Kid Tested, Mother Approved

WE PASSED CORN!!  What an enormous relief!  This opens us up to so many new foods... Like corn-based cereal!  Clairey tried Kix the other day and she's completely hooked.  I actually poured a bit too much cereal on the tray of her high chair and she started hoarding them faster than I could clean them up :) 

A little bite of Heaven

I did it!

Passing corn gave me the confidence to try out potatoes (I was hesitant after our inconclusive sweet potato trial), and we've got two successful days under our belt... Cherries are next week and I'm contemplating Cream of Wheat after that.  I think I might need to sleep on it for a night or twelve...

Claire is 10 Months!

We just had Claire's "10 Month" well-baby check up, since her ninth month came and went with doctor's appointments for all sorts of other reasons... I am pleased to say that Clairey is 27 3/4 inches long (25-50th percentile) and 18 pounds 4 ounces heavy (25-50th percentile)! She is army crawling everywhere (with the occasional crawl on all fours), pulling up, waving, clapping, "talking" with all sorts of wonderful consonant sounds, engaging with everyone who glances her way, and eating 16 foods- including some finger foods!

I talked with the doctor about future food introductions and I've decided to keep going with my instincts. I love my pediatrician, but I really don't think he knows much about FPIES. We began trialing corn this week and her reaction has been just fine! I'm hoping that it will only be a matter of days before she tries her first cereal "snack" ...Kix! From here on out, we're going to keep up with the fruits and vegetables and give some grains and meats try, too. Dairy products will come sometime after her first birthday. I just can't get enough of the good news :)

I'm Alive!

That was an unexpectedly long hiatus! It's amazing how quickly the days and weeks seem to be passing. I guess no news is good news, right?


Today we are trialing food #15... Superfood Spinach. I was trying to spare her, but I just couldn't put it off any longer! I feel like we're knocking out the entire produce section of the grocery store with relative ease... and trying not to get over-confident about it. We're beginning to delve into foods that are a little harder to come by (cherries will be making an appearance soon), mostly because I am holding off on the more common triggers (peas, green beans, squash...) until we're left with no choice but to try those too. Even though I feel very supported by our doctors, they have given me few guidelines. I'm in a position to follow my instincts. So far that has worked out for us, but I don't know if and when our luck will run out.

I've been contemplating corn lately. I know that it is a more common allergen and it's low in nutritional value, but it would open the door to cereal and corn-based pasta that would rock Clairey's world. She's chomping at the bit to get her hands on something she can really sink her teeth into... Banana, pear, mango and avocado bits aren't cutting the mustard.

I checked out the FPIES message boards on Facebook and BabyCenter to investigate corn further. I was amazed by the stories that I read. We have been SO LUCKY up to this point. While it's impossible to know what is in store for us and FPIES, so far we have been dealt a much easier hand than so many other families. I was so sad to read about all of the children who react to any or all of the fruits and vegetables, milk, grains and other protein sources that they've tried... There are children that haven't tried new foods in months or a year... They've experienced painful hospital stays and testing... Reading these stories made me count my blessings again and again and hope for resolution for those families who suffer constantly. It also reminded me to never let my guard down...

I think our corn trials will be a last-minute decision. I've already got bags of frozen corn waiting to meet my Cuisinart and a box of Kix cereal that Andy has already claimed for himself (he inexplicably calls them "bumps"). To Corn or not to corn, that is the question...