Today is Day 5 of the bacon trial. You know what Day 5 means. In other words, today is the dreaded Day 5. Day 5 always worries me. If we can make it through Day 5, then I think we're in a good place. All days leading up to Day 5 make me nervous. They give me a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I think, am I going to feed my child something which will make him sick? And when he gets sick, he gets really sick. Am I really going to do this to my child?
But here it is, Day 5 of the bacon trial. The day I've been dreading ... and it's here.
Asher's pre-school teacher tells us that Asher is the envy of the school. They heat up his bacon before they serve it to him and the smell wafts through the entire lunch room. All the children perk up and ask for bacon. The teachers want bacon too. Asher gets to be the envy of everyone in the cafeteria. I bet they'll be thrilled when he starts eating cauliflower.
Now it's the end of Day 5. Day 5 is nearly behind us and we've seen no negative side effects.
Soon it will be Day 6 and a feeling of being on the other side of Day 5...and I can begin to breathe a sigh of relief.....
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Summertime Fun
In addition to updates on Asher's food trials, here's an update on the rest of the family....
We're in the midst of a manic summer. We have full-time jobs/pre-school, then drive immediately from there to SWIM CLASS. We get home at 8 PM, just in time to go to bed, sleep, then do it all over again the next day.
Friday is our day off from swim class. On Fridays, we spend a short amount of time on the putting green before going home for dinner.
On Saturdays we have t-ball. Asher has his own team this year (the white tigers). Simi is now in the 5-6 year old division, on the blue dragon team. And since this is Raj's and my third year as t-ball parents, I signed us up as assistant coaches. I'm the assistant coach for Asher's team and Raj is the assistant coach for Simi's team. My thought was that the assistant coach just follows the lead of the head coach and as parents, we're fully involved any way, so it won't be any different than just being a regular parent, right? I couldn't have been more wrong!
Asher and I got to our field on Saturday and learned that there is no head coach for Asher's team. Instead, there are three assistant coaches and we're all equally clueless. Somehow, we managed to lead the children into forming groups of two and catching/throwing to each other, then going for batting practice and running the bases. Then my fellow assistant coaches informed me that they won't be at practice next week -- and wished me good luck. It's going to be a long season....
Saturday afternoon we took a family field trip to the local pet store to buy some more fish for the aquarium. Leila, all of 17 months old, has lately decided that she no longer needs help doing anything. She'll feed herself now, thank you very much. She'll walk on her own too, and don't even think about carrying her. So following after her brothers, she toddled on into the store and we made our way over to the lizard and geckos and dragons and other slimy creatures. Then we ogled the hamsters and guinea pigs and gerbils, then we moseyed over to the birds and watched them for awhile. The children had a wonderful time. After we were done playing with all those creatures, we made our way over to the fish, selected four goldfish, and made our way home. Leila toddled around the store the entire time like she was a teeny tiny little grown-up. My sweet, feisty, independent baby....
Sunday, (today), we all needed a good sleep in. Boy did it feel great! And we let the boys lounge around, watch tv, and play with their tinker toys - something they haven't gotten to do all week long! Leila got to vroom her cars all around the house.... Then....it was off to the golf course for some practise on the driving range and putting green. We all loved it and had a wonderful time. And now we get to do it all again beginning tomorrow....
We're in the midst of a manic summer. We have full-time jobs/pre-school, then drive immediately from there to SWIM CLASS. We get home at 8 PM, just in time to go to bed, sleep, then do it all over again the next day.
Friday is our day off from swim class. On Fridays, we spend a short amount of time on the putting green before going home for dinner.
On Saturdays we have t-ball. Asher has his own team this year (the white tigers). Simi is now in the 5-6 year old division, on the blue dragon team. And since this is Raj's and my third year as t-ball parents, I signed us up as assistant coaches. I'm the assistant coach for Asher's team and Raj is the assistant coach for Simi's team. My thought was that the assistant coach just follows the lead of the head coach and as parents, we're fully involved any way, so it won't be any different than just being a regular parent, right? I couldn't have been more wrong!
Asher and I got to our field on Saturday and learned that there is no head coach for Asher's team. Instead, there are three assistant coaches and we're all equally clueless. Somehow, we managed to lead the children into forming groups of two and catching/throwing to each other, then going for batting practice and running the bases. Then my fellow assistant coaches informed me that they won't be at practice next week -- and wished me good luck. It's going to be a long season....
Saturday afternoon we took a family field trip to the local pet store to buy some more fish for the aquarium. Leila, all of 17 months old, has lately decided that she no longer needs help doing anything. She'll feed herself now, thank you very much. She'll walk on her own too, and don't even think about carrying her. So following after her brothers, she toddled on into the store and we made our way over to the lizard and geckos and dragons and other slimy creatures. Then we ogled the hamsters and guinea pigs and gerbils, then we moseyed over to the birds and watched them for awhile. The children had a wonderful time. After we were done playing with all those creatures, we made our way over to the fish, selected four goldfish, and made our way home. Leila toddled around the store the entire time like she was a teeny tiny little grown-up. My sweet, feisty, independent baby....
Sunday, (today), we all needed a good sleep in. Boy did it feel great! And we let the boys lounge around, watch tv, and play with their tinker toys - something they haven't gotten to do all week long! Leila got to vroom her cars all around the house.... Then....it was off to the golf course for some practise on the driving range and putting green. We all loved it and had a wonderful time. And now we get to do it all again beginning tomorrow....
Bananas and Bacon
Gosh, I can't believe that two full weeks have gone by already....
Asher has been eating bananas for two weeks now. We're declaring unofficial success (it's unofficial until the endoscopy proves he's not allergic) and moving on to the next food. We gave Asher a choice of cauliflower or bacon. He's never eaten bacon before - ever. In fact, he didn't even know what bacon was. Cauliflower is one of his favorite foods. Before we took food away from him, he ate cauliflower and potatoes nearly every day. But that didn't stop him from choosing bacon. Off we went Friday night to buy some bacon.
Asher LOVES the bacon. He loves it so much that I had to go back to the store on Saturday and buy some more. I bought a ton of it, yet I'm still not sure we're going to get through the entire week without buying more bacon. Asher's in hog heaven.
Let's hope that bacon loves Asher and much as Asher loves bacon.
Asher has been eating bananas for two weeks now. We're declaring unofficial success (it's unofficial until the endoscopy proves he's not allergic) and moving on to the next food. We gave Asher a choice of cauliflower or bacon. He's never eaten bacon before - ever. In fact, he didn't even know what bacon was. Cauliflower is one of his favorite foods. Before we took food away from him, he ate cauliflower and potatoes nearly every day. But that didn't stop him from choosing bacon. Off we went Friday night to buy some bacon.
Asher LOVES the bacon. He loves it so much that I had to go back to the store on Saturday and buy some more. I bought a ton of it, yet I'm still not sure we're going to get through the entire week without buying more bacon. Asher's in hog heaven.
Let's hope that bacon loves Asher and much as Asher loves bacon.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Endoscopy Results
The biopsy report (from last Thursday's endoscopy) is in. The results are....(drumroll, please)
He passed the food trial!!!!!!! He passed!!!! He passed!!!!! Asher can safely eat pork, broccoli, rice, and potato!!!
Asher is officially NOT allergic to these four foods. Woo hoo!!!! Woo hoo!! Woo hoo!!!
Asher is doing great right now. Yesterday, he started eating again with a vengeance. And today is the first day that he ran out of food at school. I send him to school with about twice as much food as he usually eats because I don't want him to be hungry. Today is the first day he ate it all. Previously he hasn't even come close to eating it all.
One last thing: we're on day 6 of the banana trial.
He passed the food trial!!!!!!! He passed!!!! He passed!!!!! Asher can safely eat pork, broccoli, rice, and potato!!!
Asher is officially NOT allergic to these four foods. Woo hoo!!!! Woo hoo!! Woo hoo!!!
Asher is doing great right now. Yesterday, he started eating again with a vengeance. And today is the first day that he ran out of food at school. I send him to school with about twice as much food as he usually eats because I don't want him to be hungry. Today is the first day he ate it all. Previously he hasn't even come close to eating it all.
One last thing: we're on day 6 of the banana trial.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Post Endoscopy
Asher isn't feeling well. He's whiny and barely eating. Everything bothers him and he is complaining about aches and pains everywhere. I remember him being similar to this after the last endoscopy too and being very nervous about it. This just isn't Asher.
In the meantime, bananas have been added to Asher's diet. Several weeks ago, Asher begged me to have a banana. Now, he's really more excited about the idea of eating a banana rather than actually eating them. He has been eating them, just not with the gusto that you would expect. Truthfully, he's not eating much of anything right now. He just doesn't feel well.
We've made him banana ice cream (put a frozen banana in a food processor until it becomes the consistency of soft ice-cream. It's really delicious!), dehydrated bananas, fried bananas, and, of course, plain banana.
Meanwhile, Asher is having a blast with the bug vacuum. He's forgotten all about using it as a gun and instead is completely obsessed with using it for its intended purpose: to suck up bugs. We've captured all sorts of bugs - baby grasshoppers, ants, roley poleys, june bugs - to name a few. We even made a habitat for the roley poleys and have kept them on the kitchen table. They're fun to watch.
Asher even took the bug vacuum to school with him for show and tell. He was so excited about it and showed it to his teachers who both looked at each other, looked at me and said in unison, "we're really glad you have a daughter too." Knowling Leila, though, she'll probably be just as into bugs and bug vacuums as are the boys.
Meanwhile, we await the results of the endoscopy.
In the meantime, bananas have been added to Asher's diet. Several weeks ago, Asher begged me to have a banana. Now, he's really more excited about the idea of eating a banana rather than actually eating them. He has been eating them, just not with the gusto that you would expect. Truthfully, he's not eating much of anything right now. He just doesn't feel well.
We've made him banana ice cream (put a frozen banana in a food processor until it becomes the consistency of soft ice-cream. It's really delicious!), dehydrated bananas, fried bananas, and, of course, plain banana.
Meanwhile, Asher is having a blast with the bug vacuum. He's forgotten all about using it as a gun and instead is completely obsessed with using it for its intended purpose: to suck up bugs. We've captured all sorts of bugs - baby grasshoppers, ants, roley poleys, june bugs - to name a few. We even made a habitat for the roley poleys and have kept them on the kitchen table. They're fun to watch.
Asher even took the bug vacuum to school with him for show and tell. He was so excited about it and showed it to his teachers who both looked at each other, looked at me and said in unison, "we're really glad you have a daughter too." Knowling Leila, though, she'll probably be just as into bugs and bug vacuums as are the boys.
Meanwhile, we await the results of the endoscopy.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Endoscopy Is Over
Asher got through the endoscopy and we're now home and doing well. Gosh, I hate the endoscopies. I truly don't know what is worse - being forced to drink icky formula or having to undergo the endoscopies. The endoscopies are really hard on Asher.
Since he wasn't allowed to drink anything after 4 AM, I had planned to wake him up before 4 am to drink some formula. Turns out, Asher awoke at 3 AM because he had a rash on his tummy which hurt him enough to wake him up. Applying calamine lotion only hurt worse and Asher was screaming at the top of his lungs. If anyone knows why that would hurt, please clue me in! Anyway, we got through that, had some formula and went back to bed.
The endoscopy was scheduled for 12:15 PM, but it was started earlier. Asher did great and the visual inspection looked good. Dr. Ulshen was quick to tell me that in 30% of the cases, the visual inspection isn't enough and we need to await the biopsy results. The results should be available in about a week. So now we wait. But at least the hard part is over.
Asher did just great in the endoscopy. He walked with me to the operating room, let me pick him up and put him on the table, then put the mask on his face and breathed in the gas. The hard part was coming out of the anesthesia. It's REALLY hard on him and he was crying and in pain. They called me back to the recovery room and when I looked at him, he was all curled up in a ball and he looked so teeny tiny. He was still sleeping and it took a really long time for him to awaken. Then, once he woke up, he started crying, which got me crying. There we were, both of us bawling like babies. We sat like that on his gurney for about 45 minutes or so until the nurse insisted that he get dressed and leave. OK then, we're on our way.
I promised to buy him a toy, so off we went to Target in search of a toy. It took awhile to agree on the toy. My criteria was that it not be a gun. He ONLY wanted a gun. He ended up choosing a bug vacuum, because it LOOKS like a gun. At least it can't shoot things at people.
By the middle of our shopping trip, Asher started feeling better. He's still woozy and walking wobbly, but he's definitely on his way to recovery. I wish these endoscopies weren't so hard.
Next food trial? Bananas. We need a fruit.
Since he wasn't allowed to drink anything after 4 AM, I had planned to wake him up before 4 am to drink some formula. Turns out, Asher awoke at 3 AM because he had a rash on his tummy which hurt him enough to wake him up. Applying calamine lotion only hurt worse and Asher was screaming at the top of his lungs. If anyone knows why that would hurt, please clue me in! Anyway, we got through that, had some formula and went back to bed.
The endoscopy was scheduled for 12:15 PM, but it was started earlier. Asher did great and the visual inspection looked good. Dr. Ulshen was quick to tell me that in 30% of the cases, the visual inspection isn't enough and we need to await the biopsy results. The results should be available in about a week. So now we wait. But at least the hard part is over.
Asher did just great in the endoscopy. He walked with me to the operating room, let me pick him up and put him on the table, then put the mask on his face and breathed in the gas. The hard part was coming out of the anesthesia. It's REALLY hard on him and he was crying and in pain. They called me back to the recovery room and when I looked at him, he was all curled up in a ball and he looked so teeny tiny. He was still sleeping and it took a really long time for him to awaken. Then, once he woke up, he started crying, which got me crying. There we were, both of us bawling like babies. We sat like that on his gurney for about 45 minutes or so until the nurse insisted that he get dressed and leave. OK then, we're on our way.
I promised to buy him a toy, so off we went to Target in search of a toy. It took awhile to agree on the toy. My criteria was that it not be a gun. He ONLY wanted a gun. He ended up choosing a bug vacuum, because it LOOKS like a gun. At least it can't shoot things at people.
By the middle of our shopping trip, Asher started feeling better. He's still woozy and walking wobbly, but he's definitely on his way to recovery. I wish these endoscopies weren't so hard.
Next food trial? Bananas. We need a fruit.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Rice and Potatoes
It's been awhile since we've given an update. We were at the beach. But that's another story for a different blog entry. Right now, I want to tell you how Asher's doing in his food trials.
After two weeks of eating rice, Raj and I breathed a sigh of relief and moved on to potatoes. Honestly, I thought that it was certain that Asher would fail the rice trial, so I'm absolutely thrilled that things have gone as well as they're going. I'm afraid to get my hopes up by thinking that perhaps we can actually, one day, feed this kid.
Asher has been eating potatoes for about one and a half weeks - well past the dreaded 5th day.
It's wonderful that Asher has been eating food. He only drinks about 4-6 oz of formula now with his meal - of food. It's just great. Raj has been cooking him "pork fried rice" - with pork and rice and broccoli all fried up together. Asher just loves it. He is REALLY enjoying his potato chips. Golly, adding rice and potato have done GREAT things for his outlook. It's been wonderful.
The protocol is to trial 3 foods, then perform an endoscopy to check for allergic reaction. Some children show no outward symptoms yet an endoscopy will reveal eosinophils in the esophagus upon biopsy. So the endoscopy is an important step. We're scheduled for an endoscopy tomorrow.
Truthfully, I hate endoscopies. They're so hard on Asher and the risk of complications, although small, is frightening. I'll breathe a BIG sigh of relief after the endoscopy when all goes well. And when we have the results - in about a week - I'll be sure to post them.
After two weeks of eating rice, Raj and I breathed a sigh of relief and moved on to potatoes. Honestly, I thought that it was certain that Asher would fail the rice trial, so I'm absolutely thrilled that things have gone as well as they're going. I'm afraid to get my hopes up by thinking that perhaps we can actually, one day, feed this kid.
Asher has been eating potatoes for about one and a half weeks - well past the dreaded 5th day.
It's wonderful that Asher has been eating food. He only drinks about 4-6 oz of formula now with his meal - of food. It's just great. Raj has been cooking him "pork fried rice" - with pork and rice and broccoli all fried up together. Asher just loves it. He is REALLY enjoying his potato chips. Golly, adding rice and potato have done GREAT things for his outlook. It's been wonderful.
The protocol is to trial 3 foods, then perform an endoscopy to check for allergic reaction. Some children show no outward symptoms yet an endoscopy will reveal eosinophils in the esophagus upon biopsy. So the endoscopy is an important step. We're scheduled for an endoscopy tomorrow.
Truthfully, I hate endoscopies. They're so hard on Asher and the risk of complications, although small, is frightening. I'll breathe a BIG sigh of relief after the endoscopy when all goes well. And when we have the results - in about a week - I'll be sure to post them.
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