We will not see the pediatric GI until one week from today, but I have a feeling I know what the outcome of that meeting will be:

We will have to eliminate the dairy in Eric's diet, at least temporarily. Now that I'm in tune with his rhythms, I can tell that the more dairy he has the worse he feels. When I cut down on the dairy, "things" start to look more normal.

This scares me. His only protein source at this point are milk and cheese. The only way to get him to eat beyond his comfort zone would be to starve him. I do not have the stomach to do that right now. Can a child live on rice pasta, trix and fruit? Because that's what he'd be reduced to if we cut out the dairy. Unless I starve him into eating chicken, or any other meat. This could take days. And that's what scares me.

Good Mom Day

Sometimes when we're out and about, Kaylee will just throw her little arms around her brother. He gets a big goofy grin on his face and hugs her right back. I start blinking like a flash-bulb has gone off too close to my eyes, trying to stop the tears this simple act of love elicits.

They have their own relationship, completely separate from the relationship I have with either of them. I know this is normal, and probably nothing special in the scheme of things. But it's truly an amazing thing to watch unfold. They jabber at each other in the car in Kaylee's baby talk, which Eric finds hilarious. They share food with each other and are very comfortable sharing a chair and eating off of each other's plates. At least Kaylee will steal Eric's food. Kaylee is a much more adventurous eater than her brother, and he has no interest in food that is not bland and white.

We took two trips to two different parks today. Then Rich got home and put them to bed and I was "off duty" by 7:30 PM. I can do about 8-10 hours of nonstop parenting, with breaks for naps. But 12 is really hard, and that's often what I do. But today they were magical and piled in my lap for snuggles. They gave each other big kisses and I sat back and blinked hard, trying to bottle that feeling in my soul for a rainy day.

Three weeks of a gluten free house: What I've learned so far

I miss bread at lunch time, and certain cereals. Other than that, there's not a lot of changes to my diet. I've managed to convert all my meal (non dessert) recipes to gluten free with pretty much no problems.

Annalise Roberts has hands down, the best gluten free cookbook and baking mix out there. I made some vanilla cupcakes from one of her recipes, and two different kinds of muffins and they all came out great. I don't have celiac disease (as confirmed by a bloodtest) so I can go back and forth, and the stuff I made from her cook book was just as good as the "real" thing.

Authentic Foods makes the best GF flours, and baking mix. I made pancakes with their baking mix on Sunday and they were really good. Authentic Foods products are really hard to find in Massachusetts. (At least in Metro Boston.) I've found a place in Concord that will special order them, but nobody carries them. I'm kind of surprised. They are ten times better than Bob's Red Mill, which I can find at Shaws. But nobody has the good stuff.

Trader Joe's rice pasta (at $2.00 a bag) is just as good as Tinkyada (at $3.50 per bag).

My son has narrowed his diet even further. He will no longer eat yogurt or blueberries. Looking forward to a visit to the nutritionist next week.