Here are some day #3 highlights…
Morning sunrise
Rooster!! Mason’s new favorite animal sound to make. It sounds like “Argh!!”
Added proof that Mason and Elaine are related
Banana blossom = new food to try
Coconuts and lychees from a neighborhood fruit stand
Is it possible to remove any more items from your diet?!
One little addendum…
I will be eating fish, honey, and if I can’t find a gluten free bread that doesn’t have egg whites, then I will, on occasion, have some gluten free, egg white laden bread.
Color me crazy?
Our little boy has terrible eczema. Our little four month old baby has cheeks that have gotten so dry and cracked over the past month and a half that they have a half inch spot on each side that is raw. Our little sweetie, who has had been sleeping 10, 11 or 12 hours each night since he was eight weeks old, has been waking up anywhere from 3-10 times a night for about a month now. He’s teething too, so we thought it was just that at first, but he wakes up scratching at his head, at his face, at his legs. We didn’t realize it at first because he wasn’t coordinated enough to scratch yet! Isn’t that terrible? To be so unbearably itchy all over before you even have the hand-eye coordination to scratch! It’s been breaking my heart, and we’ve tried so many different lotions and oils, that have barely done a thing.
Then I started looking into diet. My sister Kelley’s two youngest kids have also had pretty bad eczema, and she gave me a book several years back about diet and allergies that has basically eliminated the problem for them (depending on what they’re eating, of course)
I tracked down this book and read it cover to cover in a couple of days. ((Don’t be too impressed. It’s only 66 pages.)) It pointed to animal products, dairy, refined (wheat) flours, and refined sugars as the biggest dietary culprits behind most allergies and skin conditions.
I had been mulling this over for the past few weeks, and had finally decided to go for it at the start of March… giving myself till the end of February to wean off these MAJOR parts of most mainstream diets.
However, we went to our pediatrician appointment this past Tuesday, and she took one look at his poor dry skin, listened to all the things we’ve tried already, and started talking to me about diet as well. (yes, she’s so fantastic) She added all wheat, and soy to my list of “No’s” as well, as possible allergens. She expressed shock that I was willingly removing refined sugars from my diet, and concern over my protein intake while abstaining from meat. I feel pretty confident that I’ll be alright on the protein front… even though I won’t be able to rely on tofu for it now. Beans, grains, nuts, seeds and veggies can pack a pretty mean protein punch.
Now… just to be clear… I have NEVER dieted. I have NEVER restricted myself from ANY kind of food in my entire life. (Except alcohol while I was pregnant) So this is quite a switch for me. But hey… I feel like my life has been doing 180’s for the past couple of years. I can handle pretty much anything at this point 😉
So, I’m not sure how long I’m going to be doing this for at first. It’s an elimination diet. So the point is to be really strict about it for a period of time, to detox my system (and the little one’s), and then one by one, start adding certain foods back in to see if we have a reaction to them (did I mention I’m breastfeeding? I’m sure it’s obvious, otherwise, why would what I eat make a bit of difference to him, right?). The book recommends six months. I’ve heard other recommendations from various sources… so that part is up in the air… but hey! I’ve started!
I’m actually pretty stoked about it. I love being creative with food, and I don’t know if I’ve ever met a food I didn’t like (well… there was a quail egg in a Vietnamese restaurant once… and I’ve tried sea urchin at a Santa Barbara cafe. Ugh to both!). So I’m excited to put my pinterest recipe boards to good use and bust out some new yummy cooking (and quick snacks too of course!)
I have high expectations for this diet! Because really… there’s nothing else left that could be causing this! So we’re on day two. And hopefully the results will be glorious.
In the meantime, Dr. Hamdani gave us a hydro-cortisone prescription for his little cheeks and it’s helping them to heal so much quicker. We have a little mixture of olive oil and sandalwood oil (from my dear friend Jenna’s doTerra line) that is helping balance out the rest of his skin, and a half teaspoon of baby benadryl to help him sleep at night. Two appointments with a dermatologist and an allergy specialist, and a follow up with our own doctor… phew! We’re throwing everything but the kitchen sink at this one.
Like Dr. Hamdani said right before she ended our appointment, “We won’t stand for this!”
((pieces of my last meals… turkey taquitos & Crushcakes cupcakes))
I just have to share this yumminess that we devoured in two evenings. Maybe they’re not for everyone… but I’ve always been a fan of pot pies. Chicken, beef, veggie. Love them all. I came across a recipe for tofu pot pie a while ago on pinterest and just saved it.
We actually used it last week as my last ditch effort to rescue a soup I had attempted (no matter what I did to it… added salt… chili powder… let it sit for a while hoping the flavors would jive a little more with time… nothing worked. It just turned out oh so boring). But reinvented into a pot pie! Yum!
The actual recipe is here. but it’s as simple as this:
One of the simplest things we’ve made and LOVED. If you really wanted an even easier way to the finish line… I suppose you could also get a can of soup and boil that with some flour to toss in a pie crust…
Either way, we ate an entire half of the pie one night, and the rest of it the next. So delish!
Other than a portion of a sleepless night last night this has been a great weekend. Elaine and I have been productive but we’ve also had our share of down time. We’ve been crossing projects off of our list, creating lists of things to do next, and catching up on Glee, Grimm, and The Daily Show. We even watched part of a movie! We get our share of 30-40 minutes shows in, but we haven’t seen a movie since our BabyMoon in August. I am no movie critic but my advice is that Crazy, Stupid, Love is much better than Gnomeo & Juliet.
Okay my hope was to post a few videos of Mason… but I can’t figure out how to do it. Oh, they want you to pay money to load videos- that is stupid but I’ll find a way to get around it 🙂
That was quick! Click on the links below to see three short videos (thank you Elaine):
Tummy Time!
First Bottle! Preparing for Elaine return to work in December
Baby on the Bed!
The videos have been fun to make and I hope they work for everyone. I shot them with an app (8mm Vintage Camera) that has a few vintage film options. There are different lenses and affects and it has been fun to experiment with Mason as our guinea pig. Please let me know if there are any issues.
We’ve also had a good food weekend and here are our samples:
On Friday I made applesauce from fruit we picked at our friend’s Christina’s ranch last weekend. I have no idea the types of apples but they were fresh and colorful. After the mixture cooked down and sampled, the finished product was canned for a later time.
On Saturday I made Butternut Squash & Carrot soup. It wasn’t my first time experimenting with the tough to peel butternut but this soup is my favorite squash soup recipe.
Saturday night was homemade pizza night. Ours included onions, garlic, mushrooms, & artichokes on an herb crust and topped with a cheddar/toscana cheese blend. One of my all-time favorites
It’s a rainy day today and our plans are joyfully limited. I imagine that we will make the best of it with a few more recipes, a nice cup of tea, and a visit to the library. Thanks for reading. Love, Mark
Oh, Boy! 