Thus begins a new journey...

I'm not really sure where to begin this story.  I was your typical mom who was super excited to begin solid foods with Jeremiah. I had dreamed of a baby cooker to make all my own baby food, organic and healthy! But reality set in. When Jeremiah was 6 months old, we were not even in our own place. We were blessed to stay with a wonderful couple and were moving back and forth between Kentucky and Tyler. So, the baby cooker moved to the back of my mind.  I bought Jeremiah all sorts of organic baby foods at a great sale and began to map out which ones we would try first. Oh how fun this would be, I thought.  Well, Jeremiah wasn't so convinced. For the next 6 months, we tried, again and again, unsuccessfully to get him to eat something, anything.  Around 8 months I finished nursing and we switched to formula, which seemed to make him dislike food even more. Around 12 months, we tried to switch to whole milk. At this point Jeremiah began throwing up every day.  EVERY single day.  It was terrible. And not just a little bit, it always seemed to be everything he'd eaten all day. So our doctor suggested Soy Milk. No change. So after some research we decided to switch to Enriched Rice Milk. At this point, Jeremiah became a little more interested in food, but only a few staples...such as peanut butter crackers and cheerios.  Did I say staples? Our eating battle continued and Jeremiah began to lose weight. Finally, our doctor gave us a referral to an allergist. We went last Thursday and the doctor confirmed, it was a milk and soy allergy. So great...no edename and no milk? That would be too easy. He can have no casein, milk, cheese, whey, butter, etc, and no soy, soy oil, etc. We got these two handy little cards to use at the grocery to check ingredients...and I'll tell you, milk and soy are in A LOT!  We go to a GI specialist on Friday to make sure there is nothing else going on in his little belly.  And thus begins a new journey, a journey of learning a lot about foods and keeping our son as healthy as he can be. 

Now for some pictures ;)

He's so great. We are so blessed.

I'm not good at consistency.

But I love to blog. But lately life has gotten too much in the way and I've opted for a bubble bath instead of computer time when I have a moment by myself. I'm married to the best man in the world. He gives me the time I need every day to recharge and to relax. And he does dishes, laundry, cleaning, cooking, whatever I am overwhelmed with that day. I love him.
 
We enjoyed spending Easter at church and then with the Ghrist family. What a great family. As Jeremiah gets older, we see more and more of his personality coming out. He has such a tender heart and really enjoys sharing and playing with friends.  I'm also watching a friend's baby right now and he is so sweet to the baby, always covering him with his blanket and making him laugh. Of course, he doesn't quite understand that he can't share his basketball yet, but he still tries by setting it on Ashton's lap.  On Easter, we put some eggs out in the yard for him to find and put in a basket. It was amusing. Jeremiah does not like to be dirty or be in grass. So, he would go get two eggs, one for each hand, and walk back to the pavement. He was not about putting them in the basket or gathering all of them. 

Easter Sunday

Little man on Easter

Jeremiah hunting for eggs.

We also dyed eggs with him this year. We gave him full control and he loved it, breaking every single egg as he emphatically dipped them into the dye.  Here is a link to our video if you haven't seen it:

Easter eggs

And a picture.

Love our colorful the pavement is.

We also went to the zoo and played outside a lot. It has been so warm here. Jeremiah loves to blow bubbles and draw with chalk. But not get in the grass, of course.

Bubbles!

 

Such a great dad!

Notice Jer's hand trying to avoid touching the sand.

And thank you to everyone who has been praying for our boy. His blood work came back normal this week, and we are so grateful.  We still go to see the allergist and the GI specialist later this month, but we are feeling like we are moving in the right directions and are hopeful we will soon have answers for his medical issues. God is good, all the time.