How I Got Here

I'm new to blogging. I've followed a few other blogs for a little while now but I'm new to having one myself. But, the new life I find myself in over the past six months needs to be documented. Let me explain. About two years ago, I finally figured out that living a gluten free lifestyle is the only way for me to feel human. It took my entire life and about 73 different doctors (all of whom missed it) to figure this out. Fortunately, I met a man who put up with me when I sick and likes me even more now that I'm well. We've been married for three and a half years. In January, we had our first child who we like to call Little Man. I planned to breastfeed him so I took the class, read the books, and learned as much as I could. I knew it would be challenging but I also knew it was the best thing for him. Well, I ended up being the woman in the hospital with two lactation consultants on either side of me and a crying hungry baby. I left the hospital with lots of instructions and techniques and most of all, pain. By a week in, I had decided the breastfeeding was more painful than labor and went to see another lactation consultant after I had spent 24 hours pretty much pumping around the clock. The LC recommended pumping a few times a day and nursing the rest. I gave this a try but the result was the same. So, when Little Man was 9 days old, we turned to exclusively pumping. I called the LC and she gave me some terrific advice to get started but beyond that, there isn't a lot of information out there about pumping so I was kind of winging it. Fortunately, it has gone very well and Little Man has still not had anything other than my milk - not even a drop of formula. Of course, women still ask me if I'm going to try nursing again. My answer is no, never. For me, pumping is pain free (most of the time), gives me lots of flexibility despite needing to pump mulitple times a day, allows my husband to enjoy feeding our son, and gives me stock pile of milk in the freezer. Not to mention that I would have been pumping at work anyway. Pumping works very well for us.

Now, about that freezer stash. My little man is a growing machine. By his first doctor appointment, he was supposed to be back to his birth weight and he had gained double what he needed. He's been in the 90th percentile for height and weight ever since. Unfortunately, he also had really bad skin in the form of ezcema and occasional rashes. At his 4 month check up, the doctor suggested he may have a milk allergy and recommended that I eliminate dairy. I did that but also added more nuts to make up the protein and about a week and a half into this no dairy, extra nut diet, he was completely covered in a rash. Since I'm already gluten free and we have a nephew with severe food allergies, we decided to go ahead and get him tested. Well, sure enough, he tested positive for nuts and eggs (but not dairy). We are now three days into me not eating these and his skin is clear and he's spitting up much less (can't even explain how much spit up we were dealing with). This means that I have 700 ounces of breastmilk in my freezers (yes, freezers, we had to buy a second one), that he can't have because it's tainted with nuts and eggs. My goal this week is to find a way to donate it. I'm thrilled that he's healthy now but I'm having trouble accepting that I have to get rid of all that milk! So, long story short, I now find myself as a gluten, nut, and egg free working mom who is exclusively pumping for a very happy little man. Join me as I figure out how to navigate this new world I live in.