The mystery of Sadie's horrible allergy has been solved. She was allergic to... her car seat. And I'm very, very thankful to the reader who mentioned Britax and it's poor testing in the toxicity department back when we were talking about car seats, because I'm not sure how quickly I would have thought of it otherwise. You just don't think someone is going to be allergic to a car seat...
However when Sadie got out of the car after a five minute drive yesterday afternoon, it was pretty clear that the car seat was to blame. The welts were forming anywhere her skin had touched the seat (thankfully the dress was a thicker fabric this time, so the welts weren't completely covering her).
A quick dose of Bendaryl almost immediately reversed the effect (as did standing in the bathroom and scrubbing her skin with a paper towel to get whatever flame retardant chemical was on it off, and we headed over to Target (walking... thankfully it was near where we were), where they took back our Britax Marathon and let us trade it in for a Graco My Ride.
I'm praying that the new car seat works out. Sadie rode in a Graco My Ride all summer at Nani's and didn't have a problem. I was pretty shocked to read that the car seats that scored the worst were both Britax Marathons... But I'm also thankful that she doesn't have some horrible nut allergy either... which was one of the things that was being considered.
Something I've noticed driving in the south is the amazing number of drivers who see a mini van, cheer to themselves (okay, I'm assuming here) and then attempt to draft behind you for miles and miles, getting as close to your back bumper as they possibly can to avoid any wind and boost their mileage.
At first we would move over as far as possible to let everyone pass... and then we realized that everyone was moving over with us. Last night it was starting to get annoying as I was attempting to follow Paul in the van and cars and trucks were trying to drift off both of our cars, which means that we're pretty much being tailed all the time, even when the rest of the freeway is completely empty.
I think there's just a little too much Nascar going on here.
I worried a bit last night about leaving all of our belongings out in the U-haul, where anyone could just come along, clip a lock and steal them. Then I realized that we really have absolutely nothing of real value and that any person that wanted to put that much effort into stealing our 15 book shelves and dozens of boxes of theology books was probably in for quite the shock when they realized what they'd taken.
We're still in Florida. We finally got out of the apartment last night at 7pm... after a torrential downpour made loading the last few boxes extremely difficult. We almost drove 200 miles before our bleary eyes made us pull over and find a place to sleep north of Tampa. Sadie announced that we would give getting out of Florida another try this afternoon.
It should be a relatively quite trip since the doctor ordered Sadie to take benedryl for two days after the allergy attack. However Sadie sleeping in the car annoys Mae... a lot. We learned on the trip out from California that Mae expects to be entertained by her big sister. So it may not be that quiet after all.
I'm craving IHOP. That's what happens when you stay at a motel right next to one... I need cream cheese filled fruit covered pastries.... right now....
I cannot wait to arrive in Michigan. I heard a rumor that it's supposed to be 60-something there on Sunday. I took the girls out and bought them sweaters that fit. I am so, so, so very ready to be cold again!
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So glad the mystery of Sadie's hives has been solved! You were pretty quick thinkers to remember about the Britax toxicity issue; my brain doesn't work that fast anymore! So glad that she is doing better.
ReplyDeleteI am a sweaty mess by the time I have wrestled Ben into his Graco (I find it much harder to secure than his now-too-small Chicco seat) but at least feel he is safe.
I really envy you the possibility of cool temperatures; we were in Massachusetts visiting my Dad last week and it was in the 90s and very humid up there! I want October!!!
God bless and safe travels.
Marie
Just something to think about if you're thinking she really was allergic to the car seat.. The chemicals used are generally flame retardants, for if you were to get in a car accident. Well, those chemicals are found in lots of other things, for instance, many children's pajamas have flame retardants on it, so if she's wearing synthetic (non-cotton) pj's chances are they are on those as well. Many mattresses, pillows etc have the chemicals on them too.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, because I was curious, I looked it up and Britax plans on no longer using them on their seats by the end of 2012.
Hopefully her reaction doesn't come back!
It has cooled down beautifully in Michigan this week.
ReplyDeleteIn general; Graco is an affordable (way more than Britax)brand and scores well on safety tests. We have a Graco low back booster bought when dd was 4 and 40 pounds and it's going strong 5 years later.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you figured out what caused the hives!
ReplyDeleteFWIW, I used to work at a baby supplies store. Graco was the only car seat brand that, at least to that point, had never had a safety recall. Not bad!
Safe travels to that state up north!
ReplyDeleteHi, I'm not sure I've ever commented on your blog before, but I've been reading it for years. I know this is out of the blue, and I hope it doesn't sound too stalkerish, but I live in Saginaw, MI, only about an hour from east Lansing and was wondering if you wanted any help unpacking when you arrive. Your doctor said to take it easy and I'd like to help if I can, especially since I'm so close. I made a big move when I was six months pregnant, so I have some understanding of what you're going through. I think you said you were getting here Sunday, yes?
ReplyDeleteTo introduce myself somewhat, my name is Erin, I'm 25, married, mother to a four-month-old son, and an Orthodox Christian convert. My email is rinland (dot) sincere (at) gmail (dot) com. Let me know!
I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't approve this post for viewing, since it has my email and some personal information. =)
Marie-
ReplyDeleteI think it was your comment earlier that brought it to mind! My mom had read it and remembered and it was one of the first things she said, although I didn't think it was possible until the second outbreak, when it was like a picture of the car seat on her back!
Allison-
We're feeling really lucky because we always bought her night gowns at Costco and they all have labels warning that they don't have flame retardants in them. I can't imagine what it would have been like if she'd been wearing it for years. Because I don't know how long it would have taken to realize she was allergic to her PJs!
I'm definitely looking into sewing a new cover to go over the new car seat just in case. I think that being in the car seat so much and sweating as we do every time we're in the car, might have had something to do with it, because it didn't seem to bother her when it was cooler!