800 oz of Milk On The Truck

When Little Man was diagnosed with food allergies, my first reaction was to be happy that we knew what was causing his problems and could easily fix them. My second was what the heck am I going to do with all the milk in my freezer that he can't have. Well, it took me about two months to find somewhere to donate it, get the blood test, and get all the other approvals like doctor's signatures, phone interviews, and more but I finally shipped all the milk down to the Mother's Milk Bank in Austin, TX. They were fabulous to deal with and it's a good feeling knowing that all that milk will go to help premature and/or sick babies. Milk donation is really something that should get more attention. I couldn't help but post a picture of all that milk on it's way out the door. With the dry ice, it was a total of about 70 pounds! And there's another 250 ounces in the freezer already that are safe for Little Man. I may find myself donating even more...

Sick Little Man = Extra Milk (Weekly Tally)

I haven't posted in a few days because my Little Man was really sick. He had a fever and threw up all over his dad. It was lovely. We also kept him home from daycare for a few days. It's the first time he's really been sick. Fortunately, he perked back up yesterday afternoon and we expect him to be fine this morning. While he was sick though, he was drinking about 5 ounces less milk each day so we have an abundant surplus this week. My average per day also went up for the first time in about a month. Not by much, but I'll take. And, I finally got approved to donate all the milk that Little Man can't have because of his allergies so I'm excited about that. I'll post more once I pack it all up to ship.

7/26/09-8/1/09
Total Pumped: 238.5
Total Used: 273.5
Surplus: 35
Average Per Day: 39.07

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow Cake

The last of the Betty Crocker Gluten Free mixes. This one is the yellow cake and we made cupcakes. Like the chocolate ones, they are fantastic. I used the rest of the Betty Crocker Milk Chocolate frosting. I still don't know what happened to the Brownies. I must have measured something wrong. My husband things I used the wrong powder to water ratio for the egg replacer. He might be right so we'll have to try them again. Other than that, I highly recommend the Betty Crocker mizes. The cookie and cake mixes were delicious even with the egg replacer and I have a feeling we'll be making them often. You could bring all of these to an event with non-GF/allergy people and they wouldn't even know they're gluten free.

Where is it going?! (Weekly Tally)

My milk supply has been decreasing for the past few weeks and I have no idea why. I'm drinking enough, eating extra, and getting enough sleep and nothing seems to help. I've gone from 43 ounces a day to about 38. I'm still outpacing Little Man by a few ounces but it's frustrating. Fortunately, he's now eating some solid food although a few ounces of rice cereal or a veggie doesn't really have many calories anyway. But, at least we're on our way to me not being his only food source. He's doing very well so far with the food. We've tried rice cereal, sweet potatoes, and carrots and he sits nicely and eats very well. I've been making my own baby food which is surprisingly easy. We put a Cuisinart hand blender and I highly recommend it. Yesterday I made peas for him. I put the frozen peas in the container that comes with the blender, added some water, microwaved them, drained them a little, and then blended them. Aside from the time in the microwave, it took less than 5 minutes and made about 6 meals for him. Very easy and much cheaper than buying the little jars.

7/19/09-7/25/09
Total Pumped: 249
Total Used: 272.25
Surplus: 23.25
Average Per Day: 38.89

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

Amazing. Simply amazing. Betty Crocker's gluten free devil's food cake actually tastes like cake. We used egg replacer and put Betty Crocker's milk chocolate frosting on top. They were really moist and had a normal cake texture which is so unusual for gluten free cake. I was a little concerned since the brownies didn't come out so well but we didn't have any issues with these. I will definitely make them again and can't wait to try the yellow cake which we already have in the house. Now I'll be able to make Little Man a birthday cake when the time comes that's safe for our family and really good.

Should we test everyone for celiac disease?

A new study by the mayo clinic found that celiac disease is far more prevalent today than it was 50 years ago and that those with undiagnosed celiac disease are more likely to die earlier. It raises the question of whether we should be testing everyone for celiac disease like we do for cholesterol, blood pressure, etc. Here's the link to information about the study:

http://newsblog.mayoclinic.org/2009/06/29/celiac-disease-prevalence-and-mortality/

As someone who struggled for my entire childhood and into my early twenties, I believe we should test everyone for celiac disease. It should be part of our preventive care. It may not be a yearly test like cholesterol but maybe it could be something we test every five years or whatever length of time seems appropriate. I can think of several people off the top of my head that I'm fairly sure have undiagnosed celiac disease. I know for some the diet is a huge challenge but I choose to look at it as such an simple way to be well. Could people avoid other autoimmune diseases, infertility, and just missing out on life if we could identify celiac disease earlier?

Rethinking Pumping as the Ultimate Weight Loss Plan (Weekly Tally)

I posted before about how I've lost more weight than I gained when I was pregnant. This is supposed to be a good thing. But, after losing another pound this week, I seem to be losing about an ounce a day for each pound I lose. My all time high was 44 ounces a day and now I'm down to a little over 39. Little Man drinks about 36 oz a day. I'm still ahead of him but this doesn't leave me with much of a cushion. I'm still pumping on the same schedule that I've been on for the past two months and I even increased how long I pump lately since I'm not getting as much but that hasn't really made a difference. So, my husband and I decided that I may just need to stay a little plump to maintain my production. Ah, the things we do for our kids.
Part of why I've been losing weight is because of the foods we can't have. Before we found out about Little Man's allergies I would eat trail mix with nuts or hard boiled eggs or gluten free cookies as sources of protein and fat but I can't do that anymore and I don't think I replaced those snacks with anything except fruit. Great plan for losing weight, not so great for milk production. We bought me whole milk (I usually use skim) and cheese to see if that makes a difference. I'll keep you posted if this week's tally goes up. Here's the stats for last week:

7/12/09-7/18/09
Total Pumped: 278.75
Total Used: 252
Surplus: 26.75
Average Per Day: 39.82

Our Week of Doctor's Appointments and Starting Solid Food

Yesterday we went for our follow up at the allergist. He was thrilled with how Little Man looks. His skin is perfectly clear and he spent the appointment checking out the doctor. He's a very curious little thing. We go back in a year and will do blood testing to see how severe the allergy is. The doctor was optimistic that Little Man would grow out of his egg allergy at least because apparently babies that whose main reaction is their skin are more likely to grow out of it. So that's good news.

We also started solid food this week since he's officially 6 months old and we got the all clear from the pediatrician. We've given him rice cereal twice now. He did really well with the spoon and seemed to like it. But, last night he woke up around 4:30am when he usually sleeps straight through to 7am (and has for a good two months). We're not sure if he had a stomach ache from the cereal or if he's teething. I think teething is more likely and I do feel some bumps on his gums. Now, at 6am, he's back in the crib asleep. Of course, we're visiting the in-laws today so it's a great day for all of us to be exhausted!

Book Review: Womenomics

Part of exclusively pumping is finding things to keep me busy since I'm hooked up to the pump for over two hours everyday. My husband and I figured out that I've already pumped for the equivalent of 15 full days. That's a lot of time to fill and part of the reason I started this blog. I spend the time online, reading, or watching TV so thought I'd post about the book I just finished, Womenomics, by Claire Shipman and Katty Kay. The book's cover says "How to stop juggling and struggling and finally start living and working the way you really want." I was pretty skeptical of this but since I just went back to work after maternity leave, I was intrigued. I have to say it was better than I thought. I had already managed to get a more flexible schedule after having the baby and was allowed to work from home almost the entire first month I went back. Now I work from home one day a week permanently and have the flexibility to work from home other days if something comes up. I also have flexibility in my day itself so most days it's easy for me to take my laptop down to the Mother's Room at the office so I can pump. I consider myself very lucky. My only criticism of the book was that you really have to have reached a certain level in a professional career for their suggestions to work. A waitress, nurse, or teacher for example cannot negotiate for flexibility. Nor can most of us tell our boss or coworkers that we only check email twice a day. If my boss got an autoresponse from me that I only check email at 4pm when he needed something hours before that, he would not be pleased. But, I do think their general philosophy that the workplace is becoming more flexible and more about getting the work done then the time spent in the office is true. They also make the point that women need to give up the guilt about getting out of the office on time to spend time with their families and I completely agree. All in all, I'm not sure I learned anything new from this book but their general concept is a good one.

Have Crock Pot, Will Eat

When you have a new baby, are pumping, working, and feeding the family allergy free, the crock pot becomes your new best friend. Thank goodness I discovered the Crock Pot Lady's blog shortly after Little Man was born. She has tons of awesome, easy, gluten free recipes that allow us to put dinner in the crock pot in the morning and have it ready when we're ready. On days like today, I don't know what I would do without it. Today we're taking Little Man for his 6 month check up (6 month's already - I can hardly believe it!) and won't get home until close to his bed time. Plus, just a hunch, but I don't think he'll be his usual happy self after his appointment since he's getting a few shots. (Yes, we vaccinate. We feel the good outweighs the bad especially considering he's in daycare and therefore exposed to more. )

So today we made our very first roast in the crock pot. It's not one of Crock Pot Lady's recipes although she's taught me so much that now I can be a little more creative - not that a roast is creative. We prepped everything last night so all I needed to do in the morning was throw it all in. We added onions, carrots, and potatoes. My husband and I always laugh because people will say to me constantly "it's ashame you can't eat anything." My allergy free food is ten times better than what I used to eat before. If they only knew...

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownies

Since the Betty Crocker Gluten Free cookies were so good, I was really looking forward to making the GF brownies. They were really easy to put together. I again used the Ener-G egg replacer but the brownies call for two eggs whereas the cookies only needed one so I was replacing even more. I had to press the mix into the pan a little bit since it was really crumbly. We baked them for the time listed on the box but they were pretty much liquified and boiling so we left them in the oven for another 5 minutes. After that, they were still bubbling a lot so we let them cool for a while. Once they were cool, they became more like a cookie consistency. They taste good but they're really hard and not brownie-like. I'm not sure if it's the egg replacer or something else. I'm going to try the cake mixes next once I find a safe frosting. Hopefully those don't get as dried out.

Today's Tally

Ounces Pumped: 41.5
Ounces Used: 36.5
Surplus: 5

Not bad.

Today's Tally

Ounces Pumped: 40.5
Ounces Used: 36.5
Surplus: 4

Have a cold. Need sleep.

Today's Tally

Ounces Pumped: 43
Ounces Used: 37
Surplus: 6

I had to pump an extra fifteen minutes during my morning session at work today and I still got less than I usually do that time of day. So, after work I went to Babies R Us and bought new membranes (the little white things) for all of my pieces. I have 3 sets of pump parts so fortunately the membranes come in a pack of 6. It seems to have made a difference because I got more at my nighttime pump than I've gotten in probably a month. Hopefully I stay up around 43.

Today's Tally

Well, really yesterday and the day before.

7/6 Ounces Pumped: 40.5
7/7 Ounces Pumped: 41.25
7/6 Ounces Used: 36
7/7 Ounces Used: 37
2 day Surplus: 8.75

I panicked a little last night because the pump was making a strange noise and didn't seem to have it's normal suction. I checked the tubing and made sure everything was plugged in but it was still having issues. After I pumped for 35 minutes and stopped it, I noticed that the white membrane wasn't all the way in on one of the yellow pieces so I fixed that and pumped a little longer. At least the pump wasn't dying! Now I'm going to replace all the white membranes. I haven't done it in a while and I'm wondering if that's why my supply has been down.

Betty Crocker Gluten Free! About time...

From the time I went gluten free two years ago, my husband has said that mainstream companies should get on board because it would be a good business venture for them. We never understood why most gluten free products were organic, free from preservatives, etc. Don't get me wrong, I like to eat healthy and don't feel at all deprived by not being able to have heavily processed food. But, bread that doesn't have to be frozen or pancake mixes that don't cost a fortune and then ended up tasting like chalk would be nice (btw, stay away from Arrowhead Mills pancake mix).

So today I say a big hooray for General Mills. Not only did they change their Chex recipes to make them gluten free, they now have a line of Betty Crocker gluten free cookie and cake mixes. Since I have a baby and can't go to 10 different stores, I sent my mom on a hunt for these things. Six supermarkets later, she found them at Pathmark. We were very excited. She bought me all four so I have the Yellow Cake, Devil's Food Cake, Brownies, and Chocolate Chip Cookies. All gluten free. I still can't believe it.

I decided to try the cookies first. All you need to add is butter, water, and an egg (or in my case egg replacer), mix it together, and bake. Like a gluten-full cake mix! I was a little concerned while I was combining the ingredients because like most gluten free recipes, it was not turning into dough. I'm sure the egg replacer wasn't helping. I decided the only way it was going to work was if I just used my hands. Worked like a charm. I then used my hands to roll the dough into small balls and put them on the cookie sheet. I think I ended up with about 30 cookies. And man, they are good. Definitely the best gluten free chocolate chip cookies by far. I can't wait to make the rest of the Betty Crocker gluten free mixes. Too bad gluten free doesn't mean calorie free. I wonder how much more breastmilk I would need to pump to burn the calories in a cupcake...?

Today's Tally

Ounces Pumped: 40
Ounces Used: 35
Surplus: 5

Not to be greedy, but I want my 43 ounces a day back.

Today's Tally

Ounces Pumped: 41
Ounces Used: 35
Surplus: 6

I ate a ton today (July 4th picnic and then barbecue) so I was hoping my pigging out would translate into a lot of milk. That didn't pan out. Oh well, still had 6 ounces left over.

Today's Tally

Ounces Pumped: 40.75
Ounces Used: 35
Surplus: 5.75

I moved my mid-morning pump up an hour because we had a friend coming over. I think it hurt my supply a little bit.

Exclusively Pumping - The Ultimate Weight Loss Plan??

Like most new moms, I worried about being able to lose the baby weight. I gained about 40 pounds during my pregnancy and have never been one to lose weight easily. Nonetheless, I find myself today weighing 4 pounds less than I did when I got pregnant. I do eat well (kind of have to given my food situation) and we go for a lot of walks as a family but I'm not doing any hard core working out right now. So, I have to attribute a lot of it to pumping. Breastfeeding is known to help you lose the baby weight but I have to think that since I pump even more than he takes, that I'm burning more calories than I would breastfeeding the old fashioned way. Most days I have a 6-8oz surplus and if it's true that you burn 20 calories per ounce of breastmilk than I'm looking at an extra 120-160 more calories. Now if I could only shrink my tummy as fast as the rest of me....