My New Sparkly April 24, 2008
Dan and I got engaged when we were beyond broke college students. Thinking back it’s almost comical to realize all the things we did in order to save money. Dan didn’t even have a part time job at the time, so he cashed in his meal plan in order to buy my ring.
That ring will always be special to me. I was wearing it when I got married. I was wearing it during every single IVF retrieval and transfer. I was wearing it when I gave birth to Adam.
Dan has always promised me a new ring for our 10th anniversary. And believe it or not, that’s coming up next month. I spent a lot of time researching diamonds, settings, and vendors before I made my decision. It was a really fun process. Who knew there was so much to learn beyond the 4 C’s?
I’ve been waiting with excited anticipation the past few weeks as my ring was being made. I found out yesterday afternoon that it was complete and got the images this morning. Woo hoo! I am over the moon!
I can’t wait to get it now. Of course I’ll have to find some more patience somewhere as I wait for our actual anniversary on the 16th to wear it. It’s gonna be hard, though, because I can’t wait to put it on my finger!
Gobble Gobble! April 13, 2008
What? Another post so soon? Ah, yes. I have wonderful news to report. We got turkey! Adam’s been eating it for a week, and things look good.
This is our biggest success to date. Adam doesn’t really care for the turkey, but it is such a huge accomplishment to find a protein that his body can handle especially one that we know that he reacted to in the past.
Last night I had turkey for dinner for the first time in almost 10 months. It was so nice to be able to eat something other than fish. This diet is not easy, but getting to add another protein source, and one that doesn’t swim at that, makes things feel so much more doable.
Ok, now on to answer some questions from the comments section of my past couple posts. When I said that Adam had two foods, I just was referring to the solid ones. Yes, breastmilk most definitely counts. I’ve got to give it it’s due, for sure. Even though Adam now eats solids three times a day, breastmilk is still his #1 food. He still nurses 10-11 times a day, 6 times during the day and 4-5 times overnight. I guess that might seem like a lot for a 15 month old, but it’s all relative. Before we found solids that he could tolerate he was nursing 12-15 times a day.
I’m so glad that I can continue to breastfeed him. Before I had him I would have never pictured myself nursing a toddler, but now it’s just right for us. It’s also so important for him given all of his food/GI issues.
What about adding more pureed fruits? Well, Adam and fruits don’t get along very well. So far post endoscopy we’ve tried pears, peaches, and prunes without success. He doesn’t tolerate fruits well through my breastmilk either. I’m only eating oranges and apples right now. We’ll definitely still attempt other fruits that we haven’t tried. Banana is on definitely on the list, because I think it’s a food that could help us overcome the massive jump to table food given our texture issues, but we’re going to try to find him a veggie first.
What about blood tests? Niether Adam’s previous allergist (we’re waiting for a May appointment with a new one) or his GI think there’s much point to allergy blood tests. We’re dealing with non IgE mediated intolerances that won’t show up on a blood test like traditional allergies will.
Is this something Adam will grow out of? Yes, we sure hope so. Actually, we’re already seeing evidence that he is to at least some extent. He reacted very strongly to turkey in my diet. We discovered the extent of it after I started the elimination diet. Well, here we are about 10 months later, and he can tolerate it in his on diet now. We see that as a very promising sign.
It’s still obvious that he has many issues. I mean the kid reacts to rice cereal for Pete’s sake. Don’t even get us started on oatmeal. Things are looking up, though, and while he’ll be dealing with this food stuff for what I imagine will still be quite a while, things are improving.
I think that answers them all. Anything I missed?
And now since I didn’t do a formal 15 month post with pics and the like, I figured it would be a good time to post my first video on this blog. As I mentioned, Adam is not a fan of texture, so we’re giving him pureed foods. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t like to lick on some apple slices from time to time. Here he is doing so complete with one of his cute little laughs. Just seeing him enjoy food like that puts a big smile on my face. We’ve certainly come a long way.
Lucky Duck April 8, 2008
I have to admit that sometimes I get down dealing with Adam’s GI issues. It’s hard. Plus, this diet is rather depressing at times.
When I hear a friend happily recounting all of the things that her toddler ate when they went out for dinner the night before, it’s hard for me not to think about the fact that my toddler only has two foods and that I haven’t been able to go out to eat since before Adam was born.
And then I give myself a good smack and realize what I’ve just said to myself. Hey, my toddler has two foods! That’s HUGE for us. And so what about not being able to go out to eat. I will be able to again someday. Maybe not anytime soon, but someday. And the reason I can’t eat at restaurants is because I’m doing this for my son. Needless to say, he’s more important.
Our reality when it comes to the food department is just different than most. We’re celebrating that fact that our soon to be 15 month old can now eat both applesauce and barley cereal. Sure it took forever to get there, and there’s a growing list of things we’ve tried that he hasn’t been able to tolerate, but this is real progress for us. I just have to remember not to compare.
Reflection is a good thing. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the IVF days. I’m not exactly sure why, but in doing so I’ve been able to remind myself how incredibly lucky we are. Sure, we’ve got issues to deal with, but we’re doing it with our son. Our son! I still have to pinch myself sometimes.
So, things are good even if they’re tough sometimes. I’m one lucky woman to be living the life I am.