Videos!

Two of the latest videos (for some reason they wouldn't upload to the blog).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5sB6jDtBuY
This one is Carson eating with a spoon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v34UGNXbgE
This one is Carson calling "dada".
Enjoy!

Bunny Doodle

Yesterday as we were walking, we met our neighbor and her two kids. Her older boy is 2 years old and the baby is 8 months old. The two year old invited Carson to his Grandma's house for cookies to which Carson laughed as if he understood the invitation. It made me smile, but it also made me kind of sad that Carson would probably not be able to eat those cookies, and so today I was determined to make some cookies that Carson and his friend could share some day, and this is the recipe that I found. I love that Go Dairy Free website!!!! I made those cookies in the picture.

Bunny Doodle Cookies
Go Dairy Free - Tuesday, 16 June 2009

© Go Dairy Free

I only did two things different from the recipe - I used Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal and I flattened the cookies with a glass before baking. They turned out awesome, and Carson liked them. However, I am beginning to think that he doesn't have much of a sweet tooth because he goes more crazy over salty snacks. I would still consider this a success! I can't wait to try more of their recipes. Oh, and "dada" liked these cookies too.

Little Mr. Know-It-All

I love this picture. It shows his stubborn side!

It's amazing what a little baby knows and can learn. We think our son is the smartest baby ever, but we may be a little biased. One thing I do know that he knows is how to confound me. Someone once said to me, "Little babies are like parrots. They will repeat what you say."

My response to that is, "WRONG!" My little Mr. Know-It-All says what he wants to say. For example, for the longest time I have been trying to get him to say "nose", so what does he do? Last week he pointed to his eye and said "eye."

I try to get him to say "mama" so he says "dada" twenty times a day at varying levels of excitement. "Mama" only comes out every once in a while when he's trying to ask for "more" food or when he's making a kissing sound "mmmm-ma." I use this to my advantage sometimes. If I ask Carson who he wants to change his diaper, he almost always asks for, "Dada!" Which is also funny because Dada wanted to be called "PaPa," but Carson decided on his own that Dada was what he would call him.

Our latest adventure is that he likes to say "bus" however, his "s" is a "t", so he is calling that big yellow thing a "butttt" instead. When I tried to tell him to say it with an "s", it came out "butts". Oh well, at least he tried.

Last night we were singing "Old MacDonald", and when I paused, he filled in the "E-i-e-i-o". It was cute because it sounded more like "yi-yi-yoo". The adventures never end, and while he is learning all he is learning, he's teaching me a thing or two - such as not to be upset by the lack of "mama" in his regular vocabulary. It just means he knows who I am and doesn't feel the need to say my name when I'm right there. On top of that, there is a reason why he kisses and says "mmmmm-ma" while he is doing it. It's because most of his kisses are for me!

Words Carson can say...

• hi and bye bye
• mama and dada
• ball
• car
• bus (butt)
• walk and go walk
• bike
• hot (he uses for hot/cold and when things hurt)
• hat (this morning he put a diaper on his head and said "hat")
• Bob or Bop (this is what he calls Elmo and our cat, RickyBobby)
• kitty
• bird
• dog
• more
• water
• bottle
• banana
• book

What a Funny Little Person!

For the last 8 months of Carson's life, as soon as he grew out of that cute like a baby chicken stage, my husband has been known occasionally to exclaim when looking at Carson, "He's just like a little person!" And every day this little person reveals something new and wonderful about himself. It is so much fun, getting to know him. Here are the latest developments:

• He can't say Elmo, so he just calls him "Bob."
• He took two steps without help.
• He said his first swear word, we think (I blame his dad.)
• He stands up on his own unassisted by anything and tries to dance.
• He knows the mechanics of using his spoon, although, it's more of a dip it and lick it off activity.
• He calls his bottle a "ba-coe" or he pronounces it correctly sometimes.
• He gives open-mouthed sloppy kisses on request - sometimes.
• He laughs when he hears others laugh.
• He knows he is not supposed to eat cat food but tries to anyway.
• He likes curry flavor.
• He has learned two signs for sure - hat and dog, and both are words he can also say.
• He loves animals and is not afraid of big dogs even if they are growling.
• He loves the American flag.

Also, we are still finding more great resources for eating dairy free. The latest is this website:

http://www.godairyfree.org/

Eating Adventures

The good news is that he can stay on his formula until he is 2, so I don't have to worry about him not getting the nutrition he needs. The bad news is that the dietician had no advice for if I should try to transition Carson to the sippy cup or a cup instead of bottle before then. Oh well, more research.

I am still feeding him solid foods as much as possible. He really likes beans of all kinds, and they are "magic" for curing his constipation problems. He likes fruit, and now he has actually started eating it rather than chewing it up and spitting it out. Today he ate half of a big strawberry. Yesterday he ate most of a chunk of pineapple. He still likes crackers, but I have now switched to the Ritz multigrain. I would like to find one with more fiber that he likes, but until then, they seem to satisfy him.

I am certainly getting an "ed-u-ma-cation" (as my silly dad would say) with raising this boy. He is such a mess when he feeds himself that I wonder why no one has invented the "full-body" bib yet (see photo above). Eating can be adventurous!

Picture of the month - Carson's Car

I'm so glad we got this little car for him, and I'm glad he's not allergic to "driving" it.

More About Milk Allergies

I have started my research, and I am completely flabbergasted - how do you feed a child who should no longer be relying on formula if you cannot give him milk???? In my research, I have learned that even soy milk can contain milk proteins, and that milk proteins can hide in the ingredient lists of many processed foods (like in his favorite Gerber graduates veggie crackers, or gok-goks as he calls them).

I have learned a few things so far...

• Milk allergies are not a reaction to lactose, which is the sugar in milk. They are a reaction to the proteins (one or more) in milk (thanks, Joel). So butter is not OK!
• Someone can react to one or more of the proteins in milk, and if whey is the only problem, then foods made with pasteurization and some of the harder cheeses may be OK.
• A milk allergy can lead to anaphylactic shock (but it's rare).
• A dietitian's help is recommended.

Does anyone know of some good resources - books, websites, magazines, etc. for helping parents deal with milk allergies? Most of the information I am finding is about diagnosis and symptoms.

I guess I have to throw away his favorite crackers)-: