Birthday Parties - making sure everyone is happy

One of the hardest things for me is making sure my boys don't feel left out at birthday parties.  I don't ever expect anyone to have special foods for them.  I make sure to pack snacks and a treat of their choice (rice Krispy treat, cake, cupcake).  It may not be exactly what the other kids are eating but they too can indulge in a dessert and have plenty of snacks to choose from.

As D is getting older, he is understanding more and more aware of his allergy.  This is good because he asks me if its dairy or if he can have it.  It also breaks my heart a little because I don't want him to feel different or "broken" in anyway.  I love how his teachers this year have made accommodations on their own by changing recipes to be dairy free!  His little face lit up when he learned he was able to have the same exact treats as his friend!  He could eat the cookies his friends were eating ❤️  Something so simple made his day.

I am thankful for pinterest and everyone that has pinned recipes :). You have made my life so much easier!!  I've also learned to always travel with snacks.  You never know when you will be some where thata not allergy friendly and need a quick snack.

Babysitters

Kids with food allergies and babysitters are a tricky thing.  There's the sitters who take the time to listen and pay attention to what the kids are eating.  Then there's some that think they know.  I usually prep all the meals so that all they need to do is heat it up.  Easy, simple, fool proof.  I will place their snacks in a bowl and have them ready. 

Last night, I left hot dogs and brown rice in the fridge ready for them to cook and place on a plate.  Well they decided to feed the kids Zatarans Jumbalaya that was in there for my husbands lunch.  This is why I have trouble leaving my kids and trusting that they will be ok.  That they will be fed food that won't hurt them or cause them pain.  I wish I could go back and just take the 5 minutes plate the food like I normally do.  Today my boys have barely eaten,  has stomach pains, and been grumpy.  They are the ones that suffer and have to deal with the mistake.  Lesson learned.  

Breakfast Challenege

Good morning!!!  Mornings are so hard for finding new foods for the boys to eat.  N loves oatmeal but it ends up upsetting his stomach.  It's a battle.  I try muffins using spice cake mix and pumpkin.  They love them one day then not the next.  Right now our favorite is pumpkin waffles.  Super easy, healthy (sshhhhh don't tell them) and yummy.  N not being able to eat eggs makes it a little challenging as I can't just scramble eggs with toast- plus D won't eat them either.  They are yellow and well you know who eats yellow food right??  

School days are tough - we are usually running late so we just have cereal with almond milk or peanut butter toast.  Something quick and easy with little prep or mess.

If you have any suggestions please share :)

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Good morning!  I am a mom of 2 amazing (yet very crazy) boys and love every minute of it.  I have a husband who works very hard so that I may stay home.  For that I am very grateful.  We live a very modest life, small house, we don't need fancy cars or flashy clothes.  

Let me give you a little back ground on why I am writing this.  Almost 4 years ago I gave birth to the cutest, most perfect little boy.  We were living on cloud nine.  My husband had started a new job not long before delivery and had to work a lot.  He was there through delivery and the next day but had to go back to work right away - there was no room for taking anymore time off.  Dillon was a little jaundice so after I was discharged, he had to stay an extra night.  I have so much respect for NICU parents,  it was so hard to leave knowing my baby had to stay.  Fortunately he was able to come home the next afternoon and breastfed like a champ.  It was after being home for 8 weeks that we noticed he was very fussy, hated the car seat, and literally ate every hour maybe could go 2 hours that something was wrong.  His poop was horrendous- the smell made you gag.  Then we noticed he had blood in his diaper.  As a first time mom I panicked -I couldn't imagine what was wrong with my little boy.  We rushed to the pediatrician where they took a stool sample confirmed it was blood (even thought it was very visible in his diaper) so they sent us off to the ER.  I was crying, trying to tell my husband over the phone where we were going and what was going on.  This trip they didn't know anything but ran a few tests, sent us home.  Flash forward another week.  Still the same but the blood is increasing and so are my hormones.  Now we were admitted to Arnold Palmer, where we stayed for just under a week.  I am still breastfeeding every hour maybe every 2, and not sleeping at this point.  My husband was working all day, then came and stayed with us until he was exhausted.  After running every test they could think of and lots of blood work they told me it was probably a food allergy and for me to do the elimination diet.  I ate nothing but vegetables, plain chicken, and black beans for almost 2 weeks.  When he didn't improve and still was having the same issues, we met our now amazing gastroenterologist.  D is now 9 weeks old and he has having a scope done on his belly.  As a parent, having to hand your child over to the nurses and doctors to take them back for anesthesia and a procedure was extremely tough.  Knowing that this would give us answers helped a little but it was still very emotional.  So after those crazy few weeks, we finally knew he had multiple food allergies and was immediately started on Neocate (an amino acid hypo allergenic) formula with a little rice cereal.  
Phew.  We were finding relief and prayers were answered.  It was not even 24 hours and we saw a change in D.  He was happy again.  We were getting smiles, he was going longer than an hour or two between feedings, and his body was more relaxed.  What I learned was that no matter what I would have cut out, it would not have been enough.  His body was so inflamed the only way he could sooth the pain was to eat, which would end up hurting him again.  It was a viscous cycle. 

Flash forward to now.  He is a thriving almost 4 year old that still is very sensitive to any milk protein or dairy products.  We also have an allergist who monitors his immunoglobulins (antibodies in the blood).  His are low which is part of the intolerance/ allergy to milk.  It make it harder for him to fight infections or the common cold.  

We welcomes our second son just over a year ago.  He breastfed for just over a year and we were so happy - thought we were in the clear with him.  Wow were we wrong.  It was 2 weeks ago when he had his scope done (again by our amazing gastroenterologist) and found similar inflammation.  Only he didn't have blood in his stool, he had sores in his belly.  This is why he had stopped eating.  Everything was painful for him to ingest except milk.  We drink vanilla almond milk and they kids love it.  For the next 5 weeks we will be dairy, egg, soy, and wheat free.  When we changed and took those major allergens out of N's diet, wow we had our boy back!  He is eating everything and twice as much.  Our little guy is growing and thriving again.  

I wanted to share our story and struggles and crazy life to hopefully help other parents going through this.  We have undergone so many tests, changes, and trials its rediculous.  I will also be posting different kid (and husband because he is sometimes pickier than the boys) approved recipes and meals!  

Thanks for stopping by :)

Rachel