Mealtime Stress

When it comes to mealtimes, I try to be creative. I want to give Nathan a balanced meal, including a fruit and/or veggie, a meat and a carb. such as rice, potato or corn noodles. I try to space out the food choices as best as I can so he isn't eating the same item all the time and even though there isn't that much of a variety of foods he can have. He is getting to be more of a pickier eater than he ever was which makes mealtimes even more stressful.

Today at lunch, my plan was to give him a cucumber and as I started to cut it, I noticed it was rotten. This usually is not a big deal, but to me on this particular day it was. I seriously lost it and I broke out into tears. I didn't have a back-up plan - I didn't have another vegetable in the plan - what was I going to give him - I am the only one who cares about what he eats and if I didn't, who would. I am the solely responsible for his growth and nutrition. All the weight is on my shoulders and today it just got too heavy.

He just ended up eating his ham and bread with some fruit and no vegetable.

Nathan's 18 month appointment

Today was Nathan's 18 month appointment. His stats are as follows:
Weight: 20lbs. 13 1/2oz.
Length: 31 inches
His weight is so low he is off the chart and height is ok, he is growing, so that is good. His head is growing fine and he is in the normal range. Brain growth is good, he will be a smart boy.

Allergy Appointment

Today Nathan is 18 months old.

This week we had a follow-up on Nathan's allergy's. The nurse weighed Nathan and he weighs about 19lbs. They Dr. is concerned about his weight, he is 18 1/2 months old and only weighs 19lbs. I told her he had a bad cold recently and because of that he didn't eat as much as normal. He probably lost a little. The Allergist suggested we come back in a month for a follow-up, if he doesn't gain then she wanted to refer us to a GI specialist.

They also asked all the usual questions such as "Has he been exposed to any allergens?". He has, I accidentally gave him some corm pops cereal that had wheat and some fries that had soy and gluten. Who would think?? The good thing is that we didn't notice any kind of reaction. The reaction he would normally have from wheat and soy is breaking out in hives or a rash. We didn't see any skin reactions. That is great! The allergist decided to do a skin test but then after asking if Nathan has taken his Zyrtec lately, which he had, they decided a blood test would be the most accurate. So off to the lab we went and I watched again as they stuck needles into Nathan's arm to get vials of blood. It is so heart wrenching to watch, how can that much blood come out of a baby's arm.

They told us the results would be available in a week and we need to call. It is going to be a long week of waiting.

I just think "what if", what if he didn't have allergies or his allergies just magically went away one day. Like some kind of miracle.

I pray and hope.

Hope for a Healthier 2008

Hoping that 2008 is healthier and maybe some of his allergies can be less severe or gone. I am hoping they will re-test him. We have been good at avoiding his allergens and he really hasn't shown any reactions lately, not even a rash.

Holidays and food allergies...

The holidays are hard with children and food allergies. When we went to dinner our relatives houses, they put a side vegetables and meats before all the gravy and butter was added to them. I really had to watch Nathan, there were plates of nuts or cheese and crackers out on the tables and I had to watch Nathan every second so he wouldn't touch anything on the cocktail table. It was very exhausting. He did end up getting a rash on he wrist and belly from something he either touched or ate. I tried so hard to avoid any reactions. I did give him some Benadryl.

Nathan is also at that age where if your eating something, he wants it. It is hard because I can't give it to him. I did frost and decorate one of his sugar cookies so it looked liked the ones we were eating. He did like that.

He really didn't eat as much over the holiday, hopefully he isn't losing any weight. We need him to gain since is barely on the weight chart.

A sad day with allergies

When I picked up Nathan from daycare today, he wasn't in his normal room with his friends. He was in the baby room because his friends were having snack time and Nathan couldn't be in there, with for the risk of him getting some of their Cheerios. He is allergic to them! I felt so bad for Nathan, that I cried all the way home, just in tears. I was so sad that he is different and is separated from the rest of the kids.

I guess, I should be happy that they are being careful and making sure Nathan avoids the allergens.

Another Week

Thursday after work I had to rush out the this bakery I found that makes french bread that is wheat, egg and dairy free. I was so happy to find them that I set-up a weekly pick-up of bread from them. I also tried their sugar cookies and Nathan loves them.

When I was at the bakery this week, I told them that I need to find breakfast items for Nathan like muffins and they are willing to make some special muffins for Nathan and we can try all the things he can come up with. If this works and Nathan likes them it will be wonderful. I am sick of giving Nathan the same brown rice bread everyday.

I really get depressed when meal time comes around. Sometimes I just want to give up and skip feeding him, that is bad that I even thought that. I feel like I feed him the same thing everyday. I feel like I don't have enough choices for him and he is now getting to the stage where he is getting picky.

Today we take Nathan on his first Treat-Or-Treat outing and he got some candy and then I thought....every year I am going to have to go through his candy and pull out all the candy that has chocolate or any of the tootsie roll products (they have soy and other stuff) because he is allergic. These allergies really affect our daily lives. After the TOT we went out to eat with the in-laws and Nathan is beginning to understand more and wants to eat what I am eating. He wanted my french fries, I gave him some not having any idea what is in them, some fries have wheat and soy. I just prayed that he didn't show any signs of an allergy...he didn't. It was a bad move on my part to take that chance but I was desperate because he was starting to act up and he didn't eat enough of his food, I felt bad for him. Now I am going to have to hide my food from him if it is something that he can't have. This is true with ice cream, we wait until he is in bed before we eat some...this is no way to live.