Day 33
Even though Stage 2 includes fermented fish, we skipped that step. Ellie has gotten sick after eating fish the times she's tried it, though it was never a very controlled experiment because we didn't have her food allergies/sensitivities nailed down at all. So fish is scary. Add to that fermented fish, and I've been beyond intimidated. The idea of letting fish sit out on my counter for a few days really grosses me out.
Still, fish keeps popping up in my head. Every time Ian and I talk about what to trial next, I suggest fish. I suppose my body is craving a non-meat source of protein. We are definitely in a food rut. But we keep coming back to weighing the risks vs. advantages and decide fish is too risky right now.
We were having that exact conversation today when we were backing out of our driveway and our neighbor, who was unloading his truck, said, "Hey! Do you want any fish?" I chuckled at what felt like the Universe giving us a nudge. As Ian started to politely decline, I said, "sure!" Our neighbors had just gotten back from a fishing trip and handed us a bag of 5 or 6 small trout. So they are sitting in our refrigerator, just waiting for a decision. Trout for breakfast? (I'm definitely not going to ferment them.) Or be cautious and toss them in the freezer?
Ellie has had a stretch of several good days and even slept through the night again last night. It's so, so hard to decide whether to take a risk with the hopes of getting a big addition to our diet, or be conservative and just enjoy a good streak. Hmmm... Will be pondering this in my sleep I'm sure.
I admire how much thought you are putting into this and to all other decisions about yours and Ellie's diet, it is very commendable. I have read in a lot of cases it is necessary to start adding back in foods even despite regression especially if you are on a very limited diet, though it would definitely be hard to make that decision! She is obviously doing a lot better! As the gut heals food allergies may start to clear up but it could take months to calm down from a reaction and to see a reduction in other food allergies and you are doing a great thing by going through the intro so that you can speed up that process, I am sure that really helps kids who seem to be allergic to everything (leaky gut).
ReplyDeleteI have been learning a lot about gluten sensitivity and how the tiniest amount of it can cause a reaction.. gluten free society says that even grain fed animals could be the reason why many people react to beef or dairy.. just like when a Mother eats gluten it comes through breastmilk, when a cow eats grains it gets into the milk or meat. Its very hard to find cows that have only been given grass! Even my local raw grass-fed milk farm give some non-GMO corn at milking time. I can't remember if gluten was a problem for Ellie, but do you have anything in your house that could result in cross-contamination?
Thanks Janelle!
ReplyDeleteYes, the info about animals being fed grains and causing a reaction in kiddos is interesting. We definitely found that Ellie tolerated the meat from the health food store (grass-fed, grain finished) better than the meat from the big-box store (fed who knows what) and we are now trying to switch to pastured meat to help even more. To this day I'm not totally sure whether Ellie was allergic to chicken eggs, or if that was her sensitivity to soy showing through because most chickens are fed soy. She is eating pastured duck eggs now and doing great on those.
Gluten is definitely a problem for Ellie (and myself) and our house is gluten free. It's interesting that you bring that point up. Yesterday Ellie's food didn't change one bit and after sleeping through the night the night before, she had a horrible night last night. The only difference I can think of is that she spent half her day at her grandparents' house, which is not GF. Interesting... will have to keep my eye on that one.