A Jackson Diet Update...

The meeting with the dietician was a huge success! First of all, I gained a little perspective. I walked into Children's Hospital with a generally healthy boy. I passed by moms pushing their kids in wheelchairs, moms holding their babies and crying, families huddled together and I gained some perspective. April had already spent some time on Jackson's case I could tell. I didn't feel like I was starting a square 1 with her. We weighed and measured Jackson. Then my mom took Jackson on a walk so I could concentrate. So to sum up a 2 hour meeting...here is the plan.... Take polyvisol vitamin. Increase Rice milk from 2 8 oz servings to 3, but do not go over. Drink calcium fortified juices. Add 1 T of oil/day to foods. Take Jackson off wheat. She taught me how to read labels, something I thought I could do but learned so much from her. Did you know SPELT was WHEAT? Me neither. Did you know marshmallows are basically made of sugar but most brands but a little egg white on them to make them shiny? Me neither. Did you know there is Rice Pasta? Me neither. So, all in all, I learned so much! I'm so glad we saw her. And we will continue to see her every 8 weeks to chart his progress until he gets back on the growth chart (he currently sits at less than 5%). In just 2 days time Jackson is less itch/rashy (no wheat or mystery marshmallows)! And at the pediatrician's office today (she gave her stamp of approval to the plan) he weighed 21 pounds and 11 ounces!! We are on the right track! Thank you for your kind words, emails, Bible verses, hugs in the hall, recipes, product searching, etc, etc, etc. I am blessed to call you all friends.

What I have learned in the past 7 months

it's not much...but here is what I now know...

to replace butter/margarine/shortening: 1/2 butter = 1/3 c. canola oil

Jackson friendly tortillas: Rudy's organic spelt tortillas

to replace eggs: use Ener-G Egg Replacer + a little applesauce or canned pumpkin

there is a magazine out there for people with food allergies: Living Without - I've got it ordered.

There is a theory out there that you can "cure" food allergies by sealing and healing the gut by eating probiotics and avoiding all allergic food.

There is another theory that you can "lose" your food allergy by Acupressure.

I'm not above trying either of these theories out...with allergist approval though.

Enjoy Life makes Jackson friendly chocolate chips!

IAN'S brand makes fish sticks, corn dog nuggets, chicken nuggets and french toast sticks in the Jackson friendly variety. He likes none of them.

Whole Foods is coming to our town and I suspect that half my paycheck will go there.

Here are Jackson's allergy numbers...and the KEY to read them.
KEY:
less than .35 absent/undetectable
.35-.70 low positive
.71-3.50 moderate level
3.51-17.5 high level
17.6 - 50 very high level
51-100 very high level
greater than 100 very high level

JACKSON
green bean less than .35
rice less than .35 (this just in!!! YAY!!)
pecan less than .35
sunflower seed .59
english walnut .97
wheat 1.58
pea 4.56
sesame seed 4.59
soybean 6.06
almond 10.80
egg yolk 14.90
cashew nut 25.00
milk 35.10
peanut 43.50
egg white 97.60
There are some blood test numbers that didn't show in his mailed report. I'm guessing all those fell into the "undetectable" column.

Katie, Jackson and I are headed to Dallas tomorrow to meet my mom and stay with my sister. We will have the BIG dietician appointment Monday morning. I'm really excited! We will celebrate all our new knowledge by having lunch at the Purple Cow, shopping at Whole Foods and then heading home. I'm so thankful that my mom will take off work from her busy job to come listen to the dietician with me. I'm also very thankful for my sister, brother-in-law James, nephew Chandler (who will keep Katie busy) and baby Grayson for letting us stay over, letting Katie come to play, and then driving into Dallas just to celebrate with us at the Purple Cow. Yes, we are planning a celebration. It's a celebration of a PLAN. A plan to gain weight, a plan to be healthy and grow, a plan to help me with grocery shopping!

Jackson is walking!

Well...not in this picture. Camera was so slow. He had already fallen down.
This is Jackson's favorite "snack spot". He says "Nak Not" and I think he's saying "snack spot". He gets a bowl and some Jackson friendly crackers, puffs or (gasp) MARSHMELLOWS!

And...........he's off!

Getting a little help from the walker. But doesn't he look so cute? First step at 15 months. Walking across the room at 16 months.

Mommy/Collin Date

Getting ready to leave for our special date.
Collin's choice: chinese food with a root beer from Chick-fil-a and we MUST sit in a car. Check.

See the movie MARS NEEDS MOMS. Check.

Have a cinnamon-sugar pretzel. Check.

Have great conversations, learn new things about each other, hug, cry (in the movie), and enjoy being with each other. Check.

We shall celebrate any good news!

Well, apparently you can get both A AND B flu. I had/have both. I'm in recovery. But while I was a little drugged up, somewhat loopy, tired, etc, etc, etc, Jackson's allergist called to give me the results from his blood tests. It took me about 30 minutes to understand the following. She said....drum roll...he is NOT allergic to green beans! Skin test showed yes, blood test shows no. Everything else was correct (still allergic to milk, egg, soy, peanut, pea, tree nuts, sesame, sunflower and string beans). But YEA, we get to add in green beans back into the diet!!! AND another piece of good news...he is no longer anemic nor hypoglycemic!! YEA!! Small victories, but important victories. Thank you all for praying for him. Still waiting on paperwork from the dietician in Dallas. I have made several new friends whose kids also have food allergies. It's amazing the bond you can have with someone you've never met. I've got lots of new Jackson-friendly recipes. I've got friends always on the look-out for products in the store that are Jackson-friendly. This makes me feel empowered! So thank you for the prayers. We are making progress. Thank you for going down the road with me.

Blog Prayer Request

Hello blogging or blog-reading friends,
I ask you to please pray for Jackson. In August we found out that Jackson has food allergies. He is allergic to
milk
egg
soy
peanuts
peas
(and I heard via friend that peas probably meant all beans).
Jackson then lost weight, gained some back, lost weight and gained some back. Pediatrician sent him in for some blood work to see if something else was going on. We learned that Jumpin J is anemic and hypoglycemic. Which meant - focus on proteins and sugars. Recently we had him retested to see if he had LOST any of these food allergies as has been my prayer since August. We now know that he is also allergic to
rice
wheat
tree nuts
sesame
sunflower
green and string beans BUT NOT pinto or black beans.
He is allergic to too many things to have anything resembling a balanced diet. And apparently is still having some rashy, itchy outbreaks even while removing all of the above food (except rice and wheat). The allergist doesn't want us to remove the rice and wheat yet since the only milk on the market HERE that he can drink is rice milk and they aren't life-threatening to him only make him itchy/rashy. He had blood work done to make sure there were no false positives on the skin test and to rescreen the anemia and hypoglycemia. We will get those results in a week or so. Meanwhile, paperwork is being processed to have Jackson's case seen by a dietician in Dallas at Children's Hospital. We are excited about this! We hope to correct the anemia and hypoglycemia and find some alternative options on eating so Jackson can gain weight. In the 6 months we have known about the food allergies, Jackson has gained only 4 ounces.

So, the ultimate, specific prayer request: for Jackson to be food-allergy free.
Another specific request: to find eating options for Jackson so he may be healthy and gain weight.
And still another: for me to have less anxiety about Jackson's food issues and to truly live this verse: I Thessalonians 5:16-18 Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances.

Collin's school stuff

Collin and Mrs. Carney - super-great-awesome 2nd grade teacher. When I grow up I want to be like her.
Collin sitting at his desk. I have been meaning to take a picture of the Open Concept school. Somehow they make it work. Sometimes it's still a shock to me to walk in and not see walls.

The students birthdays are celebrated at the weekly assembly. Collin was so excited that his birthday fell on a Sunday this year so that he would be the FIRST name announced this week.

During the weekly assembly, all the students sing fantastic songs about the states, the presidents, holidays, and other fantastic music numbers. I love it! Apparently it's a long-standing tradition, since maybe 1977 I've heard. That would have been WAY before I was in elementary school so it must be an old tradition :)!