Does this creep anyone else out?

I sent Andy to the grocery store the other night for a couple things.

He had a hankering for ice cream.

Which, I cannot have.

So, he searched around for something that might satisfy my own sweet tooth, but that didn't also contain dairy.

He found:




Yes, Oreos.

Oreos do not contain dairy.

I didn't believe it either. So I read the label myself:

Ingredients: SUGAR, ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE {VITAMIN B1}, RIBOFLAVIN {VITAMIN B2}, FOLIC ACID), HIGH OLEIC CANOLA OIL AND/OR PALM OIL AND/OR CANOLA OIL, AND/OR SOYBEAN OIL, COCOA (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CORNSTARCH, LEAVENING (BAKING SODA AND/OR CALCIUM PHOSPHATE), SALT, SOY LECITHIN (EMULSIFIER), VANILLIN - AN ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CHOCOLATE. CONTAINS: WHEAT, SOY.

Look, I know that oreos aren't exactly health food.

I've never read the label before but I was sure it contained all kinds of chemicals and names I can't pronounce.

But surely it would contain SOME milk, right?

The white creamy centers? Apparently, not a lick of cream.

Butter? Margarine? Come on, there's gotta be some of *that* in there, right? Apparently not.

(There is chocolate in there...but notice it's the LAST ingredient. So, it works.)

This makes me sad.

Kinda like when you find out what hot dogs are really made of and you can never eat another one unless it's slathered in chili and cheese and you just have to mentally bleach your brain of that piece of information for just a few minutes until you are done stuffing your face...

I ate a few last night.

Sans milk.

In a cup. Or in the cookie.

Not nearly as yummy.

Dangit.

Poor Little LuLu

So, you know how I've commented more than once on how Lucy is my fussy one?

How she just cries and I don't know what to do with her some days?

How she dominates so much of my time because she is just such a handful?

Yeah, well...I take it back.

Since I've cut dairy...she's been a DOLL.

Sweet, good natured...all smiles.

The only time she gives me grief is if I experiment with dairy to see if she just might be able to tolerate some of it.

(She can't).

Poor kid.

The whole time she was grumpy it was because she was hurting.

It wasn't even her fault.

And she got a bad rap.

Mea culpa.

Mommy promises not to eat ANY dairy for the next year.

Swear.

(But don't think I won't complain about it sometimes.)

So Long, Farewell...

As I've mentioned before, Lucy is a bit of a fuss-pot. In the back of my head, I kept wondering if maybe it was because she had a dairy issue like Henry did.

I really tried to ignore it.

Pretend it didn't occur to me that she might have a dairy allergy (which by the way, is distinctly different than lactose intolerance).

But finally, when it was painfully (for her) obvious that she was gassy every night...

...and when she full on vomited after I had yogurt...not spit up...but actual gagging, heaving, eyes watering...

I cut all dairy out of my diet for a week.

Dairy is tough.

It includes the obvious milk, cheese, yogurt, chocolate...and the not so obvious butter, margarine, and anything MADE with butter.

So, pretty much all I'm left with is meat and veggies and dry bread. Yum.

Not.

I didn't think I saw huge improvement that week. So, I ate dairy again...which is the real test...

...the first day she seemed fine...

I was STOKED.

and then when I really went gung-ho and had yogurt for breakfast, a grilled cheese for lunch, and ice cream after dinner...

...the poor kid was miserable and vomitted again.

And Jill...she sure seemed to spit up a lot more than usual.

The Good News? These last 9 pounds should come off quickly.

The Bad News? All good food is off my plate for about a year. And considering that I really love dairy and I love to eat....this is not fun. Poor Andy will inadvertantly end up on a severely restricted diet too...because I might be a good wife, but I'm not about to make up an entire batch of mashed potatoes so that I can watch him eat it...


Challenge of the Day: for the next couple of days, take stock of everything you put in your mouth...and make a mental note of the things you eat that have dairy products in them. You don't have to join me on this crazy diet, but just to give you insight into how restrictive this whole thing is.

(eggs are not dairy products...they are just in the dairy section at the grocery store...and be sure to read labels!!! Anything with cassein or whey are OUT! You'll be surprised how often dairy is used as a filler in pre-packaged foods!)

Dairy is a GO!

Okay, unless something really crazy happens, it looks like HENRY CAN HAVE DAIRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So far we've eaten:
-yogurt
-pizza
-quesadilla
-ranch dressing
-a piece of chocolate
-macaroni & cheese
-oatmeal made with milk (rather than rice milk)

I know that most of that isn't exactly the most nutritious of menus, but I had to feed him stuff that was high in dairy so that I could see a distinct reaction. I didn't want to mess around. I have yet to give him an actual glass of milk. I have no allergy to dairy, yet, to this day, I can't have a glass of milk without it upsetting my stomach (remember, I went completely dairy free for almost a year while I nursed). So, I think I'll wait on the milk for a few more weeks to be sure that this isn't just some weird fluke.

But can you imagine??? I don't have to hide everything from the poor kid! I don't have to wait for his naptime before I can eat some string cheese? I don't have to keep the dairy on higher shelves where he can't reach? Wow!!!

Chuck E. Cheese and The Great Dairy Experiment of 2009

We live about half a block from Chuck E. Cheese, and we decided that Henry might be old enough to get a kick out of it. He is...he cried as we left.



Remind me to NEVER go up into the tubes again. I just about had a claustrophobic panic attack (they're much narrower than I remember), they were seriously so greasy and grimy from sticky pizza fingers I thought I was going to dry heave in the pink section, and it just stunk in there. I felt like I needed to take a shower in hand sanitzer when i got out of there. Blech. It doesn't help that I did that 11 weeks pregnant, but whatever it was still nasty.

Andy and Henry enjoyed some quality time playing cars.

Henry looks like he's in love. Which is a little creepy.

The toddler slide was a big hit.

You know what's funny? He had no idea this was a phone...I guess since we don't have a landline, he only thinks phones are tiny little things.

And so, I've been planning on trying him out on dairy again. The last time I tried dairy was on his first birthday...his reaction wasn't bad, but he still had a reaction. "They" don't know much about allergies, but one of the common things I hear is that you have to give your kid's system a chance to heal and acclimate...you have to wait a while between testing...kinda like a scab. If you pick at it too much, it doesn't heal. So, I figured I would wait until he was 18 months to try again. What better first attempt than with some pizza? I have to tell you...this was really weird for me. It's been so taboo...dairy has been our nemesis for so long, it was surreal to be feeding him some.

And we waited for a reaction. None. No tummy ache. No diarrhea. No nasal or chest congestion. No face rash. Nothing. Okay...this is looking good...

So, the next day, we tried our hand at some yogurt. Talk about weird. Whew! Kid *loved* the stuff and I could hardly spoon it fast enough. MY stomach was in knots the whole time though. So so so weird.

And we waited. No reaction. He may have had a slight case of "allergy shiners"...which is basically sinus swelling that results in them looking like they have black eyes...but nothing too terrible...and it may have just been me being neurotic and over-analyzing everything. (You can kinda see it in the photo above if you click it and make it bigger). Do you see it? Is it just me?

And so, he's napping right now...but next on the menu is a quesadilla! Holy moly! I'll keep you posted, but so far, so good! I never thought feeding my child a quesadilla would be so terrifying and exciting, but it IS! So weird, so crazy. So promising!