I never got around to updating about Cutie Pie's doctor visit the other day. Have you ever had a doctor warn you against diagnosing yourself via google? They mean it. It is dangerous. When I got to the ped's office I brought Cutie Pie in the well-kid side of the waiting room because I didn't want her picking up some strange bug when we were just there to check her iron. No one seemed to mind. We got back to the exam room and the nurse checked her weight (19lbs 12oz) and her iron (10.3). Iron still low-ish, but better than it was at her 9 month check-up. I was already feeling silly being there at that point. The doctor came in and we talked about her iron, her symptoms, her eating habits, etc and then he thought while I was there he would check her out and see if anything else could be causing her issues. Well, turns out she had hand, foot, and mouth disease. Oops. Apparently it has been running rampant around town. She had huge blisters in her throat and on top of that is cutting SIX teeth. They are most of the way pushed through, but not all the way. No wonder she has been grumpy and not sleeping and not wanting to eat. I guess it isn't always an FPIES thing.
That seemed to calm down, sleeping went back to "normal" (aka waking up at 2am screaming and spending the rest of the night rolling around in our bed) so we decided to go with another trial. Since she is headed to the allergist next week we wanted to try something slightly dangerous. My confidence has been boosted since chicken was okay, and part of me didn't think she would actually eat green beans since they aren't exactly famous for being favorite kid food. But surprise, surprise, she CHOWED down on them the first time we gave them to her yesterday at dinner. She was sitting in her highchair sucking on them and chewing them up and the whole time just saying "mmmmmmmmmm." What can I say, she's a weirdo. Two hours on the dot she woke up (she had already gone to bed) screaming. Yikes. She got back to sleep eventually until about 12:30. Then she was awake until around 4am just rolling around and making noises and just generally not sleeping - not crying, but not sleeping. Then she went back to sleep for an hour and got up again around 5am. She's not a great sleeper, but this was bad even for her. Then this morning she had a diaper FULL of mucus. Gross and smelly and yucky. And another one this afternoon. And less than 60 minutes of naps all day long. I am not hopeful for a positive outcome.... However a couple of times she has just needed a few days to adjust to a new food so we are going to push through for another day or two and see what happens. She chowed down on some again tonight for dinner, so we'll see how this goes tonight!!
Friday, July 6, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
Back to the Doctor
We are headed back to the pediatrician's office this afternoon to have Cutie Pie's iron levels rechecked. I've been concerned about her iron levels for a couple weeks now, so finally today I decided to act like the crazy momma that is hiding somewhere in my soul and insist she be rechecked. I am not certain she is tolerating the poly-vi-sol supplement she has been getting anymore. The past few weeks her sleep has gone WAAAY off track and for the last week she has been up for several hours in the middle of the night (which is usually a sign of a reaction for Cutie Pie). We've also been seeing more mucus in her dirty diapers. She's done so well with the supplement for almost two months now, but I just don't think it is cutting it and I'm not sure it is doing much for her iron levels either. Yesterday it was over 100 degrees outside but Cutie Pie's hands and feet felt like ice - a common sign of low iron levels. I did some more reading last night about symptoms of iron deficiency anemia and several of the things on the list jumped out at me - fatigue (she has been taking 3-4 hour naps twice a day which is totally unlike her), poor appetite, pale skin, brittle nails, etc. Knowing that her iron levels were already low at her nine month check-up combined with these other things just makes me a worried momma. And then to top it off one of the other FPIES mommas from the babycenter page just had her kiddos admitted to the hospital because of low iron levels. It just kinda compounded my worries. I am hoping we get there and the nurse finds her iron levels to be normal so #1 I can stop worrying, and #2 I can stop giving her the iron drops. I am already imagining how the conversation with our wonderful pediatrician is going to go:
Dr: You need to feed her more iron-rich foods.
Me: Like what?
Dr: Beef
Me: She won't eat it.
Dr: Spinach
Me: Refuses.
Dr: Broccoli
Me: Refuses
Dr: Quinoa
Me: FPIES fail
Dr: Egg yolks
Me: Refuses
See the pattern? Cutie Pie survives on avocado, watermelon, potatoes, and a bite or two of chicken here and there. For real though, I love our pediatrician so I am hoping he is able to give me some insight/suggestions on how to get Cutie Pie to eat a wider variety of foods while we are there. So wish us luck!
Dr: You need to feed her more iron-rich foods.
Me: Like what?
Dr: Beef
Me: She won't eat it.
Dr: Spinach
Me: Refuses.
Dr: Broccoli
Me: Refuses
Dr: Quinoa
Me: FPIES fail
Dr: Egg yolks
Me: Refuses
See the pattern? Cutie Pie survives on avocado, watermelon, potatoes, and a bite or two of chicken here and there. For real though, I love our pediatrician so I am hoping he is able to give me some insight/suggestions on how to get Cutie Pie to eat a wider variety of foods while we are there. So wish us luck!
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Reverse Iron Chef
I am not a chef. Sometimes I pretend like I am. In all honestly I have learned a lot about cooking through the kids' allergy issues, but there are times when I am harshly reminded to not be cavalier in the kitchen. Today is one of those days.
Sometime this past week I agreed to a friendly Reverse Iron Chef with a fellow FPIES mommy and blogger. We had a list of ten foods that we were allowed to use that was given to use by another FPIES mom who was asking for help in finding things for her FPIES kiddo to eat. The foods were as follows:
1. apples
2. pears
3. peaches
4. milk
5. chicken
6. sweet potatoes
7. green beans
8. peas
9. carrots
10. brown sugar
My immediate concern is that five out of the ten foods are ones that are on my banned list so I wouldn't be able to taste them myself. But I figured I'd let big brother taste them or daddy. My idea was to put together a day's worth of food with the list. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and desert. Since I put off trying to cook anything until today (the day our little contest thing was supposed to end), I only got through the breakfast portion today. I figured tomorrow I would attempt lunch, Tuesday I would go for dinner, and Wednesday I'd think about desert. So here is the only thing I could come up with as a successful breakfast:
A smoothie.
My intention was to make some type of delicious sweet potato hashbrown. In my mind it would be easy - grate the sweet potato, squeeze out the moisture, and fry it up in some butter. Didn't work. First my sweet potato hashbrowns completely stuck to the pan in the first spot. I added some more butter and then they were WAAAAAY too buttery. Fail. Then I thought that maybe I could cook them in the toaster oven like I do Cutie Pie's frozen hasbrowns. I shredded some more potatoes, squeezed out the liquid, greased the little cookie sheet, used a pastry brush to lightly spread butter on the top of the hasbrowns, and put them in at about 400 degrees. The toaster oven filled with smoke before they got toasty. Fail. Then I thought about a pin I saw on pinterest about cooking hasbrowns in a waffle maker, so I started again. Brushed some butter on the waffle maker, cooked for 8 minutes. When I checked on them the outside was crispy looking, but the inside was a soggy mess. Not very hasbrown-y. Fail again. Cutie Pie, big brother, and daddy were getting hungry for dinner at this point so I had to stop making foods no one would eat and focus my attention on dinner foods.
And then I thought about my smoothie. Who doesn't love a good smoothie? And with the ingredient list you could make a mean breakfast smoothie full of fruit and protein and calcium. So here is my smoothie recipe.
Sometime this past week I agreed to a friendly Reverse Iron Chef with a fellow FPIES mommy and blogger. We had a list of ten foods that we were allowed to use that was given to use by another FPIES mom who was asking for help in finding things for her FPIES kiddo to eat. The foods were as follows:
1. apples
2. pears
3. peaches
4. milk
5. chicken
6. sweet potatoes
7. green beans
8. peas
9. carrots
10. brown sugar
My immediate concern is that five out of the ten foods are ones that are on my banned list so I wouldn't be able to taste them myself. But I figured I'd let big brother taste them or daddy. My idea was to put together a day's worth of food with the list. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and desert. Since I put off trying to cook anything until today (the day our little contest thing was supposed to end), I only got through the breakfast portion today. I figured tomorrow I would attempt lunch, Tuesday I would go for dinner, and Wednesday I'd think about desert. So here is the only thing I could come up with as a successful breakfast:
A smoothie.
My intention was to make some type of delicious sweet potato hashbrown. In my mind it would be easy - grate the sweet potato, squeeze out the moisture, and fry it up in some butter. Didn't work. First my sweet potato hashbrowns completely stuck to the pan in the first spot. I added some more butter and then they were WAAAAAY too buttery. Fail. Then I thought that maybe I could cook them in the toaster oven like I do Cutie Pie's frozen hasbrowns. I shredded some more potatoes, squeezed out the liquid, greased the little cookie sheet, used a pastry brush to lightly spread butter on the top of the hasbrowns, and put them in at about 400 degrees. The toaster oven filled with smoke before they got toasty. Fail. Then I thought about a pin I saw on pinterest about cooking hasbrowns in a waffle maker, so I started again. Brushed some butter on the waffle maker, cooked for 8 minutes. When I checked on them the outside was crispy looking, but the inside was a soggy mess. Not very hasbrown-y. Fail again. Cutie Pie, big brother, and daddy were getting hungry for dinner at this point so I had to stop making foods no one would eat and focus my attention on dinner foods.
And then I thought about my smoothie. Who doesn't love a good smoothie? And with the ingredient list you could make a mean breakfast smoothie full of fruit and protein and calcium. So here is my smoothie recipe.
Peach, Apple, Yogurt Smoothie
A handful of frozen peaches
A dollop of plain greek yogurt (I like greek yogurt because it has more protein than regular yogurt)
A couple ice cubes
A couple splashes of apple juice
Blend. If it is too thick, add more apple juice. If it is too thin, add more ice.
Easy enough.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Sometimes I Forget
There are days where my whole world is consumed by FPIES. And then there are days like today - where I *almost* forget. Good days like today where Cutie Pie is in a great, giggly, goofy mood. There is no screaming in pain, no mucusy diarrhea, no projectile vomiting. Days like today where she eats like a normal kid (okay, maybe not normal but at least she doesn't act like food is evil) and even takes naps. Days where I read the ingredients on the cookie box and reeeeeeeaaaaaaaaally think about eating one myself. Days like today when I start to doubt this FPIES thing is even real.
Ironically, these are some of the hardest days for me. Don't get me wrong, I am ecstatic that everyone is happy and healthy. I know it is because we are super diligent about making sure Cutie Pie stays safe. But I admit days like today are the hardest because I have to find some super self-control way down deep and resist the urge to treat her like a "normal" baby. Resist giving her a graham cracker to gnaw on. Resist jump-starting a new trial even though we are only on day four of our sunbutter trial. Resist, resist, resist.
And then I get scared. The last time we were in such a good spot was right before our big quinoa fail. I was doubting that she even had FPIES and thought maybe her other reactions were just coincidences. And then it all came crashing down around us and she hasn't been the same since. That was almost two months ago. TWO MONTHS it took for things to get back to normal. I am terrified of another reaction, another set back, more wasted time, and I'm afraid that by feeling good about where we are means I am somehow tempting karma to get us.
But for now, I will enjoy this peaceful afternoon. At least for now, right in this moment everything is right in our world.
Ironically, these are some of the hardest days for me. Don't get me wrong, I am ecstatic that everyone is happy and healthy. I know it is because we are super diligent about making sure Cutie Pie stays safe. But I admit days like today are the hardest because I have to find some super self-control way down deep and resist the urge to treat her like a "normal" baby. Resist giving her a graham cracker to gnaw on. Resist jump-starting a new trial even though we are only on day four of our sunbutter trial. Resist, resist, resist.
And then I get scared. The last time we were in such a good spot was right before our big quinoa fail. I was doubting that she even had FPIES and thought maybe her other reactions were just coincidences. And then it all came crashing down around us and she hasn't been the same since. That was almost two months ago. TWO MONTHS it took for things to get back to normal. I am terrified of another reaction, another set back, more wasted time, and I'm afraid that by feeling good about where we are means I am somehow tempting karma to get us.
But for now, I will enjoy this peaceful afternoon. At least for now, right in this moment everything is right in our world.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Birthday Countdown
Cutie Pie's first birthday is in one month, one week, and one day. My oh my how time has flown. Lately I have been obsessing over trialing foods that will provide her with a birthday cake and fun birthday foods because, you know, she REAAAALLLLLY cares. This week we settled on a sunbutter trial. We are on day three and so far, so good. She can't decide if she likes it or not. On Friday I tried spreading some on her cheecha puffs and it was a no go. Then I just put some on a plain spoon and let her suck on it and she seemed to like it a little. Saturday it was a total refusal. So then today for breakfast I made her a banana/coconut/sunbutter mush and she ate half a bowl! It was chunky and thick enough that I could put some on a spoon for her and she could then feed herself without it sliding off her spoon. Sunbutter would be a great pass for us. It's high in calories, a good source of protein and iron, and let's face it - it is delicious! Plus, I'm thinking I might be able to fix up some sunbutter frosting to top some muffin/cupcake/cake concoction and it would make a delightful mess for a smash cake! I am imagining the pictures already....
Our goal for this week is to get into a routine of "eating" three meals a day. I have a bad habit of just giving her a couple puffs or a toy or a sippy cup to play with while we eat because she makes such a mess and eats so little. But with only a little over a month until she is one it is time to buckle down! We did pretty good today, and actually she surprised me with how well she ate. I do, however, think we need to get a dog to clean up the mess she makes! I swear I spend more time cleaning up after meals than I do preparing them!
Our goal for this week is to get into a routine of "eating" three meals a day. I have a bad habit of just giving her a couple puffs or a toy or a sippy cup to play with while we eat because she makes such a mess and eats so little. But with only a little over a month until she is one it is time to buckle down! We did pretty good today, and actually she surprised me with how well she ate. I do, however, think we need to get a dog to clean up the mess she makes! I swear I spend more time cleaning up after meals than I do preparing them!
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
I Am "That" Mom
I used to be an expert in everything parenting related. Of course, that was before I had kids. During that time I also worked in a daycare with infants and toddlers which made me even more of an expert and it was obvious that I knew what was best for those kids much more than their real parents. I mean c'mon - it was my job. It is true that I spent many more hours each day/week with the kids than their parents did, but as anyone who has had a child in daycare will attest, there is still no replacement for the ingrained knowledge of your child that comes from actually giving birth to them. It wasn't until I had my kiddos that I understood.
However, there was one mom in particular was notorious with us teachers for being completely clueless. She was the mom who had to be completely overwhelmingly annoying in trying to prove she loved her kids. I don't know if she felt guilty for leaving her kids there a million hours a week (no joke - they were at school before 8am and were the last ones in the school to be picked up at 6:30) or if she was trying to convince herself that she was a good mom, or if she was just lonely and had no one else to talk to other than us, but everyone would cringe every time she came in the door. She told me more details about her symptoms that led her to think she had Celiacs than I ever care to know. When I ended up with a c-section with my son she stopped me one afternoon to ask how I was pooping because it was so horrible for her after her c-section. We all thought she was nuts. (Quite possibly she really was). But anyway, one of the big things that made all the teachers cringe was the pride she had about needing to give her kids laxatives. She obsessed over those kids' poops and gave them daily laxatives to help it along. There were times that her daughter would have weird diarrhea and she'd still be giving laxatives and she always claimed the pediatrician told her to. We all thought she was crazy.
But this week I became that mom. Cutie Pie hasn't pooped in almost two weeks, except for a little bit last week after needing to use a suppository to help her along. I talked to the pediatrician yesterday morning and he wants us to start giving her a daily dose of Miralax. He explained that it's not really a laxative, it doesn't make you go. Instead it pulls water into your digestive tract which softens it up and makes it easier to go. He suspects that the iron supplement we are needing to give her for her anemia is making her constipated and she her colon has gotten so stretched out that her system is just out of whack. So now to counteract the side effects of one medicine, we are giving her another one. I feel so bad for her. If she could just eat a balanced diet we wouldn't have to give her EITHER one. I feel guilty that iron is one thing my milk doesn't provide for her. I feel like there HAS to be a better way. And mostly I just feel guilty for judging that one crazy mom.
However, there was one mom in particular was notorious with us teachers for being completely clueless. She was the mom who had to be completely overwhelmingly annoying in trying to prove she loved her kids. I don't know if she felt guilty for leaving her kids there a million hours a week (no joke - they were at school before 8am and were the last ones in the school to be picked up at 6:30) or if she was trying to convince herself that she was a good mom, or if she was just lonely and had no one else to talk to other than us, but everyone would cringe every time she came in the door. She told me more details about her symptoms that led her to think she had Celiacs than I ever care to know. When I ended up with a c-section with my son she stopped me one afternoon to ask how I was pooping because it was so horrible for her after her c-section. We all thought she was nuts. (Quite possibly she really was). But anyway, one of the big things that made all the teachers cringe was the pride she had about needing to give her kids laxatives. She obsessed over those kids' poops and gave them daily laxatives to help it along. There were times that her daughter would have weird diarrhea and she'd still be giving laxatives and she always claimed the pediatrician told her to. We all thought she was crazy.
But this week I became that mom. Cutie Pie hasn't pooped in almost two weeks, except for a little bit last week after needing to use a suppository to help her along. I talked to the pediatrician yesterday morning and he wants us to start giving her a daily dose of Miralax. He explained that it's not really a laxative, it doesn't make you go. Instead it pulls water into your digestive tract which softens it up and makes it easier to go. He suspects that the iron supplement we are needing to give her for her anemia is making her constipated and she her colon has gotten so stretched out that her system is just out of whack. So now to counteract the side effects of one medicine, we are giving her another one. I feel so bad for her. If she could just eat a balanced diet we wouldn't have to give her EITHER one. I feel guilty that iron is one thing my milk doesn't provide for her. I feel like there HAS to be a better way. And mostly I just feel guilty for judging that one crazy mom.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Coconut Flour Muffins
Our trail for coconut has been going - eh - it's going. I'm not sure what to think. Cutie Pie is in the middle of a pretty bad case of constipation which we've seen with a couple other questionable foods. I'm not sure if it is the eggs or the coconut, but just to be sure I whipped up some coconut flour muffins. That stuff is PACKED with fiber so if anything is going to help her go, then coconut muffins will! I found a couple recipes, tweeked them to fit our needs and came up with this:
Coconut Flour Muffins
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 + 1/8 cup sugar
1/2 t baking powder (I use one that contains potato starch instead of corn starch)
1/4 t salt
6 eggs
4 T coconut oil (works best if it is melted)
Directions:
Mix ingredients. If it is too thick you can add a tablespoon or two of water/milk.
Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes.
Makes 12 muffins
Nutritional Info (supplied from SparkPeople recipe calculator)
Calories - 134 Fiber - 2g Protein - 3.8g
They were actually really tasty! They had a sort of egg-y taste and left a sweet coconut-y aftertaste. Cutie Pie wasn't thrilled, but she isn't thrilled about most food. Of course, she LOVED the cupcake paper. That was apparently super delicious.
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