Mermaid gets her legs

Two weeks ago Mermaid took her first unassisted steps. There were at least four witnesses screaming excitedly for me to turn around. I missed it, twice! She spent the next ten days asserting her independence by lying on her back. Now we are practicing walking like two dancers. We face each other and hold one hand. Mermaid is skeptical of this arrangement and frequently holds her ground waiting for my other hand or she lunges forward for a body hold. Still, Mermaid is a natural leader pushing me backwards all around the apartment. It's fun to see where she wants to go.

The physical therapist has been telling me for months, "She'll be walking soon." I can't get too hung up on that kind of language. Progress moves a half step forward and a quarter step back. I trust that she'll get there in her own good time. I should give myself and my other kids that same kind of leeway. Meanwhile, Mermaid crawls like she's swimming. I think she's growing up too fast and My Hero is grateful to have a child who is mile-stoning at a rate that he can track. What's next? Flying?!

Gluten Schmuten

I know. He's so darling. The bib says "I am a Joy to the World", and the bloomers say "I made a Joyful noise". He got them for Christmas, but they didn't fit, then, and I figured it would be more fun to wait until he could sit up for a photo op. And the robot stuffed 'animal' in the background is the one I made for him.

He has food on his face in this one, but the food isn't red. That is his rash after over a week off of dairy. It has not made a dent. In fact, the rash is really bad around his eyes and has even gotten worse. The allergy test came back negative, which doesn't mean he isn't allergic to milk (or the other half-dozen things for which they tested), but may just mean he's too young to tell by testing. The real test is experience, and in my experience over the past week, going off dairy hasn't changed anything for him. I'm staying dairy-free until we resolve this, but I don't think that's the problem.

I've been doing some reading and I'm feeling more and more confident he has Celiacs Disease. Here's why: The Boy is generally constipated. For months now, I've been massaging his belly to help him empty his bowels. It's rare to have a surprise in his diaper. He's been eating less and less lately, almost measurable by the day. His mood is different. He used to smile at everyone who gave him the time of day. He is still a calm child, but he doesn't seem as happy as he used to be. He puked all over my hair and down my shirt the other day (during a special pre-op prayer for Turtar, as luck would have it). He has this horrible rash (as you can see). I thought it looked a little zitty, but as I started reading about Celiacs, I read the term 'blistering rash' and immediately recognized that was a better description for what he has. And get this: there is a link between Celiacs and chromosome 6. So my criss-crossed, translocated chromosomes have impeded my baby once again. The translocation in my family that causes our miscarriages and increases our chances for Trisomy 21 is between chromosomes 6 and 21. 6 and 21. I'm sold. I took The Boy in today to be screened for Celiacs (or gluten intolerance). We won't have the results for a week, but I don't want to wait that long to see an improvement in my son. I read that it wasn't good to go gluten-free before the screening test, but now that we've done it, I'm off it all!

Thank goodness for hummus. And almond crackers. And quinoa pasta. and Gerber Graduates apple wagon wheels Finger Foods, which are now the only finger food the boy can have at all. Until maybe I make a trip to Earth Fare.

I never liked gluten anyway. Cookies are completely over-rated.

Adventures in Dairy-free

{The Scene: The Boy's 9 month check-up}

DR. PEDIATRICIAN:

Great. Well, you can go ahead and start giving The Boy yogurt and cheese, everything but straight milk as far as dairy goes.

{4-5 days and a couple of YoBaby products later, enter one nasty, zitty, rash around nose, mouth, eyes, chest. The Scene: Home}

ME: Oh, my poor baby! We will put an end to the products of YoBaby and this horrible affliction will abandon you.

{3 weeks later, the horrible affliction has not abandoned The Boy. The Scene: Pediatrician's office}

ME: Dr. Pediatrician, I don't know what to do! This horrible affliction will not abandon my baby, though we have not partaken of any yogurt for weeks. His breathing is sometimes heavy, his nose clearly has the itch and just this morning he sneezed about 7 times in a row. What can we do?

DR. PEDIATRICIAN: We will do a test. Please take your poor, and already suffering baby to receive much pain as we extract his bodily fluid from his very veins. Also, use this prescription creme in conjunction with hydrocortisone on the horrible rash. Also, stop all dairy of all kinds for two weeks to see if it helps... you know, just in case. And you, too, since you're still breast-feeding.

ME: Oh, okay. *sigh*

{Later that night. The Scene: Home}

THE HUSBAND: What shall we have for dinner tonight?

ME: You and the girl may have cheese omelets. You and the girl may have macaroni and cheese. You and the girl may have sherbet and pudding and chocolate chips, though you probably wouldn't want to mix them all together. You and the girl may have anything you want. I will have dry froot loops. The boy will have actual fruit, albeit pureed. The boy will no longer have any finger foods as they all contain milk, at least milk whey. *sigh* And maybe the horrible affliction will finally abandon my poor baby.