Dietary Restrictions

With Ladybug starting school this year I was looking forward to having a little more control over her diet. In daycare all of her food was provided by the program. It was balanced. And fairly healthy. But the girl can eat. So I was hoping of gaining the control.

Ladybug is lactose intolerant. She is not allergic to dairy. When she first came home she was really lactose intolerant. The first day I had her while in Ethiopia I gave her a bottle of milk. I was told I had to if she was going to be in my care. So at 4pm I was a good little girl and filled her bottle. She took it and started drinking. At 4:10 she pooped. A lot. It blew out of the diaper. So I changed her diaper and her clothes. And as I was putting a new one on her, she blew out another one. The next day the same think happened.

I wasn't uneducated. I knew that people of African descent are more prone to dairy problems. So I talked to the nurse at the orphanage and told her I thought my little one was lactose intolerant and I would like her taken off dairy for the remainder of her time in the orphanage. She said no. She told me she had no problems with dairy but that Ladybug was scared because I am white.

Pause...

Choose your battles. I said nothing. But when I got home I took her off dairy completely. Eventually I was able to add most dairy back into her diet. Except for milk. She still does lactose free milk.

And lately I have discovered that she is also gluten intolerant. It is not serious. But she is a carb baby. Anything carb she wants. But it makes her bloat. Seriously bloat. She can look 6 months pregnant after a high gluten meal. And that is disturbing to see on a 5 year old. So I have tried to limit her gluten intake on days at home. We have both decided that gluten bread is gross so we refuse to give up regular bread. However, she has found some nice gluten free cereals and she loves the gluten free crackers.

I have been packing her lunches and snacks this week. Ham and cheese sandwich, carrots, strawberries, lactaid milk and a treat for lunch. Juice, cheese and crackers (nut based), peach, and trail mix for the 2 snacks (yes 2 -- one at school in the afternoon and one at the after school program).

And then today I got a note home from school. There is a child in her class that has some severe allergies. Dairy. Eggs. Nuts. We must restrict what we bring into the school. No milk. No cheese. Nothing with eggs. No nut products. So of my current lunch and snacks I must eliminate cheese, milk, the crackers, and the trail mix. Really??

Okay, I am not interested in killing another kid. This kid has severe allergies. That is not something to play around with. But what am I going to feed this girl. And I need to figure it out tonight. So I can pack her lunch.

Mean Mama