I have mentioned through a few posts that our daughter has some food allergies. It is not that she is hyper allergic to foods but, there are so many things that upset her stomach, cause rashes, discomfort and a huge amount of sleep issues.
We had dealt with it while breast feeding but, it got too hard on my wife's body to continually restrict her diet for very little change. So, we moved to amino acid based formula (Neocate LCP) and then onto solids.
We have a rotation schedule for testing foods that takes 4 weeks before it is approved or discarded. It is not a lot of fun but it has meant that now we have at least some foods that she can eat and we supplement with formula (Neocate Junior).
Even the approved foods have to be boiled and frozen to break down the proteins to minimize reaction potential which means a lot of planning, cooking and having no space in our freezer. A lot of time and energy has been spent on this and even now we have a relatively good routine for it, it still requires a lot of work.
Our daughter however is a very happy (when no reactions), intelligent, healthy little 18 month old that learns well and seemingly enjoys life immensely. The food restrictions put some limitations on our travels of course but, it is a small price to pay for a healthy child.
My wife has more trouble dealing with the idea of 'restriction' than me even though I am not a fan of restrictions in general. My wife used to think that this start has been hard but on our daughter but, perhaps it is the best thing for her as in reality, her diet is pretty awesome and if more people ate like her, the world would most likely be a lot healthier.
She is on the 'Baby Cavegirl Diet'.
She has a range of suitable vegetables (sweet potato, pumpkin the mains), a small amount of pureed fruit, some frozen berries (lingonberry, rasberry), plain meats (reindeer, pork, lamb, chicken, beef), seed flour porridge (Teff), corn pasta, a potato starch porridge. All of this is unseasoned and unsweetened and she loves it. Twice a day she also gets very good quality macrobiotic (Vivomixx) to hopefully build up a healthy gut flora to support her later.
Now, is it lacking some things? Yes. We have to introduce some additional calcium and there are many nutrients in the formula also but all in all, it is a relatively healthy diet. She has been on solids for over a year now and is yet to have a piece of chocolate, a french fry, a slice of cake, a teaspoon of sugar or a sip of soda. Is the diet a a restriction or, a stroke of luck for a child growing up in this generation?
In a few years, she should be mostly over the worst of the reactions but as someone that has an extremely sweet tooth myself, I am hoping that she will be content enjoying her food as she does now. Relatively unprocessed, natural.
I do not know what effects it will have on her body or brain function in the long run but at least from an observational point so far, she is outstripping our expectations in regards to her development and surprises us (and other people) every day.
The foods we eat as children must have an effect on our development and therefore future capabilities but is something that large parts of the global population struggle with. In some places there just isn't enough variety or volume while in others there is a wide variety but over consumption of highly processed, sugared goods.
Diet is something few people agree on but everyone wants to be 'healthy' yet, very few actually take the steps to understand what that means. Depending on experience, for the most part, healthy eating requires restriction but how many are really willing to impose it on themselves if they have lived a life of unrestricted access?
Being a parent is difficult these days in many respects as the range of options makes decision making hard plus, advertising the 'rights and wrongs' influences opinions heavily. I have a post or two to write on some of this later but it is more controversial perhaps than this.
All I know is our daughter, runs, laughs and talks a lot like a child who is happy. For now, that is enough.
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]
The picture is from her first ever feeding around a year ago... it seems so long ago.
We had food allergy issue even when my wife was breastfeeding our son. She had to regulate what she's eating because our son was getting bad reactions from the breastmilk, so we had to leave out all milk products and bunch of different fruits until it was all ok.
Luckily most allergies end when the child grows up.
I'm glad even though that seems difficult you all seem to manage with the diet.
it was the same for ours but my wife was only eating sweet potato and pork and the baby still had reactions. She is not a large woman and her weight dropped until she was almost a skeleton so we had to change to formula.
Well hopefully she's not feeling bad for not being able to breastfeed, as some mothers think it's a great loss when they have to stop - and not only by own decision.
For sure the latter. Despite her food allergies, your daughter can be super happy with parents which teach her to have a healthy, good relationship with food. It's something that's almost too banal to really reflect upon, but it's something i'm SUPER grateful to my parents for. They always took the time to cook me a nice, diversified, healthy meal each evening. I wasn't allowed to drink softdrinks until I was 16 years old, I learned not to exaggerate with candy etc. These are little rules easily learned, but they have such a big impact in living a healthy lifestyle without having to think about it too much or really put in the effort. i'm healthy because I've never known otherwise. It's been like that for the past 24 years, it's a habit. And i'm super thankful for that.
There are so many little things that the parents/family can affect that become long-term habits.
My niece and nephew who are teenagers now were raised a relatively strict diet as kids, nothing crazy just not much "junk" and lots of veggies for snacks etc. For them it carried over into their teen years and they actually prefer it now when given a choice. They sort of just naturally eat healthier and perhaps it has to do with those formative years.
I am going to drink a redbull and ponder it :)
Lol. A Red Bull, seriously?
Make sure you wash that down with a donut.
Your daughter is going to be one really healthy lady. Too much processed food is good for no one. You will definitely see the benefits of her diet in the long run, I just hope she can keep at it because the media can be pretty insistent and sugared foods are quite easy to get.
I have been slowly weaning myself off some of my addictions; beer, soft drinks, biscuits, garri (fried cassava flakes) soaked with cold water and lots of sugar, sweets and cigarettes. I getting there, I believe.
Good living is eating healthy. My regards to her and your wife. Peace.
It is very easy to slide backwards I find as the mental reward triggers are fired each time.
Yes it is. That is why I envy those who, like your daughter, never start on the road. I determined to make it work this time though. Very determined
Do y'all know how hard it is to eat healthy? Especially when junk is readily available and affordable at every turn. I gave up on trying some time ago, maybe I'll get on that train again when I'm 40.
I try relatively unsuccessfully but as I near forty, I wish i had tried harder.
Cute and lucky baby.May she live healthier life without any resteictions ahead.
I would suggest that u shoud consult an immunotherapiat where baby will undergo medical test which will determine the food items to which baby is allergic. They will give you a list showing foods to which baby is allergic and non allergic.This will reduce ur burden of hit and trail swlf testing.Morever they will subject baby to immunotherapy which will help her immune system to gradually adapt to nkw allergic foods and hopefully baby will be alright.
I follow a keto (or if im feeling relaxed about it) apaleo diet, its likely that she won't even like overly sugary things because they will taste too sweet compared to what shes used to eating. I also love the term "baby cavegirl!"
cavegirl could be seen as a bit derogatory to white people, but I guess that is ok thes days. Keto is the best diet for many people.
I agree with @amrutha, but I hope with you that in a few years, she will be mostly over the worst of the reactions, because when she is old enough to go to school it is so much easier for her and for you and your wife if you don't have to pay attention to everything she gets to eat at school. But I think she will be one of the healthiest children because her diet is super healthy.
I hope so too, @clio ! :) Wishing her the best 😊
She is very cute..
Love the title 'baby cavegirl diet'
so sweet baby..
What a cute little angel.
And blimey what a lot of planning and analysis ~ that said it sounds/looks to me that all your efforts are being rewarded.
Longterm it should pave the way for a healthier palate and relationship to food.
And no sugar means less trips to the dentist ~ gotta be good.
My son was vegetarian for 7 years as a young child, his choice ~ prior to peer pressure, and was fit and healthy as I actively worked on balancing his nutrients.
As you guys are doing.
Wishing you all well.
xox
And here is a boosted upvote coming at yer! Thanks to a certain Baby Cavegirl Daddy.
Yes. we have several books filled with the time and details of every meal, nap and reacts for the last year.
I was raised vegetarian but started eating meat in my teens.
its very important and helpful post
..thank you so much for your great post sharing.
wow fantastic photo and good post
"She has been on solids for over a year now and is yet to have a piece of chocolate, a french fry, a slice of cake, a teaspoon of sugar or a sip of soda. Is the diet a a restriction or, a stroke of luck for a child growing up in this generation?"
Sounds like she's just on the perfect diet! And at this age, I wouldn't call it a restriction. If she craves for it and she can't have it, then it's a restriction. Now she's just a lucky lil girl put on a perfect diet by her caring parents 😊 Hope she's having a wonderful day 😊
If it comforts anyhow, my son also ate almost everytime boiled-frozen-refrozen foods. He is not allergic or anything but it was just easier to make a bigger portion of food and freeze it. Then it was always almost ready to be served. I couldn't make separate food for him every time he needed to eat. Ok, fruits and vegetables he consumed were mainly fresh or only boiled... Now it's changing, he will slowly start to eat the same food as the rest of the family. Which is probably not as healthy as it was before. ':)
I'm happy to hear that she is able to eat more different foods with time! :) And as you said, it is a very healthy diet and she is a healthy, happy kid. You are doing a great job!
It is important to give a balanced diet and study the foods that help them grow healthily, because there are foods that can cause some complications, the method you use is impressive since your beautiful baby grows properly fed and gives them peace of mind, thanks for the post