Here we go again!

You Are What You Eat

This is a typical lunch. Polenta with cheddar cheese topped with avocado, oranges, steamed broccoli, and a cucumber spear.
I decided to write a blog about the way I feed Ali because it's something that I'm passionate about. I've always thought of the food I give Ali as what "grows her", similar to the way you would grow a plant. You don't grow a plant with soda and juice, the plant would quickly die.
Ali has always been an open eater. She eats most anything I put on her plate (kale, polenta, broccoli, cauliflower, quinoa, beans, ground turkey and of course she loves the pastas, cheeses, and fruits). We try to stay away from the sugars, she eats her daily amounts of fruits so juices aren't necessary, and as far as dairy goes she has begun to tolerate them better but we stick with almond milk.
When Ali was about 6 months old she had a reaction to yogurt that caused her to break out in hives and her mouth to swell, also known as an anaphylatic reaction. We took her to a allergist who performed a skin test to see if she was allergic to the cows milk protein, sure enough she was. We were advised to give her soy milk as a replacement and I continued nursing her well past the recommended 1 year mark because she was not drinking cows milk and I felt she needed the fat my milk contained. Around 17 months of age we start to notice her left breast was enlarging and asked her pediatrician about it. She told us that soy milk contains estrogen's in it, so she recommended that we give her almond milk instead. We've been giving her almond milk for about 3 months now and have noticed that the swelling has decreased. So for these reasons I'm stickler about Ali getting her vegetables as they contain calcium that she doesn't get from drinking a lot of milk. We have also slowly introduced cows milk into her diet with baked goods and cheeses. By incorporating small amounts of cows milk into her system her body has a chance to "get used" to the allergen without causing her to react to it. So far she has not reacted to the small amounts that we give her. However, I have not been brave enough to give her a glass of cows milk yet. When she turns 2 years old we will take her back to the allergist to have the skin test repeated. The main reason why I need to know if she can tolerate cows milk by doing these "tests" isn't because I think she needs the nutrients (she gets those from other sources), it's mainly because soon she will be around other children who like these things. I need to know that if she tries them, she won't have an anaphylatic reaction (which can be deadly).
More than anything I want Ali to have a healthy relationship with food. I want her to make healthy decisions and to nourish her body so that she can grow appropriately. I let her have a treat every once in awhile (cupcake, cookie, etc.), and she loves them. But my hope is that one day she will choose the healthier option on her own...that is the goal at least. :)

Ali is 20 Months

Ali turned 20 months on the 14th of March. She has changed so much in just the last few weeks, it's pretty amazing!

I just bought her pull-up diapers this week as she has been showing big signs of wanting to be toilet trained. She even went poo poo in her own potty this week! It does seem a bit early to start toilet training, but we will see how it goes.

She is also getting very close to quitting nursing. We have gone down to once a day, usually around her nap time. Up to now I will admit it didn't feel right for of us to stop. But I'm starting to feel like it's time. She is also showing less interest in doing it. This will be a big adjustment for us, but I think we are ready for it.

This really happened...

Please tell me this has happened to someone else out there...

Yesterday I went to go change Ali's poopy pants just like any other 500 poopy pants I've changed over the last year. I put her on her changing pad and discovered a small little nugget. Lately she's been pulling at her diaper and this time wasn't any different. I wasn't quick enough and she snatched up her diaper along with the nugget and flung it on the floor. No big deal. I reach down to get a clean diaper and just my luck there are no more left. So I pick up the nugget (with a wipe, of course) and her dirty diaper and throw it away. I set Ali on the floor diaperless and run into the living room to fetch a diaper out of her diaper bag. Less than a minute later I return to Ali's room to discover what I can only describe as mayhem. There Ali is, with soft served ice cream poo poo on our new carpets, foot dipped in, hand dipped in and smear across the face. The doodie had made it into her mouth. Immediately I picked her up (straight armed, as far away from me as possible), and put her in the bathtub, hosed her off , and put her in her crib so I could clean up. As I go to pick up the still warm, soft served ice cream poo, my gag reflex kicks into over drive and I know I need to get to a sink fast. There goes my breakfast. We eventually got back on track for the day. But wow...please tell me this has happened to someone else!

13 month check up and updates

Ali had her 13 month check up a couple days and boy was it a rough one! She had to get three shots which of course was harder on me than on her. She cried for about 1 minute and forgot about it as soon as she got a sucker. Right now she weighs 23 lbs (78th percentile) and is 31 in. long (89th percentile). Basically she is stretching out. She still has a heavy appetite but is extremely active. She is a busy body for sure! She is right on track with her development and is very social. She thinks she's pretty funny and laughs at herself all the time :). Today is the first time ever that I won't be seeing her for over 24 hrs. Joel and Ali went to Wallowa Lake today and will be there until tom morrow. I have to work tonight, so we thought it would be good to see how she does without me. I'm sure she will be just fine...me on the other hand. I've definitely gotten myself into a routine with her and like a lot of routines it's just hard to get used to at first. But I know in my mind it's good for both of us. But in my heart it kills me.

I'm doing well. I'm still not at 100%, but I know I'm getting there. I've started working out regularly again but my body is taking it's time getting back into shape. I still have quite a bit of anxiety about my healing but I think time is going to help me with that.

Today marks one year!

I can't believe how fast this past year has gone by! Ali has brought so much joy and love into this world it's absolutely amazing! For me this has been a humbling year on many fronts. First on parenting...before having a child it was so easy for me to place judgements upon other parents. The fact of the matter is, is that you just don't know what parenting is like until you become one yourself. Even then, each child presents different challenges that yours may not and most parents are simply doing the best they can. I give many props to parents in general, especially single moms. The second thing that really humbled me this year was my physical well being. This year has been rough...by far the most difficult year of my life. While pregnant I was sure that 6 weeks after having Ali I would be running 5 miles, working 2 nights a week, and back in my size 6 pants. Boy was I wrong! One year later, I am still "recovering" from delivery. However, I must say that I am doing much better than even 4 months ago. But I am not even close to my size 6 pants and I am working per diem. What I've learned is that somebody, somewhere has much different plans for me...and while I may not have been able to control much of what happened this year with my health I always had control of my attitude. Some days were really, really hard. But again, I had the choice to dwell on the negative or look to the positive. And there were many positives this year. Even though I didn't return to work like I had planned, I got to spend every day of this past year with Ali. I was able to breastfeed her to 12 months and still am. I got to see the first step and hear the first word. I get to rock her to sleep everyday. These things I will never get back, so I am truly grateful that I was able to be there for those moments. I may be biased, but Ali is special and I am so grateful to be able to witness her beautiful life.

and the best item of the year goes to ....

Aden and Anais swaddler blankets. I just bought the dream blanket for Ali's 2nd year. The swaddler blankets are my favorite thing that Ali got this year.