Thursday, August 11, 2011

1 year wheatfree

So Audrey and I are celebrating our one year anniversary of being totally wheat free.  Which means it's been a year since Audrey was released from the hospital for a UTI.  While the doctor never said so (since she's a twit and doesn't believe in the food/body connection) I totally believe it was our eating wheat like it was going out of style for the two months prior that lead to the UTI. 

To be honest, I had been ignoring the signs of her allergy.  The broken out skin, the gas, the night fits, I had my head in the sand.  Thinking back now, I don't know why or how I could do that.  I was upset about the move and all I wanted to was feel normal to eat like a normal person.  So I did.  So we did.  So Audrey paid for it.  All my fault.

Once we brought our baby home I went totally wheat-free.  With the exception of communion each Sunday, I've had no wheat for the last year.  I do miss wheat.  There are times I watch people eat doughtnuts or hamburgers and think man I really want to eat one.  Just one bite can't hurt.  But it does so I don't. 

I got a Facebook comment from a momma who is going gluten-free for her child.  I could hear the stress in her comment and it made me realize that I don't talk too much about my wheatless life, anymore.  Once I came to see it as my normal, once I stopped fighting it, I just stopped talking about it.  I'll try to remember to talk about the struggles.  To remember that helplessness I felt when I first when wheatfree and the joy/calm that still comes over me when I meet other wheatless folk.  So I'll try to share tips and reviews and the such. 

So tip number 1, if you have just gone wheatless/gluten-free know that you are not alone.  Know you can do it.  Know that it is okay to morn the loss of wheat. 

3 comments:

  1. You are turning into one of best bloggers on the net. Seriously.

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  2. I think I'm the mom whose comment you posted about...
    And, yup, I'm still in the stressful part of the learning curve! I don't eat meat (except occasional fish and seafood), limit my dairy to cultured dairy like cheese and sour cream with very little ordinary (milk does wacky things to me)... And now no gluten.

    Quitting meat was very hard. I had to relearn how to cook.
    Limiting milk was inconvenient. It took me awhile to find out which brands of soy, rice and almond milks I liked for what purposes.
    But eliminating gluten is the most difficult yet. I have been aiming for 99%+ GF for her and 95%+ GF for me.
    I'm grateful for the support I'm finding online and am glad I'm a creative cook!

    My DD is a few days from 10 months old and I have no intentions of weaning her until she chooses to.
    I'm hoping I will be able to have a bit of gluten here and there once her rash is cleared up (she doesn't have significant GI or behavioral effects from exposure) and that she will outgrow it. But I'm not holding my breath.
    So we are wheatless for the foreseeable future.

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  3. Ceph you go girl! I know what you mean about the learning curve. We are wheat-free but try to live the stricter gluten-free life. I figure if I'm gluten-free than I'm wheat-free for sure.

    It was hard learning to think wheat-free. Like I can have chicken-fried steak but I use rice flour for the coating and cornstarch to make gravy. I also found going to the internet for recipes made life easier. There are so many people out there willing to share their gluten-free journey. You can do and it can even be tasty :)

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