Feeding a Child with Allergies

Isaac has quite a few allergies. I haven't taken him to see an allergist yet because 1) it is expensive 2) none of his allergies seem to be life-threatening 3) I have been able to figure out most things he is allergic to on my own and 4) I'm hoping he will grow out of them in a couple years.

In the mean time, we are avoiding milk, rice, soy, bananas, peaches, and nuts (because there is a good chance he could be allergic to them). I am also suspicious of beans in general, but have to do more testing on that one. This means I can't give him bananas, yogurt, or cheese-- which are all convenient, easy-to-eat, high-calorie, baby-friendly foods. And I can't give him rice puffs or anything with milk in the ingredients, which pretty much eliminates everything made for toddlers in the grocery store. I also can't give him tofu or peanut butter-- which normally I would have used as good alternative fat and protein sources. I think this is why he is 21 lbs and in the 16th percentile for weight. (A very healthy weight but definitely on the small side for my family.)

Now these issues are not nearly as difficult as having a child with grain allergies/intolerances or life-threatening allergies. Isaac can still eat bread and pasta. And he can eat cheerios and graham crackers, which he loves. I don't have to worry about being in the same room as a peanut butter sandwich or monitoring his every bite, thank goodness.

The hard part is figuring out what to wean him to. Most babies his age drink cows milk, but that is not an option. And neither is soy, rice, or almond milk. (I actually am going to try rice milk in a few months to see how he does with that one.) Our pediatrician encouraged me to continue nursing him until 18 months and gave me samples of Alimentum, a formula made by Similac. I made pancakes with it (because Isaac refused to drink it after multiple attempts), and Isaac didn't tolerate it well. Thankfully, Dr. Lindsay also gave me a sample of Neocate, a prescription formula that costs $55 a tin (I think insurance can cover it if you really need it.). This  formula is 100% dairy free and pretty much soy free (there is a little soy). The proteins are broken down to the level of amino acids, so it virtually eliminates the possibility of an allergic reaction. I made pancakes with this, and so far so good. I have two cans of it and I'm hoping I can get one more free from the company (I sent in a request).

I'm not sure what I really wanted the point of this post to be. But I guess I just want to acknowledge the miracle that it has been to nurse Isaac for this long. It is a blessing we really, really needed considering his allergies. And I want to say that if you are feeding a child with allergies, I understand. It is a stressful puzzle.

1 Year Old

Isaac turned one on December 15th, but we weren't able to celebrate it because we were all sick. Instead, we celebrated with his Uncle Bryan who turned 15 on the 29th. We were with the Sheranian family in California at Grandpa Sheranian's house. That was special to me because I celebrated each of my birthdays around that dinner table as a child. Grandma Sheranian always prepared any meal you requested (almost always her famous beef stroganoff (made with steak and fresh mushrooms-- none of that ground beef or boxed grossness)) and her equally famous chocolate cake. For my wedding, she gave me her cake plate-- the one that was used for all those birthdays-- which is a treasure to me.

For Isaac's birthday, I made a special dairy-free cake just for him to eat and destroy. (I took off his shirt and everything in case it got messy.) Except I forgot that Isaac isn't the destroying type. Instead, he just carefully poked at it. He didn't even try to eat it until I gave him a little bit. And even after that, he only had a few bites. So it was all kind of anti-climactic. I'm sure he would have eaten more if he had been hungry, but we had just finished eating his favorite dinner dish: elbow macaroni with marinara sauce. However, he still put on a cute show-- clapping and waiting for everyone to join him in applause.

What a year it has been with this little angel. He is the best part of our lives!

Word of the Year: Strengthen

This year I want to be strong. I want to strengthen my marriage, my relationship with God, my body, and my emotional capacity.

A few months ago, I read the book The Happiness Project, which I highly recommend. It left me with a lot to think about, but one of my main takeaways was that "Happiness doesn’t always make you feel happy." Or in other words, to be happy, you have to do things you don't want to do. It takes hard work and discipline to read your scriptures, exercise, respond to whining patiently, eat with self-control, not criticize, pray with intent, etc. 

I want more power to do what I know will bring me and my family happiness. And I hope I can access this power by strengthening the areas of my life that matter most.

2012 in Review

We've spent a week in Utah and now are in California, and I have loved spending so much time with family. It's a lot easier to take care of a toddler when you have the help of 3-5 other adults! I've been so spoiled, it's going to be an adjustment when it's back to just me and Isaac during the day.

This last Sunday an elderly lady gave an excellent talk in church. She was energetic, intelligent, well-spoken, and wise. She said that often as we set new year's resolutions we focus on the failures of the previous year. She counseled us to instead focus on the successes. Then for the rest of her talk she spoke of the good in our lives that comes from knowing and living the gospel.

This was something that was so nice for me to hear, because looking back on the last year it's easy for me to see the ways I fell short. In fact, in many ways I have felt weaker this year than perhaps any other.  But I also have so much to be grateful for.

Gratitude was the word I chose for 2012. I definitely did not perfect or even remember that this was my goal for the year, but here are some things I'm grateful for this year: my loving family, my kind husband, my healthy son, our relatively clean apartment, my neighbors and friends, my testimony, the temple, play group, dates with Brent, my jogging stroller, ateachermom, Primary, visiting teaching, air conditioning, all physical comforts, good health, prescription meds that fix my thyroid problem, wise grandparents, vacations, when easily Isaac goes down for naps and bedtime, beautiful weather, facetime with my family, dark chocolate, Isaac's kissable cheeks, friends from far away who call to chat, the fact that Brent only has to travel once a month now, water heaters, fresh fruit, quality entertainment, a safe neighborhood, General Conference talks, trees (CA feels like a desert after living in Houston), soothing music, christmas trees, warm soup, fresh lemonade (with lemons from my Grandma's lemon bush), playing games, dinner parties, Relief Society, good books, the mormon channel, strangers who tell me Isaac is cute, a fun extended family, Marie's mission call to South Dakota, my ancestors, my marriage, and motherhood.

2012 was a year of change, growth, stress, and challenges. But was also filled with love and goodness. I may feel weak at times, but I've held on. I'm glad I made this list. I feel very blessed.

Mourning

I am so sorrowful over the horrible school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. Whenever I lay down to sleep it's all I can think about. I think about those innocent children and their families. And I try not to think too much about how it all happened. It't just too, too terrible. 

I am so grateful for my understanding of God's plan for our lives-- that life is not the beginning or end of who we are as individuals. I have a firm belief that those sweet children and brave teachers and administrators are peaceful and happy in a state of spiritual paradise (Alma 40:12). 

And, like the article that has been circulating social media, I think we need to better address the needs of the mentally ill in our communities. 

Christmas

Have you read The Christmas Scene by Neal A. Maxwell? It's a very small book written to explain the true majesty of the Christmas story-- the type of book that one could read every year and keep learning. I read it some time ago and for the first time really thought about the paradoxes of Christmas. For example, Jesus Christ, who is the creator of the earth-- who was the most intelligent, obedient, powerful spirit ever to be born-- came as a fragile infant in the most humble of circumstances.

Unfortunately I lost my copy, but I was reminded of it this week when I found this quote:

“God’s gifts, unlike seasonal gifts, are eternal and unperishable, 

constituting a continuing Christmas which is never over!"

(Neal A. Maxwell, “The Christmas Scene,” Bookcraft 1994, pp. 4)

Although the cakes, cookies, candy, and sweet breads will either be eaten or thrown away; although the toys will eventually break or be discarded; and although the new tech gadgets will eventually become obsolete, the atonement will never be used up, worn out, or stop helping us. 

Because Christ willingly came to earth to be our Savior, we can have the greatest gift of all-- eternal life. The true purpose of Christmas never ends. 

Beyond Time-Out

Has anyone read this book?

I just wrote a review of it here. I would love to hear your thoughts about it.

11 Months

Isaac took his first steps on November 4th. We were at church, where I let him crawl around the back of the Primary room when I'm not conducting or teaching sharing time. He stood up (like he's been doing for months now) and took two tiny steps towards a chair. Yay! Since then, he's been taking a few more steps each day. He's still crawling quite a bit-- and does his Mowgli crawl too. But the more he walks the more he seems like a grown-up boy. And this outfit makes him look even more grown-up! 

In the last month Isaac has also found a new friend-- who lives right across the street. They've been playing together quite a bit and are so cute. It's just been in the last month that I've noticed Isaac really interact with his friends. He'll crawl away and look back giggling, asking to be chased. And when a friend goes over to a box and starts hitting it, he'll crawl over to join in on the fun. It's so cute to watch his social skills just beginning to develop.

Because the weather is so great right now in Houston (in the 70s-- yay!), we've been spending a lot more time going to the park and going on walks. One of our favorite spots is the Tanglewood walking trail, just a block from our house. 

Isaac loves pulling books off the shelf, exploring the safe cupboards of the house, pointing at everything, and turning off light switches. He just barely learned how to clap, which is so cute. And he points to the picture of Jesus when I ask him "Where's Jesus?" He's very interested in animals now and will point at birds, cats, and dogs. Our neighbors have a porcelain bunny rabbit on their porch and Isaac points to it every day. I'm not sure if he thinks it's real or not. All-in-all, Isaac makes life pretty fun! 

Here are a couple videos of him. In the first one, he takes a few steps. In the second, he does his Mowgli crawl. 

Hypothyroidism

Last week I went to the doctor for the first time in Houston (besides going to my midwife while I was pregnant). I was worried about a swollen lymph node in my neck-- so I got some blood work done and a prescription for antibiotics. The next morning I woke up with a cold so I figured it was just something that had been dormant in my body.  My doctor said she would call on Saturday with the results of the blood test. But she didn't call, so I thought I was good to go.

However, I got a voice mail from her Monday morning saying that I had a hypothyroid. What? I quickly did some internet research and found out that hypothyroidism is when your thyroid doesn't produce enough thyroid hormone. And one of the common causes is pregnancy and/or giving birth. The symptoms include fatigue, hair loss, weigh gain, dry skin, and cold hands and feet. I've been tired, but not that tired. I had no idea.

Then my doctor's secretary called and said they wanted to get me in with a endocrinologist that very day. I asked her about my blood work and she said that they tested for TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) that is produced by your pituitary land. It is what tells your thyroid to make more hormone. The normal range for TSH is 0.4- 4.5. My blood test showed I was at 20.53. Yikes! She said she made an appointment for me to see the endocrinologist at 12:30. I knew that the fact a specialist would see me so quickly meant this was no laughing matter.

At my appointment, the doctor felt my thyroid (which is NOT the lump in my neck I had been worried about), talked to me about my history and symptoms, and ran more blood tests. He gave me a low dose of hormone to start with and I'm slowly working up to the level my body needs so I don't put my body into shock. He said that it is totally safe to take while nursing and that it is also safe to take while pregnant but my doses will need to be monitored closely during any future pregnancy because pregnant women need more thyroid hormone than normal.

I asked him how bad a score of 20.53 was. He said, "Well, that means your pituitary is shouting loudly to your Thyroid to get working." But then he said he had seen patients whose TSH levels were over 300. Those people, he said, were like tortoises--large, slow-moving, with very dry skin.

I asked if this was temporary or chronic and he didn't really give me a straight answer, but his nurse said that there is pretty much a 95% chance I will have to take pills for the rest of my life. Whew. But, she said, this is a much easier condition to deal with than so many others out there. And that is true.

The next morning my regular doctor called to check up on me and told me that the reason that they wanted to get me treated so quickly is because if I were to become pregnant and were untreated, there is a very high risk of having a baby with mental retardation.

Even though being diagnosed with a chronic disorder is not fun (I feel like I'm turning into an old woman!), I am so very grateful I was diagnosed now. Now, before I inexplicably gained a ton of weight, before I lost a ton of hair, and before I got pregnant and put a baby at risk. It's a miracle that I went in to get checked and that this problem was found so early. To me it is clear evidence that Heavenly Father is willing to bless me-- even when I probably don't deserve it.

A Political Post

I usually don't talk politics. But I thought I would share my thoughts since it's what is on everyone's minds today.

Although there is a lot to complain about in the American political system, there is so much to be grateful for. The truth is derisive party politics have been with us since Jefferson and Adams. And although there may be a better way, our system has stood the test of time (so far). I always feel grateful after an election cycle (even when the candidate I voted for doesn't win) that our country maintains its stability through elections. There are so many places in the world where elections spark riots and even civil war. Thank goodness we live in a place were we have the freedom to vote and can retain relative stability no matter who takes office.

This election cycle I have also felt a renewed sense of duty to pray for our nation and president. I really do love our country, and I care deeply about it's future. Yet, there is rarely evidence of this in my prayers or actions. It's easy to point fingers, but more important to do something. I really feel that the decline of our nation has more to do with the collective decisions of each individual than it has to do with our leaders. Although I didn't agree with the bailout, I don't think that's what ruined the economy; in my opinion, it was a million greedy people who lived beyond their means.

Although many Republicans may be despairing today-- thinking that President Obama taking office for the second time is the end of the world-- I think the source of our county's problems is on a much lower level. It's the moral decline of our nation that troubles me most. If everyone would commit to being honest (especially fiscally), commit to being faithful to their spouses, commit to properly raise the children they've conceived, and commit to spend every day in a productive manner (even if they are unemployed), I think many of our country's problems would solve themselves.

So I'm committing to do these things myself. And I'm committing to pray for our nation and for President Obama.