Just Another Mommy Blog

I have been a mom for exactly one year. Here are a few things I have learned...

1. Labor hurts. It is not like running a marathon. It is not like the flu. It is like you are being ripped in two. I received my epidural and spinal block after transition, just in time to push. Next time, I will ask for it upon arriving at the hospital.

2. Holding your child for the first time is without a doubt the most amazing experience. Unforgettable.

3. Doctor's are not always right. Mother's intuition is.

4. Everyone has an opinion on how you should feed, bathe, dress, sleep, teach and cuddle your child. The only opinions that matter are mom's, dad's and baby's.

5. What works today may not work tomorrow, and what works tomorrow just may be what did not work today.

6. Watching the development from infancy to toddlerhood is without a doubt one of the coolest things of all time. The human body and mind are amazing.

7. Parenthood brings out the best and worst in a person. Recognize the worst for what it is and accept or change it. But try not to show it to your kid.

Chloe is one today. I can't believe it. At 8:03p.m. one year ago, I held her for the very first time. At that moment, time was at a standstill. I was in awe, and completely in love. I held on to her, and to Martin, and felt like the luckiest person alive. I felt complete. Nothing else mattered.

Today I held her, reflected on that moment, and felt the same way, but magnified 1000 times. I am so blessed. Happy birthday to my baby girl!

Today we got Chloe's one year allergy tests back. The results were quite overwhelming.

In addition to the things she has had reactions to in the past (Milk, Oats, Soy), she also came back allergic to Peanuts, Wheat, Eggs, and Maverics (dogs).

I am trying to look at the positive...At least we know now BEFORE she eats those foods. Allergy testing is notoriously inaccurate, so there may be some false positives. However, with her age, her history (anaphylaxis) and the scores (she scored high and very high for each) we have to assume the worst, and hope for the best. That means we'll avoid all of those foods for the foreseeable future, and hope that she outgrows the allergies. If we practice strict avoidance, she has a great chance of outgrowing everything except peanuts by the time she is 4-5 years old. And, 20% of kids diagnosed with peanut allergies when they are under age 2 outgrow the allergy, so she has a chance. And actually, if I had to pick a life-threatening food allergy, I would pick peanuts, because people "get" that one - there is just a lot more awareness of it in schools, and a lot more research efforts on finding a treatment. In fact, shots (like allergy shots) will be available within the next 10 years.

We are hopeful and are just concentrating on doing what we can to keep her healthy and growing! She is doing great. She is happy, learning, and developing like she should. She is also growing like a weed - still in the 75 percentile for weight at 23 pounds.

And with regard to the dog allergy...well...did I mention these tests can be inaccurate? She scored highly allergic to dogs, yet spends each day cuddling with Maverick with not so much as a single hive. So, I am burying my head in the sand on that one. If she starts reacting to him, we'll be looking for a loving home, but for now he is going to stay.

Today we had Chloe's birthday party. It was a lot of fun, and I think that everyone had a good time.

I had a lot of anxiety leading up to the party because it was forecast to be so hot. The original plan was to put a bunch of activities out on the lawn in the backyard, and have most of the party outside. The main reason was that we ordered a Polly's cake for the adults to have, and I didn't want to serve a dairy cake in the house. We reserved the cake back in October, and we have debated whether to have it several times since due to her allergies. But we had been talking about having a Polly's cake for our child's first birthday ever since our wedding night. So, in the end we decided to have it, set it up and serve it outside.

But with it so hot, setting it up outside was out of the question. Instead, we used it as the centerpiece on the food table, and put it in the living room where a portable AC unit was hard at work cooling off the place. I think it turned out pretty well:

Most of the party was inside, but we still decided to cut and serve the cake outside. It worked out well. Chloe was fine except a couple of hives she got on her hand/arm, where I think someone may have touched her with icing on their hands. Nothing major, but enough that I won't be doing the separate dairy cake again. I am glad that we did it this time, as the cake really was a hit. Oh, and we saved the C in the freezer- Chloe can eat her first birthday cake should she ever grow out of her allergy.

More importantly...I was very happy with how her cake turned out. I used a recipe of rice flour, apple sauce, canola oil, water, baking powder and homemade rice milk. The icing was palm oil, sugar and rice milk, with blueberry juice for the pink decoration:

I was really happy with how it turned out. Chloe LOVED it, which is most important.

We got a lot of activities for the kids to play, and I was really happy to see everyone have such a good time. The best part though, was watching Chloe. It was almost as if she knew it was her party and she was playing hostess. She kept going up to all the different kids to interact with them, and then going to the next person. She had no trouble getting out in the middle of everyone. And, half the time, it was almost as if she was posing for the camera! it's so great to see her becoming more outgoing. I am not sure where she gets that (definitely not from her parents), but I am really happy to see it!

I can't believe she is 1. But that is another post.

I called poison control recently and thought I would pass along a little tidbit that may be of use to the other moms out there...

Silica gel packs (like the ones that come in boxes of shoes, cards, etc) are NOT poisonous.

Chloe got a hold of one and put it in her mouth. She didn't actually eat any of it, but the giant DO NOT EAT label freaked me out so I dialed poison control. The operator said it's one of the most common calls they get, and that it is completely harmless. Said she could eat the whole package if she wanted to. It's basically sand, which you can buy at the grocery store and eat to make your nails stronger. Who knows why they put the DO NOT EAT label on it...probably just to give us moms something else to worry about.

I took Maverick to a new vet this week. I suspected he had an ear infection (the gunk coming out of his right ear was more foul smelling than Chloe's diaper pail), and, we wanted a second opinion on his ongoing leg/knee/hip issue.

I liked the clinic. The vet was very thorough, and they didn't treat me like a freak even though Maverick acted like a complete idiot. When we got there, Maverick immediately lunged placing his two front paws on the counter while baring his teeth with ruff standing tall, and barking uncontrollably while I tried to pull him down and force him (unsuccessfully) to shut up. The woman behind the counter wasn't phased, but I wanted to crawl under a rock....especially when a cute guy came out of one of the exam rooms with his very well behaved dog, and Maverick lunged at him like he was going to rip his head off. I apologized and frantically tried to get him to calm down while the guy laughed and said, "Nothing like the vet to bring out the worst in em, huh?"

Right...so they got me a room and a muzzle...just so I could fill out paperwork. I'm serious.

Anyway, the vet comes in, and looks in Maverick's ear, asks me a couple of questions. Then, he folded his hands like he was going to give me some very bad news and gravely said, "he has allergies."

I'm thinking he's got to be kidding. What? I am sorry...wrong dog here...allergies? How about you just give me some ear ointment and send me on my way, huh?

He goes on and on about this...Inhalant allergens...grass...check the pollen count, figure out what he is allergic to...blah blah...(right...and what am I going to do about that? Can't stop the trees from spitting out pollen...)...blah blah...give him Benadryl two times a day.

Wait, did you say Benadryl? Like, for humans? Yes...two capsules, two times a day, for the season. You've got to be friggen kidding me. I have to laugh. I mean...now it all makes sense...the sneezing, the itching, the incessant paw licking. I just thought he was being a dog. Nope, allergies. And seasonal ones, at that.

So now everyone in the house is taking an antihistamine but me. They are all taking the same thing, except that Maverick's little pink capsules are in a container that says, "not for humans" even though it is in fact the SAME pink capsule that is in our human container of Benadryl. Makes one wonder.

Anyway, I did like the vet. We're going back next week for the knee and hip x rays. Their estimate was $300 less than our former vet. Yeah, sign me up!

Today, there was an article on CNN that really pissed me off. It's yet another article out there saying that food allergy is overdiagnosed, not a real issue, etc...

Unfortunately, for those of us with kids that to have real food allergies confirmed by a physician, articles like this are a real disservice. Try telling Chloe it's not real when she is covered in hives, gasping for breath, or pooping blood. We try not to let it consume our every day lives, but the fact is that it has become routine to be hypervigilent when it comes to food, public places, and playing with other kids. Sometimes it makes us feel a little nutty, but that is our life. And because of our vigilence, Chloe is largely symptom free, and a happy, healthy little girl.

So, a little more research, and I found another article that perfectly describes the life of a parent of a food allergic child. The article is a bit dated, and long, but also very informative. I encourage everyone to read it.

Today was one of my best mommy days yet.

Chloe's first birthday is rapidly approaching. I have spent a lot of time over the past couple of months searching for a safe cake recipe for her to eat on her birthday. We are getting a separate cake for everyone else, but wanted to put a candle in something for her.

With her allergies, food introductions have been slow, and the major ingredients in baking - milk, eggs, soy, wheat, vanilla, chocolate, and oats are out. Honestly, I had pretty much lost hope. I even got teary eyed at a recent party when the baby blew out her candle, and I was sad that Chloe won't get her chance.

Today I tried a recipe for a banana muffin, and it worked! I used rice flour, made my own rice milk and used it as a substitute for the soy milk, and used applesauce instead of banana. The muffins are not only frostable, but also edible! They taste like apple shortbread. Chloe ate half of a muffin, and she would have eaten more except that I didn't think she needed all that sugar (her first taste of ANYTHING with sugar in it).

I am excited on so many levels!

First, I can use the recipe to make a small cake so that we can get the obligatory cake smashing pics at her first birthday.

Second, I don't want Chloe to ever feel different or deprived because of her allergies. Finding a cake for her first birthday gives me hope that if I work hard enough, Chloe can have the same experiences as other kids despite her allergies.

Finally, it felt so sweet to bite into a muffin, and then to feed her some of the same. It's the first time I have been able to let her eat anything I was eating. She has so few foods she can eat. And even when we are eating something that is safe for her, it's usually mixed with things she hasn't tried yet. We have to be so careful with food introductions that we can't just give her a first taste of something on a whim. But today, she smiled, reached for my muffin, grabbed a piece and gobbled it down. I felt so happy!

There i a key on my laptop that keep getting tuck. Can you gue what it i?

Two years ago, I picked out a color for the living room walls that looked lovely on a paint chip, but like mint ice cream on the walls. I've wanted to re-paint the room ever since.

I finally painted it over the weekend. Three of the walls are a light bluish grey, and one wall is a dark blue. It matches perfectly with the area rug, furniture, and lamps. I LOVE it! Now, after two year of living here, we can finally pick out artwork and make the room look "lived in". Our next step is to hire someone to put up crown moulding, and to paint the baseboards, fireplace and windows.

The paint job is far from perfect, but I am hopeful that I'll be the only one to notice all of the mistakes. Or at least as others notice them, they'll be kind enough not to comment.

Ahhh...I love it - I could sit in there all day!

Over the weekend, Martin and I had the following conversation:

M: I read about a study that showed that people who don't use their minds are more likely to suffer from dementia in old age.

T: Oh yeah?

M: I'm worried about you.

T: (laughing) Oh yeah?

M: Really, I'm serious.

// posted by ornerymama @ 8:11 PM 0 comments