About
Originally, I thought blogs were for people who thought too much of their own thoughts and opinions. I mean, really, who cares what I think? But then I realized that it was a way to communicate to lots of people in this real-time world. And I know there’s information missing out there, especially about food intolerances and cooking around them.
Child #1 was easy: no food problems, no sleep problems. It lulled me into that sense of security that one requires before having a second child.
Child #2: not so easy. Milk intolerant the first week. If I ate so much as a morsel of food with milk in it, he would projectile vomit for 3 days after. When he weaned himself at 8 months old (cold turkey, I might add), I tried soy formula, and he flushed bright red and screamed all night long. So while waiting the 2 weeks to get into the pediatric gastroenterologist, he dropped from 75th percentile to 25th percentile in weight on enriched rice milk, because I didn’t know what else to give him. He ended up on Neocate until he was 13 months old, when he supposedly outgrew his intolerances. Then he got a horrible stomach virus when he was 18 months old. Back again. Then we thought he outgrew them at 3 years old. Back again. Well, to make a long story short, he’s now 7 and still soy, milk intolerant, as well as cocoa/chocolate. He changes symptoms every time. Right now it’s wetting the bed, screaming all night with leg pain and stomach pain, and tantrums, so he stays off the required foods.
During one of those periods where I thought he had outgrown the food intolerances, we had Child #3. She seemed fine through breast feeding. It wasn’t until she was a year old that I realized she had issues. Gee, why is she still waking up 4-8 times a night? The doctor said perhaps she was lactose intolerant, and even with the experience of my son, I hadn’t thought of food as the issue. So I bought the book, “Is This Your Child?” by Dr. Doris Rapp, and did the elimination diet. She is now 2, and is intolerant of the following food families: apple, nuts, corn, citrus, nightshade (tomato, potato, pepper), gourd/melon, legumes (including soy), mustard (broccoli, etc.), pineapple, plum, berries, eggs and dairy. She has varying symptoms: cradle cap, rash on her legs, eczema behind her ears, screaming all night, diarrhea or vomiting, and drinking over 120 oz. a day to soothe her stomach. So I’ve had to be creative with my cooking and adapted many recipes. For milk and egg allergies, I’ve looked to vegan recipes, though they rely heavily on soy. I’ve read books about corn allergies (who realized they put cornstarch in iodized salt and confectioner’s sugar?). Also, in the last year, a good friend’s two sons were diagnosed with Celiac, so she has done some experimenting with recipes as well. So I would like to help anyone I can and am willing to experiment with recipes for you. Also, if you want to know what products I used, I’ll be happy to share them with you.
For more information, please email me.