My, how things have changed

When I started this blog, I promised myself I'd be dedicated to it & write every day (or at least every other day) but then I blink and it's been five weeks! Yeah yeah I've been busy... Ella had pink eye... we hosted Thanksgiving... I had a nasty cold...getting ready for Christmas blah blah blah excuses, excuses. I have been keeping a mental list of things I want to write about & my camera is full of photos of different foods we've been trying so I thought I'd take advantage of this quiet time while the little one is napping and try to catch up a little.

I'm enjoying a nice bowl of goats milk yogurt with a bit honey & cinnamon, some blueberries, pecans & a Tbsp of ground milk thistle seeds and thinking about how drastically life has changed for us in the past four months. Four months ago:
- I was 19 lbs heavier
- I thought nothing of going to the cupboard & eating a spoonful of peanut butter then kissing my baby
- I had never even seen an EpiPen much less been trained to use one
- I had a closet full of clothes that fit me properly
- I had a whole drawer full of skin care products that I'd spent a fortune on, yet really seemed to do absolutely nothing towards making me feel less like a fifteen year old boy
- I had never experienced gut wrenching fear like that of watching your baby have an anaphylactic reaction to something she'd eaten
- I didn't know how to spell anaphylactic
- I didn't break into a sweat & start shaking at playdates when I saw kids eating cheesy snacks and touching the same toys my child was touching
- I didn't worry about our dog-owning loved ones sending gifts that could potentially carry dog dander and trigger a reaction
- I had never even heard of quinoa or know that there was such a thing as quinoa flour
- I bought a whole lot more processed foods
- The extent of my label reading consisted of checking the caloric content only
- I had no idea there were so many ways to substitute an egg
- I was totally unaware of how prevalent corn is in the foods we eat and the products we use
- We could go to a fair or a party and know that there would be food there that I could eat
- I would have handed out peanut butter cups, butterfingers and snickers on Halloween, not even considering the fact that one (or more) of our little trick-or-treaters could have a peanut allergy & we could be seriously endangering their life
- I had no idea how expensive specialty foods are & had never gotten frustrated by the fact that coupons for those products are few and far between

Now:
- I'm a more confident, creative cook. I'm constantly searching for new recipes and experimenting with new ingredients
- I've used ALL of the kitchen gadgets & gizmos that we received for our wedding that I just *had* to register for even though I had never had a need for them in the past and I've even put together a list of new gadgets that would be really helpful to have
- I am more aware of the every day life challenges faced by those with food allergies/ sensitivities. This experience has really opened my eyes to the reality that there are a lot of situations that could be potentially really dangerous for someone with food allergies that "normal" (non-allergic) people don't even stop to think about
- I've had to become more organized -- planning out menus & shopping lists. Now that grocery shopping takes place in three seperate stores, one being 30 minutes away, I've got to plan my week around grocery shopping
- I have successfully hosted an allergen free Thanksgiving & received nothing but compliments from all in attendance. If I hadn't told them, they'd have never even knew that the mashed potatoes were made with goats milk or that the stuffing was gluten free
- For the first time in my life, my face is acne free, I am thinking clearly and my stomach is flat (well... mostly flat. Guess I could stand to do a few sit ups to tighten up the post-baby pooch a bit. But the point is I'M NOT BLOATED!)
- My husband has eaten things that I don't think I could've paid him to eat four months ago.
- Ella is a happy, healthy toddler and has put on quite a bit of weight since we eliminated all the allergens from her diet and mine.

As challenging as the last four months have been, it's really all just been a huge learning process. I'm really proud of how far we've come and how well I've been able to stick to the elimination diet. It's not been easy, by any means. Sure, I'd give anything to just order a pizza for dinner right now but I know that in the long run, I know this will only make us healthier and allow us to live quasi-"normal" lives again some day. And if there's one thing I've learned in my short 14 months as a mother, it's that I'd do anything to make sure my girl is as healthy and happy as humanly possible. The fact that she is thriving gives me the strength and willpower I need to continue.

Dr. Natural Update

I had an appointment with Dr. Natural today. She seemed pleased with the fact that I've lost 16 lbs and agreed with my thoughts that my face is still breaking out because the products I'm using contain sunflower & coconut (both of which I am sensitive to). She prescribed a few different supplements to help support digestive functions and liver detox, a calcium supplement and a new skin care regimine of straight glycerin soap, witch hazel astringent and olive oil for a moisurizer. Yes, OLIVE OIL. She also suggested steaming my face 1-2 x/week with rosemary. Sounds like the ultimate in multi-tasking -- I'll just cook dinner AND give myself a facial at the same time!

And the news I'd been waiting to hear... we can give Ella goat's milk!! At one year, most pediatrician's recommend either cow's milk or soy but since Ella's allergic to both I'd been a little confused on where to go from here. Rice, oat & hemp milk just don't have the fats and proteins that she needs. Mentally, I'm ready to have my body back but I know breastfeeding her for as long as I can will only benefit her in the long run. Now that I know I have something else to give her which will give the nutrients she needs, I'm ready to start backing off the nursing a bit. It's too bad goat's milk is so damn expensive though! It's $3.79 for a quart! Oy.

Oh and Dr. Natural also suggested giving Ella a teaspoon of elderberry syrup every day to boost her immune system and hopefully ward off the dreaded H1N1. *fingers crossed*

Now that I've gotten all the backstory out of the way

It's been about 9 weeks since I started my elimination diet. My acne has cleared up dramatically and I've lost 15 lbs. For the three months before our wedding, I was in the gym six days a week working out with a trainer, taking spinning classes, running on the treadmill, doing body pump classes AND I was on the South Beach diet. I only lost 3 lbs. Oh boy do I wish I'd known then what I know now! My belly bloat is completely gone and the weight is just melting off of me.

The first couple weeks were rediculously hard and I did a lot of crying. I was so hungry and felt like I couldn't eat anything we had in our cupboards. Instead of focusing on what I COULD eat, I was more fixated on what I could NOT eat.

Now that I'm a few weeks in, I've really turned my attitude around. Instead of wallowing in my misery, I've decided to look at this as a challenge and have set out to learn to cook with new ingredients. I've discovered the versatility of quinoa, the fact that goat cheese is actually pretty tasty and have learned many different substitutes for eggs. I've expanded my food horizons and have even gotten my super picky hubby to eat lentils!

Feeding Ella seems to be pretty easy in comparison to feeding myself. Most gluten free (wheat free) foods are made with rice. Or oat. Neither of which I can have. Luckily, she's pretty easy going and loves fruits and vegetables so we stick to those, for the most part. Cheerios have been replaced by Oatios and I scour food labels to make sure her juice doesn't have corn syrup, etc. It is difficult and grocery shopping takes twice as long now that I have to read and re-read every package but I feel better knowing that what I'm giving her is safe.

I keep reminding myself that all things considered, we're pretty lucky. We've caught these allergies early on and can learn to live with them. She will never know what she's missing out on because she's never had peanutbutter cups or icecream and hopefully, she'll outgrow some of the allergies and be able to live a "normal" life.

To the Naturopath we go

On August 21st, we had our appointment with the Naturopath. After my awful experience with Dr. Itsallyourfault, hubby agreed to come to this appointment with Ella and me. Dr. Natural did a full exam, checking her fingernails and her tongue, looking in her ears, listening to her gut... such a difference from the allergist who didn't even acknowledge that she was in the room!

We did a lot of talking, discussed both her diet and mine (since I'm still breastfeeding) and then Dr. Natural started asking questions about my health. She pointed out some redness around my nose and the skin blemishes on my chin and asked if I was aware that I had food sensitivities. Ummm... say what? I thought I just had crappy skin. Yes, I'm nearly 30 and my skin still acts like I'm 15 but it's because of what I'm eating?!? Seriously?!? Turns out that my food sensitivities could have been inherited by Ella and/or aggravated by the fact that I'm breastfeeding and not avoiding the foods I didn't know I was sensitive to. Dr. Natural asks me to have an IgG Standard Food Family Sensitivity Assay and suggests that Ella have an IgE test done. Finally, we're getting somewhere!

Before we left, Dr. Natural put me on a pretty strict elimination diet in which I was to avoid all "mucus causing" foods. This included wheat, dairy, oranges, potatoes, corn, grapes, bananas, soy, peanuts, shellfish and chocolate. In addition, I was also supposed to avoid eggs since Ella's skin test showed she was reactive. I was hungry already.