She Gets Itchy

"When I eat wheat, she gets itchy."

As the words rolled off my tongue, I knew it sounded crazy. But, two new grandmothers and my new "mommy instincts" all told me that something wasn't right.

My daughter was only two months old and nursing well when I realized that she has allergies. She was itching because of something that I was eating. A new mom and not knowing any mothers of allergic kids, I wasn't sure what to do. At the two month check-up when the nurse practitioner asked, "How is it going?" I blurted out, "When I eat wheat, she gets itchy." There, I said it. Was I crazy? Was she just rubbing her eyes when she was sleepy? "No. Trust your instincts," I told myself as I waited through the long silence and blank stare. Then, this nurse, a mother of four, spoke her golden words of wisdom,

"If it makes her itchy, DON'T EAT IT!"

So simple. So profound. So.........

The words sunk in. No more wheat. Wheat is everywhere. I am a foodie, living in Chicago. I am a GRIT (Girl Raised in the South)! I need my wheat! My pizza, my donuts, my gumbo, my......BISCUITS! I couldn't do it. What would I eat? How would I feed my baby? Most importantly, what would I do now?

And then, as tears fell.....motherhood began.