Week 1

Well, all in all, I think we did ok. For our first week, for an extremely strong-willed 4 year-old, for having activities where I am not there with her, for Mommy still having A LOT to learn, for traveling in the car, and for going to the lake with lots of goodies around... we actually did pretty darn well, if I do say so myself! (In MY mind, but I guess in actuality we kind of sucked). There was one infraction each on six of the seven days. Ugh. Three were totally my fault, because I thought McD's fries and hashbrowns were GFCF, but alas, it seems they're not. Note to self: check and double-check what you read online! There was some snack-sharing that occurred at her Little Gym summer camp, birthday cupcakes were brought in to school (had I been aware, I would have sent a special one for her), and a family member taking care of her one day forgot about the diet and gave her a little piece of string cheese. So this is going to take some getting used to, and is going to be an adjustment for everyone involved. I have to say, though... I'm pretty happy with the way the first week went, as it went better than I thought it would. I am luckier than most, because my daughter is already a really good eater- LOVES her fruits and veggies, salads, loves healthy snacks... totally accepted having hummus to dip her carrots into instead of ranch. I know moms who have done this, and all that their child would eat before starting the diet were chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, etc... so we certainly are in a much better position to start than many. That being said... it's still pretty freakin' hard! Honestly, home is really not an issue at all. She eats healthy, I try to cook healthy, she simply hasn't been offered anything she can't have, she just can't see it if it's even here, and around her, we all try to eat GFCF. She has asked for things, and has been told that we don't have it, etc. That she is accepting. What I know she will not accept is when she is told she CAN'T have something... so I'm staying away from that word as much as is humanly possible. I have to give a HUGE thank-you to her Gaga (my Momma) who took care of her all day on Friday while I snuggled with and tended to my sick little boy. She took the new diet very seriously, which I SO appreciated, even when I told her to not worry about it because I was so overwhelmed and unprepared that day. That was one of her best days!! Also to her Mimi, who tried to keep all of the snacks hidden, which was super-hard to do with a little cottage at the lake and having to feed lots of people! It means so much that the most important people in our lives are taking this so seriously.

What I have learned this week is that in one way, this is going to be easier than I thought, and in another, it's going to be harder than I thought for an active kid like mine, who is out of the house a lot without Mommy. Her doctor had suggested "keeping her home" for a couple of months to see if the diet would work for her, and I almost laughed out loud. For one, I don't know what I will do if I don't get little breaks. She suggested getting a babysitter to come to the house and I go out. Ha! What she doesn't get is that my daughter will go CRAZY! She gets stir-crazy even in our relatively spacious house. She needs LOTS of structured activity, and I do the best I can, but the fact is that I also have another child at home who needs different things, and needs me in different ways. It is impossible to give my daughter all that she needs, all on my own at home. So we're just going to have to do the best that we can. I imagine it will take us a few weeks to get into a little routine, and hopefully to have my daughter, and all of us, adjust to these changes.

So far, Week 2, Day 1 is going well! Let's hope for zero dietary infractions this week!! :)