We've decided that, now that Peeper's seven-and-then-some months old, it's time to do some experimenting to see if she's outgrown her dairy sensitivity.
(The pediatrician told us I could try adding it back to my diet at six months, but I wanted to wait a bit longer.)
So, yesterday, we picked up a mac and cheese from our favorite convenience store, and OH MY GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN HOW ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE THIS STUFF IS IN JUST THREE AND A HALF MONTHS NOM NOM CHEESEY YUMMY GOODNESS NOM NOM NOM!!!!
Yeah, oh, so I kind of enjoyed it, is what I'm saying.
Ahem. Point being. . . .
I ate some dairy, and we're keeping an eye on Peep's poops. And her pooper.
So far, so good.
We'd been talking about it for a while, and I couldn't decide the best way to go about it - one big cheesey meal or start adding things back slowly.
I finally decided to go this route, because I am very much an "all or nothing" person, and to "start having a bit of dairy" would be very difficult for me.
Adding back the "hidden" dairy, to have to maybe turn around and eliminate it again would be very hard, too.
So, I figured it would be easier for me to have a special-one-time-only mac and cheese treat, and watch how things go.
If there's no ill effects, then I have another and watch for a couple of days.
Then maybe one thing a day, and continue to watch.
Not sure how that's different, but I got to eat mac and cheese, so it works for me.
Actually, after I bought the mac and cheese, I realized it might not be the best time for a test, because her little booty was already rather red - and that's the canary in the diaper for the dairy problems.
We're not sure what it was red about, but think maybe it was connected to her having about three poops the day before, instead of one every day or two.
But, after a day with Vaseline on it, and even with the mac and cheese, it's all cleared up and her poop looks fine, too.
(A tip for you - when you know you're going to be inspecting baby poop for blood, you might want to feed the kid something other than sweet potatoes, watermelon and spaghetti sauce. Actually, of those, I've only seen sweet potatoes, but I figure the others were a dumb idea, too.)
So, our fingers are crossed, and I'm planning to try something else with dairy tomorrow (or maybe mac and cheese again - I sure have missed it!) and we'll keep a watch on it.
If it starts giving her troubles, I'll stop and we'll try again in a couple of months.
On the other hand, if it seems to be okay once I'm having a bit of dairy each day, we'll give her some directly.
I'm thinking maybe we'll start with yogurt on her rice cakes. I hear that the proteins are pretty modified in it. Then maybe some cheese. If that goes okay, I think we'll be about home free.
(I've read everything from six months to ten months, regarding when it's okay to feed them cheese and yogurt. I think if we've established that she's getting cow's milk protein from me and tolerating it, we're okay to give it a try.)
I considered waiting a bit longer, but Peeper and I are going to Texas next month to visit my family (have I mentioned that?) and I wanted to test things before then because, while of course, we'll do what we gotta do, it would be much more convenient if we weren't needlessly dairy-free while traveling.
(And much yummier, because I would love to make a pilgrimage to my favorite Mexican restaurant while we're there.)
So, don't plan the menu yet, Anonymama. Maybe you'll be able to put cheese on it after all!
