Thursday, August 18, 2011

General Randomness About What Has Been Going On


Today is day 3 of Jayces gluten free diet. I am keeping a journal of how each day goes so that I can truly see how this is affecting him. Not to mention that if we have to see a specialist the first thing they will say is.... "Well what I want you to do is take 10 days or so and do a food journal.... blah blah blah blah blah".... so I am just getting a head start.

The first day was technically not "gluten free". I didn't know about the change in diet until after his breakfast. The first day was also tough because the child was diving for bits of food he couldn't have (what can I say the boy loves Cheerios and goldfish, sigh).

The second day was better. We took a trip to Bi Lo and took advantage of the very small gluten free section. We have a few options now and it is making it easier to feed Jayce. By the end of the day his skin looked different, better.

Today I have changed a bazillion poop diapers. I can tell his little body is detoxing. His skin looks even better. He seems to be enjoying the foods we have gotten. Luckily he loves avocados, bananas, kiwi, strawberries and a few other fruits. Going fresh is the easiest way to avoid gluten.

Gluten free = EXPENSIVE! I just got our grocery budget under control, and this is going to really throw it into a tailspin. That's okay, this is one of those adjustments that isn't due to wants.... it is due to needs. This is going to also make my shopping more difficult. I may need to drive about an hour away once a month or so to stock up on a few harder to find things.

I say this, but there is a chance that after the next 10 days we find out this is not the answer. Can I just say though, I doubt that. Reading up on gluten intolerance really nails him on the head. He has all the symptoms and honestly I hate that we didn't find this out sooner. Moving on...

I have been blown away with God over the past 3 days. Completely overwhelmed and blown slap away. I have had 2 complete strangers send me an abundance of information and tips on gluten free living. These people don't know me, they don't know Jayce.... and yet they spent there precious time compiling tips and tricks and websites to help me. God is giving me so many answers through some really wonderful people. I wish that I could show them how grateful I am yet all I can do is send them a simple thank you. It just doesn't seem like enough.

So we are taking this one day at a time. Even though this diagnosis is not 100% for sure yet, and it wasn't anything I ever imagined Jayce having, it is nice to have something. It is much better than just being in the dark and hoping for the best.


Jayce has learned to say "cheese" at the camera... we just have to work on him not looking totally terrified while saying it...


5 comments:

Brandi said...

Oh my goodness! LOVE the terrified cheese! ;) Keeping that little squirt in my prayers... so glad he is doing better.

Emmy said...

That picture is awesome! And yes answers are better than being in the dark. And good for you for keeping a diary already.
I used to keep track in my total baby app of how often Ryder spit up as it was just so so much and when he would have his "incidents" i.e. could hardly breath because of it- and then before I went to his doctors appointment I printed it off- it was about twenty pages and said here see-- the doctor barely even glanced at it and sent us to a specialist :)

Tara G. said...

Thrilled to hear he is doing better! I fell into the black hole of blogging as I researched ways to cut back on the grocery budget (with a gluten fee caveat)...there aren't a lot of coupons, but we look at it as we're investing in our health and we are eating more naturally. Be encouraged- lots of side benefits! A book that comes to mind in respect to finances is one by Russ Crosson called A Life Well Spent. If you have a chance to pick up a copy, I think you'd find it encouraging. Blessings!!
P.S. I forgot to mention to you that you can order things from the commissary online and have it delivered- at least that's what the store manager in Monterey told us. Let me see if I can dig up the link and I'll send it to you.

Rachel said...

I am so glad he is already doing better!

I just have a second - but quick, go enter this gluten-free giveaway: http://goodrandomfun.blogspot.com/2011/08/gluten-free-goodies.html

There's only SEVEN entries right now and it ends today!

Love you guys... continuing to pray.

The Prudent Homemaker said...

If you end up staying gluten-free, you can save a lot by making your own flours. You'll need to get a grain grinder and only use it for gluten-free grinding (never for wheat). Make sure it's one that will grind rice, barley, and corn. Then you can buy those things in bulk (25 or 50 pound bags) and you can make your own flours.

I highly recommend checking out two blogs on gluten-free cooking:

Tartlette and Canelle et Vanille

Both are professinal pastry chefs who went gluten free.

Good luck!