Vent Fest Friday!

I don't have much to vent about. We had 2 bloody diapers last night - from what I think was the vitamin making it's way through his system. I had shrimp for lunch and mussels and clams for dinner. I'm going to continue eating fish and not give the vitamin and see what happens. I hope he doesn't show signs of being allergic to the fish. Oh good Lord help me if he is. I don't know what I would do without sushi for another year! I'm hoping we won't see any blood this weekend and then for sure I'll know it was the vitamin. I don't know why I'm questioning the vitamin..but I am for some reason. Maybe because I also added this fish in and am thinking maybe it just took a while to get him irritated (from last Tuesday though seems a long time). Either way - I'm not giving the vitamin anymore and we'll see what happens. Stupid frickin MSPI.

The weather is gorgeous here today and we're going to head downtown for a surprise visit to Daddy! I'm excited for the weather and hope it sticks around....tomorrow we will head to the lakefront for a nice walk/picnic if it stays this way too!

Have a great weekend ladies! I sure hope everyone's LO's are on the up-and-up now!!!

Do you feel like you know more than the doctors?

I definitely do!!!! So we did the stupid Poly-vi-Sol w/Iron last week Mon, Tues, and Wed. We had blood in his diaper that, if you remember, I wasn't sure if it was from the Bailey's or the vitamin. Well, we stopped the vitamin and the blood stopped. Talked to the nurse this week and told her about it and she said that she called the company and there is no soy in the vitamin...so I told her that my research told me that Vitamin E Succinate was derived from soy (thanks The Mommy!!!) ..but I'll start him on it again and if he had blood...I was going to stop him again. Well, we gave him the vitamin on Tuesday and yesterday (24 hrs later) he had 2 bloody diapers. Coincidence? I think not!

I don't want to call the nurse again because I know she's going to try to say it was the nuts from last week (even though I ate nuts every single day last week and he didn't have any bloody diapers since last Thursday...24 hrs after the vitamin). She told me to stop nuts (because she thinks the blood from last week was nut related..dumb nurse!) and to start fish this week. Well...I didn't tell her - but I ate a $hitload of sashimi on Tuesday for my birthday, sushi again on Sunday and Monday....you would think I would have had blood this entire time from eating fish if it was from fish. Especially from last Tuesday's fish eating...I ate a ton of it!!! Also, she argued with me that the natural peanut butter that I ate once had milk in it because "how else would it get creamy then?" even though the only two ingredients listed are "peanuts and salt". I even went to the website and it states that they don't use any stabalizer or preservatives in it. Ugh..I hate this nurse!

So,...I'm stopping the vitamin again and called Mead Johnson (the company that produces the vitamin) and they are sending me a sample of the Tri-Vi-Sol and a $5 coupon. The Tri-Vi-Sol does not contain the Vitamin E...so then there would not be any soy in it.

I think I'll call the nurse tomorrow after I eat fish again tonight and don't give him the vitamin to make sure the vitamin is out of his system. (I expect one more bloody diaper 24 hours after his dose yesterday).

I swear....just because you're a doctor or nurse does not mean you know it all. How frustrating though to have them tell you that you're wrong and I quote "if it's the vitamin..it's something different than a food allergy". Ugh!

Fantasy Day!

I just need to fantasize about what I would eat if I had one day to eat and drink whatever foods I could without causing any harm to Alexander. So...here's how my day would go!

Breakfast:
Ham & Cheese Omelet
Hashbrowns
Bacon
Whole Wheat Toast
Starbucks Caramel Macchiato w/Soy Milk

Lunch:
Cheese, Chicken, Pineapple, Canadian Bacon Pizza
Vanilla Shake

Dinner:
Chicken Enchiladas w/Rice & Beans
Chips & Guacamole
Original Margarita on the rocks

Dessert:
Turtle Sundae

And at the end of this day...I would have the biggest stomach ache in the world...but it would be worth it!

What would your day look like?

Share some foods!

So now that a lot of us are at least a couple of weeks into this....I'm hoping we have discovered some new foods? Here's a list that I have been eating and some ideas for quick eats!

Here's a standard lunch for me:
Ener-G Brown Rice Bread (there's a link on the right too).
Boar's Head OvenGold Roast Turkey Lunch Meat (I called the company,...no soy, no gluten, no dairy)
Avocado (I mash it so it's more like a "spread" since sauces/condiments are almost all out!)
Tomato

I also use all-natural peanut butter for some pb toast with the above bread. Only peanuts and salt are the ingredients!

Another thing I've been doing is baking a sweet potato at 400 degrees in the oven for about 1-1.5 hours and putting brown sugar and cinnamon on it. Filling, sweet, and good for you!

For a quick dinner...I've been doing brown rice, a cut-up boneless skinless chicken breast, and a veggie steamer (found in frozen section, steam in microwave). Mix all together and I season with olive oil, salt, pepper. (kind of like a stir-fry...minus the sauce)

How was your LO over the weekend?

Alexander has been consistently having better diapers....yah! I stopped the Poly vi Sol w/Iron vitamin. I have to call the pedi today and get his opinion on that!

The weather was awesome on Friday/Saturday so we went out for a walk and went to the park for a picnic. It's so nice to finally be able to get out of the house! Alexander just sleeps in his stroller though...so he has yet to really "see" his neighborhood! LOL

I ate broccoli last night with dinner...and boy oh boy, I don't think it agrees with Alexander! He wasn't fussy or anything...but he sure was gassy for about 30 minutes this morning. It amazes me how loud the little stinker can be! LOL He can put grown men to shame!

Hope to hear that everyone is getting on the right track as we're getting more and more into the weeks of being free of however many foods! This week I get to add peanuts back into my diet! I had peanut butter toast for breakfast....yummmy!

Vent Fest Friday!

I know it's VFF, but I am still in a more positive mood. But, I do have a vent today (along with what I'm grateful for).

We have had a bloody diaper 3 days in a row now. I'm not sure if it was from the Bailey's I had on Sunday or the vitamin (Poly-Vi-Sol w/Iron) that I started him on on Monday night. We saw a bloody diaper 24 hours after giving the vitamin. I didn't give him his vitamins last night...so we'll see if we have another bloody diaper tonight, as that seems to be when it happens. I highly doubt it's the almonds I'm eating since I wasn't eating tree nuts when this whole ordeal started.

For my grateful part - I am so grateful that I am even able to BF my son. Even with all of the headaches this MSPI causes...I have to remember that there are some mothers out there that would give anything to be in my position so they could even have the opportunity to BF their LO's. I am also grateful that my supply has not seem to be affected at all by the diet. This was something I worried about...but it seems to be fine still.

Hope everyone has a great Friday and an even better weekend!

Okay, let's get positive!

I feel like that screams "Richard Simmons" but hey, it seems like I need to get out of this funk about the MSPI and maybe some of you ladies are feeling the same way? It's easy to get into a self pity party and it's time to get myself out of it!

So, I'm going to list some positive things about this MSPI fiasco!
1) I am eating healthier, therefore feeling healthier
2) Alexander is still growing and gaining weight just fine!
3) I am helping keep my local natural grocery store in business! LOL
4) I have now been cooking dinners more often. It makes me feel good to do that!
5) I am more knowledgeable about what is going into my body and then onto A!
6) I have met some (or gotten to know a different more vulnerable side) of some great women from the bump (I know, I know...puppies and rainbows! LOL)
7) I am motivated to start exercising again since I feel so good. Now we just gotta get the tummy back to normal!
8) I am losing a healthy 2 lbs per week just because of this "diet". Which I don't like to think of it as a diet in a negative way...but a different, more healthy way of eating.
9) This way of eating gets easier and easier as time goes on.
10) I have become very creative with my food choices.

OK-your turn!

Anyone ever feel like just "giving up"?

Oh my gosh...I am almost at my giving up point. We had a small bloody diaper yesterday. No way in hell it was from the 20 almonds I ate on Monday night (I'm adding tree-nuts back into my diet). I'm wondering if it was from the Bailey's I had (you know...those small four sips on Sunday). I just don't know anymore.

I'm going to be pumping during the day and giving Alexander the EBM in a bottle first and then putting him to the breast after since I'm not 100% convinced it's not having something to do with the foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. I feel like I'm not really any closer to him having normal diapers than I was 5 weeks ago.

I'm just tired of doing everything in my power to make him better and not really seeing these drastic results. I'm frustrated, angry, depressed, and like L&P...I'm starting to feel like I'm failing as a Mom because of this. I feel absolutley 100% guilty over the Bailey's on Sunday and cry everytime I think that his small bloody diaper last night was because of it. I'm scared to death again of changing his poopy diapers in fear that there's going to be more blood. The stupid nurse told me that he may not have the cottage cheese consistency yellow, seedy diapers like normal BF babies have because I'm not "getting everything in my diet" that normal BF mamas get. I don't know if I believe that really. I'm eating so healthy. I eat chicken, lean ground beef, turkey, fresh veggies, fruits, sweet potatoes, brown rice, etc. How much healthier can you get? If anything...my child is getting more good nutrients/vitamins because of this diet than if he didn't have this MSPI. Before I wouldn't have even thought twice about McDonalds or eating a frozen pizza for dinner. Plus, I take 500mg of vegan calcium supplements in the AM and PM and I take my prenatal every night again (I don't think it was causing blood).

She said that they don't see green or yellow as any different either. WTF? So all the nursing websites/books that I've read up on are all wrong on this then?

What else can I do? Please share with me if you are having normal diapers again and what they look like (are they the cottage cheese consistency, yellow and seedy...watery, mucousy, etc.)

How are the diapers going?

We are onto day 6 of no bloody diapers..yay! Super excited about that since it's the longest we've gone w/o a "bad" diaper. Now we just have to work on getting them more yellow instead of florescent green.

Talked to the GI Specialists' nurse yesterday....I have mixed emotions about that phone call. She wasn't the nicest and I wanted to tell her she was annoying the shit out of me about 20 times in our 10 minute conversation.

Come to find out...I should have started him on Poly-Vi-Sol w/Iron after all (they told me to and I didn't really see a need for it considering that I've been eating tons of fruits/veggies/healthy foods non-processed etc. etc. since doing this diet). She told me I needed to start giving it to him because if I didn't...he would become anemic due to me not getting all of the minerals/vitamins into my diet like I normally would. I dunno...I still don't see how that is when I'm taking my prenatal and calcium supplements too. Oh well. I went to Walgreens and gave him his first dose last night...he didn't spit it out - so that's good!

They still think it's an allergy...especially since we were 4 days w/o blood and it was about 5 weeks since last taking in dairy (I don't think the Bailey's was enough to affect him). So this week I'm adding back tree nuts (almonds/cashews/etc). Then next week I have to stop eating tree nuts again and then add back in peanuts (yay....I can't wait to eat a PB&J!). And on and on until we get to something that causes blood again...in which I have to call them right away if it happens before our next appt on May 5th. I'm really thinking it's wheat since we noticed the most changes since cutting that out. But we will see!!!

How was celebrating Easter with MSPI?

Of course, assuming you celebrated. If not, please just share how your weekend was :)

My MIL rocks...she breastfed both her children and I guess my DH was allergic to wheat...so she completely understands the boat I am in.

She checked labels on the ham (some have a lot of preservatives and extra stuff) and she said she went with a bone-in ham because it didn't have all of the "extra" stuff. She even read the label for the glaze and it had soybean oil in it so she made her own glaze!!!! She made all of the veggies and potatoes, sides, etc. with no butter, milk, etc. and told the family that they would need to season their sides to taste! She is such a great MIL...I am very very lucky! She even had a special lunch for me when I arrived Saturday (fresh chicken from the butcher with her homemade tomato sauce...nothing canned because she didn't want to take the chance of something "slipping" in there on accident!!!).

So the Easter dinner was great. Then here comes the HORRIBLE part.....me and DH get home and I love love love Bailey's Irish Cream and haven't had one since before getting pregnant. So I tell him to pour me a glass...I take about 4 sips and go 'OH MY GOD..WHY AM I DRINKING THIS?" I don't know what the heck I was thinking...well, I wasn't apparently. I went 5 frickin weeks with NO dairy and this is what happens? So I feel absolutely horrible/guilty/stupid and am kicking myself in the arse all day now!

On another note...I call the GI specialist tomorrow (Monday..I'm writing this Sun night) for our check-in. Looking back on my logs...he still hasn't had a drastic change in his diapers. DH says that he doesn't think it's dairy since I've been dairy-free for 5 weeks and we still have issues. So, I'm curious to see what the GI specialist will say (since I've been on the complete elimination diet for 2 weeks now).

So hopefully the GI Specialist has some good advice since I don't know what else I can do with my diet. I can't see adding foods back in if we're not 100% better yet. And now with my bit of dairy intake today...who knows how far I've set us back now. Ugh...stupid frickin dairy!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and can't wait to hear some good news about your LO's!

Vent Fest Friday!

I have the same vent over and over and I'm tired of even having it. I am sick of not seeing drastic results in DS's diapers. I have done everything in my power to help him out (besides giving formula,...which I will not do). I am wondering if he'll ever have normal poo's again :(

Now we're in this green mucousy crap again. This should not be happening! I can't wait to talk to the GI doctor on Monday when I check in. Hopefully he'll give me some hope...but from my experience during this whole ordeal...he'll probably just tell me I'm going to have to live with it or switch to formula. There's nothing more I can cut out of my diet! Seriously..what would I eat? I guess I could go completely vegan...but I doubt that will make a difference either.

Ugh....who knew this end of breastfeeding would be so hard??????

Have you seen a difference in LO's temperment since changing your diet?

I have not....he never really got that fussy or had the diaper rash really. '

We had a bloody diap late last night...booo. And we are having more florescent green poos again. But the mucous factor is going down. It's only 4 more days until 2 weeks of this big diet...I am starting to get worried that all will not be well by Monday :(

How is cooking for your family going?

I am lucky that I have a husband who is already lactose intolerant, so the no cheese/dairy thing is easy. He's getting a bit bored with the rice, chicken, veggie combo or hamburgers though!

The other night I had a pretty basic chicken tossed salad and he opted for chicken caesar (oh how I would have rather had the caeser!)

Tonight we are having 3 other couples over for dinner so I'm making a double batch of sauce for homemade lasagna (jarred spaghetti sauce has soy, ugh!) and will make everyone lasagna while I am going to cook up some brown rice noodles and do a sort of "ziti" sans the cheese for me. The good thing is that my house smells really good right now and the sauce is going to be fabulous because it's simmering all day!

So all-in-all we are trying to eat the same things...but sometimes I have to have a little variation on mine. Not too horribly of a PITA, but it would be nice to not have to worry about every single morsel that goes into my mouth!

Will you end up giving formula if the diet doesn't work?

I thought long and hard about this last night since I'm pretty frustrated with not seeing these amazing results, regardless of this big elimination diet I'm on.

I'm soooo tired of mucousy poo's....mucous means his little GI tract is still irritated. That sucks. Although I heard that it takes a bit for it to not be irritated since it's so sensitive. But still..I feel so bad for the little guy.

But, after thinking - I don't think I will go to the formula. I have to check back in with the GI specialist next week over the phone, so we'll see what he says. I'm still holding out hope that Alexander will be back to normal by next week. I keep reminding myself about the conversation I had with the GI Dr...that the bad diapers are more traumatic for the parents than the child, considering he's generally happy, calm, and gaining/growing very well.

But still.....I can't explain how much I "long" for that yellow/seedy mustard-consistency diaper I keep waiting for!

How was your LO over the weekend? Any victories or set-backs?

We were doing pretty good during the week and then had two fluorescent green diaps and like 4 bloody. Ugh...I'm beyond frustrated. I can not eliminate anything else from my diet!!! I am just hoping that by the end of these two weeks (next Monday) that he will be back to normal. So this week is a big week for us. Oh...and tomorrow is 1 month no dairy for me....you'd think we'd be seeing a dramatic change by now, wouldn't you?

Vent Fest Friday!

Post your vent/frustrations about dealing with your LO's intolerance(s) here!

I am now getting all yellow, seedy and pretty mucousy diapers since Tuesday and it's pretty frickin frustrating. I just want yellow and seedy...no mucous. But I guess I should be happy since there has not been blood for 2 days now...that's the longest we've gone since this ordeal started.

That's my biggest vent right now.

Who's doing a food/diaper journal?

We have been keeping track of the following things:

Time and side he ate
What I ate at what time
Time and what his diaper included

This seems to help me feel better when I look back at the logs. It keeps things in perspective. For instance...I might think we had a horrible day or what-not, but when I see it in black and white...I can say "oh, he only had one bloody diaper, that's not too bad". It also helps to make sure that he's not getting dehydrated or anything (seeing # of wet diapers) since this has been something I was worried about when he was having those pretty bad watery poo diapers.

It takes time to write it down...but it's a lifesaver for me on my stress level!

Oh...and we've stuck to yellow now! But his last 2 were more mucousy than seedy..ugh. But for now - no more green! I'll take it! At least I'm seeing some change with the elimination diet! Yay!

Oh, new food:
Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal
It's dairy, gluten, soy free. It takes like cream corn. I put brown sugar on it for breakfast. Filled me up nice!

How is everyone adjusting to their new diets?

I am adjusting surprisingly well. As I posted on the bump yesterday - I went shopping and spent $50 on 10 items...but it was worth it to get some things with some flavor!

My MIL came for a visit today and made a scruptious hearty soup made with only fresh veggies. It didn't sound very good when she told me over the phone what she was bringing (she knows about the special diet I'm on for A) but I didn't want to be rude so I told her to go ahead and make it. It was SO good and was so flavorful. I am getting the recipe from her and will post it. Basically it was fresh tomatoes for the base (so like a tomato soup), celery, onion, corn, kidney beans (for protein), thyme, and some other stuff. It was thicker..so it was more like a stew instead of a soup. I suppose you could probably add some yukon potatoes in there too if you wanted.

DS had an awesome yellow seedy diaper today - - - yay for small victories. It's amazing how I hold my breath when pulling those little velcro tabs of his diaper to see what awaits me. It's usually a sigh of disappointment...but today was a high-five with my husband! I hope they stay this way.....but we've been down this road before so I won't be holding my breath (that is, until we change the next diaper! LOL)