACK!

developing....

[superstella]

Not the chocolate! I'd be lost without chocolate.

[IntuitiveJamie]

Sorry about that. My one son def. has an allergy to cocoa too. In fact it's the one thing that really makes him have a physical reaction. The other stuff usually affects his digestive system, but cocoa makes his cheeks turn bright red and his face puff up. Scary stuff. I'm not sure about my nursling. I've eaten chocolate and haven't noticed a reaction yet.

[kjbrown92]

Two of my three kids have/had cocoa intolerance. My son seems to have outgrown his recently (he's 7), my 2 year old stole the mini cupcakes I made last night as a treat for my son because we were going to a birthday party -- she stole 5 of them (and fed the wrappers to the dog) while we were getting ready to go. Within half hour she had a bright red face, cranky as anything. I gave her two doses of gripe water and gas drops, and she actually slept through the night. There are other treats besides chocolate. It's not as difficult to avoid as some foods!
Kathy

[kaismamma]

Chocolate Allergy

We just discovered that my daughter is allergic to chocolate last night after she had a severe reaction to chocolate cake. She's had all the other ingredients in the cake except chocolate so, we deduced that must be it. Her lips swelled up and she was puking all over for hours until it was completely purged from her system. The sad thing is, she really enjoyed the cake before she had the adverse reaction! Poor baby!

I'm imagining myself making her carob-chip cookies and hiding in a closet to sneak Godiva to get my chocolate fix after she goes to bed...

Kai's Mamma

:

[kjbrown92]

Bummer! I'm a milk chocolate person myself. I've never liked dark chocolate, and now that I'm off milk, dark chocolate is all there is (as long as it doesn't have soy in it). And it is just totally unsatisfying to me. I got carob at one point, but then realized it was a legume, and at the time, we were off all legumes. So we never tried it. Hopefully, she'll outgrow it...

[tanyalynn]

kaismama, how old is your LO? My son's been very happy with both raisins and dates as chocolate chip substitutes in cookies, but he was a toddler when I figured this out, and maybe it wouldn't work as well with an older child.

[k9sarchik]

I grew up with that allergy. It used to make me very sick. It was a bummer, but vanilla becomes a favorite.

I can eat chocolate now though.

[kjbrown92]

kaismama: just looked at your website (to see how old your DD was). Your photographs are absolutely wonderful. I need to dust off my camera and get working (your paintings are great too, but I have no hope there). What an amazing story. At this age, she obviously doesn't need chocolate, so won't notice if it's left out of cookies and such (just have it after she goes to sleep - if you're not still BFing -- and she'll never miss it). When my DD and DH want ice cream, I make them wait until DS and DD2 are in bed to have their treat so the kids don't feel left out. They feel left out enough at school and in public, without it being in their own home too. We always called it "happy food" (the stuff they could have) and then say "that's not your happy food" for anything they weren't allowed to have.