Hi ~
Yet one more place for me to be on the lookout. Families have been bringing in cheerios, pretzels and crackers in for their toddlers during mass. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before we encounter something that contains nuts.
I find that if I take my son to the earlier mass, the floor and seating areas aren't sprinkled with leftover crumbs like in the 12:30 mass. Yikes...always something to watch for.
Nicole
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<p>Nicole, we are on the same wave level! We attend Mass at night (7:00 p.m.) since most of the smaller children are home getting ready for bed. There are not many children at the nighttime Mass and it helps tremendously with snacks not being brought in. Our son will start CCD in the fall and my daughter's class is forever having snacks and treats brought in by the teacher, including peanut products. When my son was a toddler, we found we couldn't sit in the "cry room" due to so many cross-contaminations in there. Good luck!</p>
<p>Hi Connie ~</p>
<p>My son is scheduled to start Religious Formation (CCD) in the fall as well. I don't know if I can add one more thing to the year - Kindergarten will be stressful enough. </p>
<p>I might just have to plan on sitting in the room and monitoring things for awhile as well as educate the staff. Maybe by the time he's in 2nd or 3rd grade, the CCD staff will be aware. Leaving him for an hour shouldn't be a problem but it only takes a minute to expose him to peanuts. Since he has an airborne allergy, I literally have to be one step ahead of him and am going to have to wash down all surfaces before he can sit down. The CCD rooms are in a catholic school and will be obviously different from his elementary school. It'll be a whole other can of worms. </p>
<p>One thing at a time, right?! [img]http://client.banreets.gsp.com/peanutallergy/wink.gif[/img]</p>
<p>Nicole</p>
<p>I am my first graders CCD aide and I know they take turns bringing in a snack and juice. So I have thought about this as well. I think I am going to handle this as I will with school. She isn't there yet but I have given it some thought. I will be the baby wipe queen. Start buying stock now. I will institute hopefully a no sharing policy. But she will not be allowed to eat anything unless it was cleared by me. And I don't care if it is a carrot. No exceptions not ever. Also I will provide both schools CCD or otherwise with wipes. All children will wipe their hands before and after eating. Not a bad idea anyway. As for where they sit it reminds me of when we flew for Florida. I got on the plane first and wiped down everything. Ok but then my husband jokingly said when he got through with the paperwork for the rental car (I all ready had the car) why don't you wipe down this too!! I said I all ready did. But I am starting to think it is unrealistic to wipe down everything so I will continue to teach her that her hands do not go in her mouth and that she always washes before eating. For you airborne people I don't know how you do it. I will pray extra for you every night.<br />
Patti</p>
<p>Patti,</p>
<p>Your comment about buying stock in the baby wipe industry reminded me of this GREAT recipe I have for making CHEAP diaper wipes.</p>
<p>I've done this and they really work well... it's not trivial to cut the paper towel roll in half, but if you can master that, you can save a lot of money, especially if you have to wipe down a lot of things.</p>
<p>These can be used as wipes in general, not just for diaper-changing.</p>
<p>Your's in tightwadness,</p>
<p>Tracy</p>
<p>*****************************<br />
Diaper/Baby Wipes</p>
<p>In a bowl, mix 2 cups water, 2 Tablespoons baby bath soap. Pour over 1/2 roll large Bounty paper towel. (A roll of large Bounty cut in half using a serrated knife or electric knife.) A 10-cup Rubbermaid cylindrical storage container fits a 1/2 roll of Bounty very nicely. Wait 1 minute, then pull out the center cardboard and the starter paper-towel sheet will come out from the center of the roll.</p>
<p>I am so glad that you all are mentioning church. I feel so guilty, but I have been avoiding going to church because I am afraid to leave my son in the nursery for fear that he will encounter some peanut product. I hope God will forgive me, but I don't think I'll be able to handle this until my son gets a little older, and knows what he can and can't have.</p>
<p>Hi ~</p>
<p>I'm glad you posted that recipe for wipes. It reminds me that I need to make some here because the regular stuff is much to harsh on this tender eczema skin. I can basically just add whatever soap agrees with him (Cetaphil or whatever) and put some moisturizer in it too. Thanks for the great idea!</p>
<p>Also, about the nursery at church. I understand what you mean when you say you don't want to leave your child. I totally agree. Our church is basically a turnover of parent volunteers (usually different every week) and older students who volunteer. It's just too risky. I keep him with me at all times during church. </p>
<p>Nicole</p>
<p>P.S. [img]http://client.ibboards.com/peanutallergy/wink.gif[/img] I think God understands.</p>
<p>I know this is hard to believe but the more people you talk to at church the more people who are looking out for your child. We are very involved with our church. Each teacher knows how to use the epi-pen (we have never had to use it). If you talk to the childrens director they will help. Ours has kept me posted and even talks to other teachers for me(ahead of time) to head off any craft the may have bp involved. We are even involved in a AWANA mid-week program and they have snack every week. The lady incharge of snsck now reads the labels and buys only safe snacks. Once she accidently got a snack that said may contain peanuts traces. She told me and had a special snack for my son. All the teachers where notified and it all turned out well. It is a lillte harded with little one who don't talk. But if you put a large button or tape on the front and back the nursery workers will see it. Oh and don't forget the emergency kit. HAND IT TO THE PERSON IS CHARGE EACH TIME.<br />
Remember why we go to church. It's to worship God and to learn how to be more like our Lord.FAITH is hard to live by but God loved us enough to send His Son to die for us and our kids. He made us each special and has a plan for each of us. We just have to trust Him. Keep praying for His strength and we will make it through. And don't forget He won't give us more than we can handle.<br />
God bless and trust Him, Lori </p>
<p>------------------</p>
<p>Hi Nicole,</p>
<p>Our CCD rooms are also in the Catholic school. They also moved CCD from Sunday mornings to Wednesday evenings, which means there are peanut particles, I'm sure, still lingering in the classroom somewhere. This is never ending, is it?</p>
<p>DHumphries...don't feel guilty! Nicole is right; God does understand. </p>
<p>Stay safe!</p>
<p>[b] Trust In Him [/b] for sure! Thanks for all the encouragement. Nicole</p>
<p>I'm glad to know I'm not alone in worrying about CCD and other religious education with regard to peanut allergies. My daughter will start in September when she starts first grade--I've been toying with the idea of asking the parish priest if I can "homeschool" her. At her elementary school, there is a nurse on duty at all times and numerous people are trained with the Epi-Pen. Elaborate food handling rules are followed in the classrooms. None of this safety system will be in place for CCD--it relies on parent volunteers who change from year to year. I guess I could stay with her for the entire class but I don't want to stigmatize her. I don't think I would make a good teacher for a group--I'm more of a one-on-one person. Best wishes to everyone struggling with these same issues!</p>
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