Food Drama Rama

Monica has always had her share of feeding drama, and the past week has been no exception. Here's the latest on Monica and her nutritional drama. I found some blogs of moms dealing with this particular issue to be very helpful, so I thought I'd share a bit of our story.

A few weeks ago, Monica broke out in some wicked evening rashes. I hadn't seen anything like it before, and was a bit concerned. For a week, I thought it might be heat rash due to teething. As the rash grew worse and spread to her legs, looking more and more eczema-ish, I knew deep down it was something dietary. Since we hadn't really added anything new in a while, my first suspicion was soy.

I was a little dubious at first since Monica was drinking soy formula without a problem for months, but kids develop allergies/intolerances so it was not out of the question. We went to the pediatrician for her one year check up and the rash was in full force. It wasn't hive-ish and hadn't really flared with one specific instance or food, so there was not much to do but start eliminating things. I pulled the soy from her diet and within 24 hours, the rash started to improve and has continued to improve with each day. So, here we are with what I am pretty sure is an MSPI toddler.

We've known that Monica has been milk intolerant since she was 4 months old, and the soy intolerance is not a total surprise, though I really thought she'd miss out on that since the soy formula was good to go for so long. But, regardless of the past, here we are.

The most challenging thing in eliminating soy was finding protein and fat sources. A lot of the failure to thrive suggestions are dairy based, heavy cream, cheese, whole milk, butter etc, and not an option for Monica. So, after some internet research, I started giving her rice yogurt with rice protein powder and canola oil mixed in. Not the most appetizing thing, but she likes it. The rice yogurt has a whole lot of sugar, so I think that's what keeps her happy. I also put the mix ins in applesauce. I tried enriched vanilla rice milk with the mix ins but she was less than pleased with that in the bottle. After three tries, she screamed when she saw the bottle at all. So, bottle weaning was rather abrupt in our house!

Monica has never been good with a sippy cup (more of a toy than a drinking tool) so we tried the regular cup. To our surprise, she picked it up and started gulping watered-down juice. I tried the rice milk in the cup but she just shoved it away in disgust. At this point, we're just looking for any fluid intake, so juice it is. There has been a learning curve with the cup (i.e. no shoving food in the cup, keep your hands out of the cup, don't dump the cup), but all in all, I was really surprised at how fast she picked it up.

I'm also going to give Monica a multi-vitamin, but I have yet to find a good source for calcium, since I'm not sure she's ready for a lot of citrus (calcium fortified OJ) and gobs of leafy greens do not make their way into her diet. Keeping Monica soy and dairy free is not easy. We have to bring food wherever we go, and I read labels like a hawk. I'm just remembering that for her to grow out of these intolerances, she needs to be free of the offending foods.

I had been preparing two meals much of the time since Monica can't have dairy, but with this new development, I decided to do some research for meals that we can all eat. I found this great blog, MSPI Mama. She has an MSPI little guy and has TONS of recipes for families with this dietary issue. She even has a dairy, soy free recipe for S'More cookie bars!

So, a no-dairy no-soy life is possible. I must admit that when I faced this at first, I thought it would be the biggest pain. However, now that we're in a routine, it's just part of life. Here's hoping that Monica will be able to eat ice cream on her next birthday!

Oops...Almost Forgot. Trick or Treating!

Here are two pics of Monica as a chicken/duck...whichever you want it to be.

I think the one of her standing is pretty funny because you can really see the funny-ness of the costume and she's missing a slipper.



Lounging in the stroller, chomping on the Precious is just classic Monica.

My Two Excuses for Lack of Posting

While it's not unheard of for me to go long stretches without a post, nearly two weeks is a long time! The time I normally would have spent writing/reading/blogging has been taken up by the unavoidable urge to sleep whenever possible. There are two reasons for this:

1.















and

2.














That's right, Baby 2.0 is on the way. I'm just over eight weeks now. It's funny, with Monica, I never would have dreamed letting anyone but family and close friends know until at least 12 weeks. I was so nervous with Monica - nervous that she would be unhealthy, that I would miscarry, that something, anything, would go terribly wrong.

I feel completely different about this pregnancy. Yes, the possibilities for loss, etc. are still there, but I am willing to accept those possiblities more readily and rejoice in the baby here and now...even through the sickness and exhaustion!

With Monica, the First Trimester Yuck extended way into the second, so I'm hoping for a bit of a reprieve this go round.

Here's to another baby and many more adventures!

Happy Birthday, Miss Monica!

a day late, but here it is...

Dear Monica,

Today is your 1st birthday, and I am happy to say that we have all, officially, survived the first year of your life! This is no small thing for me and your daddy. We have learned a lot about what it means to be selfless, gentle, playful, and persistent. And you have learned the most of us all! In the past year, you have learned to smile, make many noises, wave bye bye and hello, sign “more”, crawl, stand, walk a few steps, feed yourself, and say dog (dah). Wow!

Tonight, as 7pm came around, I was drying you off after your bath and putting your pajamas on. You were laughing and playing with such incredible joy. When I realized that this precious moment was at the time you were born, tears welled up in my eyes because it was a year ago that you entered the world crying. Now, you go to sleep for the night, laughing. What a gift we have in you!

I am so glad that God brought you into my life. I love being you mother, and I am looking forward to growing with you through all the years we have together. You are best first born daughter I could ever ask for.

I love you!
Mommy

Obituary of the Late Mr. Common Sense

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn't always fair;
- and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.

Apparently, this has been circulating around the internet for years. I just saw it, and thought it was worth posting. I miss old Mr. C. Sense.

Note from original author, Lori Borgman: This piece was first published March 15, 1998 in the Indianapolis Star. It has been "modified" and "edited" by others and circulated on the Internet, even sent to me several times. Imagine my surprise to see it attributed to some guy named Anonymous. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I take having my work circulated on the web as a compliment.

Dinner in KobeTown

Here's a little narrative about Kevin's latest evening meal:

So I had my first eel experience. For appetizers, there were what I might call “eel chips”. Basically, it was just dried eel bones. There was also eel liver for an appetizer. Dinner included meso soup, which had some kind of eel part in it. Then the main dish was grilled (or blackened, I’m not sure) eel on top of rice. The flavor was mostly soy sauce based, so not too bad. The flavor and texture were not too much different from fish. However, the thought was what killed me. I kept picturing the eels slithering around in my head and my brain kept telling my stomach to reject it.

I forgot to mention that it was a lot of eel too. A couple pieces would have been no big deal, but it was a lot. Like maybe twice the size of [a] tilapia [filet]...I survived, thank God for beer. Afterwards, we stopped at a coffee shop for dessert. I was very glad to eat some pastries to get the eel flavor out of my mouth. I am also chewing lots of gum. I would say this was my biggest challenge yet. But I feel good about it because halfway through, they offered to eat the rest of my eel, but I finished it all.

Way to go, Kev. If someone would have told me when we got married that my donut/pb sandwich/pringle eating husband would be feasting on various eel dishes in a few years, I would have wet myself for laughing too hard. Miracles do happen.

Photos from the Far East

Kevin is in Japan again, and he sent some pictures, complete with captions!

Enjoy!

I don’t even think its (eating octopus) strange anymore, just chew, swallow, and chase with beer

The Shinkansen (bullet train) with old design (foreground) and new design (background).

Himeji Castle

Sunset behind Akashi Bridge, the world’s longest suspension bridge.