First Dairy

So we're vegan . . . and James David has been pretty much vegan for his life, too . . .
Except for 1.5 times when he ate cat food . . . at least one time definitely in the mouth (swallowing uncertain), another time or two where he MIGHT have eaten some but I'm not sure . . .

And of course, he nurses. Breast milk is an "animal product", but he is the one it is meant for! Personally I think cow's milk is great! For baby cows! And human milk is great, too! For baby humans!

Anyway, so he's never had cow's milk (or any non-Mom dairy). Well, he HAD never had any non-Mom dairy! But . . .

Me and Mariclare went to our 10-year high school reunion last week, and me and LJ slept over at my parents' house. It was . . . interesting to say the least! Of course the only people who showed were people who were relatively happy and secure with their current situation. All the haters stayed home, so we had a good ole time!

Such a good ole time that when some unknown and loving family member (ie, Kate), pulled the "awake and seeking attention baby" out of my sleepy arms at 6:30am, I felt nothing but gratitude and immediately zonked out.

So I woke up a few hours later feeling SO happy for the extra sleep, scooped up my cute baby, and my sister comes up like:

"Okay, don't freak out."
I look at the baby, he seems fine. "Okay? What?"
"Dad fed him Greek Yogurt this morning."
"What?"
"Yeahhhhh..."

And I did not freak out. I honestly was still in the mentality of "THANK YOU MYSTERY FAMILY MEMBER WHO RESCUED ME FROM MOTHERHOOD AT 6AM!!" So much so that I was like: "Oh well, at least I got to sleep in". LOL

Though for the record, my Dad did not do this on purpose. Though he is very smart about some things . . . he just did NOT realize. Basically I had brought these leftovers in a yogurt container. My Mom saw this, and told my Dad there was yogurt in there for him. So my Dad went to look for it, saw the leftovers, and then the only other yogurt in the fridge was the Greek Yogurt and he was basically like: "Okay here we go, yogurt".

It's pretty funny though, my Dad was saying that even though James was eating it . . . "it was like he knew he wasn't supposed to be." Hahaha, like he wasn't eating very much of it--and was sort of eating hesitantly? and let me tell you, he can PUT AWAY FOOD normally, so it's funny.

Though I was telling my Dad it probably had less to do with being DAIRY than being an unfamiliar food. He is a well-attached baby and definitely looks to me or his Dad when encountering an unfamiliar food, animal, person, etc. He looks at our reaction to see how he should react. I watch him do this.

So, though he KNOWS my Dad and sister, he doesn't trust them in the same way, so when they were offering him an unfamiliar (TOTALLY UNFAMILIAR) food, he just wasn't quite trusting them that he was supposed to eat it. It's just funny that he was right!

Anyway, the thing I was most concerned about is some kind of allergic reaction (immediately) which didn't happen, and then stomach upset (in the hours after) which also didn't happen. So it ended up being a non-event . . .

But there is the story of first (and perhaps only? Probably not I guess!) dairy!

Project Fat Baby

So I never wrote about our six month appointment. It was good! We didn't get any vaccines this time because james was just sick and I didn't want to get them with his immune system compromised--so we go back in four weeks for that . . .

But as inevitably seems to happen a lot of the time with breastfed babies at their 6 month (or 12 month) appt, the doctor was concerned because james has lost percentiles.

Here's his stats, and if you look here on the chart for breastfed babies, you can see what percentage he is (I looked it up for you, hehe):

Born November 19th, 2010; 8 lbs, 7 oz (70%), 23 inches (99%)
One Week Old: 7 lbs, 12 ozs, 23 inches
Two Months Old: 12 lbs, 6 ozs(70%), 25 inches (99%)
Four Months Old: 14 lbs, 9 ozs(50%), 27 inches (99%)
Six Months Old: 15 lbs, 14 ozs(25%), 28 inches (99%) (Not on the same scale, which could make a difference)

But the Doc said he should be eating more solids . . . twice a day!

. . . however, I don't think that's really a good solution. Veggies and fruits have very few calories, and grains (apparently) make him constipated. His gut isn't really ready for that much solids . . . (in my opinion). Furthermore, there is definitely evidence that going too quickly with solids (especially if the baby is excited about them) may lead to early weaning, which I definitely want to avoid for my little vegan baby . . .

And while at first I was quite indignant with the doctor thinking that james wasn't gaining enough, now that I look at the percents I suppose I understand his concern. However, I'm also not surprised. james hasn't really stopped moving since his four month appointment, which means it's harder for him to eat a good meal (nurse), and that he is burning off a lot of calories, too!

I don't REALLY think that he is nutritionally starved or anything, or I doubt he would continue to stay in the 99% for length . . . but I am going to make some changes to help him gain more.

Commencing Project Fat Baby . . .

Our Mission: To help james gain percentiles.
Our Timeline: One Month

The Plan is very simple and consists of one step: Breastfeed james more.

For a baby under one year old, this is the number one way to fatten up a baby. Furthermore, I'm doing this as an experiment, because Doctors don't recommend this strategy--they say: give more food. So we'll see how this works out for us over the next month.

The plan really has a few parts:

1. During the day, make more of an effort to nurse james in a quiet and still environment that helps him focus.

2. Before naps, lay down and nurse him--to sleep if possible.

3. If he doesn't wake up on his own, dreamfeed him when you go to bed.

4. Start bed-sharing to allow him more opportunities to nurse during the night.

Of course we ALSO will be giving james food during this time and he ALSO is definitely getting better at eating. I'm not saying food isn't great for him at this stage, too, but it isn't the most important thing in terms of helping him gain weight.

So our next appointment is June 15th--I'll report on the progress of "Project Fat Baby" then.

Big Allergy/Rash Update

So I was completely exhausted when I wrote my last entry, which is why I didn't explain well to my doctor what I had noticed, and I didn't explain well on here what I was feeling about my doctor--which, in retrospect, is unwarrented considering what I actually said to him.

I went to my parents house on Wednesday, until Saturday morning, to visit them and my sister Lauren, who was home for a few days. I took the baby but left the husband. For some reason, I had the hardest time sleeping at my parent's house--as the days passed I began to fall into a serious stupor. Like when you are so tired that you start stumbling around and can't think of words and stare into space when people are trying to talk to you.

So deep was my exhaustion that I even took a pregnancy test this morning--though I think God himself would have been the father if it had been positive--but it wasn't.

Anyway, due to this state, when the doctor called me back, the conversation went something like this:

Me: Yeah, hi, I think James is allergic to gluten.
Doc: Why do you say this?
Me: Well, he has this rash on his forehead since he was like a week old, but I had reduced eating gluten for my own reasons for a few days and it started to get better. Then I ate a lot one day and the next day it was horrible!
Doc: What does the rash look like?
Me: It is red, flaky, inflamed, pussy, and appears to be itchy at least sometimes.
Doc: Well, gluten doesn't pass into milk, which is why cows can eat wheat but milk is gluten free.
Me: ::Flabbergasted at this inarguable logic:: Wow. Yeah, you're right. ::Doesn't know what to think now::
Doc: It's possible he's allergic to wheat or something else you are eating ...
Me: I wondered that and tried eating barley and rye and the next day it was really bad again. Do you test babies this young for food allergies?
Doc: No, not as much food gets into milk as people think. It's probably (fancy medical names for normal baby skin rash), eczema, etc. Try putting X Y Z on it, but it will go away with time . . .

Now, due to my extreme exhaustion and flabbergasted state, I totally failed to mention his other symptoms of an allergy--excessive gas, spitting up, and green, watery, mucousy poops . . . and the fact that this has also improved since I stopped eating gluten.

So I got off the phone feeling still certain that he was dealing with a food allergy but thinking that my doc wasn't taking me seriously. In retrospect, I didn't really explain myself well . . .

Regardless, I have continued to avoid gluten and James' rash is almost totally gone. Considering he has had it since one week after he was born I HIGHLY DOUBT that this is a coincidence. So as people pointed out in my last entry, he is probably allergic to WHEAT (the second most common allergin for newborn babies after milk, NOT GLUTEN as I'd written/thought before).

However, I also realized that I also didn't eat any soy while I was at my parents' house. Maybe he is allergic to soy as well, and so when I thought he was reacting to barley and rye he was actually reacting to soy (I'm not certain I ate it that day but it's pretty darn likely)!

So my plan at this point is to avoid ALL gluten (wheat, barley, and rye), AND soy until the rash is totally healed (probably only a few days from now). Then I will try first eating barley, then rye (and these foods, besides the gluten, aren't very highly allergic), and THEN soy, and watch his reactions very carefully.

I REALLY REALLY hope that he isn't allergic to soy, because that would reduce my list of okay foods to eat to almost nothing--okay, this is an exaggeration, but tofu and other soy replacement products feature pretty significantly in my diet. Things I eat often that I wouldn't be able to eat anymore: Fried Tofu, Tofu scramble, Vegan mac and cheese, pizza with cheese, soy yogurt, tofu pups (vegan hot dogs), edamame, tempeh . . . these foods make up a really good portion of our diet. And they are some of the most protein rich meals that we eat . . .

So I'm REALLY REALLY REALLY hoping that it is ONLY wheat, and NOT soy that we are dealing with. But it's definitely one or both since I'm happy to report that his rash is almost totally healed AND he is hardly spitting up (or burping) at all . . .

So I'm glad to be finally getting to the bottom of this, and I would be thrilled if I could still eat rye bread . . . but I would much rather be able to eat soy . . . keep your fingers crossed, people!

Gluten Free Genetics

Someone asked if I thought James was allergic to gluten because I was on a low gluten diet while I was pregnant with him.

I tried for three years to get pregnant, and I was not able to do so until I stopped eating gluten, in combination with other things. This is probably because of a gluten sensitivity, or possibly low-level Celiac's disease. Because of the intestinal inflammation that the gluten causes (evidenced by my swollen stomach), I was unable to absorb nutritional properly and therefore my eggs could not grow properly.

(Additionally I had ovarian inflammation (Poly cystic Ovarian Syndrome) which could have been caused by the gluten allergy or was a symptom of a related problem--I took Glumetza for that (but maybe the gluten-free diet would have been enough?) . . .

Anyway, being gluten-free was a necessity so that the fetus (Little James) could get the right nutrition while he was in there and could grow.

I think him being allergic to gluten is probably related less to him being exposed to it sparingly in the womb and more to do with him being my son, and since I am sensitive to gluten he is more likely to be sensitive as well.

Anyway, gluten and dairy allergies are among the most common for small babies, and typically they will grow out of them with time.

I think him being allergic to gluten is also a symptom of the problem with the FOOD. In the US, all the wheat grown is a high-gluten, genetically modified strain. Our bodies are not made to process it, and so we have more and more people identifying that it is a problem for them.

Oh well. I am DEFINITELY healthier and I DEFINITELY feel better when I'm not eating it, and now since I've seen how miserable it makes him, I won't be eating it any more. I'm happy about it in a way because I know it is better for me. It's just hard to give up something you like so much . . . :-P

Barley and Rye

After not eating any gluten at ALL for a few days, James' rash was fading. So last night I tried some rye crackers and cookies made with barley flour to see if James reacted to them. These grains contain gluten, so the test here was to see if he was allergic to WHEAT only or to all gluten.

And this morning he woke up to the rash on his head being red and inflamed and itchy. Now that he has better control over his hands, it is more obvious that it is itchy and he was rubbing his face all morning (sigh), I feel so bad now but at least now I know that I really can't eat any gluten at all.

So I'm going to avoid it for a few months and maybe try it again when he's six months old or so and see if he reacts to it still.

Wii Exercises

So James bought this new Wii workout game (EA Active 2), and we both started this nine week program that has you work out four times a week for 20 mins. It runs you through a warmup, workout, and cool down. It is pretty fun and definitely challenging.

So both of us are like a week behind (we've only done 3 workouts in a week and a half instead of 6 or 7), but still I can tell that we are getting into a better habit of trying to workout a few times a week. I have never in my life worked out at all, but the program is good, they have you do all kinds of games and activities and you don't have to remember how many times you've done different exercises, because it is recording it for you.

Between this and being quite strict about not eating gluten, I'm starting to feel a lot better about my body. As I should have predicted, my stomach became much flatter since I haven't been eating gluten and I even lost a couple pounds for the first time since James was born!

Gluten-Free Update

So after deciding to be, for lack of a better word, "gluten-reduced", I had a few days where I ate very little gluten. I was still eating cheerios (who has a minor ingredient of "wheat starch"), and occasionally, Ezekial bread (made with a variety of sprouted whole grains, one of which is wheat, others of which are barley and rye, which also contain gluten). However, I wasn't really eating any other very gluten-y things, and I was completely and strictly avoiding high-gluten foods like fake meat, bagels, and white squishy bread.

After several days of this, I thought I noticed a reduction in the rash on James' forehead. But it was hard to tell, and on a day where I cheated a bit more I didn't notice an increase. I began to wonder if it wasn't something else in my diet--maybe soy?

But on Sunday we went for a lovely and delicious dinner to my Grandmother's house. She made an awesome all-vegan meal for us. The salad was a half-avocado with celery, green onions and lemon-infused olive oil and balsamic vinagrette on a lettuce leaf (YUMMY!!), then we had chibatta (sp?) bread with lemon-infused olive oil, and for the main course, stirfried garlic green-beans, and tri-color rotini pasta with fresh basil, fresh tomato, garlic, fresh oregano, etc.

It was delicious but I was OBVIOUSLY taking a break from my gluten-reduced-ism.

But I woke up the next morning to James' forehead being angry, red, oozing, scabby and AWFUL. Furthermore, he seemed very drowsy (he took a 3-4 hour nap when he usually only sleeps for 1.5), and I found all these scratches on his forehead! I wonder if the rash is itchy, too?

So I think maybe it IS gluten causing his rash and apparently avoiding it has made a bigger difference than I thought. Furthermore, the drowsiness is a symptom of Celiac's Disease (sigh).

Anyway, I feel awful that my gluten binge affected him so, but I guess I will just try to be careful in the future and it actually helps to know that there is a point to doing it. I feel much more resolved now than I did before.

Our Healthy Dinner

This is what we had for dinner tonight. Gluten Free, Vegan, with veggies, fruit, nuts, and beans! Super healthy and very delicious!

Grudgingly Gluten-Free Again

Well, I've basically come to the conclusion that I need to stop eating gluten again (or greatly reduce it). Not NEED to but I guess I want to. James has this skin rash around his eyebrows, hairline, and temples, and it definitely fluctuates in "intensity", so I think it is something I'm eating and I am very suspicious that it's gluten.

Additionally, I definitely don't feel good when I eat high-gluten things like bagels and fake meat, and these were the things I missed when I was gluten free (and BREAD and pizza, of course). Furthermore, I guess it's really not that hard to stay away from it--basically the more I eat it, the more I want it, and the less I eat it, the less I want it . . .

For me it seems to make a big difference when I feel like I COULD eat something if I wanted to. Or being able to have it every once in awhile. The thing that drove me crazy when I was pregnant (especially toward the end), was feeling SO guilty when I would eat it, and so feeling like I really *couldn't*.

So now, while I will definitely be MOSTLY gluten free, I'll still treat myself to the occasional bread, crackers, pizza, etc. Furthermore, with baking things, it is definitely easy to reduce the amount of wheat flour and replace it with buckwheat, oat, millet, or other gluten-free flours. Having just a little bit of wheat can usually affect the desired result.

Honestly I think the hardest thing with changing your diet is re-establishing a shopping list--like figuring out what your normal breakfast, lunch, and dinner foods are . . . and there's plenty of gluten-free products that are just as good, or better, like quinoa pasta (yum yum). And fruits and veggies are gluten-free, thank God.

I also think that I eat healthier when I'm being gluten free because I tend to eat more fruits and veggies instead of filling my diet with bulky grains without as many nutrients and vitamins.

So that's where I'm at. It sort of sucks because I love bread so much, but it is definitely healthier for me, and probably for James David as well, so that's that.

Amy Says . . . More Vegan Foods

My friend Amy showed me a great link for finding vegan and dairy free foods:

Accidentally Vegan

This is basically a much better version of what I was trying to do here!

THANKS AMY!

Common Foods that are Dairy-Free

Here's a bunch of stuff that someone avoiding dairy could eat--all these things are also vegan or can be made vegan. Things that are also gluten-free will be marked (GF). See alternate sources for dairy here.

For breakfast:
Oatmeal (not instant)--made with vegan "milk" and "butter"
Cheerios
Raisin Bran
Rice Crispies (GF)
Corn Flakes (GF)
Frosted Flakes (GF)
Crispix (GF)
Chex (GF)
Kix (GF)
(there are a lot of other vegan cereals as well)
Fruit, obviously
Applesauce
Toast with vegan butter, jam or jelly (check bread label but many are vegan/dairy free)
Bagels with vegan cream cheese or butter
Stirfried Potato (hash browns)

Lunch:
Salad with vinaigrette(GF)--add beans, nuts, seeds, and a variety of veggies for fullness and health
Sandwiches:
-peanut butter and jelly
-peanut butter and banana
-hummus, lettuce, and tomato with salad dressing or "vegenaise" veggie mayo
-meat or tofu, lettuce and tomato with salad dressing or "vegenaise" veggie mayo
-lentils with grated carrots, chopped celery, and lettuce
-tomato and spinach
Wrap: flour tortilla with veggies (tomato, lettuce, spinach, sprouts, cucumber, grated carrot) hummus, and/or deli meats

Snacks:
Potato Chips (GF)
Pretzels
Sweet and Spicy Doritos (this one specific Doritos flavor)
Corn Chips with Guacamole and/or salsa (GF)
Ritz Crackers
Saltines
Fruit (GF)
Baby Carrots with hummus (GF)
Celery with peanut butter (GF)

Dinner:
Pasta with red sauce
Lasagna
Mac and "Cheese"
Grains:
-rice (GF)
-quinoa (GF)
-millet (GF)
-barley
-oats (arguably GF)
Baked Potato (eat with vegan butter, vegan sour cream, steamed broccoli, etc)
Steamed or stirfried Veggies with vegan butter (all GF):
-broccoli
-carrots
-kale
-spinach
-asparagus
-Brussels sprouts
Tempeh (sometimes GF)
Tofu (GF)
Tacos (with meat or fried tofu, lettuce, tomato, hot sauce, beans, rice, avocado, etc) (GF)
Burritos with beans, rice, meat or tofu, spinach, tomato, other veggies
Hot dogs or tofu pups (GF without the bun)
Veggie burgers (can be dairy and gluten free, read the labels!) or meat burgers (GF without the bun)

Dessert:
Fruit (GF)
Dairy-Free Ice Cream (GF)
Pies made without butter (easy to make but hard to find in the store!)
Oreos or Newman O's
Dark Chocolate

I'm going to have to update this more, I know there are a ton of other things.

The basic point of this post is to answer the question: What is there to eat that doesn't contain dairy and/or that is vegan? And honestly it is a lot of stuff. The most common foods are already vegan, really!

Breastfeeding and Dairy Elimination

Up to half of babies exhibiting signs of colic, gas, reflux, etc, that cause discomfort and fussiness may be helped if the Mom eliminates dairy from her diet.

The recommendation with this is to cut out all dairy for 2 weeks, see if there is an improvement, and if there is, either avoid dairy completely or begin to reintroduce it until you see how much you can eat without it affecting the baby--most babies can handle SOME dairy.

On another note, there are significant benefits (to the Mom) to not eating dairy at all, including a reduction in colds and allergies, a reduction in daily calories, and less digestive issues overall. Most people are, in fact, lactose intolerant. Human bodies are not made to process lactose after the natural age of weaning (2-7 years), and so it can cause a variety of additional health problems when ingested often by teens and adults.

In terms of health, not eating any dairy, or eating it sparingly and for special occasions only, is generally better for most people.

Dairy Free Superlatives: Best Substitute Products

The number one thing to dairy-free eating is knowing the best substitute products, and it seems to be pretty unanimous among the dairy-free community which ones are the best. I want to go on record that the brands matter here, that is the whole point of this post. If you get a random dairy-free milk or yogurt (not the brands I recommend here) and it is horrible, realize that I am recommending these SPECIFIC brands for a reason. Try them first and then compare with other brands.

One thing to note is that soy and dairy are very similar proteins.  Many people who have issues with one will have similar issues with both.  If you are still determining you/your baby's allergens, do NOT go too heavy on the soy products because it could confuse the issue.

Also, everything listed here is also gluten free!

Best Dairy-Free Butter: Earth Balance (or Soy Garden—same thing).  Also there is a soy-free version available that's equally good.

This margarine has NO hydrogenated oils, and so does not have that weird mouth coating taste that most margarines have. This means it is healthier than most margarines. It is also less calories than butter, but does contain palm oil, which is a (more healthy) saturated fat. Therefore this butter substitute also has a rich flavor similar to normal butter.
Uses: On bread or toast, in any recipe that calls for butter, in any situation where you would use butter.
Cost: Around 3 dollars for a 15 oz tub


Best Dairy-Free Yogurt: Whole Soy and Co, Soy Yogurt

We like the vanilla best, plain is also good. I usually get it in the big containers but there are smaller ones with fruits like you would pack in a lunch. Very creamy and delicious and has the same health benefits as dairy yogurt because it has the same probiotics (acidophiles, etc). Has that tart yogurt taste.
Uses: As yogurt—NOT a sub for Greek yogurt, though. Soy yogurt has a much thinner consistency than a thick yogurt like Greek yogurt.
Cost: About 4 dollars for a 24 oz tub, 1.50-2.50 for small (6oz) flavored ones.
*soy-based, use sparingly


Best-Dairy Free Cream Cheese: Tofutti Better-than-Cream Cheese

This comes in several flavors and varieties. There is a non-hydrogenated version which I would recommend—it is harder to find but worth it in terms of health.
Uses: On bagels or crackers, in recipes that call for cream cheese
Cost: Around 3 dollars for an 8 oz tub
*soy-based, use sparingly


Best Dairy-Free Ice Cream: SoDelicious Coconut Milk Ice Cream

It is TO DIE FOR. Most people that I know agree that it is as good or better than dairy ice cream. Again, the coconut has healthy saturated fats that give it a rich and creamy taste. Comes in MANY flavors and varieties.
Uses: As ice cream—in rootbeer floats, in sundaes, in banana splits, you know.
Cost: Around 5.50 or 6 dollars for a pint—ouch! Yeah, it is expensive but totally worth it if you have an ice cream craving!


Best Dairy-Free Cheese: Vegan Gourmet Cheese Alternative

We like Monterrey Jack better than Mozzarella, and we like the Cheddar, obviously! Needs to be cooked at temps over 450 degrees (or in the microwave) to achieve melting—for some things like grilled cheese, I pre-melt it (in the microwave) before putting it on the bread or in a cheese sauce. We like to grate the entire thing when we open it, and then keep it in the freezer, and just break off some as needed.
Uses: As a MELTING cheese. On pizza, in lasagna, for grilled cheese, etc. Not really good as a cold cheese (not on crackers, sandwiches, etc). Good in hot cheese sauces for pasta or veggies.
Cost: About 3.50 for a 8 oz brick.
*contains soy, use sparingly


Best Dairy Free Cheese Topping: Nutritional Yeast

Believe it or not, nutritional yeast which is VERY high in Vitamin B 12, very low in calories, and delicious, is both dairy-free and tastes like cheese.
Uses: As parmigiana cheese—on pasta, pizza, casseroles, etc. Can also be used to flavor almost anything. Good on toast or bagels with butter, on salads, etc.
Cost: Depends on where you get it! A bit expensive but since it is used sparingly it lasts for a long time (think of it as a food supplement or spice).


Best Dairy-Free Sour Cream: Tofutti Better-than-Sour Cream

Uses: On Mexican food, on baked potatoes, in recipes that call for sour cream, and to add creaminess to just about everything: mashed potatoes, soup, cheesy pasta sauces, etc.
Cost: About 4 dollars for a 12 oz tub
*soy-based, use sparingly


Best Dairy-Free Milk*: Almond Breeze Brand Almond Milk

This is starred because there are a MILLION different milk alternatives.  Again, I would not do soy, but would try Rice, Almond, or coconut milk first.  Most people prefer one to the other, and they are very different in terms of sweetness, thickness, etc.

Uses: In recipes that call for milk, for dunking cookies, in cereal . . .. see my note about drinking milk below.
Cost: About 3 dollars for a half gallon. The cost of other brands and types of milk vary greatly.


Things there are, unfortunately, no adequate substitute for:

Cold Cheeses—you can find dairy free cheese slices, but it’s not really the same. There is no sub for a slice of cheddar cheese on a cracker, or fresh mozzarella, brie, etc. Something you have to learn to live without.

Milk for Drinking—If you are someone that straight up likes to drink milk, there is no perfect substitute. A lot of people like to drink Almond milk, but it will take an adjustment period. This is something else you just have to accept that it’s not going to be the same and see if there are things that you can like about your alternative milk of choice. Most people I know who liked drinking milk and then switched to a dairy-free milk did NOT like it at first (including myself). I just kept forcing myself to drink it and I hated it less and less and then I actually started to like it, and then I REALLY started to like it. Give yourself time on this.

I think that’s it, really! Most things are easy to substitute and live without once you know what to replace them with!

Doubting Thomas'

So it's pretty funny to me how many people have come out of the woodwork since we gave birth who are totally surprised that he was so big and healthy. Apparently, we had plenty of friends and family members who totally doubted that I could grow a healthy baby as a vegan.

I guess I get the impression that they expected him to be really tiny, or sick, or something . . . YES PEOPLE, a vegan diet CAN contain all the nutrients you need to be completely healthy. LOL! You'd think that the fact that James has been vegan for 12 years and I have been vegan for six years would be enough to convince people that you can indeed sustain life on a vegan diet.

Buuut, apparently the true test is growing a baby, and the fact that we had an 8 lb, 7 oz, long, healthy baby means that we've passed. So if you were wondering, it is NOW official, a vegan diet is healthy. Mine and James' stellar bloodwork and slim figures weren't real evidence, but a healthy James David is. ;-)

Brewer Diet Update

So I'm supposed to be tracking the food I eat this week, counting how many grams of protein I get, and trying to follow the Brewer diet as well as I can. I got an Email from our Bradley instructor today sending me this modified Brewer Diet for vegans. So I think I am okay, though we do not drink fortified soy milk since our efforts to reduce our soy consumption probably more than a year ago . . . but I'm not that worried.

Anyway, I'm actually really into keeping food logs and tracking my protein, something I wouldn't really have known before pregnancy. My midwife had me do a food log when I first started seeing her, so this is my second one.

The focus of this log is on counting the amount of protein you get. I have been really getting into it. When I made a pizza the other night, for instance, I added up all the protein in each ingredient of the pizza, like this:

1.5 cups gluten free pastry flour--9 grams
1.5 cups oat flour--18 grams
1 cup buckwheat flour--20 grams
2 tablespoons chia seed--5 grams

(This was all the dough)

Sauce--6 grams
Vegan cheese--10 grams
Carrot--.6 grams
1 cup kale--5 grams
1 cup broccoli--5 grams

So the entire pizza had 78 grams of protein (beat that, gluteny non-vegan pizza)! We cut it up into 8 pieces, so each piece of pizza had 9.75 grams of protein.

So, as an example, this is what I mean when I say I am getting really into tracking my protein. If I had a non-vegan, "normal" diet, I could probably just look up online somewhere how many grams of protein was in a piece of pizza, but clearly with this kind of homemade pizza, I need to figure it out myself. To my delight.

Anyway, the ideal amount of protein for the Brewer diet is 80-100 grams, and for three days now I have consistently gotten around 75 grams--(78.8, 75.7, 73). Honestly I think that's pretty darn good. Keep in mind that most diets do NOT ask for this much protein, and you would never need this much if you weren't pregnant. Honestly it is kind of hard for me to just plain eat this much food--I'm typically not that big of an eater, and while I have been PLENTY hungry and I think I've eaten PLENTY as a pregnant lady, I still don't quite have the capacity for food that other people seem to--though I did out-eat James, his Mom, and his Step-Dad by several helpings the other day. I'm not worried about myself--I'm gaining weight fine and the baby is growing right on target.

I DO appreciate the encouragement to fill my diet with lots of healthy foods right now since James will be doubling his weight in the next 7 weeks. So I'm sure he and I both need all this fat and protein and calcium, etc, and I'm just plain not worried that I have 75 grams on average instead of 80.

As I previously mentioned, Dr. Brewer looks like he could stand to eat a little less, to be honest--maybe I should make a diet for HIM.

Second Bradley Class

Yesterday was our second Bradley class! The topic this time was nutrition. James was nervous about letting it out of the bag that we are vegan, so we agreed not to say anything about it if we could avoid it.

However, when we played a version of the newlywed game where the husbands had to list their wives favorite foods in different categories--including dairy foods, egg foods, protein foods, etc, I decided there wasn't really much getting around it.

"Well, it might be hard for him to do my favorite egg foods," I explained. "We're actually vegan. So we don't eat dairy, or eggs, or meat."

Our Bradley instructor's eyes bulged at this news.

The approach to diet in Bradley classes is based on the Brewer diet. You'll notice that the Brewer Diet includes four dairy choices and two eggs every day, and liver once a week. Additionally, you should aim to get 80-100 grams of protein daily.

Our instructor was nice about it, said that she knew there were lots of substitutes for milk and lots of non-meat protein sources. "But eggs are SO important to your nutrition! I'll have to ask my fellow Bradley instructors what to eat instead . . . but wow, how will you get 80 grams of protein!"

James and I reassured her that we thought we probably got plenty of protein and were generally pretty nutritionally savvy. "We have lots of friends who are very knowledgeable about nutrition," I explained. "So we're pretty confident in our health."

And we are. Rather than feeling nervous or insecure about our diet choices, we more felt sorry for her that she was so concerned about us. On the ride home we reflected that it must be difficult for vegans that don't have the educational and family and friend support that we have. People are so misinformed about nutrition that unless you surround yourself with the right people and information, I think it would be quite easy, as a vegan, to constantly be questioned by others, and therefore, questioning yourself, about whether this is *really* a healthy diet.

"I was much less confident about it before we started dating," James said to me as we discussed.
I snorted. "Yeah, well, your vegan diet at that time consisted of potato chips, chocolate soymilk, and bread and hummus. You shouldn't have felt very confident!"
"Oh right."

I also couldn't help to notice, as we watched a video presentation by Dr. Brewer, that he was significantly overweight. Unfortunately, it makes it hard to take him very seriously.

But, it is hard to deny the research--0 cases of toxemia out of 7000 people who followed the Brewer diet. And they say that they don't know what causes it. Wow. More and more it is obvious to me that health comes down to diet. I can't help feeling sorry for the people I see in the store, overweight, diabetic, wheezing, suffering . . . I wish they could KNOW, deep inside, what I know now about the way to find health.

Anyway, the rest of the class was quite fun--we bonded more with our fellow classmates, talked about breastfeeding, one of my favorite subjects, practiced the pregnancy exercises we learned last time, and practiced relaxing. Hopefully by the time this baby decides to be born, James and I will feel quite ready to bring him into this world. :-)

First Bradley Class

So we attended our first Bradley Class last night and it was really nice! It is just us and one other couple at our teacher's house. It was nice to meet someone else about as pregnant as I am (she is due 10 days after me). They seemed really nice and we liked our teacher too.

The Bradley Series (also known as "husband-coached childbirth) is 12 weeks of classes, so we'll finish just before my due date. They think that this is how long you need to really learn the things they are teaching you, which they expect you to practice at home--things like relaxing on cue, different pregnancy exercises, etc.

This first class we learn about how to take a relaxing cue from our partner, and different pregnancy exercises such as squatting, kegels, butterfly stretching, etc.

Another thing I learned about Bradley is that it is really into the "Brewer Pregnancy Diet", which believes you should be eating 100 grams of protein a day, including several servings of milk products, 2 eggs, etc. Wait until they find out we are vegan . . . it is pretty difficult to eat that much protein as a vegan, though we get more than most people think. I counted up my protein from yesterday and I think it was about 50 grams, and I didn't even eat anything that protein-rich--I would say that was a VERY normal eating day for me. So I'm not doing too bad.

After the other couple left at the end of the class, we were chatting a bit with our teacher and told her we were going to have a homebirth, as she mentioned in the class that she had had a homebirth with her youngest son, and she freaked out on us (in a good way). She was SOOOO excited for us that she kept talking to us and didn't let us leave for another 10 mins or something, heheh. It seems like everyone who does homebirth just loves it, so that is really good to hear.

Anyway, we'll have our next class on Labor Day. Stay tuned.

Heartburn Solutions

So since I last updated, I went through probably about a week where I seemed to have heartburn constantly, and I was pretty miserable. Along the same lines, I had one of those "MY BELLY IS STRETCHED BEYOND BELIEF, I AM HORRIBLY UNCOMFORTABLE, HOW CAN THIS BABY GET ANY BIGGER?" few days right at the same time. As usual, I thought that I would feel this way for the rest of the pregnancy and I started to get pretty down about it.

However, in the last few days or so, I've discovered that it really is true that what you eat matters in the heartburn department. The main thing I realized is that I can't drink any tea any more--at least not green, white, or black tea (maybe purely fruit or herbal tea might be okay, I'm not sure). I had gotten back into the habit of drinking green/white tea throughout most of the day, and I think, in retrospect, that this was the main cause of my constant heartburn.

Other bad foods: grapefruit, oranges, orange juice, lemonade (any citrus I guess) . . . I was on a real grapefruit kick for awhile there and they were so delicious and amazing that I think I was in denial that they might be contributing to my heartburn issues.

But low and behold, simply giving up tea and citrus seem to single-handedly have cured my heartburn, and I'm incredibly grateful. And, as it tends to do, my belly and body seem to have made it through another adjustment and I once again feel comfortable and happy with being pregnant.

The only thing about cutting out these foods is that my list of foods I CAN eat is once again shrinking. I have been more and more flexible about eating gluten occasionally because bread is the thing that really sounds good in the midst of this heartburn control diet. I have minimal side effects from eating bread--the times I really notice the effect of the gluten is when I eat something made with a higher processed form of gluten (like fake meat/veggie burgers, etc).

Anyway, it's now been probably 5 days since I needed to have a Tums, so I'm pretty relieved to have managed this issue--at least for now.

Tonight is our first childbirth class (Bradley Method). I will try to remember to update about it tomorrow. I'm very excited!

Hungry Much?

So, in the first trimester I gained a whopping three pounds--and I'm willing to bet I've already gained ten or so this trimester . . .

Honestly I don't care at all because I was getting a bit worried about gaining almost nothing the first trimester (and I didn't even have morning sickness!).

Anyway, I think Jay-Jay and me are both packing on the pounds right now--it is ridiculous how much and how strong he can kick--last night he was moving the laptop with his kicking and even managed to HOLD IT up in the air for a second. Meanwhile some other friends of mine due in November haven't even felt A kick yet. Have some of mine, ladies, because sometimes it gets exhausting to feel him kicking ALL the time. Like right when I first wake up in the morning and I want to go back to sleep.

Anyway, I think he is having a growth spurt right now--not only have I been sleeping 13 hours some nights, but I swear I've been eating like 6 meals a day. Last night I had three dinners--a bean/veggie stirfry around 4:30, a tofu salad sandwich (with tomato and Chinese cabbage)--and let me tell you, that was some damn good homemade tofu salad (tofu, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, celery, canned asparagus, vegan mayo--YUMMMM)--anyway, I ate the tofu salad sandwich around 7:30, and then I had a yuba wrap (soybean wrap with millet, rice and veggies) from the coop right before bed, at like 10:30 . . . oh yeah and somewhere in there I also had an apple with lemon juice on it and a coconut milk ice cream bar. I was confident I would wake up this morning and still be full.

But no. I woke up STARVING. It's 1:15 pm now and I've already had (in this order), a nectarine, oatmeal with raisins and applesauce, a plum, and tofu salad with tomato on a cabbage leaf (sandwich sans bread), and some salted chocolate. Alright, when I put it like that it sounds like breakfast and lunch, but keep in mind I didn't even get out of bed until like 10am, so it's all been eaten in the last three hours. Plus I'm not normally even a breakfast eater! I can usually go until this time of day only eating a piece of fruit or two! I basically have been eating/cooking nonstop since I got up. LOL.

Anyway, I think we are both growing--but that is what we're supposed to do--so, it's on! Luckily, we can afford to buy enough fruit that I'm eating five pieces a day, and enough veggies, grains, and beans for me to have 5-6 full meals a day. I figure as long as I'm not going overboard with sweets (and despite my addition to salted chocolate I am actually pretty good on sweets) and other empty calories, I will probably be okay.

I've been operating under the assumption that it is pretty difficult to eat a lot of junk food when you are vegan and gluten free, and so far it seems to be true! Okay, there have been a few occasions when I've eaten super fried things--but I have REGRETTED IT soon after. Believe it or not, cutting out wheat also cuts out most fried things (since most things are breaded before being fried), so I've (apparently) developed a pretty low tolerance for deep frying. The last two times I ate fried stuff I got a serious stomach-ache later that day and continuing into the next . . .

WHAT IS THE POINT OF THIS POST???

I am on an eating frenzy, but since it's all healthy food--who cares? Grow little James, grow! (But stop growing if you get to 9 pounds or so and you find yourself still in Mommy.)

Pregnancy as a Healthy Time

Every day, people ask me how I am feeling. It's true that some people have a horrible time with morning sickness, but I didn't. What I notice more is that I feel HEALTHY.

It's true that I have been vegan for a long time, and in a sense that makes it a lot easier to be healthy--but there are bad ways to be vegan too--and James and I have had those months, days, meals, plenty of times.

But before getting pregnant, my body was whacked out on gluten (and the longer and more strictly I avoid it now, the more sensitive I feel to it); I didn't pay attention to taking multi-vitamins, DHA, and lots of other things that my body probably is in need of (especially when I WAS eating gluten) . . . in a lot of ways, my body was out of balance, and part of our journey to get pregnant was correcting that balance as well. I started going to the chiropractor, getting treatments for food sensitivities, completely stopped eating gluten--and learned a ton about how my body works and why.

Now as summer blossoms, more than anything else how I FEEL is healthy--I have been eating tons of fruit, and that, like being vegan, seems to add some automatic health into my life--I've been more active--starting to enjoy the warm weather, getting tanner, taking tons of vitamins, not drinking--I just feel good.

And what I've noticed about some other women is it seems to go the same way. People who are overweight, if they are serious about being healthy during pregnancy, seem to most often not gain much weight, and then lose a lot after the baby, especially when breastfeeding. People who are already thin typically stay thin if they are taking care of themselves.

A friend of mine observed that pregnancy taught her to care about her body and now she is taking pride in it after her son was born. I hope I can remember this lesson as well!