Millet, Millet the Magical Grain!

I think I'm going to finally call millet a pass!  Jake's been eating the puffs fairly regularly now at breakfast.  He hates the millet porridge.  The $33 millet porridge from Austrailia.  Oh well.  I tried.  I even mixed it in with some other pureed food.  He knew.  Actually, he doesn't really like much pureed food anymore.  My older son did this at the same age.  Jake wants to feed himself.  He will still take applesauce from me, as long as he has some kind of finger food on his plate, also.  He will also eat sweet potatoes with no problem.  But he L.O.V.E.S. sweet potatoes.  I make them thick enough so they stick on the spoon.  When he gets tired of me feeding him, he can actually pick up the spoon (with food already on it) and feed himself.  It's messy, but he feels so independent and proud! 

So now I'm on the quest to make some sort of millet cookie or muffin.  Millet doesn't rise, so this will be interesting.  I think a cookie might be a better bet.

In six weeks Jake will be one.  I can't believe it.  I need to start thinking about his birthday.  Do we do it up big with a huge party?  Or do we keep it small and intimate and have good crumb control?  I feel like this year should be celebrated, yet I want to be able to enjoy the party.  I don't want to worry the whole time about someone giving him a bite of cake because they think I'm just some over anxious crazy mom.   Decisions.  In the meantime, I will practice making some pear sorbet and some kind of cookie.  It would be fun to have some cookies in the shapes of "1" with a little frosting.

Christmas was great.  Jake would have been happy with some wrapping paper and empty boxes, but he got a few new toys that he's enjoying, as well.  He's also happy playing with his older siblings toys!  Zoobles and Zhu Zhu's seem to be favorites of his, too.

It's been a difficult week crumb-wise.  Having everyone home for the week for every meal and snacks is... well... messy.  I about flipped yesterday when Jake seemed like he was choking on something.  I did a finger swipe and found the inside of a piece of popcorn.  You know those little things that get stuck in your teeth?  I'm not sure what the technical term is.  I was so mad I had let the kids have popcorn.  I watched the clock.  He went to bed about the time he should have reacted.  Jake was cranky.  He was up a lot last night.  He did spit up a little.  But that was it.  No full blown reaction.  One more week of having the kids home.  Popcorn may have to be banned, or limited to outside.

We see our allergist again in four weeks.  I had been debating doing some kind of formula trial.  However, the elimination diet I'm on is much easier now that I can have wheat.  I'm not wasting away and starving anymore.  I plan to stick it out until 18 months.  We're still nursing 6-8 times a day.  I still feel like Jake's food menu is so small.  I think we're just about ready to tackle some bigger items.  Eggs?  Lamb?  I think we'll stick to a few more fruits and veggies until Jake is 12 months.  After that (if we're reaction free), I might get a little more aggressive with his trials. 

One other thing I want to ask the allergist about... probiotics.  Or maybe this is more of a GI question?  I never made the follow up appointment with the GI.. on my to do list.  I just felt the last appointment was so pointless.  Anyway, probiotics seem to be the new buzz word on the boards.  Definitely something I want to look into.  It seems like some kiddos have had success with the gut healing bacteria!  I have probiotics most days through the kefir I drink.  Does this pass through the milk, I wonder?  Something to think about.

One other important thing I wanted to mention. 

Because FPIES does not rule our lives...

Jake took TWO STEPS yesterday. 

This kid will be running before I know it!

Pantry Predicament

Hi Jake!  I see you learned how to open the pantry door. 

What do you have there? 



 Oh that familiar shiny wrapper of a chewy granola bar. 

The kind that contains rice AND oats. 

Can I have it please?

Thank you.

Note to self: 

Time to clear out the pantry and reorganize. 

Or put a lock on it.

OR BOTH...

Wheat a minute...

This week kind of threw us for a loop.  Mama got sick.  Mama got really sick.  Stomach virus.  I will spare the details. 

Millet got put on hold.

Housework got put on hold. 

Laundry was only done when everyone ran out of underwear. 

Pizza was ordered in. 

Wheat was re-introduced into my diet. 

This was my plan, eventually.  Just not yet.  However, when I hadn't eaten for 24 hours and the ONLY thing that sounded digestible was a piece of toast, I caved.  And nothing happened.  I barely ate more than bread for two days.  And Jake was fine. 

This Mama is no longer starving without bread and pasta. 

Maybe wheat will be a pass for us some day.  We won't be trying any time soon, however.  In the meantime, I will enjoy my shredded wheat for breakfast once again.  A sandwich for lunch every once in a while and some pasta at dinner if I feel like it. 

It's been about two months.  I'm proud of myself. 

Next I plan to re-introduce some hidden corn products.  Not yet, though.

We will get back to millet soon.  Once Jake is over this little cold.  Viruses are spreading like crazy around here. 

Fun Facts about Millet

It's the holiday season.  This always puts me in a list mood. 

• Millet has been cultivated for some 8,000 years and is one of the oldest foods known to man.
• Yesterday I ate millet twice.  Breakfast and Dinner.  It's OK to be jealous.  I won't fault you for it.
• Millet is mentioned in the Bible and was used during those times to make bread. 
• I ordered infant millet porridge from Australia a few weeks ago.  It's still not here.   
• There is such a thing as millet beer (ummm where can I find some, Mama could use a beverage on this elimination diet!)
• The U.S. uses millet mainly for cattle and bird feed.  (and those who have FPIES or nourish a baby with FPIES, or in our case BOTH)
• My visa actually called to tell me someone was using my credit card in Australia and they suspected fraud.  Someone had charged $33.00 to a food company.
• Yes, I paid $33 freaking dollars for infant millet porridge.  The things we do. 
• Millet is grown in hot, dry climates where other grains will not thrive.  Hmmm...  I live in the southwest.  It is awfully hot and dry here.  I may be on to something. 
• Millet puffs are very tiny.  They fit up a baby's nostril.  With patience, time and long finger nails you can carefully remove them from a baby's nostril.  As long as he doesn't snort it up.  Whew. 
• Jake has had a very small amount of millet puffs six out of the last eight days.  With no reaction. (doing a very small happy dance... taking things slow, going to start increasing amounts today) 

Reference: http://chetday.com/millet.html

Today...

...I actually heard a crumb drop on the tile as my DS1 ate a potato chip.  My ears now have FPIES tuning.  The crumb was about 1/4 of the size of a dime.

...I was criticized once again for still breastfeeding my almost 10 month old, by my grandmother.  "you need to start pumping if you're going to still give him breastmilk".  Isn't family supposed to be supportive?  "He'll become too attached to you".  Um, he's a baby.  Isn't he supposed to be attached to his Mommy? 

...I learned that "breast milk" is actually two words.  Thank you spell checker. 

...Jake charmed the heck out of the old people at my Granddad's nursing home, as always. I love our weekly visits. 

...is December 1st, seriously?

...Jake has discovered the joys of unraveling toilet paper.  Then shredding it to bits.

...I drank too much coffee.  It's not working. 

...Jake and I had the same lunch. Broccoli and baked potato. 

...Jake and I had the same breakfast.  Millet and pears.

There I said typed it for the whole world to see. So far, so good.  Day 2 of millet is done. 

No reaction.