Random Thoughts
1. I saw my first lunar eclipse the other night!
2. I’ve been doing a lot of studying about celiac disease. We were concerned that our youngest child had it because he isn’t gaining weight. Celiac means that gluten (found in wheat, rye, barley and contaminated oats) attacks the small intestine, causing a number of different problems. One of the problems is that the body is unable to absorb nutrients. We thought this could explain our baby’s lack of growth. Blood work showed he had antibodies and the gene for celiac. But I could tell the doctor (pediatric GI specialist) wasn’t too convinced of it. However, she said we needed to find out for sure because those with celiac disease have to be completely gluten-free for the rest of their lives! We took our little guy to Children’s Hospital to have an upper endoscopy which required full anesthesia. She took biopsies of his esophagus, stomach and small intestine. The whole procedure took about 7 minutes, and he was only "out" for about 30 minutes. It’s so amazing what they can do today! We are so thankful that the results showed no evidence of celiac disease. However, we still have to figure out why he’s not growing. He has very little appetite and so much energy. I think he simply doesn’t eat enough and burns off everything he does eat.
3. We are expecting our sixth baby! This will be the longest in-between babies yet. All our others are 16-18 months apart. But this one will 23 months apart. I’ve been so sick and exhausted–which explains the lack of blogging much lately. I’m about to enter the 2nd trimester and am hoping to feel better soon!
hope you can get some answers on your son. My Miss Dog Lover sees a biomed doc at a local Children's hospital and he has been great for her… no celiac but too much gluten is a problem, so he is doing things to promote gut healing. Hope you can find the right doc.
And RYC, your idea about cooking the cranberries sounds good. I just use a can of whole berry sauce but I think your way would be even better. Here is my favorite fresh berry recipe at the moment:
Apple-Cranberry Crisp
6 c. apples, cored, peeled and sliced
3 c. cranberries
1 c. sugar
2 t. cinnamon
1 to 2 t. lemon juice
3/4 c. butter, sliced and divided
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. brown sugar, packed
Garnish: vanilla ice cream
Toss together apple slices, cranberries, sugar and cinnamon. Spread in a buttered 13"x9" baking pan. Sprinkle with lemon juice and dot with 1/4 cup butter. Blend remaining butter with flour and brown sugar until crumbly; sprinkle over apple mixture. Bake for one hour at 350 degrees. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Serves 10 to 12.
I am actually jealous that you still have cranberries: I looked for some last weekend and the store told me check back next fall. Ack. Next year I will freeze a bunch.
Congratulations, what a blessing!
Hi I was doing a search on lapbooks of all things and came upon your blog. I saw your info about this celiac disease and am a bit concerned. My 10 month old son(#4) has not been gaining much weight. He has not quite gained three pounds since he was 4 months old. He weighs 16 pounds so he is gaining some. My pediatrician has set up an appointment with a nutritionist so it has me worried! I will pray that you will recieve some answers for your son.