What can I feed my daughter?

drumjj

Tue, Aug 16 2011, 10:16 am

I have to agree with the soya suggestion, and so many foods especially a lot of crackers have soya in it. myself and my daughter dont have soya although im a lot less strict with myself than my daughter.
my middle daughter who is six complains a lot of stomach aches, im debating changing her diet to avoid milk for a while and see if it helps her

cranberry

Tue, Aug 16 2011, 6:40 pm

So today we had a false start. The plan to start no preservatives today took a nose dive by breakfast. Like I said, I'm trying not to force her.

But I also told her, listen, if you want to do it, let's do it. I can't keep starting and stopping because it's just dragging it out too long. So she said she'll really do it tomorrow. I figure it should only take 2-3 days to notice a difference.

The good thing is that I'll have complete control over what she's eating, so we'll easily be able to avoid soy at the same time. If she gets better, we'll just have to be careful how we add foods back in so we can be sure of what's causing her pain.

The reason I decided not to start with gluten is because she had a blood test a few months ago to test for celiac, and the doctor said that it tests for all types of wheat intolerance. I don't really put much faith in blood tests detecting food issues, but since I had to pick and choose which foods to do first, I decided to put that on the back burner.

Also, now that we know dairy is a problem, I don't know what she would eat if she couldn't eat gluten either.

I bought a bunch of fruit at the grocery store today, and tomorrow I'll hopefully buy chicken cutlets, which she's more likely to eat. I didn't make any mayo yet, but I have hopes for that tomorrow too.

Wish me luck!

cranberry

Tue, Aug 16 2011, 7:00 pm

qeenB wrote:

taking allot of antibiotics can cause the stomach lining to become sensitive. if she isn't taking a good probiotic on a regular basis I would have her take everyday.

The problem with this is that she'll refuse to take it. After her tonsillectomy she ended up in the ER because I caught a stomach bug and passed it on to her (great timing, right?). She kept throwing up, so the doc said she needed to get on an IV with meds to stop the vomiting and also to rehydrate her, since she hadn't been eating or drinking that much the previous few days.

When we left, the doc said she should take Florastor. My husband went out late that night to find it, and then she refused to take it.

We've tried various meds and natural remedies that need to be mixed with liquid, and it's a full-out fight to get her to take it. It can literally take an hour, and then she still won't necessarily finish it.

When she doesn't like the taste of something, or thinks that she doesn't, there is no getting her to swallow it.

qeenB

Tue, Aug 16 2011, 7:09 pm

can she swallow a capsule? I use a brand called vitalplex and I buy it in the capsule form because I also dislike the taste. I have alot of food sensitivities and I really feel that it is because I took allot of antibiotics as a kid. you might also want to check her stomach ph level . if she is overly acidic it can definitely cause stomach aches when eating certain foods. I think besides and elimination diet maybe you can find a good naturalist that can help you actually get her stomach in good shape which will then make it easier for her to digest more foods.

cranberry

Tue, Aug 16 2011, 7:16 pm

qeenB wrote:

She doesn't swallow pills yet, but I can try to get her to learn. This seems like a good motivation.

How do I go about checking her stomach ph level? Is that something to do at her ped or at a naturopath?

Years ago our whole family was seeing a doctor for something called NAET. It's an allergy elimination technique, using "allergy" in the loosest sense of the word. At one point or another, all 6 of us have gone to her, with very good results, but it gets expensive since it can take quite a few visits.

The other thing is that dd also went through this process, and had pretty much finished with the foods. So if these are "allergies," then I guess they're new ones. But as the doc was quick to point out, not every food issue can be solved. She said after she eats broccoli, you don't want to be in the room with her. Smile

qeenB

Tue, Aug 16 2011, 7:26 pm

I think you can buy a test but I am not sure how accurate they are. one of my kids was not able to eat so many different foods , he would get sick from wheat eggs dairy soy fish, I took him to a naturist who told me that his ph was off and that his stomach was not able to digest all these different foods. he gave me a couple of herbal combinations and B"H after about 6 months I saw a huge improvement. chinese medicine doesnt believe in food allergies , but that the person is not able to digest the foods and there fore they have the reaction. you can google foods that are acidic and foods that are alkaline and see if you see a corolation between what she is eating and what is bothering her. whats interesting is that lemon is acidic but when you eat it it actually makes your stomach more alkaline. sorry for my ramblings.

cranberry

Tue, Aug 16 2011, 7:41 pm

qeenB wrote:

That makes sense. Did you have to take it on faith for the first few months, or were you able to notice a difference right away? Also, does he still have to take the herbs, or was he able to stop after awhile?

ra_mom

Tue, Aug 16 2011, 8:13 pm

cranberry wrote:

In the kitchen wrote:

No fail mayo:
2 raw eggs
3 cups (or more if you like very stiff mayo) canola oil
2 teas vinegar
1 teas salt

Put two whole eggs in your food processor with the sharp blade
blend on high.
Very slowly trickle in canola oil, once it begins to thicken up you can add a more steady stream. Add vinegar and salt, process on high until all oil has been incorporated...you can add more oil as you see fit to make it even thicker. Keeps two weeks in the fridge.

Hatzlocha!

Does it matter if I use a blender or food processor?

The raw egg part scares me a bit, but I guess that they're not cooking the egg in store-bought mayo either, right?

Okay, I'll have to try this either tonight or tomorrow.

With a pointed knife, make a tiny whol on the bottom of a plastic cup. Insert the plastic into the hole of the blender or food processor, and pour in oil. Let it drip into the machine, while it is running. Then it will really be no fail and very thick, and you won't have to stand and hold the oil while it drips for 20 minutes.
About the egg, wash it with soapy water, they dry before cracking, so the egg does not get contaminated when you crack it.

Dolly Welsh

Tue, Aug 16 2011, 8:30 pm

Maybe you will be making your own crackers. Mandelbrot. It might be good to get a stand mixer with a dough hook and a splatter cover. Perhaps a Silpat non-stick oven liner pad.

Recipes for mandelbrot, anyone?

Can she eat rice? Soups with rice in them? With little tiny bits of meat in them?

Plain oatmeal, cooked, with peanut butter mixed in?

I would not use coconut oil. Stick to olive oil and peanut oil, as she tolerates peanut.

Can she eat Chumus? Tahini? That is sesame butter. Chumus is Tahini and chickpeas, with garlic, lemon, salt.

Can she take a multi-vitamin? Please get her into the afternoon sun a lot. Her sleeping room should be dark and cool.

flowerpower

Tue, Aug 16 2011, 9:02 pm

Have you ever tested her for celiac disease? Because sounds like that can be causing the pain. There are many gluten free products out today in the supermarkets and health food stores and might be worth a try. Also, maybe you can give probiotics daily? That might sooth the stomach.

Dolly Welsh

Tue, Aug 16 2011, 9:16 pm

Acidophilus is a good probiotic. It is what makes yogurt, but without the milk. It is a tablet, ordered from Kosher Vitamins Dot Com. You could crush the tablet to powder, and then mix it into a spoonful of pasteurized, not raw, honey. All honey is pasteurized these days.

In general, nobody should put on nailpolish around her, or use too many spray products, or flea collars on pets, stuff like that. No feather beddings, I would say. Air her room very well. I would not use coconut oil; stay with simple oils like olive and peanut. If she can eat margarine, give lots and lots of it, on bread.

cranberry

Wed, Aug 17 2011, 2:47 pm

Okay. So she likes chumus and baby carrots, and we already bought that for her. I'm serving rice with dinner tonight, and while she used to love it, for the last few years she won't touch it. I have hopes for tonight, though.

We did have her tested for celiac right after Pesach. The blood test came back negative. I've heard that it's not reliable, and you need to do a colonoscopy to really know, but that seems a bit extreme right now.

As far as margarine, I don't have any and I will not buy it. Ever.

Coconut oil is actually a very healthy oil. So unless I discover that she's intolerant to coconut, which I don't think is the case, I'm going to keep using it. I feel that it will help her feel better, since it helps fights infections and is full of lauric acid.

cranberry

Wed, Aug 17 2011, 2:50 pm

So far so good today. She had scrambled eggs for breakfast, hard boiled eggs and fruit for lunch (we were out, so very limited), and for dinner we're having chicken cutlets with garlic, rice and veggies. A little bland, but for three days we'll get though.

She also had a bunch of fruit for snacks, and I bought her some Newman's Own cookies at the grocery store that didn't have anything in it that she can't eat.

One day almost down, and only two more to go. Unless the preservatives really are the problem, but at least then we'll know.

cranberry

Thu, Aug 18 2011, 2:23 pm

Today she didn't eat too much, but there's food available if she wants it. Smile

She says that she feels good. No stomachache, no headache, no sore throat. Very Happy

She did say that when she first woke up this morning she didn't feel well, as usual, but it was only for a few minutes. She's ready to stop now and say, okay, it's preservatives, but I want her to wait until tomorrow to see how she feels in the morning. I would be thrilled if she even wakes up feeling great.

Now I just have to figure out what to give her tomorrow. When someone pointed out soy, I realized she probably does have soy in like graham crackers and stuff. I want to make sure that whatever she has tomorrow has either soy or preservatives, but not both.

I feel bad having her eat something that's probably going to make her feel sick, but she shouldn't have to stay off of food that doesn't bother her. So we have to figure out if it's soy or preservatives, and if preserv, which ones or all of them.

At least if she's starting off feeling good, it should be easier to pinpoint the problem foods.