We recently spent 5 days at Disney World, our first stay there since Zen’s diagnosis. That meant a lot of meals away from home at a wide variety of restaurants. Disney World’s restaurants have a reputation of being great for allergy sufferers. We found the experience to be pretty good but the ultimate quality varied by restaurant.
Quick Service Allergy Menu
Quick Service restaurants have an allergen menu available by request but you are still encouraged to order separately so they can substitute ingredients if needed and make sure to avoid cross contact.
Regardless of restaurant type (quick service, casual dining, buffet, or deluxe dining) once they are aware of an allergy a Chef came to speak to us about Zen’s specific allergies and what he felt like eating. After the allergy has been reported at one reservation or hostess stand, it’s entered in our file and it follows us to other restaurants so we only had to speak up at quick service counters. This was convenient because our server was given a paper with a red allergy stamp (like the picture at the top of this post) to be made aware of the situation before we were even seated so there was no wait to speak to a chef.
After speaking to us the chef would then either verify that the item that Zen wanted was allergen free or try to make it so. His food was cooked in a separate area to avoid cross contact and was brought separately from the rest of the food so the plates won’t even touch, this didn’t affect our experience at most restaurants but it did lead to longer waits for food at the quick service restaurant at our resort. At a buffet the chef cooked everything for him from scratch because he didn’t trust anything that was on the buffet line.
Separate order pad used by Chef for allergy orders
Some chefs were more knowledgeable and friendly than others and I found that the more expensive the restaurant didn’t necessarily meant better allergy service.
I could tell that the chefs were not used to such a long list of allergies at once and that meant that the usual substitution on some items were not an option. For example, for a soy allergy they usually substituted the bun on a burger with the gluten free version but that was not an option for our son since that has rice flour and he is also allergic to rice. As a result my son age a LOT of mac n cheese because it was one of the few safe options available at most restaurants, thankfully he didn’t mind but I can imagine how boring that must be.
The one place were allergies were truly a problem was at the club level lounge at our resort. There is no chef on site at that area (with a minor exception for 2 hours of the day) and the staff wasn’t knowledgeable about ingredients in the foods offered at the different buffets during the day. So we had to play it safe on what we knew for sure was ok and didn’t take a chance with most foods. When there was nothing on the buffet that we felt comfortable trusting to be safe the staff was great about getting Zen a yogurt from the back so he could have something to snack on.
Overall, Disney is one of the best places to vacation with food allergies due to the extensive training and experience in handling these situations. This doesn’t not replace being vigilant, asking questions and bringing your own food when in doubt but overall it was a less stressful experience than we anticipated and I was glad that I never once had to touch our Epipen.
We had our very first camping trip with kids, it took us long enough considering that my husband and I met while camping and even our handfasting/wedding was a camping festival. The last time we camped I was heavily pregnant with my first but then car seats took over the backseat and we had the logistical challenge of how to fit gear and kids in the car.
We finally overcame that challenge and had a weekend trip to a festival and aside from some mishaps such as our tent frame breaking during setup and having to rig things with duct tape, bungee cords and rope to avoid a 30 minute drive to civilization for a new tent it was a relative success.
The boys had fun and while it was a completely different experience for me, I enjoyed seeing them play in nature, dancing around the fire at drum circle and being kids.
Some things that I learned about camping with kids:
don’t use the old pre-kids packing list or you’ll end up driving 45 minutes to the closest store because you didn’t pack underwear for your 4 year old.
If your car can’t fit a kiddie pool, make sure that your kids tolerate showers or at the very least like to get wet with a hose. That was quite the loud scene for the whole encampment to enjoy after the kids had a tad too much fun playing with dirt.
Two tubes of bubbles from the dollar store that look like lightsabers will provide endless hours of entertainment even after all of the bubble juice is gone and will keep the kids from playing with the dirt and requiring a very loud screaming filled shower.
So aside from needing a new tent and having to train the boys to not act like a shower is medieval torture, I would go camping again.
Have you gone camping with kids? Any tips to share?
This week we are planning on setting out on our first family road trips. And by road trip I mean a 19 hour/ 2 day drive each way. The longest we’ve gone with kids before is just under 4 hours so to say that I am nervous is an understatement.
I know that many people have had cross country trips with story and lived to tell the tale but that doesn’t make me feel much better. Specially when I ask for the wisdom of parents that have done it before and their advise usually includes a DVD Player and an iPad and we have none of those options available. Plus with Zen still rear facing I don’t think that a DVD player would be such a great option anyway.
I have to work with what I have so I hope that a bunch of books, crayons, paper, snacks and a cookie tray with magnetic letters will be enough to save our sanity in between stops. I am also planning on packing balls for playing and running in those grassy fields in the rest tops (weather permitting) in hopes of burning off accumulated energy.
I am off to my Excel packing list and pray that I can get through packing without having to take a hit of Rescue Remedy…
Have you gone on a long road trips with toddlers? What survival tips do you have to share?
This post is double the length of my average post because I’ve been running late on getting it finished. I am tentatively changing the title of the blog and will no longer using week counter so I don’t have to worry about skipping weeks. Don’t know if the title will stick, we’ll see…
It is my intent to continue updating at least weekly but life may happen.
This has been and interesting week and some change.
We got our first Fox family Yule tree, never thought that I would get excited about the little things until becoming a mother, lol
I like the fact that even though Shammy lost most of his hair he didn’t fully lose his fiercehawk, the shedding is starting to slow down and new hair is starting to grow so he never quite reached the bald stage. In the meantime, I’ve had to adjust the rise in his one size cloth diapers to the medium setting, yay!
Shammy is the only baby that I’ve seen manage to be cute while doing something completely gross. He spit up milk on his bib and as I was approaching to clean it up he picked up the bib, brought it to his mouth and suck it all up with a yum expression on his face. I was laughing at the same time that I was saying “ewww!”, this baby doesn’t believe in waste.
On other amusing news, I decided to line dry the cloth diapers outside even though we were under a freeze watch due to a cold front. Imagine waking up in the morning to find frozen cloth diapers. I would have taken a picture but you really couldn’t tell. The covers were fine because the dried before the temperature drop but the inserts were as stiff as cardboard, it was too funny. Thankfully I didn’t have an urgent need so I was able to let them thaw and dry without resorting to the dryer.
A benefit of having pumped milk in the fridge is that when it look like Shammy was getting congested either from the weather or from the cold I was fighting I squirted a couple drops of breastmilk up his nose, he gave me a “what the hell?!” look, sneezed and all was cleared. Way better than being unable to sleep worrying about your congested baby being able to sleep, I also use it for rashes and dry skin itch. I swear breastmilk has outranked WD-40 and duct tape as most versatile fix it all lol.
Last week I attended my first paranormal investigation since I relocated to the Treasure Coast. This involved me missing Shammy’s bedtime and being gone for most of the night. My initial plan was to pack the breast pump and pump in the car like I did at Halloween Horror Nights but I misplaced the battery pack so instead I packed a manual breast pump, not the same!
I didn’t have much chance to pump and the manual pump is a pain in the rear so I was only able to express enough to give me some relief until I got home. When I finally arrived home exhausted I was so engorged that I had to pump immediately, I pumped 13 ounces in one session and my breasts still felt full, wow.
So I haven’t had doubts about my milk supply but this output gives visual confirmation on how much I can produce in just a few hours.
Shammy and I had a horrible Doctors appointment for his 4 month checkup. I don’t have private insurance so we couldn’t go to Dr. Punger without paying out of pocket which is not feasible since I’m not back in the workforce.
I made an appointment with the doctor that took care of Shammy when he was born since he took Medicaid and I at least had a notion about how he worked. BAD IDEA!
He’s completely different outside of the hospital. He’s a vaccination nazi and refuses to continue seeing Shammy if he’s not up to date on his shots. He is against delaying vaccinations yet the doomsday scenario that he used to try to scare me into a bunch of needles right then and there is for a vaccine that hasn’t been in the CDC’s vaccine recommendations for years and back when it was the shot wasn’t administered until 2 years old. wtf?
He also bashed the WIC program and gave advice against AAP recommendations and is against home made baby food, and the list goes on.
I can deal with a closed minded old fashioned doctor that doesn’t keep up with changes in medical science, what I can not deal with is a doctor that comes in, tells you what to do and walks out without giving the opportunity to ask any questions. I miss Dr. Punger so bad! She knows that I always have a list of questions so she covers those first before she even examines Shammy. She would spend 30 mins with us compared to Dr. Old Fashioned’s 3 mins.
Screw him, I can get the immunizations for free at the health department and I downloaded the CDC’s vaccine scheduler and things have worked out so beautifully that the catch-up schedule recommended by the CDC matches what we had decided to do.
Shammy is above the 90 percentile for head circumference and it’s not empty space, I was thrilled to see him apply his problem solving skills when he wanted a toy that was hooked to a bar on his gym. He tugged on it once, saw that it didn’t budge so he turned it around to see how it was attached, traced the hook with his other hand to figure out how it works and unhooked it in less than a minute. Yet he still forgets how to move the bib when it accidentally covers his face, lol.
the toy that he unhooked
I was fully set on following the AAP and WHO recommendations to breastfeed exclusively for 6 months but after much deliberation we have decided to slowly start introducing solids at just under 5 months or whenever we finally get a high chair, lol.
Shammy has been developmentally ready for solids for over a month now and his interest in food is so strong that I feel bad eating in front of him because he looks at me with puppy eyes begging for scraps. The plan is to start with organic whole grain brown rice cereal, 1 tablespoon mixed with breastmilk and gradually build from there depending on how he likes it. Then we’ll introduce vegetables once I get a Magic Bullet or food processor to puree the food.
I’m a strong supporter of Dr. Greene’s White Out movement and that is why I’m using brown rice cereal instead of the usual white. They are empty calories and that is not the best taste to get used to first. I credit this with my life long fixation with white flour products which are not the best, I wish I liked whole grains more but I simply don’t. White bread, etc are comfort food for me. This is also why I am starting vegetables first, I want Shammy to enjoy veggies before starting fruits. I had been introduced to fruits first so I rejected vegetables and had to literally teach myself to like veggies as an adult and there’s still many kinds that I don’t eat. All I want is for healthy eating to come more naturally for him.
Daddy thinks that Shammy is so interested in foods already that he’ll get hooked on solids and wean himself quickly. I hope not but I do believe in child led weaning so I don’t plan to shove my nipple down his throat.
I’m proud to report that the CBS reported that accepted the 30 day cloth diaper challenge with her baby is a convert!
I have used most of the types of diapers in this video.
In news that make me want to bang my head against a wall. Similac has decided that they don’t make enough millions on baby formula and now are marketing a formula for pregnant and breastfeeding moms. Gotta make money out of breastfeeding too I guess. This would be awesome in developing countries where nutrition is a challenge but I find no place for it in America where a healthy diet is easily available and products like these promote further junk food consumption knowing that baby is getting all the vitamins from the plastic bottle.
because there is still more money to be made...
Most of the time I feel like the only mom that is able to successfully breastfeed exclusively beyond a couple of weeks. If it wasn’t for the internet and La Leche League I may not have. People need to understand that even though breastfeeding is natural it doesn’t always come naturally or easy.
It wasn’t so easy for me at the beginning. I’m so glad (seriously… soooo glad!) that I kept at it and stuck it out. The reward has been enormous. I remember one time during the beginning where I had nipple pain and was thinking of ways on how to endure another nursing session. it got better. And better. And better. Now, I can’t wait for those moments to connect with my son.
My advice for new moms: Promise yourself you won’t quit in the middle of the night. Everything is better in the morning. And really, give yourself and your baby at least 4-6 weeks before you quit, if at all possible. Most of the kinks are worked out after 6 weeks and then it truly does become natural and second nature.
I keep hearing from about 10 different moms “I saw a bunch of lactation consultants” upon further probing, none were IBCLC and most were not even certified in anything breastfeeding related!
Check credentials! Look for IBCLC at the end of their name this stands for International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, this means that this person has gone through extensive training and practice in human lactation. When asking a doctor for breastfeeding advice look for FABM at the end of their name, this stands for a Fellow of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, and means that this physician has demonstrated advanced knowledge and skills in breastfeeding and lactation management (read between the lines: this doctor is not just giving “breast is best” lip service while handing out formula samples and undermining moms).
Like in every other field, there are some imposters. If your “lactation specialist” in the hospital is judgmental or dismissive, grabs your boob without permission, hands out nipple shields like candy, or otherwises raises your finely-tuned mom’s instinct antennae, call your La Leche League group, friendly doula/midwife, or local breastfeeding boutique for the name of a good one that can visit you in the hospital.
The most common excuse that I hear for moms quitting or supplementing (which ultimately leads to quitting in most cases) is “I couldn’t make enough milk”. Here’s the scoop:
4% of women can’t make enough milk
Most women I talk to who don’t breastfeed say that they didn’t have the supply needed to feed their child. I truly believe that is true, but the reason their supply was low was probably based on a bad latch, poor nutrition or bad milk supply management (all of which could be remedied with support, education and better birth policies at hospitals).
Let’s take a closer look:
– Nutrition:
Did you know that there are certain foods that can lower your milk supply? Sage and peppermint are known for decreasing milk supply. Love mint tea? take it easy when nursing.
Do you get enough water? When I struggled briefly establishing my supply at first I discovered that I wasn’t drinking enough water. I used to force myself to drink more water. I am now a water junkie. I now drink 5 to 6 16oz bottles of water everyday, minimum! I am on an almost pure water diet (in terms of beverage). Water is amazing. I truly believe it is what gives me my supply. DRINK WATER!
Trust me on this, it is way easier to drink a glass of water at home than have to go to the store to buy formula.
What do you eat during the day? Protein, calories and nutrition are important. What you eat goes into your breastmilk. If you’re not eating enough to properly care for your own body, your milk will suffer. I admit that my diet is not always the best but I do make an effort to add nutritional content for Shammy’s benefit.
– Hormones:
Did you go straight onto hormonal birth control? Did you know that it can decrease your milk supply? There are ways to be on birth control without compromising your supply. Plus if you breastfeed exclusively during the first 6 months the chances of becoming pregnant during that period are less than 3%, comparable to most birth control pills.
– Your baby’s latch:
Most LD Nurses and I hate to say it, Lactation Consultants aren’t very helpful when it comes to breastfeeding. That being said, some are great! If you get a good one, you will learn to properly get your baby to latch at the hospital. Some women leave the hospital with sore nipples, a starving baby and stress. I highly recommend all new mothers read as many breastfeeding books as possible before birth, talk to friends, mothers, sisters, aunts, etc. Once the baby is born, go to a breastfeeding support group, LLL meeting, have friends come over and pick up the phone. Breastfeeding is not always natural. I cried and cried while my nipples hurt. I used my first few weeks with baby to learn how to breastfeed. It took work, courage, late nights and lots of patience. By the end of 6 weeks, I was well on my way to success. Now at almost 5 months old, I’ll whip it out in public and nurse that baby…. though you’re not likely to see any boob, I’m pretty inconspicuous.
I leave you with some holiday cheer:
On the first day of Christmas
There stood before me,
A mother wanting to breastfeed!
On the second day of Christmas
There stood before me,
Two doula/midwives,
And a mother wanting to breastfeed!
On the third day of Christmas,
There stood before me,
Three support groups,
Two doula/midwives,
And a mother wanting to breastfeed!
On the fourth day of Christmas,
There stood before me,
Four (FABM) MDs,
Three support groups,
Two doula/midwives,
And a mother wanting to breastfeed!
On the fifth day of Christmas
There stood before me,
Five Baby-Friendly Hospitals,
Four (FABM) MDs,
Three support groups,
Two doula/midwives,
And a mother wanting to breastfeed!
On the sixth day of Christmas,
There stood before me,
Six great IBCLCs,
Five Baby-Friendly Hospitals,
Four (FABM) MDs,
Three support groups,
Two doula/midwives,
And a mother wanting to breastfeed!
On the seventh day of Christmas
There stood before me,
Seven partners protecting,
Six great IBCLCs,
Five Baby-Friendly Hospitals,
Four (FABM) MDs,
Three support groups,
Two doula/midwives,
And a mother wanting to breastfeed!
On the eighth day of Christmas
There stood before me,
Eight friends a-helping,
Seven partners protecting,
Six great IBCLCs,
Five Baby-Friendly Hospitals,
Four (FABM) MDs,
Three support groups,
Continued
Two doula/midwives,
And a mother wanting to breastfeed!
On the ninth day of Christmas
There stood before me,
Nine celebs a-nursing,
Eight friends a-helping,
Seven partners protecting,
Six great IBCLCs,
Five Baby-Friendly Hospitals,
Four (FABM) MDs,
Three support groups,
Two doula/midwives,
And a mother wanting to breastfeed!
On the tenth day of Christmas,
There stood before me,
Ten nursing nooks,
Nine celebs a-nursing,
Eight friends a-helping,
Seven partners protecting,
Six great IBCLCs,
Five Baby-Friendly Hospitals,
Four (FABM) MDs,
Three support groups,
Two doula/midwives,
And a mother wanting to breastfeed!
On the eleventh day of Christmas
There stood before me,
Eleven strangers cheering,
Ten nursing nooks,
Nine celebs a-nursing,
Eight friends a-helping,
Seven partners protecting,
Six great IBCLCs,
Five Baby-Friendly Hospitals,
Four FABM MDs,
Three support groups,
Two doula/midwives,
And a mother wanting to breastfeed!
On the twelfth day of Christmas,
There stood before me,
Twelve supportive employers,
Eleven strangers cheering,
Ten nursing nooks,
Nine celebs a-nursing,
Eight friends a-helping,
Seven partners protecting,
Six great IBCLCs,
Five Baby-Friendly Hospitals,
Four (FABM) MDs,
Three support groups,
Two doula/midwives,
And a mother wanting to breastfeed!
Dear Santa or Ceiling Cat (whomever reads this first):
I’ve been a very good mom this year. My baby Fox loves it when I wear him close but I can only do it indoors or when it’s cold.
The Baby K’Tan Breeze Carrier is the same style of sling that my baby already loves and would enable me to wear him anytime, anyplace including outdoors in the heat at fun places like the Farmer’s Market and Drum Circle without him sweating so much that he risks dehydration or worse, heat stroke.
the mesh provides cool breathability
I’ll be a very happy mom if Christmas comes early this year.
kthxbai,
Mommy Fox
Last week I went to Halloween Horror Nights with the hubby, this is the longest time that I’ve been away from Shammy and the longest physical distance between us. I did fairly well as long as I was distracted but I cried at all of the lines and really cried during the part with the cribs at the Orphanage haunted house, people must have thought that I was very scared. I was in such a rush to be done and out of there that I even skipped going on my favorite ride.
Since I was away for so long I brought the pump along with me and due to time constraints I brought the battery pack to pump in the car. I will say that pumping breast milk while in a moving vehicle is quite a sign of my commitment to breastfeeding and quite the labor of love. Specially when hubby kept forgetting to warn me about bumps. I got to do this twice that day, it was interesting to say the least and it would have made for a funny picture.
While away I had my first real drink since before I got pregnant, I had been good this whole time and I was away from Shammy long enough for it to be out of my system in time, I have a weakness for the bags of blood/ jello shots.
I’m glad that hubby drove on the way back because I would have had a major lead foot from being so anxious to hold my baby again.
Shammy is growing at an amazing speed, his latest costume size says that it fits up to 9 months and at just under 3 months is has barely outgrown it.
Super Shammy neutralizing crime with cuteness
On the EC front, I caught his first diaper free poop and I must say that it shoots out as such a projectile speed that he could get a job doing quality testing on hurricane shutters! I haven’t really stepped up my EC efforts, I mainly try to see if I get lucky when I give him a few minutes of diaper free time in between changes.
I have been able to manage things so that I only need to use 2-3 disposable diapers per day and the rest of the time he is in cloth. One pack of disposables now lasts 2 weeks. I now make sure that I use cloth overnight and in the morning and leave the disposables for the afternoon when his output is more moderate and this method ensures that he can wear the same outfit all day. Still dreaming of the day that I have enough cloth to not have to buy disposables anymore…
Last week I also applied for my dream job. As I have previously mentioned, I would love to become a Peer Breastfeeding Counselor for WIC. At the La Leche League meeting I asked a current counselor if there were any openings and she mentioned that one of them just resigned and there is an unlisted vacancy that they were not planning on posting. So I got her supervisor’s name and sent her a letter and application directly, I would be beyond thrilled if this pans out. Wish me luck!
On Saturday we took Shammy to his first Pumpkin Patch, you would think that he would have been all excited since he was dressed up for the occasion including pumpkin socks but instead he chose to sleep through the whole thing and no amount of handling woke him up during our stay, oh well.
I wish that he would sleep this deeply at home!
Shammy’s blessing ceremony is less than 2 weeks away and it also happens to be Shammy’s 3 month birthday, it will be short and sweet but look forward to being blessed with lovely weather in our backyard.
A $1,100 sling?! WTF! Given that the standard sling for that brand averages $500 I can assume that it wasn’t a typo. And here I am complaining when a carrier I like costs more than $100 (on the other hand, the carrier that I want is a measly $65, a bargain by comparison!)
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