Dairy Free...

Let me start off by saying the following post is not meant to sound as though I think that Ava Jane has a serious health problem.  Or that I am taking for granted that other than the fact that she cannot eat dairy and has an ongoing sensitive stomach, she is perfectly healthy.  It's just some thoughts on a new lifestyle that we are becoming accustomed-- which is being dairy free in our house.

It all started with reflux from the time Ava J was born.  The reflux progressed into sleepless nights and up to 8 very messy diapers a day when she was introduced to whole milk.  Then diaper burn--not rash-- set in and we were told she had an intolerance probably to the lactose in the milk and to avoid milk.  So she started drinking almond milk.  It got a little better-- but then she'd get sick again & the diaper burn would come back & before we knew it she was having 5+ blowouts a day again and we realized something just wan't right.  We had already eliminated cows milk, yogurt, and icecream.  But that wasn't enough and at her 15 month appointment, her doctor informed us that ALL dairy needed to be eliminated from her diet.

I know there are schools of thought that say dairy isn't good for you anyway or that it's a healthier lifestyle living dairy free if you are getting your calcium elsewhere.  And it's not that I dispute those claims, but here's the deal, it's super hard to enforce "dairy free" with a 15 month old who can't talk and loves yogurt, and milk, and icecream, and cheese--especially out in the real world.  At home we can control the environment.  She eats her special non-dairy cheese, and drinks her almond milk, and eats her almond or soy yogurt and is pretty darn content.  But, when we are out to eat or at a cookout with other families-- she's running around literally grabbing other kids' cheese burgers and scarfing them down.  And then we have to make everyone else feel uncomfortable by running around on cheese patrol and telling the other kids not to give her anything with cheese.  Which is easier said than done, because most of the kids we are around are 2 and under and they don't quite understand the dynamics of a food allergy just yet (obviously)!  Not to mention birthday parties with cake and ICE-CREAM when all the other kids get ice-cream.  True, I could bring coconut ice-cream, but it takes planning to ask ahead if ice-cream will be served and to make sure we bring her special ice-cream along with the present, and diapers, and everything else.  We'll do it for Ava J, of course,  but it just makes things a little more difficult.  But the worst is moments when we are somewhere impromptu like the food trucks and all the little kiddos we are with (including her big sister) get icecream and she has to have a popsicle instead and we literally have to remove her from the group and walk her around because she is sobbing for the icecream.  That just kind of stinks.  For her especially--and us too because we hate to see her sad.  Like I said, it's not anything major, but it does effect her daily life.

This whole dairy free thing has made me more aware and sensitive to other people who have food allergies and making foods available when we have people over with food allergies that make it easy for them to eat.  We are all pretty much eating dairy free now at our house.  Ella does still drink cows milk and is actually very aware of Ava Jane's allergy.  I hear her say all the time, "No, no Abe (she says her v's like b's) this milk gonna make you sick.  Don't try to drink dis, Abe, you don't wanna get sick."  I love how even though they have their moments, Ella seriously always has her back.  We are so lucky to have such a great little helper and another set of eyes helping us keep "Abe" away from milk.  So all in all, it's fairly manageable to pull off dairy free at our house.  We do give Ella dairy options with like yogurt or cheese-- but she typically declines them which makes things easier on us and we've started buying less and less dairy products-- trust me, Ella's getting plenty of calcium from her organic 2% milk.  It's just sometimes when we are out of our bubble, things get a little hairy.  Like tonight, we are up because Ava got a hold of some cheese at the Mexican restaurant and now her tummy hurts :(  Just got her back to bed, but I'm guessing she'll be up a couple of more times tonight.

Like I said, I am not complaining.  I know there are far worse things she could have.  But as a parent, you don't want anything to be hard for kids-- even if it is not being able to eat one food group thus creating moments when they feel left out.  Because, naturally, we all want life to be as happy and easy as possible for those we love the most!