See this face? Does it look like the face of pain to you? Nope? That's because he's not in pain. Not anymore, thank goodness!
Husband and I waited a long, long time to get to this point and we are so happy that Bean is finally in a place where his digestive troubles seem to be controlled. He struggled for a long time with reflux and food protein intolerances. Food protein intolerances are different than true food allergies because they are a digestive system response - usually related to an immature "gut" rather than an immune response.
Bean's food issues were so severe that I drastically limited my diet so that I could continue nursing him. When he was about 4 or 5 weeks old, I went on a hypoallergenic diet and eliminated dairy, soy, wheat, gluten, fish, shellfish, eggs, nuts and peanuts.
Every time I tried to reintroduce a food in to my diet, Bean ended up in a lot of pain until recently. Yes, I am still nursing him and plan to continue until he gets adequate nutrition from other food sources AND he's ready to give it up (withing reason, of course - I won't nurse him until he's 9). A few weeks ago, we trialed - and passed - almonds. Now, I feel I can safely say we passed eggs. Both of these foods are fantastic additions to both of our diets because they are filled with nutrients and calories that we both need.
Each food trial has been incredibly nerve wracking because I'm terrified that I'm poisoning his little system. I've been very reluctant to add new foods because I am so afraid to cause him unnecessary pain. But with these two important "passes," I'm gaining confidence that Bean's digestive system is finally(!) maturing. And that means that I get to eat some good food.
Now, I'm excited to try more new foods rather than dreading it. We met with his nutritionist today - she comes weekly - and discussed next steps. Oh, and he weighed in at a whopping 22 lbs on her scale - that's 1 pound in a week!!! Grow, Bean, grow!
Bean and I are going to try fish next. Tomorrow! And then, if all goes well, we'll do gluten in a couple of weeks. I am going to try shellfish soon - but not Bean, for obvious reasons. We are holding off on dairy and soy for a while - dairy because of his borderline hypercalcemia and soy because neither his nutritionist or I are all that excited with the stuff we've been reading about the effects of soy. I limit soy in Baby J's diet for the same reason. Still, I have hope that I (and Bean) will enjoy a piece of pizza one day, perhaps not too far down the road. And with that slice of pizza, I am hoping to see his beautiful, smiling, pain-free face.
