Our First Road Trip

Week 7 and counting, and we're all here and surviving. Hank had his 6 week check-up last week and -- drum roll, please -- now weighs in at a whopping 15 lbs, 6.5 oz. That would be off the charts fat. Literally. He's also 21.5 inches -- 50th precentile -- with a rather large head -- between 75th and 90th percentile. I think we're going to have to move him up to Size 3 diapers already!


A little, well not *bad* news, but not great. Our pediatrician suspects that Hank has a milk allergy. This is actually an allergy to cow's milk protein, not actual milk, and is different than lactose intolerence. There have been a lot of signs of this since his birth -- constant stuffiness, diaper rash, gassiness, and trouble pooping -- but the biggest indicator was some blood found in his poop. (Sorry for TMI.) The solution is for me to cut all dairy from my diet. That means no milk, yogurt, cheese, cream, etc. And you'd be surprised at what foods hide dairy ingredients -- I have yet to find a loaf of bread or some deli meat that doesn't have some form of milk in it (yet, strangely, Oreos do NOT have any dairy). Let me just take a moment here: Oh, how I miss you, cheese. And my graham crackers just aren't the same without you, milk.


However, the majority of babies that have this milk allergy outgrow it within a year or two. And I've talked to a lot of moms who were able to add dairy products back in their diets when the baby was 6-7 months old. I'm holding out hope that will be the case for us, too. But all for the greater good, right?


The biggest event of the past week was our big road trip to Arkansas -- Gramme, Milo, Hank and I hit the trails to Little Rock and Aunt Barbie's house. (Thanks again Barbie!) It was fabulous seeing so much of our family (thanks again for making the trip!) -- even if I did manage to lose every.single. game of Hand & Foot that we played. Milo had a blast playing with his cousins, and both kids travelled amazingly well. I'll post pics separately since we have so many. Enjoy!