The Ansley Food Chronicles

This isn't Part 1...or even the first part of Part 2. You can read those here and here.

Part 2.5: The one where she was allergic to rice cereal...

So, according to the hives on Ansley's face, back, tummy, and sides, rice cereal is out... Doctors recommend starting with rice cereal because it is the LEAST allergic food out there. My poor sweet baby... With her "questionable poops," I had been hoping against hope, but the verdict knocked the breath out of me.

As I waited on a call back from the doctor to answer the questions: Is it time to stop nursing? Will I cut rice from my diet now? When do we get referred to a pediatric allergist? Can she/will she grow out of this? How long do I hold off introducing other solids?, other thoughts flooded my mind...

Am I going to be nursing this baby until she is 5? Please, God, no! Will some allergist have to engineer a special formula compatible with her body chemistry that will cause Patrick and me to take out another mortgage? What will I make her for her first birthday to smash since she is allergic to EVERYTHING??? How will I explain to her that she can't eat like other children? How will I cook for our family so that Ansley doesn't feel like an outsider? My hopefulness was changed to hopelessness with these thoughts.

While some (hopefully not ALL) of these hypothetical situations might come into fruition, these thoughts were damaging to my spirits. They were damaging to the peace I was praying for me and the healthy outcome I am praying over Ansley. In all of this, all I want for her is to be healthy and to enjoy her precious childhood. Her well-being is my highest priority.

In a good moment, I stopped and spent some time with the Lord where I read these words of comfort:

"As for God, his way is perfect. All the Lord's promises prove true. He is a shield for those who look to him for perfection." ~Psalm 18:30

"I am holding you by your right hand--I the Lord your God. And I say to you, 'Do not be afraid.' I am here to help you."
~Isaiah 41:13

I believe these words. I know that God's way is perfect, and I know that we are meant to walk this path with our Ansley. I also know that I don't need to worry about her first birthday, her first day of school, her first time that she has to use her epi-pen. God has promised us our daily bread, and so we take this journey daily. He has also promised that He is with us. And I thank Him that He is because it is an otherwise isolating journey.

Please pray for my sweet girl's immune system to be reset and for her to grow out of these awful allergies. Would you also pray that the next food we try agrees with her growing body? Thankfully, God has blessed us with a sweetheart. A dear friend told me that she believes Ansley was blessed with such a sweet spirit to encourage us as we battle these nutrition/allergy issues.
My sweet girl on the day she turned 7-months-old wearing a dress that my mom made me when I was a little girl.

So, onto the first part of Part 3: The one where I made her some baby food...

Our pediatrician called back yesterday afternoon and told me that I do not need to stop nursing now unless I am just ready to stop. He said that we just move on to fruits and vegetables. That going to an allergist at this point would probably not give us the most accurate results (recommended age is 1), but that if she showed up allergic to the next two vegetables that we would for sure be referred. He gave me hope that she still can outgrow these, and he said not to worry with grains. I was worried about iron, but he said that while the iron in my breastmilk is less, it is more soluble than what is in formula... Then my mom told me that Lindsay and I couldn't take iron in our formulas when we were babies, so that was a moot point...

I have approached today with hope, trying to lean on those promises I read yesterday and trying to feel God holding my right hand.

I decided it was time to whip up a batch of baby food.

My good friend Karen let me borrow these two items.


Then I got these 2 items.


Today I made one sweet potato that will yield 9 servings. My perfectionist self was wanting to procrastinate this task from fear of the unknown, but it was soooooo easy. I baked the potato for 4o minutes on 400 degrees. I removed the skin, cut it into small pieces, and pureed it with a little bit of breastmilk and a little bit of water. Then I filled my ice cube trays, covered them with plastic wrap, and put them in the freezer. Ta-da.

I also prayed over them as I made them. And I am NOT kidding...

Keep your fingers crossed, and wish her (and me) luck. Thanks for praying.

This isn't Part 1...or even the first part of Part 2. You can read those here and here.

Part 2.5: The one where she was allergic to rice cereal...

So, according to the hives on Ansley's face, back, tummy, and sides, rice cereal is out... Doctors recommend starting with rice cereal because it is the LEAST allergic food out there. My poor sweet baby... With her "questionable poops," I had been hoping against hope, but the verdict knocked the breath out of me.

As I waited on a call back from the doctor to answer the questions: Is it time to stop nursing? Will I cut rice from my diet now? When do we get referred to a pediatric allergist? Can she/will she grow out of this? How long do I hold off introducing other solids?, other thoughts flooded my mind...

Am I going to be nursing this baby until she is 5? Please, God, no! Will some allergist have to engineer a special formula compatible with her body chemistry that will cause Patrick and me to take out another mortgage? What will I make her for her first birthday to smash since she is allergic to EVERYTHING??? How will I explain to her that she can't eat like other children? How will I cook for our family so that Ansley doesn't feel like an outsider? My hopefulness was changed to hopelessness with these thoughts.

While some (hopefully not ALL) of these hypothetical situations might come into fruition, these thoughts were damaging to my spirits. They were damaging to the peace I was praying for me and the healthy outcome I am praying over Ansley. In all of this, all I want for her is to be healthy and to enjoy her precious childhood. Her well-being is my highest priority.

In a good moment, I stopped and spent some time with the Lord where I read these words of comfort:

"As for God, his way is perfect. All the Lord's promises prove true. He is a shield for those who look to him for perfection." ~Psalm 18:30

"I am holding you by your right hand--I the Lord your God. And I say to you, 'Do not be afraid.' I am here to help you."
~Isaiah 41:13

I believe these words. I know that God's way is perfect, and I know that we are meant to walk this path with our Ansley. I also know that I don't need to worry about her first birthday, her first day of school, her first time that she has to use her epi-pen. God has promised us our daily bread, and so we take this journey daily. He has also promised that He is with us. And I thank Him that He is because it is an otherwise isolating journey.

Please pray for my sweet girl's immune system to be reset and for her to grow out of these awful allergies. Would you also pray that the next food we try agrees with her growing body? Thankfully, God has blessed us with a sweetheart. A dear friend told me that she believes Ansley was blessed with such a sweet spirit to encourage us as we battle these nutrition/allergy issues.
My sweet girl on the day she turned 7-months-old wearing a dress that my mom made me when I was a little girl.

So, onto the first part of Part 3: The one where I made her some baby food...

Our pediatrician called back yesterday afternoon and told me that I do not need to stop nursing now unless I am just ready to stop. He said that we just move on to fruits and vegetables. That going to an allergist at this point would probably not give us the most accurate results (recommended age is 1), but that if she showed up allergic to the next two vegetables that we would for sure be referred. He gave me hope that she still can outgrow these, and he said not to worry with grains. I was worried about iron, but he said that while the iron in my breastmilk is less, it is more soluble than what is in formula... Then my mom told me that Lindsay and I couldn't take iron in our formulas when we were babies, so that was a moot point...

I have approached today with hope, trying to lean on those promises I read yesterday and trying to feel God holding my right hand.

I decided it was time to whip up a batch of baby food.

My good friend Karen let me borrow these two items.


Then I got these 2 items.


Today I made one sweet potato that will yield 9 servings. My perfectionist self was wanting to procrastinate this task from fear of the unknown, but it was soooooo easy. I baked the potato for 4o minutes on 400 degrees. I removed the skin, cut it into small pieces, and pureed it with a little bit of breastmilk and a little bit of water. Then I filled my ice cube trays, covered them with plastic wrap, and put them in the freezer. Ta-da.

I also prayed over them as I made them. And I am NOT kidding...

Keep your fingers crossed, and wish her (and me) luck. Thanks for praying.