For some reason I can’t seem to put into words the most difficult things in my life. Others share their struggles so eloquently, but I tend ignore my greatest challenges here.

For the last 5 months we have been dealing with the dreaded “failure to thrive” notation at Lorelai’s checkups. She dropped weight percentiles at her 4 month checkup, but no one was overly concerned because sometimes a baby’s weight will dip now and then. At her 6 month checkup, it dipped yet again. We then began monthly weight checks. At 8 months she moved up to the 10th percentile and it looked like things were moving along.

Between 8 and 9 months, she lost 2 ounces. That may not sound like much to you and me, but to an infant who is supposed to gain 8-12 ounces per month, that’s a lot of weight loss. So two weeks ago I took my littlest baby girl to the hospital and allowed them to do this:

The results of her CBC and MP came back normal so doc wanted to play the wait and see game. Because I’m not interested in “wait and see” where my children’s health is concerned (but mostly because I’m incredibly impatient), I made an appointment to discuss the issue and also told them about some rash problems she has had. She broke out in hives after eating an orange (though it was juicy and could have been a skin sensitivity issue due to the mess on her face) and after her sisters ate strawberries.

We went back to the hospital this afternoon so they could take more blood and run a series of tests to detect celiac disease. If that is positive, we get the joy of a consultation with a GI and a lifelong adherence to a gluten-free diet. If it is negative, we move on to a consultation with an allergist and the infamous prick tests to determine what is causing all the allergy symptoms.

Most signs do, indeed, point to celiac disease though the symptoms are fairly generic and could fall into many other categories. I’m keeping my fingers crossed it is something else. While I think I could handle quite easily a few specific allergies, celiac disease is a whole different ball game. CD is not an allergy—it is an autoimmune disease triggered by gluten. And while the disease can be onset at any age, it is not something she’ll outgrow.

I’ve been keeping my fingers crossed that her lactose intolerance was an infant thing that she’d outgrow quickly. If we get the CD diagnosis, it’s likely that the lactose intolerance will stick too as they sometimes go hand in hand. We’re talking a lifelong gluten-free, dairy-free diet.

We should have the CD results within a week, hopefully by Monday. I’m a natural worrier though, so it should be a fun several days.