First off- Ezra's school is INCREDIBLE.
The teachers! The kids! The mentors! We love it all. It's like a little hidden gem right in my own backyard-- rated the top public charter school in the country... and we had NO idea it was even there when we moved in 4 years ago.
It's not in the best neighborhood. It's not the newest, shiniest building. Ezra's little pale white head stands out noticeably in the sea of beautiful black faces. But you can feel the heart of the place when you walk in the front doors and it's ALIVE and JOYFUL. I can't wait to pour myself into that school as much as I can. To serve it and help it and support it.
And Ezra LOVES it! Hooray!
I have been feeling sooooo sick the last week or so. I've never been this nauseous with a pregnancy before, so I wasn't expecting it. (Girl, perhaps?) It has pretty much laid me flat all week. Now I am just trying to figure out a way to live around it since it seems to be here to stay for a bit. I'm 9 weeks along now and not nearly as LARGE as I was at this time with Myer. I remember thinking there were quadruplets in there when I was first pregnant with him. haha. (phew!) I would post a picture to start the 'pregnancy belly shots', but it seems silly to do when there's no belly yet. I'll spare you until there's actually something to see!
We thought Myer had the chicken pox this week. We were keeping him away from other kids and just waiting for the spots to go away. But when the spots started getting WORSE, I took him into the doctor and found out it wasn't the chicken pox at all. It was a raging case of impetigo that popped up all over his body from when we were in Utah and his eczema got so bad. Poor kid.
I'm praying SO hard that God will take all these crazy allergies away. They make him so miserable most of the time. I have faith that He will heal my little Myer so that he can eat yummy food and play outside and be around the pets and animals that he is OBSESSED with.
Speaking of his allergies, I still haven't found my stride with them yet. The one thing that is making this so hard is that I HATE cooking. I have never really done it or been good at it or had any desire to change that fact. And all these allergy resources and webpages that I'm finding about wheat-free, egg-free, nut-free foods require elaborate COOKING with hours spent in the KITCHEN and fancy flours and MEAL PLANNING and OH MY GORB I just want to stick something in the microwave and feed the kid!!! I am openly admitting that I am lazy. I know it. I have never had any interest in food personally. I eat because I have to, not because I enjoy it. The day that they finally invent a pill that will replace entire meals will be a happy one in my books.
Right now Myer rotates between about three things: oatmeal, hot dogs or ham, and sometimes corn quesedillas. He loves fruit and sweet potatoes, but it's the actual filling of his tummy with substantial food that just about kills me three times a day. He will also sometimes eat gluten free macaroni, if all the planets are aligned and a golden cardinal swoops by the window at the exact moment of his first bite.
He's on medication every day, twice a day. Anti-histamines. But still... every single time he goes outside or gets around a dog or is around too much dust or we use the wrong detergent or he eats the wrong food or gets too hot and sweaty, his skin flares up and he claws at himself until he's raw and it takes a week or two to get it to calm back down again.
I don't feel like I'm handling this gracefully yet. And I wonder if I ever will. It all just seems like too much, you know? Like, I narrow in on the food (like I've been doing the past three months) and keep him on his meds, but then he goes outside or gets overheated and all that hard work goes right out the window. I feel like throwing in the towel about 100 times a day, to be honest.
I just want God to take it all away. Maybe that sounds like a cop-out, but I just can't protect this kid from every single thing every second of the day. I just can't. I know God will never give me more than I can handle, but I think maybe He overestimated me a little bit on this one. Me needs a miracle here, people.
*end of allergy rant sigh*
20 comments:
For the nausea, try sour candies. Ice Breakers Sours saved me in my second and third pregnancies. For the excema, has your pediatrician suggested keeping him moisturized? Our pediatric dermatologist said once the excema symptoms were under control, to keep our son moisturized with petroleum jelly. It worked wonders!
Best of luck to you!
Hi Emery..Hope you start feeling better or not, ha! Maybe it will be a wee girl this time! Just wanted to say that God hears every whisper of a prayer when it comes to healing! He has healed me many times, right when I start to feel like He's forgotten me. He is faithful for sure! Here's to believing Myer will be healed in Jesus' name! =)
Yay for finding an amazing school!! You are so lucky that you and your son love it so much :) That is one thing i'm worried about when my son starts school next year, finding good schools that we love!!
Sorry bout your little man with all the annoying allergy stuff... :/ He is pretty stinkin' cute though!! I love his shirt in that photo! :)
Anyway, hope you start feelin' a bit better! And are having a great day!
xo, Jamie
You're so brave to go through all of that while feeling so yucky! I pray the nausea passes soon!
I've never commented here, but I love reading your blog!
I am totally that person with a million allergies. My skin breaks out in a rash if I think about it. And I can't eat very much without getting sick. If Myer is able, maybe you could try some vitamins. The meds the dr's gave me never really worked. I keep my skin and stomach stronger with biotin, acidophlius, colostrum (huge immune system supporter) and oil of oregano (great for sinuses and allergies).
Also for eczema I put olive or sunflower oil straight on my skin and it keeps me really hydrated.
Just a couple ideas. I'll be praying for your little guy and your sanity!
I'm sorry, did you type something after that picture of Ezra on the first day of school?
I think I stopped reading because OH MY GAAAAH so freakin' CUUUUUTE!
Sorry to hear about Myer and all his allergies, it's no fun at all! But, I will say, it is nice to be able to eat and enjoy food that doesn't make you sick. I have a book called "Allergy Proof Recipes for Kids" that has some great/easy/yummy recipes. It has 150+ recipes that are wheat, gluten, nut, egg, and dairy - free. Just thought you might want to check it out! :) Hope you start to feel better soon!
I had "morning sickness" 24x7 throughout all of my pregnancies. Worst with my first - I couldn't even have chicken in my fridge without running to the bathroom, never mind having it cooked or seeing someone eat it - weird. My poor husband...he used to cook with the fan on all the time while I huddled in bed dry heaving. I subsisted on froot loops for that pregnancy - the ONLY thing I could stomach. The other pregnancies, I ate whatever but got sick 2-3 times a day - my kids were all born healthy and hearty! good luck - I hope yours passes.
I am fortunate not to have to deal with food allergies but have good friends who struggle. Lynns Kitchen ADventures blog has a whole section on allergy free cooking - I don't know how easy the recipes are, but her regular food blog has a lot of "normal" food so I imagine you'd find some easy less elaborate meals? good luck.
Hope you and the little man are both feeling better soon! I wish you the best in figuring out how to help him with his allergies! You can do it!
Oh, girl. I feel you with the food thing. I help take care of a little boy who is VERY limited in what he can eat because of allergies, and it's so frustrating!
What the family I work with does (which seems to work REALLY well) is to prepare items that work well plain, so that whenever they get ready to eat, they have a Matthew-safe version on hand. For example, they'll make creamy chicken casserole, but Matthew will get a plain chicken breast b/c he can't eat dairy. They also keep on hand a section of food that only Matthew can eat, so it's easier to throw together something for him.
Hope this helps!!! Your family is in my prayers :)
he looks too cute in his school uniform!!
I hope this doesn't come off as critical, but I have always hated that "God doesn't give more than you can handle" saying. I'm not even sure where it comes from. I think sometimes we get more than we can handle so that we HAVE to depend on God.
One of my co-workers had really bad excema, and what worked for her was actually bathing in a mineral spring. The mineral water helped her immensely..I don't know if there are any near you. There was one in southern oregon that I went to...and I believe that the place she went to sell mineral salts to add to your own bath water. I'll find out more info. I also have a friend from jr high who had it TERRIBLE, and like the first commenter said, once she got the symptoms under control she would just basically douse herself with heavy-duty moisturizing lotion after she would bath every.single.time and it kept it at bay, but she had to do it EVERY time. One good thing about that is you can learn infant massage and it can actually be a great bonding experience for you both. :D
I love his shirt in that photo! :)
I think what you're feeling is very realistic. It seems like the assumption is, when you have a child with allergies, that you will cook, but not everyone in the world loves to cook, especially cooking things with specific ingredients. I think most, if not all, parents go through a frustration & mourning period when they find out their child has specific needs. I don't really have any ideas to help you out, but rest assured, I think your reactions are very, very normal. :)
Oh my goodness, Ezra looks like such a little man in this picture! How was his first day?
Oh sweet E!! Life is so interesting for sure. First--Your babies are ADORABLE. And is that big boy teeth I see in Ezra's mouth? No way. Your sweet Myer is edible. Definitely. Your pregnancy sickness. Ugh, I sooo get that too. I was sick 24/7 with both pregnancies. Can't wait to hear how your ultra sound goes. I too always felt that it was "more real" once we heard that little swish-swish sound. Ok..and the food allergies. Oh girl. I sooooooo definitley feel your pain there. I think you are dong the best you can with what you have been given. Many many prayers and hugs for you and your boys right now. I love you like crazy!!
Yes, your boys are both so adorable!! And that all sounds really really really hard!! I will pray for you and the miracle.
I noticed nausea for a lot longer in my third pregnancy too, and yeah it was my first girl, but I think it has more to do with the fact that our bodies are more tired! I found my nausea was always worse when i was tired at night and in the middle of the day, I never really got "morning sickness".
I feel for you about the allergies. I would react in the exact same way...I've always been so thankful mine don't seem to have any because I hate fluffing round with cooking too. Will join you in the prayer xo
I saw someone mention putting...sunflower oil on her skin? Sounds good. Not sure what's best but when I was living at the children's home in Jamaica, I'd gently massage olive oil on my sick baby's skin. He had excema all over too. :( At one point it was as if his scalp and face were rotting off.
I don't know all of the allergies your boy has, but there ARE some allergen free frozen meals for kids (i use them sometimes!)-like "chicken nuggets" and "corn dogs" etc. Some gf mac and cheeses are better than others. I love Annie's brand.
Just keep pressing through it! Deep breaths and keep something lovely to smell (if pregnancy is letting you enjoy smelling things?!) before (and during! and after!) you have to cook. :)
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