The Longest Birthday Celebration Ever

Big O turned five in September. I spent a lot of time contemplating how to celebrate his big day. When he turned two, we had a party with a handful of friends at Travel Town. For his third and fourth birthdays, we celebrated with friends in our local park. Each year seemed to see the parties expand in size and complexity.

This year, Grandma was going to be in town for Big O's birthday, so I had arrived at a decision to celebrate his birthday with a family excursion to Lego Land, followed by a small gathering for cupcakes and gifts. Just when I'd felt comfortable that this would be a nice, albeit simple (i.e., no large party with tons of children to feed and entertain), way to commemorate his turning five, our neighbor (an invitee to the small cupcake get together) asked Big O what he wanted for his birthday. Big O began talking, clearly not realizing that said neighbor was asking him what kind of gift he wanted. He described bounce houses (two - one smaller one for the little kids, and one bigger one for himself and his pals), bubbles, balloons, etc.

This was about one week before the Lego Land and cupcake gathering were scheduled to occur and my heart was breaking. I realized that I had made a rather selfish decision to save myself the trouble of having to live up the the past years' kid parties and instead of planning a smaller, less complicated kid party, I found an easier way out. After talking it over with the Professor, we decided to take a new easy way out and pay for someone else to do most of the party. I rushed to call The Little Gym and scheduled a mid-afternoon party with them. The timing was perfect - 2:30p.m. to 4:00p.m. The staff entertain the kids for an hour and feed them snacks and cupcakes for me. I supply the snack and cupcakes. A fruit platter, homemade gluten-free, casein-free, egg-free, soy-free chocolate chip muffins with homemade chocolate frosting, compostable plates, napkins and party hats, and I'm done.

And so, the celebrating began one Friday at Lego Land.

Great place!! We loved it and cannot wait to go back. Lego Land even had food we could eat - fresh fruits, Lara Bars, bunless burger and fries.

On that note, I have to say I was very impressed when I saw a sign on the burger kiosk mentioning that gluten-free buns were available. Of course, their GF buns had egg and casein in them, but still, it was impressive to see that so readily displayed. And I can say I've never been more impressed with a food service employee's response to my grand inquisition - he showed me ingredient labels (took bags and boxes right out of the freezer and let me read the label myself) and then offered to call the head chef to confirm. He remembered all four - gluten, dairy, soy, and egg - without even blinking an eye. I've been in rather fancy restaurants with seemingly caring, sincere, well-paid and well-tipped servers who have not been so thorough or concerned with confirming food ingredients. Now, if only Lego Land offered grass-fed, free-range beef burgers and organic fries with sea salt, I'd really be thrilled!

Two days after Lego Land, it was Big O's actual birthday. With Grandma still here, we spent the morning visiting with my cousin and his girlfriend who live nearby. Then, Big O had his first AYSO soccer game. After soccer, our neighbors across the street came over for sweet potato cupcakes with caramel frosting and to shower Big O with gifts, games, and love.

One of Big O's favorite activities is miniature golf, followed of course, by playing arcade games, collecting tickets and winning "prizes" (mostly of the likes of these). Grandma was up for a day of golf and games the day after Big O's birthday, so off we went for another round of birthday celebrating.

Because we were so late in deciding to do a party, we had to opt for our party at The Little Gym to occur the weekend after Big O's actual birthday - weekend number two of Big O's birthday fun.

One of my cousins and his wife live in Escondido and couldn't make it up the previous weekend but wanted to wish Big O a happy birthday as well. So, on Sunday after Big O's second soccer "game" we had yet another birthday celebration with them.

It's funny how what I'd planned to be the simplest birthday celebration for a five year old turned out to be nearly two weeks of birthday fun. It was actually all pretty easy, though. And so very worth it when, after all was said and done, the Professor and I asked Big O what part of his birthday celebration he liked best and he said "All of it!"

Mondays, migraines, and mercury

The past two weeks have been a bit quiet here at The Science Mom and you may have noticed that I've missed two of the proposed regular weekly posts - originally the "Sunday Surprise," later the "Monday Surprise." I wish I could say we've been at the beach the last few weeks, but the truth is that the last two Mondays were not so great for me - migraine the Monday before last and something strange going on this past Monday.

The migraine last Monday was surely brought on by a night of mostly-care free dining.  Friends wanted to take us to dinner to celebrate that the Professor is now a tenured member of the faculty (yay!).  I decided to only worry about gluten, keep it simple (ha ha), and try to enjoy the evening out.  

I truly did enjoy the evening out.  The food was fabulous - a yummy tomato/basil/mozzarella salad, a tasty filet with casein- and egg-laden accompaniments, fine wine, and good company.  It truly was wonderful to be out with good friends and enjoy a meal without thoroughly grilling the server and/or chef. I give lots of kudos to our server and the chef that night for seeming to be quite well-versed in all things gluten.  I don't think I'll "let loose" like that again any time soon on account of the repercussions I experienced, but it was a lovely evening.

I could go on and on with my theories of what in the world was going on this recent Monday.  I first thought I was still getting over the migraine and having a little added fatigue from Little O's late night/early morning wakings twice this weekend.  I was fatigued.  Very sensitive to light. Having a hard time keeping a train of thought going.  

I started to think maybe it was viral as it felt as though a cold sore was coming on.  (Interesting observation:  the other times I've had a casein "infraction" in the past year or so, one of the repercussions has been getting a cold-sore - as though it taxes my immune system in a way that allows the virus to emerge again.)

Taking some lysine and Olive Leaf Extract seemed to be helping, so I'm thinking the latter hypothesis is a more reasonable candidate.

I can say that I don't even have to look at the clock to know when I need to take my next dose, I start feeling badly - tired, brain fog, grumpy - and the tingling of the emerging cold sore comes back.  I can't thank the parents at the various autism/bio-med Yahoo! groups enough.  

The Os are not on the autistic spectrum, but some of Big O's digestive issues and our mercury issues have led me to these groups and those parents are brave, smart, and caring.  They openly and generously share their personal experiences (both positive and not so positive) with the various biomedical and natural remedies out there.  Without their collective help, I would never have thought to look to Olive Leaf Extract and Lysine for helping my body beat down a virus. Shoot, I'd have never even agreed to try these things without seeing such extensive anecdotal evidence produced by these families.  Thankfully, here I am, trying it out, and experiencing results!

But, there's this other pesky little thing lingering in my head - quite literally in fact - mercury.  It's in my mouth - lots of it.  It's in my body according to a urine porphyrins test.  It's in at least Big O's body (also determined via urine porphyrins testing) and I'm fairly sure if we tested Little O we'd see his body has some, too.  

It makes me sad, angry, frustrated, worried.  The Professor and I want to have more children, but there's part of me that just cannot enter another pregnancy with so much mercury in my body.  Thankfully, the Os are truly amazingly healthy and happy little boys. They are intelligent, kind, rambunctious, energetic, adorable, handsome, special people.  They are. I know this and am grateful.

But, there are little things that I am certain can at least, in part, be blamed on the mercury.  It's nearly impossible for me to articulate and every time I consider trying, I realize how trivial most parents would think my concerns to be.  I realize this.  I do.  But I also know there are things mercury is doing to their (and my) bodies that are less than ideal.  It's that whole mother's intuition tainted by science thing again...

The thing is, I am on the cusp of having the opportunity to have my amalgams removed finally and to begin chelating myself, and hopefully at least Big O.  It's an expensive endeavor - both in terms of money and in terms of health.  (It is truly unfortunate that children are still burdened with these mercury laden dental fillings.)  It should, and I believe will, ultimately result in better health.  But, it can be a tough road.  

I have this constant battle in my head about the next baby.  The Professor points to our two perfect little boys and wonders why I am concerned about having another before removing amalgams and chelating.  Sometimes I wonder, too.  But, the bottom line is that in my heart and way down deep, I know I know too much now.  No, we aren't getting any younger and I realize that as I push closer to 40 before having another baby our risk of issues like Down's syndrome and other chromosomal conditions increases.  But, I also want to be happy about being pregnant.  Enjoy it. Savor it.  I want to enjoy breastfeeding again.  Relish in providing my baby with the most natural, healthy nourishment intended just for her (yes, of course I'd love to add a girl to our brood!).  But, as long as there is mercury running rampant in my body,  I will have an underlying degree of guilt and concern throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding. 

Aside from that, mercury toxicity can manifest in many ways and can take a slow toll over time.  Who knows how my health might be in two or three years?  If I got pregnant this month, I would not be able to have my amalgams removed and chelate until I'm finished breastfeeding.  That could be at least two, probably three or more years.  By then, maybe my health would really decline, who knows?

I think I'm at peace with taking a year off from trying to have another baby to get myself to at least a lighter mercury load.  I'll be 38 this year in November.  If I get amalgams out and chelation under way by, say, June, I might be in position to work on getting pregnant again by next June or July.  Yes, our chances of certain complications will increase over the next year.  But I still think the benefits of removing the mercury from my body before getting pregnant again outweigh the risks of not getting the mercury out before getting pregnant again.

Perhaps the weekly "surprise" post will now evolve into the random update on our mercury eradication process. . . .  

Sunday (well, Monday) Surprise, #3

Once again, I’m late.  This time, really late!  Perhaps I should change weekly “surprise” entry to Monday, maybe even Tuesday, Surprise?  I’ll do better next Sunday, I will.  Really. . .

So, recently I’ve been trying to track down the sneaky source of gluten, or one of our other allergens, that has sent Little O in to a downward spiral of dermatitis of some kind and a few other of his “glutened” symptoms. 

We have eaten out more than usual in the last two or three weeks, enhancing our chances of exposure to one of our problematic foods, And, I have to admit, there is something I often let myself overlook, for the convenience of getting to eat out, despite knowing better. 

The oil used in deep fryers at restaurants is rarely gluten free.  That means that items like fries and corn tortilla chips, which one thinks ought to be gluten free, may in fact be cross-contaminated by having co-mingled in oil that has flirted with gluten, too.  (Also note, fries are sometimes coated or seasoned, which can introduce gluten aside from what might be in the frying oil.)

Honestly, when we first went gluten free, I did not believe (or, perhaps more correctly, did not want to believe) that something so seemingly minor as frying in the same oil as a gluten-containing food could cause enough “cross-contamination” to bother a gluten-intolerant person.  I’d read about it in various discussion forums on the internet.  I just didn’t (want to) believe it would pertain to me or my family.  I thought people were being overly dramatic somehow or parents were just misinterpreting their children’s reactions.  Really, how could some remnants of high temperature deep fat fried food really cause a problem for my gluten-free items fried in the same oil?

Yet, I can still vividly recall the day I realized that “glutened” deep fryer oil did, in fact, result in problems for us.  We had added gluten-free to our list of eliminated foods in January 2008.  In April of that year, we embarked on our first camping trip with the boys.  

On the way to the campground, we stopped in at a Jack In The Box restaurant (no, I’m not proud of that) and the boys and I ordered fries to go with our home made sandwiches and the fruit we brought with us.  At this point in our lives, I would have been perfectly happy to not have ordered anything for the boys and myself, but we were still transitioning and for Big O, having some fries seemed like such a big treat that it was nice to indulge him once in a while. 

Well, the first night camping, Little O was a complete wreck.  One might say that he was having a hard time sleeping because of the new surroundings, sleeping in a tent for the first time, the cold dampness at night, etc.  However, my intuition knew better.  This kid is so easy going and adapts to any new environment with ease, especially if Big O and I are there with him. No, I knew there was something going on internally, in his GI tract.  Backing up my intuition were the facts that 1) Big O did not have a bowel movement the whole camping trip and was experiencing his “urgent” pee incidents and accidents, and 2) I was a bit more tired and irritable than usual.

What I can say is that this was a turning point for us.  I stopped trusting any fried restaurant food, and until recently the boys and I have not had any fried restaurant food except for the occasional order of fries from In-N-Out burger because I know the only thing that goes in their fryers are potatoes.

And, don’t get me wrong.  This is not a complaint.  I have no desire to eat typical ‘fast food’ ever again.  It’s not food by any stretch of the imagination. I do long for a convenient way to get whole, real, nourishing foods in a quick and affordable way, but I do not desire to eat typical American fast food ever again.  In fact, there are not many affordable, family-friendly restaurants that I like to eat food at anymore really.  In our society and culture, it is hard to avoid the convenience of eating out and with young children, dietary restrictions, and a tight budget, our choices for eating out are limited (until I open my restaurant, that is…. some day…). 

Oh, there I go digressing again…

A long story made short – today’s Sunday Monday Surprise is that fried foods can elicit gluten reactions.  I'm guessing all the corn tortilla chips and crispy tacos at the Mexican restaurant we've eaten at several times this past month may have sparked Little O's rash and all of our irritability and, shall we say, slower GI tracts.

Of course, many a fried food is dredged in flour, batter, and/or coated before frying – that’s generally an overt gluten clue.  What I’m talking about is foods that would otherwise not be considered to contain gluten, such as corn tortilla chips or potato fries, which are fried in oil that has been used to fry gluten-flour dredged/battered/coated foods. 

Some restaurants claim their fries to be gluten free (as many fast food restaurants do) and some will say that the fries are gluten-free but that the oil is shared with gluten-containing foods. I think it is safe to assume that any restaurant fryer used for both gluten-containing foods and “gluten-free” foods, such that no fried restaurant food is truly “safe” for a gluten-intolerant unless the restaurant can confirm they use a dedicated gluten-free fryer. 

Guess the boys and I will stick to our occasional indulgence in the fries from In-N-Out.  But I’ll continue to bring our own bun-free burgers and fermented organic catsup. Now, if only they’d start using organic potatoes and expeller-pressed oil. . .

Sunday Surprise

It’s a little late, but it’s still Sunday! So here it is – the first “Sunday Surprise” at The Science Mom.

When I first began an elimination diet while breastfeeding Big O, I was entirely unaware of the many secret sources of certain food allergens. (A bit more on that story here.) I remember thinking I’d miss having cream in my coffee – but wait! There’s that powdered non-dairy creamer stuff – I’ll just use that. Then I thought a little more about it. Hmmm, just what the heck is in non-dairy creamer if it is not made from milk or cream? To my surprise, a quick scan of the non-dairy creamer label revealed that, in addition to many ingredients I’d rather not ingest, it indeed had casein, a milk protein, in it.

It was infuriating to think that something could be labeled “non-dairy” if it actually has a milk protein in it! As I began to scrutinize other ingredient labels, I realized there were a lot of unexpected and, sometimes hidden, sources of food allergens.

I’m starting a “Sunday Surprise” entry here each week. I will post information about surprising sources of food allergens – like gluten, milk/casein, egg, soy, corn, etc. I will probably never be able to detail all the hidden food allergens in foods, drugs, and supplements, but, I hope that by sharing a little each week in the Sunday Surprise, others might avoid an unexpected set back due to accidental food allergen exposure.

This week’s “Sunday Surprise” is (drum roll please. . .) soy sauce.

Of course, it is not surprising soy sauce contains soy (which is a problematic food for some of us). But did you know that soy sauce generally contains wheat, and therefore, gluten? Most experienced gluten-free dieters are aware of this. Personally, I was very surprised to learn that soy sauce typically contains wheat/gluten. Wheat-free soy sauce is available (e.g., tamari), but labels must be carefully read to ensure you’re getting a wheat/gluten-free soy sauce. The ingredient list on snack foods that may contain soy sauce (e.g., some versions of rice crackers and Asian-style rice snacks) need to be carefully scrutinized as well.

Another surprise about soy sauce is that it is used in unexpected ways in restaurant cooking - and I’m not talking about just at Asian food restaurants. When we eat out, I ask questions, make special requests, and ask more questions. I research on-line menus and ingredient statements. Of course, looking at a restaurant’s ingredient statements will likely cause anyone to think twice about ingesting the “food” at some establishments – fast food and chain establishments having some of the most, shall we say,  frightening interesting ingredient statements (see, e.g., my first TSM blog entry).  

Back to soy sauce. In my experience, I have found that we can often find foods that meet our requirements at Mexican food restaurants. However, I have also found that soy sauce is used a lot in Mexican food restaurants. Many Mexican food restaurants I’ve been to in Southern California do use soy sauce in their meat marinades – for fajitas, carne asada, etc. You must, of course, ask the right questions to find this out – asking simply about gluten or wheat will not necessarily reveal soy sauce. A lot of people (like myself pre-gluten-free) do not realize soy sauce has gluten in it. For us, we are avoiding soy, too, which is how I’ve come across so much soy sauce usage in Mexican food restaurants.

Really, any restaurant food that is marinated might contain soy sauce in the marinade and it is well worth it to ask about the specific ingredients of the marinade. Even non-marinated items, like a hamburger patty, can contain soy sauce. It’s been surprising learning about restaurant food ingredients – surprising indeed.

So there you have it – the first Sunday Surprise at The Science Mom!