Dairy Allergy

After Baby Girl threw up breastmilk mixed with a fair amount of blood last Thursday, we took her into the Dr the next day to be tested for a dairy allergy/intolerance(per the nurse practitioners request).

Positive.

That explains Baby Girl's weight problems, her fussiness, gas issues,etc.  Poor thing.  And the idiotic part is that all our other bio kids had the same issues and had to be on soy formula.  So you would think the Dr or me would have realized this possibility.  With the other kids though the warning sign of dairy issues was massive spitting up.  Baby Girl didn't have that so it didn't cross my mind. Plus
I am nursing so I though breast milk would be ok I guess.

But like with drinking cows milk, everything the cow eats passes into it's milk.  That's why it's important to eat organic cheese/yogurt/milk etc.  Otherwise you are getting all those awesome antibiotics(that are causing antibiotic resistance and super bugs) and GMO feed.  Yum.

So now I am dairy free.

And you think dairy- milk, yogurt, butter, cheese, right?


Oh no, there is so much more that contains dairy products that you would never guess or doesn't immediately come to mind:

• breads/rolls/flatbreads
• chicken stock
• candy
• french fries
• most things with a batter on it
• soups
• lunch meat
• sausage patties
• hash browns
• dressings/sauces

You will find some of those products listed above can be found dairy free but you have to be watchful because some brands contain dairy. And you have to be vigilant for whey also which comes from milk.The good thing is that companies are required to state on their packaging if it contains milk products.

I had to nibble the bread at communion last night because I didn't know the ingredients.

The good news is I have lost 3lbs in 8 days!  It's no secret that I have a sweet tooth.  And even though I bake with natural sugars at home(maple syrup/honey), I find it hard to resist refined sugar in the form of candy bars, doughnuts,cupcakes and cookies. Yep, I am human.

But ALL those sweets have dairy.  I can probably sub some of the ingredients out(like milk or almond milk, butter for applesauce, etc), but haven't gotten to doing that yet.

We have also been eating vegan meals.  Meaning no meat or animal by products(dairy/eggs, though we are more lenient with eggs).  We didn't eat meat too much before anyhow. We mainly used it to season our food, not as the main star.

After watching Forks Over Knives about a month ago, we started cutting back on dairy products and cut out meat at our dinners at home.  The statistics and human results in this video are startling.  If you're not a fan of cancer or heart attacks/strokes, then you need to watch this movie. It's free on netflix or you can rent it for 2.99 on Amazon.

But with the dairy allergy/intolerance diagnosis I have been more strict at our dinners and for myself at other meals.

I miss pizza the most.  That's gonna be the first thing I eat when Baby Girl is weaned(at a year old)!!  

I have found some good recipes on pinterest though along with http://www.godairyfree.org/ and her book

The Hubby was highly skeptical of eating meat free but has been surprised.  We have had some hits and misses and some things that showed promise that I will do differently the next time to improve it.

We haven't sworn off meat entirely but the more we can cut out the better.  Same with dairy( again, watch Forks Over Knives!! Mind blowing.).  

Could we get into an accident and all die tomorrow?  Yep.  But I'll have done everything in my power to help us all live longer, healthier lives.  I can sleep better at night knowing that.

It does take a few weeks for the dairy to completely be eliminated from my system.  So I am excited to see how Baby Girl changes after that point.  

After passing up donuts this morning I told the kids that if when Baby Girl grows up and if she ever questions my love her, remind of her of all this!  ;)

And who knows, by time I wean her, I may be a size 0! lol

I pray everyone has a blessed Easter too!  I feel like I am giving up so much by doing away with dairy and yet Jesus gave up his entire life for me( and you!) in the most brutal fashion at that. 

 Reality check.

Many Blessings,

The Mama

  

IT Has Happened. *Dun. Dun, Dun*

It has been a rough week here.  We had some dishes melt in the oven, Little Miss was throwing up one morning, our pocket door got pulled out too far and was stuck in the middle, we found out our dishwasher would be a couple hundred to fix, Little Miss has been having some mega meltdowns, we're are trying to finish painting our foyer and upstairs hall and there was more but I can't recall at the moment.  My mom did fall down our stairs too while over the other night helping to paint.  No one is immune it seems.



But to make everything worse...

has happened.

The thing I have been dreading for the last 2 years when I realized

was coming. 

One day.

*SIGH*

Princess, who needs help showering,dressing and toileting, has started her period.

Doesn't her body know that her inner age is really that of a toddler/pre-schooler???

Obviously not.

That is the life of caring for a special needs child whose body is growing up faster then their brain though I guess. I use to think that parents of kids who had severe disabilities(wheelchair/bed bound) who had their daughter's ovaries removed to prevent ovulation was extreme.  But I get it now.  

We also have a showing Tuesday which is good news but we have a lot to do to put this house back together.  I am also wanting to paint the bathroom walls, cabinets, medicine cabinet and switch out the vanity lights ans faucet.  Hope we can get it done!

As soon as the Foyer is put back together I'll post before and after pics too.  If all goes as planned with the bath I will do the same for that too.

Oh I need to repaint the porch floor too.

Pray we have no more hurdles as we have had the past few days.  

*Half an hour after I posted this I walked out into the kitchen to water all over the floor.  Our dishwasher is now leaking which wasn't even the issue we were having with it. 

 Glad we decided to just replace it though!

Thanks and Many Blessings,

The Mama