Botany is For Babies, Too . . .

. . . at least, where allergies are concerned.

I was thinking about Carmen's sensitive tummy today. It hasn't been so happy, lately. I thought about the pears she ate earlier in the week. Her tummy didn't seem to like those much.

Turns out the "pears" were actually gala apples, and the apples had been mislabeled as pears. Gala apples are a little tart. Poor David! No wonder he made such faces! Sorry, little dude.

In either case, be they apples or pears, an unhappy tummy may mean that we have an apple sensitivity on our hands, which means that we also have to be careful with the other things that apples are related to: strawberries (which, coincidentally, she reacts to), cherries (reacts), almonds (don't know because I haven't tried), plums, peaches, and, of course, those darn pears. All of those things and more are in the rosaceae family. See, botany is for babies, too!

Hrmmm. An apple sensitivity would explain a lot, if it were true. Testing is inconclusive at this early age, so all we can really do is avoid those things and see what happens when I add them into my--or Carmen's--diet.

In a way, I hope that's what it is. I'd like to be able to have my finger on all of the foods that bother her; right now there's still some uncertainty because I have to slowly test one food at a time. On the other hand, how can a kid be allergic to apples? How unAmerican! Allergic to peaches? How unSouthern! Hopefully by identifying the problem now, we'll save her from a lifetime of apple (or rosaceae) allergies and she'll be enjoying apple pie with the rest of us a few years down the road.