Austin, I love you more than cheese.

I love cheese. So imagine my disappointment when my daughter turned out to have her Dad's tastes and won't touch cheese unless it's on a pizza. (or grated Parmesan on pasta, but then only because she thinks it's sprinkles She also hates milk. But loves yogurt?) However, I thought for sure Austin would be my cheese kid. After all, it was one of the few foods I could eat without nausea when I was pregnant.

Not so much.

I've said before how Austin's a pretty easy baby, who doesn't really cry or fuss much. He would have one or two fussy periods throughout the day, and they seemed to be related to his tummy. We didn't think much of it, other than "poor guy," until a few days before Christmas. For whatever reason I was craving dairy and had a dairy filled day: cereal for breakfast, cheese and an apple for lunch, hot chocolate for a snack, more cheese and apples for dinner, and one more slice before bed. (Looking at it like that, it seems excessive but mmm, yummy!) After all of that, my calm baby became very fussy. He was having a lot of tummy trouble and was just not a happy camper. It was at this point that it finally occurred to me that Austin's fussiness might be food related. And since I'd had a heavy dairy day, it was probably dairy related. (yes, this might seem obvious to most people. It was to us too, after the fact.)

So I, sniff, gave up dairy. No milk in my coffee, no cereal, NO CHEESE. :(

And it helped! Austin went from sometimes fussy baby to never fussy baby. I no longer had to watch and hold him as he grunted, kicked his legs and yelled. I was amazed, but a little sad.

Several weeks later, I've been totally dairy-free. I switched to Almond milk* in my coffee and cereal and have avoided cheese.** I'm not sure how long this is going to last, as I haven't asked his doctor yet. Hopefully this is something he'll outgrow, but if not, it's no big deal. It's not like we're a cheese loving family. I already have to avoid recipes with cheese or cream sauces for my husband and daughter. And if I have to keep lactose-free the whole time I'm nursing, than so be it. Because, like I said:

I love my son more than cheese.


*I bought soy milk at first, but a facebook friend mentioned that soy increases your estrogen levels. After some googling (and several absurdly ridiculous articles that told me my son would turn out gay if I gave him soy. do people really believe that nonsense?!?) I was reminded that people with thyroid disease should avoid soy products. Now I use the almond milk at home and save soy for my once a week Starbucks.
**I did have two slices of pizza last night, light on the cheese. He did pretty well, with only a few minutes of gassy-ness that didn't seem to really bother him. However, it was enough for me not to do it to often.