It has been so long. Wow... it's amazing how busy you get and blogging is just not on your radar. Well, I'm here now. Wilson is just now waking up from his nap so he's pretty grumpy. He's also grumpy because he hasn't been feeling well lately. It started off as a slight ear infection (we went over 13 months before he got one!!!!!) and a bit of croup and just recently we took him back to the doctor office because the coughing attacks after he would eat and the constant coughing all day accompanied by a fever was enough for us to realize that he wasn't getting better. After a less than pleasant visit to our doc (we had to see a different doctor as ours wasn't working that day) she sent us off to the hospital for x-rays. After a long time waiting, and 2 x-rays later we find that they didn't see anything - the same thing the doctor told us at the office (that she couldn't hear anything blocking his lungs or anything) - so why the x-rays? We've mentioned milk allergies or lactose intolerance every time we've been to the doctor - but since he wasn't throwing up they always dismissed it. I was pretty frustrated as I know the bills are going to be pretty big so I sent Thomas to the store for some soy milk. Well, wouldn't you know it? The $2.35 option. He still is coughing, but now it just sounds like he has a cold. He isn't having these aggravated/gagging/15minute cough sessions after every bottle now. So, do I know if he's allergic? Not yet, but man o man, am I glad we switched to soy. Any thoughts or advice is greatly appreciated at this point as our insurance doesn't pay for anything extra - if you've had experience with something like this, please email me or let me know how you dealt with it. He doesn't throw up after milk/formula/nursing but he does have very wet/mucus-y coughing sessions. And that has pretty much disappeared with the soy milk. He may cough 3 times, but he's also sick with something right now.
In other news, he's started walking. He can now take 8-10 steps before crashing. And he really wants to be walking everywhere and he tries to go super fast (and then he falls). He also loves to do 'earmuffs' - where he covers both ears with his hands. He laughs and laughs and laughs the whole time.
We have a busy couple of weeks ahead of us. Thomas and I are playing a recital for the Widow's Garden Party on Monday, our students have their recital Monday night, the Children's Choirs are performing their musical on Wednesday night and we are preparing and rehearsing for the Festival of Hymns on May 20. Thomas is super busy with the interim position and even busier as he continues to practice organ daily. We were given a book by a friend of hymn texts (most of which have never been set to a tune). The book is awesome because it's from 1844.
So that night that we got it, I sat down at the piano and plunked out a hymn and harmonized it. I couldn't believe what I had just done! I'm in the process of getting it written into Sibelius but this is the inspired text:
How sad our state by nature it!
Our sin how deep it stains!
And Satan binds our captive minds,
Fast in his slavish chains.
But there's a voice of sov'reign grace,
Sounds from the sacred word:
"Ho! ye despairing sinner, come
And trust upon the Lord."
My soul obeys th'Almighty call,
And runs to this relief;
I would believe thy promise, Lord;
O help my unbelief.
To the dear fountain of thy blood,
Incarnate God, I fly!
Here let me wash my spotted son;
From crimes of deepest die.
A guilty, weak, and helpless worm,
On thy kind arms I fall;
Be thou my strength and righteousness,
My Jesus, and my all.
- Isaac Watts
Well, I must be going! Love to you all!
In Christ's Love,
Julie
Hey Julzie!! :)
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear little man's been iccky sickky... mucous is the one thing that grosses me out as a mom. Pretty much the ONLY thing. hehehe. And I cloth diaper, so that's sayin something... anyway.
As far as advice goes, mine would be this: Soymilk is pretty terrible for children- especially little boys. The phyto-estrogens wreak havoc on their little developing systems. Little boys aren't supposed to have much estrogen in their systems...soy formula's called "birth control for baby boys." You can read plenty on it here: http://www.westonaprice.org/soy-alert or in the books "The Whole Soy Story" (http://blog.wholesoystory.com/) or "The Soy Deception" (http://www.thesoydeception.com/why-avoid-soy/). Traditional societies that eat soy (like Asians) pretty much only eat it in fermented form (miso, tempeh) or in the plain old bean form occasionally (edamame).
SO my advice would be to either just cut out milk altogether-- there are plenty of ways to get him all those nutrients without resorting to a highly-processed "food" like soy milk, or to try a raw (unpasteurized) cow's milk, or try goat's milk. You can get listings for where to find raw milk in your area at realmilk.com. I noticed a big difference in my ability to tolerate milk (lactose AND mucus-wise) when we made the switch, and Eowyn's had pasteurized milk 2ce in her life (both after age 2). It is a totally different food than pasteurized milk in terms of how our bodies can assimilate its fats and it's actually full of vitamins (as opposed to heat-killed milk that has to have them artificially added back in), full of enzymes (including lactase) and good stuff! Feel free to ask any questions you may have. :)
So glad you are back! I've actually heard that soymilk is not very good for little boys due to all the estrogen in it! It can have bad effects on their growth (I.e. adding some feminine aspects too early like little boobies), but I haven't looked at the research that much. I just know that we were careful not to put him on soy formula as a baby either. I do give Cai Edamame every so often as a snack, but try not to overdo it with him. I know a lot of my friends use almond milk. It doesn't have enough fat in it, but they do get some. You would have to substitute some other fats like advocados are a good source. And there are some other foods I am sure that you could sub out for the milk. And then you can always try to slowly do different cheeses. Cai LOVES feta cheeses, for example! We do drink normal milk well, but anyways... just stuff I have heard for boys! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks ladies! I'm currently on unsweetened almond milk for a spacer. I have a friend who buys real cow's milk, but the farm only sells in bulk so I'm hoping to grab several ounces from him this week and let Wilson have some. So, we are off soy... Also, have either of you made your own almond milk before??
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