When life throws you lemons....make sure they are dairy free!

This is the third time I have re-written this post.
Kinda ridiculous, but to my defense, when you read what we've been up too, it's totally understandable how a whole post can become irrelevant on a dime.

To begin, in all honesty, this last month has been really hard.
No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

The week before Brynlee's birthday (January) she had what we thought was a tummy bug.
She had one day of a fever and diarrhea and within twenty four hours, she seemed back to normal, except the diarrhea.
It continued on up until her birthday, so I had her on a bland diet hoping this bug would work itself out aaaannnnnddddd, it never did.
It continued on and on to the point where there was about a week long span where every morning I would wake up to find not only Brynlee's diaper exploded through, but soaked through her pajamas, through her bed sheets, through the mattress pad down to the actual mattress.
Her little bum got so raw and sore she would just cry and cry, cringing at my touch.
There has been nothing more heartbreaking than having your babe cry when you touch them.
I couldn't even hold her on my hip like I normally do, and there were a lot of times where I just cried with her.
I called her doctor once a week for four weeks straight, trying everything they suggested from different diaper rash creams, to different diets,  to lots of diaper-less "air" time (which is now the reason for my loud and proud nudist baby).
It seemed like a new idea would start working and things would appear normal for a day or two, then I would wake up to an exploded baby/bed again and we'd be back to square one.
On Valentine's day her doctor asked me to collect some samples to send to a lab for tests.

LOTS of naky time. 

Let me reiterate.....it was Valentines Day.....and I'm digging through the dirty diapers of the day filling up seven viles of poop to send out for tests.
One for the record books, y'all.
One of the seven tests came back positive, that Brynlee had rotavirus.
Finally an answer, not a good one...actually a really frustrating one, but an answer none the less.
Per her doctor's instructions she went on a complete lactose free diet which also included adding probiotics to her meals throughout the day for the next two weeks.
Like before, things seemed to go well for a couple days then it started all over again.
Thankfully she wasn't blowing through her clothes, but she was having anywhere from 4-6 full diarrhea diapers and her poor bum started getting sore and raw again.
I swear I couldn't change her diapers fast enough or have her naked enough.
I called her doctor who ordered another round of four more tests, including another one for rotavirus, and they all came back negative.
Negative.
Uuugghhhhh.
We were referred to a pediatric gastro-neurologist for further tests.
My graciously patient mother in law came with Brynlee and I on the 11th for our appointment and during her physical evaluation we all noticed a couple little "raspberry" splotches on her inner thighs.
None of us, including the nurses or specialist, thought much of it, thinking it was diaper related from her skin being so raw so much.
Given some antibiotics and a strict dairy/lactose free diet, Brynlee and Gma Connie went home to play for the day while I went to the PPCC campus to do some homework.
I got a call a couple hours later from both my dad and my mother in law that I should come home and take a look at Brynlee because she was breaking out all over.
I came home to this....

Poor babe. Pic on the far right is of her ear. It was so swollen and heavy it started to bend down and out. :(

"She's obviously allergic to
something..." No kidding.

What was really odd is that she was as happy as a clam.
In fact, she was the happiest I had seen her in a long time since this mess started.
We took her to her pediatrician, again, and after swearing on everything that I didn't feed, clean, bathe her in anything different or new, all they were able to do for us is confirm that, yes, she did indeed react to something.
No kidding.
We quit the antibiotics and had a blood draw ordered to test her for the "main" allergies which consists of dairy, gluten, soy, corn, dairy, egg yolk, egg whites, and peanuts.
All came back negative.
So then we were referred to a pediatric asthma and allergy specialist who conducted about 25 skin pricks in Brynlee's back to test more exclusively for any type of allergen that might have caused her hives.
All came back 100% negative.
As much as everyone treated this as good news, I did not.
She obviously reacted to something, what in the world was it!?

In the mean time, go figure, her diarrhea seemed to die down with only a few "bad" diapers on a more random occasion rather than every time, everyday.
One of the hardest parts of all this, besides holding down your kid for skin pricks, is having to do it alone. I know that if John could have been here for this, he totally would.... viles of poo on VDay and all.
It's really hard for BOTH of us to even talk about it when we know it's all really in vain in the end.
I think it helps me vent my frustration, and it helps him to feel like he's helping me in listening, but ultimately it makes him feel very far away and it leaves me feeling very overwhelmed and alone.
It is what it is.

SSG Christian and Denzel. 

Speaking of, I have to take this moment to let you know my husband is a rockstar.
In Army terms, pretty much literally.
John earned his "rocker" (E6) on March 1st and we couldn't be more happy or proud.
Ultimately if we can't all be together as a family we might as well be really successful in what we ARE able to control, right?
I am so proud of him, and Denzel, his K9 bomb dog.
I still wish our communication online could be better.
Besides the obvious time difference, his internet connection is horrible and until recently we were rarely able to finish a conversation before getting cut off or the call dropped.
We send a lot of emails and I send him lots of photos from my phone (yes, I'm a iPhone mom and don't care, judge me in my situation, please).

In the end, I'm not sure where Queen B and I go from here.
She's more than thrilled to have her favorite breakfast of scrambled eggs back as well as her beloved almond milk and string cheese.
She seems to still be doing alright overall, with no real diaper issues that is everyday. I have been keeping a food journal of what she eats (as much as I can, she eats like a teenager, so it's hard to keep up with everything) and really try to make a true effort to see if anything she eats creates any issues.
I am cautiously optimistic, but of course writing it all out is almost setting me up!

Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers, always for John's safety while away, but especially for the sick and hurting in not just our little family, but our family as a whole.
Unfortunately, B's sickness is small compared to some members of my family, so we could ALL use your thoughts, prayers, and encouragement!