Jumping for Joy

What is Kip so egg-cited about?



He's egg-cited about the progress he's making! I've alluded to my "Kip diet" in previous posts. The poor little guy has "protein intolerance" which in lay man's terms means his digestive system isn't mature enough to digest some (all?) proteins. As a result, when he receives proteins from my milk his stomach cramps, little ulcers form, and he has too many dirty diapers. Through a lot of trial and error and even more prayer we were able to come up with a list of foods that Kip seemed to tolerate pretty well. Over time, as I ate the limited diet, his diapers were fewer, his discomfort subsided, and a big sigh of relief could be heard at our house. His digestive system still wasn't acting "normal" but it was close. Well, that is until three weeks ago.

Out of the blue, with no change in my "Kip diet," Kip started having his original symptoms to a greater degree than ever before. Nearly every diaper contained visible blood. His pediatrician did a CBC and checked him for infections and parasites - all clear and normal. Great news except that it didn't explain why he was suddenly worse. We were instructed to wait for him to outgrow this problem or switch him to prescription formula that he may not tolerate any better. Totally awesome news - on opposite day. Thankfully Kip has stopped having visible blood in his diapers and he seems to be getting over whatever happened, though he is not yet as close to "normal" as he was before.

Knowing what I know (and have experienced) about the gut, the immune system, autoimmune diseases, and Kip's own genetic predispositions, I'm not content to sit around and wait. During his "flare," I talked to the owner at Food for Life who suggested that I call the Wellness Center at People's Rx. I did. People's suggested that I call a Doctor of Oriental Medicine and gave me a couple of names. I'm not overly knowledgeable about alternative medicine, but my ignorance doesn't mean it isn't effective. I did see a DOM during my pregnancy with Kip and benefited from it. After praying about it, I called a DOM and spoke to him about Kip. He recently helped three babies overcome major reflux issues and was eager to try to help Kip with his eating issues.

During our first visit with him, he examined Kip, and concluded that Kip wasn't intolerant of a laundry list of foods, but instead his immune system needed to be strengthen in order for him to digest properly. It made sense to me - the major part of our immune system is in our gut; my immune system is whack-a-doodle and Kip is my son; Kip doesn't seem to properly digest breastmilk no matter what I eat. Don't get me wrong, I was still very skeptical, but his diagnosis intrigued me.

Our DOM has treated Kip 5 times now. It is non-invasive, painless, and involves accupressure. To borrow Marti's phrase, "it can't hurt and might help." Last week, the DOM suggested that Kip should be able to digest eggs now. Seriously, eggs? They are one of the most allergenic foods. Anytime I've "tested" one of the foods on the commonly allergenic list he's had a terrible reaction that has taken days to recover from. The DOM requested that I test eggs so I hesitantly decided to test them this weekend when Brian had some chance of being home. (Side note, 6 days until Session ends!) On Saturday morning I ate 4 bites of an egg. Not much, but enough to send Kip over the edge in previous trials. By Sunday afternoon we were still waiting for him to react. Nothing happened. Sunday evening I ate an entire egg. I was anxious, hopeful, and preparing for Kip to scream all day Monday. Again, nothing.

I ate an egg without Kip crying! It is so egg-citing. It is egg-actly what we've been praying for! (Excuse the puns, please.)

To be fair, maybe egg was never an issue for Kip. It was one of the foods that the pedi suggested I remove from my diet early on so I never tested it previously. Or maybe Kip is starting to outgrow his issue, though his day-to-day diapers don't suggest that to be the case. Whatever the explanation, we are so thankful that we had a successful trial and I have one more food on the "green light" list.

We're continuing on with our DOM's treatments for now. I'll post if something significant - good or bad - happens. Regardless of whenever and however God chooses to heal or not heal Kip, we're really thankful for the outcome of our egg-periment. (Sorry, I had to do it.)