Dirty work

Basically right after her visit to the doctor, things have been going okay on the stool front. I've still been collecting samples - gross - but things seem to be better. This may mean that my no dairy no soy diet could be paying off. Which is good. But also bad, because I'll have to continue abstaining from dairy and soy for more than a month now. I pretty much can't eat out anymore - at least not fast food.

Next step

So, Cecilia went to her 4 month check up (and got more shots, ouch). She's had blood in her stools for about three weeks now, two of which were during my no dairy no soy diet. So...we get to start testing. I got four vials to fill with baby poop. Yay!

Soy is in everything!

It really is! I've found it in chicken broth, canned tuna, bread crumbs, even in a rice milk ice cream (soy lecithin was in the chocolate chips). Basically, I've been cooking all my meals and baking my own bread. It's given me an opportunity to go through my middle-eastern cookbooks since they base a lot of their cuisine on olive oil. But kofta without yogurt sauce is a little disappointing. Soy, however, is not in hot dogs.

Dairy and Soy alternatives

Almond Breeze has soy lecithin. Who would've guessed. Soy lecithin doesn't usually affect people with soy allergies, but I need to be as thorough as possible. The bit I did have was pretty tasty, but too sweet for a milk substitute. Rice milk tastes like liquid rice, but it's good enough for me. Works well in cereal and as an alternative to water. I have found other almond milk drinks without soy lecithin, but I was able to buy rice milk at Costco, so it is the drink of choice for the time being.

Four months and no sleep makes Laura insane

It's amazing how long one can survive without a full night's sleep. Cecilia's had issues that tend to disturb her sleep, and therefore my sleep. I really only get about 3 hours sleep in one sitting. We've had our hands quite full, more than was expected. And Cecilia has brought about a whole new issue that we never anticipated, and now, I am on a no dairy no soy diet. Goodbye to everything I love to eat. No dairy wasn't too big a deal because I had basically already given up dairy in an attempt to help Cecilia with her digestion, but at least I had Chinese food. Well, not anymore - no soy! Basically, I can't eat any processed foods and have to be careful about eating out. Cecilia's had gastrointestinal issues that may be due to me eating dairy and soy, so we are going to try out this restrictive diet for about a month and see if things get better. Even a small slice of cheese could cause problems, I have to watch everything I eat. Luckily I already like to cook, so that's not an obstacle, but the recipe list is limited. Wish me luck!

Developing motor skills

Whew! Finally got around to posting a few comics. This one is from a while ago. Cecilia's been learning motor control, but she tends to get frustrated when she can't acheive what she wants. Seth says she must take after him. At the time of this comic she was just learning how to reach and grab for stuff, but now whe can roll over! I'm so slow to post...