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...