It's going to have to become my mantra... because I'm not really sure I can.
This afternoon at Avery's 6 month well child check up, after the doctor and I discussed some of the latest things going on with her... he said what I really didn't want to hear.
Seriously, trying to eat a non-dairy diet was hard. Extremely hard; as in I-accidentally-eat something-with-dairy-at-least-once-a-week hard. And now I have to avoid soy as well? I told him I wanted to switch to formula. And his answer?
I almost asked him to leave the room so I could mope and cry a little, but Harvey starting ripping up a cardboard tube (where did he find that?!). Oh, and he also said I should give her system at least a 3 month break from milk and soy so it can mature and hopefully develop the ability to tolerate those foods. I asked him if all my "mess-ups" were making her body less likely to outgrow the allergies, and he confirmed. Great. I win Worst-Mom-In-The-World-Award for the second time.
I love food, and it is really hard to stay away/watch others eat it/remember to check the labels when I'm not allergic and the food doesn't negatively affect me!
Tonight, my mom asked us to go out to Red Robin (one of our favorite restaurants). We headed over and I asked for the allergy menu. Wanna know what was on the Soy menu? A house salad. And french fries without the special seasoning. (Okay.. and the Avo-Cobbo salad with no chicken, no olives, and no garlic bread, and I also couldn't have the blue cheese, so.... house salad.) We left and Harvey freaked, so I made him macaroni and cheese at home. I scanned my cupboards trying to find something for myself to eat, and nearly everything on my pantry shelves contained soy. Including Oreos, which I was so excited that they didn't contain dairy.
Seriously, this baby girl owes me.
I do have a little hope. She didn't know signs of being allergic to soy until I fed it to her directly (as opposed to going through me); soy formula, and rice cereal (including soy). But she still loved eating off a spoon:
Too bad she was in pain after...
If any of you have a recipe or two that doesn't include soy/dairy (although I do have substitutes for milk and butter) would you mind sharing? I really need to expand my culinary horizons.
This afternoon at Avery's 6 month well child check up, after the doctor and I discussed some of the latest things going on with her... he said what I really didn't want to hear.
"I'm going to recommend avoiding soy as well." Ugh.
Seriously, trying to eat a non-dairy diet was hard. Extremely hard; as in I-accidentally-eat something-with-dairy-at-least-once-a-week hard. And now I have to avoid soy as well? I told him I wanted to switch to formula. And his answer?
"Sure, but the only formula she can have (without dairy or soy in it) is $23 bucks a can, and she'll go through that in about 2 days."
I almost asked him to leave the room so I could mope and cry a little, but Harvey starting ripping up a cardboard tube (where did he find that?!). Oh, and he also said I should give her system at least a 3 month break from milk and soy so it can mature and hopefully develop the ability to tolerate those foods. I asked him if all my "mess-ups" were making her body less likely to outgrow the allergies, and he confirmed. Great. I win Worst-Mom-In-The-World-Award for the second time.
I love food, and it is really hard to stay away/watch others eat it/remember to check the labels when I'm not allergic and the food doesn't negatively affect me!
Tonight, my mom asked us to go out to Red Robin (one of our favorite restaurants). We headed over and I asked for the allergy menu. Wanna know what was on the Soy menu? A house salad. And french fries without the special seasoning. (Okay.. and the Avo-Cobbo salad with no chicken, no olives, and no garlic bread, and I also couldn't have the blue cheese, so.... house salad.) We left and Harvey freaked, so I made him macaroni and cheese at home. I scanned my cupboards trying to find something for myself to eat, and nearly everything on my pantry shelves contained soy. Including Oreos, which I was so excited that they didn't contain dairy.
Seriously, this baby girl owes me.
I do have a little hope. She didn't know signs of being allergic to soy until I fed it to her directly (as opposed to going through me); soy formula, and rice cereal (including soy). But she still loved eating off a spoon:
Too bad she was in pain after...
If any of you have a recipe or two that doesn't include soy/dairy (although I do have substitutes for milk and butter) would you mind sharing? I really need to expand my culinary horizons.
:( I recommend Asian food, it should be soy & diary free with few modifications. Also pretty much all prepared food is out (with a few exceptions I guess) so probably lots of salads.
ReplyDeleteGood luck, it is so so hard. Also I have a small can of the soy & dairy free formula I got as a sample from my doctor. I think I only ever made one bottle from it. I've been meaning to give it to someone (though I'd need to double check the expiration, it's about a year old). It'd give you a few back up bottles for emergencies (or if you accidentally slip up and wanted to give her formula while you get it out of your system). So hard! Good luck.
Anna.. I would LOVE to take that formula can off your hands!! Thanks!
DeleteYou are such a fabulous mom, and that cutie pie will owe you big time :) I'm with you (about loving food) and it is so hard to stay away from things you really want to eat! I can't believe all of the changes you have had to make...cRazY!!! She is so lucky to have a mom that is willing to workout all of the crazy ingredient stuff to help her little system! I hope it will get better soon!
ReplyDeleteCan I be your cheerleader? I know I just talked to you, but in my time living the allergen-free life, I've discovered that sometimes I just need someone to 1)tell me how awesome I am for making it all work even though it is hard and 2)commiserate with. Seriously, once in awhile I just need someone who will listen to me gripe about how tough it can be. So I'll cheer. And you can whine anytime. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Shauna! And.. thanks for listening to me this afternoon!!
DeleteThat's such a hard change to make! Jack was allergic to milk for awhile, and then whole wheat, so we got really good at checking labels and cooking from scratch. http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/ blog is an awesome start to some really quick and easy and yummy whole foods recipes. (Just trade the milk for almond milk. And whenever you're baking something with almond milk instead of regular milk add more baking powder than it calls for.) Also moneysavingmom.com has a son that just developed a dairy allergy, so she just posted a bunch of recipes that are dairy free. We thankfully are just out of that allergy park now, and can eat whatever we want, but we still stick to mostly whole foods. I have found mexican food to be the most filling and easy to throw together for lunch, and so that's what I mainly eat now. Corn, quinoa, avocado, tomatoes, beans, and even cooked sweet potato bites mixed in. Delicious, filling and not too much brainpower to throw together. Let me know if you need more resources! brooklynnster AT gmail.com
ReplyDeleteWhat a challenge!! I'll bet you're losing weight :) That's how I look at things :)
ReplyDeleteYou ARE clever, talented, strong and a courageous woman. You can do it!! Besides, you're doing what is best for your baby :) You'll be blessed for it.