Update

I have been in school all summer. I am studying to be a Montessori teacher (ages 3-6). Therefore my blog has really suffered. So here are some quick updates to issues I left hanging.

Tortilla Factory - Went great. Everyone there seemed to be in the know. Max had a black bean taco. No reaction! Yea!

Owen and Sesame - All tests negative. Dr. and I decided his reaction very well could have been cross-contam. Once we are back from vacation we will try an at home challenge.

Owen and Mustard - Positive test result. Grrrr! Dr. wants us to try an at home challenge. Like Owen is going to willing eat mustard directly.

Owen and his other allergies - Numerous environmentals. Eggs and milk - down. Sunflower seed -up.

Max and Weight - Max gained an entire POUND this past year. He's got to be the skinniest 7 year old on the block. Ped. is worried. Looks like we'll be seeing a GI specialist and a nutritionist sometime soon.

Soymilk

Due to fairly recent recalls on Silk Soy Chocolate Singles due the presence of cow's milk proteins, the milk allergic might be questioning the safety of their soy milk. I have a solution for you. Make your own! A friend recently mentioned that her mother makes her own. She blogs about it at Soy Simplified. It's inexpensive and you are guaranteeing the safety of your own food.

Now, you might ask, does that mean you are taking up soy milk making? And the answer would be no. It's not that soymilk is inexpensive (it's not at almost $5 for a half gallon). It's not that I'm lazy (which I sort of can be). It's not that I wouldn't know what to do with the mounds of okara that is the by product of making your own soymilk (because I really wouldn't even with the help of my friend's mom's blog). It's that if I went through all the bother of making my own soymilk and my kids hated it and refused to drink it, I would be a little resentful. Max is the super taster you know. A change even in a brand of a product we use and he detects the subtle difference. For heavens sake I bought Red Delicious instead of Gala apples last week and he refuses to eat them.

Pizza Friday

I made a pizza for Max again today. I did the crust very thin this time with the same toppings, sausage, olives, sauce and grated carrots. I took just one small slice up to school. I would say he ate almost half. At home Owen ate about the same amount.

I asked Max if he like the pizza and he said "No, I didn't like that you cut the bottom off." (What?) He said it got his hands to messy.

I explained that I made the crust thinner and we discussed next week making a thicker crust. So I think I'll keep trying. I'd love it if he ate something besides jelly bagels even if it was one lunch a week.

Dinner Battles

The battle has begun even before I sit down. "How much do I have to eat?" The kid hates to eat. How many people do you know hate to eat? Anorexia might enter your mind here. Not that I think Max is trying to stay skinny. If every dinner consisted of a chocolate cupcake with frosting I'm sure he'd gobble it right down (well he'd gobble the frosting, half of the cake and say he was full).

But no, dinners around here consist of a protein (usually chicken), a vegetable (usually broccoli) and some starchy side dish (usually potatoes). I put minuscule amounts of each on Max's plate and still I hear "How much do I have to eat?"

"All of it," I reply. Meanwhile the little one has gobbled his down and is signing for more. The kid has several clear words in his repertoire, but always chooses to sign "more." I guess it is easier to move your little hands together than speak when your mouth is always full.

Max has always been like this. It was actually one of my first indications that something was wrong. One bite and he would turn his head. He never finished a jar of baby food in that short space of time that you are feeding them with a spoon. I was floored when Owen came along and could finish a whole jar in nothing flat. I thought he was such a huge eater!

Most people take pleasure in feeling their bellies are full. Max says his "hurts" if eats a portion of food larger than his fist. Most people find comfort in eating, latching onto certain meals as something to ease the pain of life's ups and downs. Max finds each meal to be a chore and will try to find a diversion anywhere he can.

If you are thinking, "this is not normal" or "boy, they need help" I say to you "Eureka, you are right!" I have asked pediatricians, allergists, school counselors, my mother-in-law, friends, neighbors, etc. I can't seem to find someone who specializes in the psychological impact food allergies have on children. I don't need a nutritionist. (We saw one once when Max was a baby. She seemed a little clueless at the loss of dairy from a child's diet.) I don't believe there is anything wrong with him physically (besides the food allergies, I mean). He just seems to have an aversion to eating.

So the battle continues, we get down to negotiations.

"I don't like potatoes"
"So eat all your chicken."
"All of it!"
"Yes"
"Awwww!"
"And your broccoli."
"How about half of my chicken?"
"Max just eat"
"I'm full."
"You haven't eaten anything! How can you be full!"
"I just am."
Silence
"Can I leave the table?"
"No, please eat your dinner."
"How much do I have to eat?"

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Pizza Friday

Max didn't eat the pizza I made for him. I kind of suspected this would happen. He is set in his ways and I knew that though he says he wants pizza like the rest of kids he would truly prefer a jelly bagel.

Suspicious Orange Juice

He was suspicious of the orange juice. "This doesn't taste right," he said "Did you put anything in it?" I had tried the day before to add a liquid vitamin to his beloved calcium fortified orange juice. He had immediately detected something different and refused to drink it. "No," I replied, I did not put anything in it. However, it is a different brand than I usually buy, maybe that is why it tastes different." He takes another sip, turns up his nose and sets it on the counter.

Meanwhile the young one sucks his down, hands me the cup and signs for more.

If sensitive taste buds was a super power my son would be a hero. Saving all children from Poly-Vi-Sol.