Onward...with patience.

Onion has been removed from Ellie's broth for about 4 days now, and we are seeing quick recovery. Her eczema is clearing and she seems to be moving back into the realm of more normal poo. Hooray! But once again we are in the place of 'now what'.

She finally had her feeding evaluation which has given us a few ideas of how to work on getting her to swallow, and so we have focused on getting her at the table with a bowl of water and a spoon, or meatballs, or puree, or zucchini of some nature, in hopes of moving more towards a 'full belly' feeling. She licks food, or feeds me. And says 'mmmmm'. Or pretends to chew. Or eats rocks and paper.

We have worked hard at making the food in the house 'safe' for her. Even though she can not eat it, we are focused on removing things that would actually hurt her (like corn or soy). That way we can spend less time screaming 'stop don't touch that' and more time letting her explore. Luckily we almost always have some sort of meat on the table that she can chew on without worry. Except for chicken, which should be ready for butcher the end of July.

So overall we are moving forward. I suppose. Patience has never been my gifting, and this waiting-for-healing-thing is certainly difficult. (can you hear it in my tone?) Or perhaps it is just this up-twice-a-night-every-night-for-two-years-thing that is wearing me down. Or maybe it was the full vomit reaction she had this weekend after attending a birthday party where she was inadvertently included in a cloud of aerosol sunscreen that was not intended for her, reminding me of how sick she really is. Or.....

I am going to choose to blame it on the fact that it is gloomy and raining on one of these last days of June. And remind myself of this all too familiar scene, which makes me laugh every time. Those people who wake up whistling? They drive me nuts.

The Sun: More Than Your Average Ball of Fire

After taking a look at Ellie's Vitamin A levels, I took a look at her Vitamin D. Another mom quickly reminded me that I was forgetting about the sun. Oh, yeah! What happened to all of those articles saying that Vitamin D comes from the sun? Why the focus on getting Ellie into eggs?

Yes, the best resource for Vitamin D is the sun. Hands down, it is the easiest way for our bodies to make it when the rays hit the cholesterol in our skin. There is a lot of controversy about skin cancer, and sun, and sun screen, and tanning. Honestly I do not have the time right now to research it all or try to get to the bottom of something funded so obviously by big business. It will have to go on the 'when I get to it' list. What I do know is this:

-God really had something in mind when he made the universe and even gave the stars and planets their jobs. A ball of fire in the sky that gives vitamins to our body? Now that is pretty amazing.

-Ellie needs lots of Vitamin A. Now that the rain is finally deciding to move past us, I will be forcing her to spend some time outside every day. It will be in small increments and then increase so that she can build up her gradual tan. Next winter, perhaps we will even learn from her older sister and take up dancing in the rain. Any sunlight counts!

-Ellie will not be using sunscreen (nor will her sister). There is not a 'safe' sunscreen on the market, and there is lots of disagreement over whether or not intake of vitamin A is restricted with sunscreen use. She will be wearing lots of hats, long sleeve shirts, and other coverage if needed. Does this make me nervous? Absolutely! My brain is about to explode from all of the change in our family. But at least I no longer have to devote so much to searching for a sunscreen that is 'natural'.

-Ellie has a toxic body. It is full of proteins that have leaked past her protective intestinal barrier, and is full of what which she inherited from me (another post entirely). These toxins and intestinal issues make her need for Vitamin A great, which is why the food supplements are so incredibly important for her.

So on to egg. Here we go, hoping for a pass!