Allergy Update

I don't think I mentioned that we recently took Clara for an eventful trip to see her new allergist, where we came armed with a half-gallon of whole milk and pushed for an immediate "oral challenge," since her recent allergy test results came back close to negative on the milk front. The doctor consented to the oral challenge, and we spent the next three hours trying to coax ever-increasing amounts of moo juice into Clara's stubborn gullet. We even had a bottle of chocolate syrup with us, which helped a bit, but she did not want to drink the milk, thank you very much, and by the time we were done she had more chocolate milk on her (now ruined) shirt than she probably had in her tummy.

The allergist decided that she'd ingested enough to feel confident that she has indeed "outgrown" her milk allergy, so we have been reveling in the freedom to cook with and snack on dairy products. She will now drink milk if she's in the right mood, but mostly we've been "milking down" her soy milk to help her get used to the new flavor. Yay, milk! I can't see us totally giving up soy milk anytime in the near future (even Jeremy and I quite like it), but it's nice to have options.

Next summer we'll retest for eggs and peanuts. You never can tell...

Noodler

Let the official countdown begin! In less than one week, Clara will return to the allergist for her wheat "oral challenge," which is when she will eat Cream of Wheat at the allergist's and people will watch her to see what happens (I'm bringing popcorn for the show). The hope, of course, is that nothing will happen and that we can cross wheat off of our foods-to-avoid list.

We are feeling quite confident that the oral challenge will go well, since before her initial allergy testing she ate wheat with abandon and seemed to suffer no ill effects. But for the past three months, Clara has not had any bread, crackers, or any of the millions of other food products that contain any wheat. She does enjoy her daily wheat-egg-milk-free waffle, which I buy at great cost and great convenience from the special-diet-friendly Wegman's. But I am truly excited to be able to make her a great number of wheat-a-licious delights, even if I still have to avoid eggs and milk (and peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, and fish, which are her "just-in-case" no-nos).

So wish us luck! And don't feel to bad for Clara: as you can see from the picture, she manages to eat quite well on her special diet. Here she is eating some (actually quite delicious) brown rice pasta with a tasty red sauce mixed with smooth Tofutti cream cheese. Good times.

Bummer

I just wrote quite a lengthy post about my foray into the world of wheat/egg/dairy-free baking, but due to some sort of technical malfunction on Blogger's part, the post no longer exists. I'll have to drum up the enthusiasm to redo it tomorrow. In the meantime, here's a recent photo of our sweet baby. This was taken before she managed to get about six bruises on her enormous forehead. Poor baby. It's hard to have a big head and no sense of proportion.

Not a crushing disappointment

So far, the net result of Clara's allergies (for me, anyway) can be summed up in one word: hunger. I'm compelled to not be hungry and to get lots of good nutrients to keep Momma's Dairy Bar as healthy and delicious for Clara as possible. The problem is, I have never been the most deliberate eater, especially during the summer, so not being able to eat toast or have a sandwich or a quesadilla on a moment's notice has left me feeling perpetually peckish. In a moment of borderline self-pity, I decided to cheer myself up by making an approximation of one of my ultimate childhood comfort foods: cooked white rice with a bit of butter, sugar, cinnamon, and milk. Of course I substituted Earth Balance "buttery spread" for the butter and a bit of soymilk for the milk. And as I stirred it up and took my first bite, preparing to be disappointed, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually pretty good. Not quite the same, but still sweet and warm and comforting. Now on to the next task: finding the perfect wheat-free bread recipe.

Vegan-Plus?

I'm trying to figure out what to call my new diet, which has been drastically altered following the news that Clara has mild-to-moderate allergies of dairy, eggs, and wheat. Typically, those have been my three primary food groups, but since I'm still nursing her I am having to embrace the new. We were pretty sure she had a dairy allergy, but the wheat and eggs were a bit of a surprise. I was ready to be Vegan-Plus (my phrase for a dairy-free diet that is heavy on veg, grains, fruit, and beans but which also includes meat). Now that we have to cut out wheat for a time, I'm kind of at a loss for a clever moniker.

We have an appointment with an allergist in a few weeks, but in the meantime Clara's pediatrician counseled me to err on the side of caution by eliminating the offending foods from my diet as well. Right now I'm in "survival mode," which means that I am eating a lot of cold cereal and soy milk. Clara and I did venture out to Wegmans (if I could leave Jeremy and marry a grocery store, I would marry Wegmans) and purchased some wheat-dairy-egg free delights, so I'm sure my new culinary repertoire will just continue to expand. The good news in all of this is that she'll probably outgrow these allergies within the next few years. In the meantime, we'll be grateful that she's over the moon for oatmeal, barley, veggies, and fruit. Now we'll work on getting her to like meat and soy...

Really, though, as you can see from the following photo, she doesn't much care what she eats: