Precious lil Pumpkin

That face!!

No Bake Energy Bites

Here's a yummy and easy snack that is dairy and soy free! And as an added bonus, the oats and flaxseed are great for nursing moms and will help boost milk supply. Enjoy! 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (dry) oatmeal (I use old-fashioned oats)
• 2/3 cup toasted coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (use Skippy Natural d and s free)
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (use Enjoy Life d and s free)
• 1/3 cup honey 
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

• Mix ingredients together in bowl 
• Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes (will be easier to work with if chilled/hardened a little)
• Roll into balls (depending on size, you could make one or two dozen)
• Refrigerate in air tight container for up to a week

Dairy & Soy free for Levi and me

*Updated on Oct. 11 to include recipes!*

Almost as soon as I published Levi's 3 month post we started noticing the symptoms from the dairy intolerance reappear: Dark green, mucousy stools, screaming, vomiting during, after, and in between every feeding. I had a hunch that it might be a soy problem because his symptoms flared up a few days after eating Chinese food, drinking (Advocare vegan) protein shakes, and eating our beloved Publix bourbon salmon- all packed with soy. I also remembered what our doctor told us about most babies with a dairy intolerance also having a problem with soy. 

So I took him to the doctor on August 31 and they tested his diaper and found blood in his stool, meaning an allergen was present. Doctor diagnosed him with a milk soy protein intolerance (MSPI) and instructed me to eliminate soy (including soybean oil) from my diet in addition to the dairy. We also added another feeding to his schedule for a few days because he had been vomitting so much and therefore not gaining like he should. 

I have now been dairy free since Levi was about 5 weeks old and dairy+soy free for the last 5 weeks and Levi is doing exponentially better! He is a different baby without all that dairy and soy in his system! We are back to normal baby spit-up and no more vomitting, crying only when he has a need (diaper change, hungry, tired), and stools are getting back to a normal color and consistency. 

Being dairy and soy free takes some work but it is MORE than worth the sacrifice to breastfeed sweet Levi. Wouldn't trade that time with him or the opportunity to give him breastmilk for all the dairy and soy in the world :) It's actually been a really positive experience for me and I'm thankful that the Lord has helped me every step of the way. It has it's challenges but I love that I'm only eating good, clean, wholesome food and Levi is getting the best nutrients he can from me. It really makes you stop and think about how you treat your body, the temporary temple that God has given you, and examine every thing you eat. I can't just mindlessly snack on things or reach for whatever I want. I have to really think about it- which has been a great parallel for me spiritually and a great lesson in self control. 

I wanted to document some of the staples in my diet so I'll remember for next time should a MSPI appear in future Brannan babies and to hopefully help other mommies who are dealing with the same issues. I will try to post more recipes and food finds as I discover them along the way. 

Here's what's on my menu:

Breakfast: Quaker instant oatmeal with tablespoon of Skippy Natural Peanut Butter and coffee with Silk Vanilla Almond Milk as creamer. I've also done dairy/soy free pancakes made with almond milk and some bacon on the side. 
Snacks: Fruits, Lara Bars, Pretzels, Natural Popcorn, Skinny sweet potato sticks, Cinnamon sugar pita chips, Tostitos thin and crispy tortilla chips and Publix fresh salsa
Lunch: Pita bread (or salad) with Publix deli turkey/ham, cucumbers, tomatoes, and Annie's Natural Balsalmic salad dressing or Brianna's poppyseed or honey mustard dressing. I eat Cape Cod sweet mesquite BBQ or salt and vinegar chips on the side. 
Dinner: We usually have a meat/fish (chicken, shrimp, salmon, tuna, pork chops, steak, hamburger with no bun), a veggie, and a carb. Usually red or sweet potatoes, brown rice, noodles or something else yummy and dairy/soy free. You can stay pretty safe with meats (just make sure it's not injected or marinated in anything) and plain veggies and add butter later. Things that come from the ground are the way to go! We've also done spaghetti with Prego sauce-- just make sure to double check all labels. 
Dessert: Homemade Fruity Pebbles rice crispy treats (Heat marshmellows in microwave and mix in Fruity Pebbles and spread in canola covered pan), So Delicious coconut milk ice cream (The chocolate peanut butter is my favorite!!!!)
Safe Condiments: Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, A1 steak sauce, Ortega taco seasoning, Earth Balance butter, Mrs. Dash sweet teriyaki marinade, Canola cooking oil and spray (NO vegetable oil!), salad dressings listed above

Rice crispy treats :)

Eating out (these are places we frequent):

Moes: Personal Trainer salad with pinto beans, olives, corn pico, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, salsa, guac. (The chips, black beans, meats, and southwest vinagrette that I would normally get all contain either dairy or soy.) I add red wine vinegar as dressing at home and eat Tostitos thin and crispy tortilla chips with the guac/salsa.
Panera: Smoked Turkey Sandwich with their plain chips (The bread they use for this specific sand which is safe from what I can tell.) 
Five Guys: Lettuce wrapped burger with grilled mushrooms, grilled onions, ketchup, tomatoes, pickles and A1 steak sauce. And fries!
Mellow Mushroom: Gluten free pizza crust, daiya cheese, red sauce base, pineapples, ham.
Jersey Mikes: Turkey sub in a tub with pickles, tomatoes, banana peppers and oil and vinegar as dressing.
Outback: Steak with no seasoning/marinade, steamed broccoli/veggies with no butter, salad with no cheese or croutons. Bring your own butter and dressing with you-- and sadly, don't eat the bread! :) 

Carrabbas: Tag Pic Pac with shrimp (just ask for no butter on shrimp)
Chick-fil-a: fries are safe 
Jimmy Johns: Turkey Tom "unwhich" (lettuce wrap instead of bread) with no mayo or cheese and add oil and vinegar. Pickle on the side :)

Carrabba's Tag Pic Pac

Mellow Mushroom

Five Guys lettuce burger- better than it looks! 

Recipes that have been shared with my by d&s free friends: 

Taco Soup (make with Ortega taco seasoning)
Salsa Chicken 
Balsalmic Chicken 
Vegan Pancakes (Instead of vegetable oil use canola oil and instead of soy milk use almond milk)
Pumpkin Bread (Grease pan with earth balance butter or coconut oil)
Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies (I've made these and they really are PERFECTLY DELICIOUS! Use earth balance butter and Enjoy Life chocolate chips)  
Chicken Tacos (use Ortega taco seasoning) 
Apricot Glazed Pork Tenderloin 
BBQ Apple Chicken (use Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce)  
Banana Nut Bread (use earth balance butter) 
 
  Other things to note:

• Changed to Nature Made prenatal vitamins due to soy ingredients in One a Day
• Dairy and soy free for MSPI baby means no to the obvious (milk, cheese, yogurt, soy, etc) and also items that contain the dairy and soy proteins (whey, casein, soy lecithin, etc)  
• For more information on MSPI or breastfeeding, click here. 

((Psalm 16:8))

I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

Levi {4 Months}

Love his sweet little dedication outfit 

Finley is never far :) 

Size: He is 13.2 pounds on our home scale. Up almost two whole pounds from last month thanks to no more vomitting! Still size 1 diapers but they are getting tight. 

Eating: He is nursing 5 times a day every 3 hours (sometimes 3.5 hrs) but has become a very distracted little eater! He turns and looks at anyone who is talking or any noise made while he's nursing. Doesn't want to miss anything I guess! We usually turn the TV down or off and sit in silence quietly so he can nurse without distractions. ;) 

Levi has officially dropped his 6th feeding (the 9 p.m. "dreamfeed"). It sort of happened accidentally but I've been following his lead. On Sept. 21 I nursed him like normal at 7 p.m. and put him down for his short cat nap before his final feeding. Well, he never woke up for it! So he slept from 8 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. which was a new record- 10.5 hours of straight sleep! I tried it again the next two nights and he did the same thing and slept 10.5 hours. So that's what we've been doing ever since. I'm now pumping in place of that last session so I can stockpile some milk in my freezer for later down the road and to keep up my milk supply. 

I am now eating a diary and soy free diet after Levi was diagnosed with a milk soy protein intolerance (MSPI) by his pediatrician on Aug. 31 (more to come on that in a separate post). He is doing almost 100% better now that I am completely dairy and soy free. His symptoms are all gone except some green stools (only about half of the time and no longer mucousy- PTL!). I realize this is TMI but I want to document as much as I can. And it's my blog so I'll do what I want. hehe ;)

Here's his schedule at 4 months old-- I want to remember these details! It usually varies by 30 minutes or an hour depending on what time he wakes in the morning or how long he naps, but this is our general schedule:

6:30 a.m.: wake and nurse

7:30-9:30: nap (longest of the day)

9:30-10:30: nurse

10:30-11:30: play

11:30-12:30: nap

12:30-1:30: nurse

1:30-2:30: play

2:30-3:30: nap

3:30-4:30: nurse 

4:30-5:30: play

5:30-6:30: nap

6:30: nurse

8:00: bed

Levi's "play" time usually consists of: activity mat, sitting in the bumbo with toys, tummy time, bath, running in the Bob jogging stroller, church, errands, playing and singing with mommy or daddy, etc.

Sleeping: Levi's 7.5-8.5 hours a night now looks like 9.5-10.5 hours a night! Woohoo! Thankful for a few extra hours of sleep and for some more free time in the evenings now that Levi has decided he's ready for an earlier bedtime. This child is still sleeping through the night-- even with all of his MSPI and teething problems!! His doctor was even shocked when I told him and claimed how "remarkable" it was!! I don't take it for granted and seriously thank God for it. 

He's still swaddled for every nap and bedtime and just not ready to give it up yet. We tried several naps without it just to see what he would do and he slept for 15 minutes then woke up. So we decided to switch to the Halo Sleep Sack swaddle a couple of weeks ago and he really likes it. I like it because it serves as a blanket and a swaddle and I can put his arms in or out. 

Milestones: 
~teething (two front on bottom) and has almost every symptom in the book!
~very interested in and loves to reach for whatever we have in our hands: food, remote, phone, his bottle, etc. 
~reaching for me and touching my face :) 

~can pick things up like his paci, Sophie, a rattle, burp cloth
~tries really hard to sit up

~working on putting his paci in his mouth. Almost there!

Likes: Loves laughing and making noise/squealing and when we laugh back at him, being tickled on his neck and back, sucking on his fingers/fist-- he constantly has his hands in his mouth!!, being held/talked to/sung to, pulling my hair, dancing aka when we move his legs and arms,starting to like rough housing (when we pretend to toss him in the air or put him above our head and that kind of thing- he giggles so hard!), still loving his play mat and hanging toys.

Dislikes: Can't think of anything really other than being unattended. He doesn't like to be left alone and would really rather be held or sitting in your lap than anywhere else.

At our usual hangout... Pelican's 

my guys

jealous puppy

Sophie is so yummy

((John 1:16))

For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

Levi's Dedication

We dedicated Levi to the Lord this morning in the presence of our family, church family, and friends. Ryan read from Mark 2:13-14 where Jesus calls Levi to be His disciple. We pray that Levi will one day follow Jesus with reckless abandon and will glorify the Lord with his life. It is the most wonderful blessing to be his parents and we thank God for giving us our sweet baby boy, a precious child of God.

((Mark 2:13-14))
 He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

Grateful

No one could have ever prepared me for the joy I would experience in this new season of life. From the moment I knew we were pregnant to the moment Levi entered this world I've felt joy, peace, and love that have surpassed my understanding. I am amazed by God, the miracle of life, and that He has given me the privilege of being Ryan's wife and Levi's mommy. 

I'm grateful that the Lord chose us to be Levi's parents, allowed me to safely carry and deliver this precious child, to nurture and comfort him, to pray for and to love him, to kiss his little cheeks and sing hymns over him. He is sweeter than I envisioned and better than I dreamed. I am grateful beyond words that this baby of ours is healthy, growing, and is loved so deeply by his Creator, his family, and friends.

I'm grateful for a husband who lives out his faith and loves Levi and me so well. From the start, Ryan has embraced his role as a daddy and has been so hands on. I'll never forget our experience in the hospital... he was so interested and amazed at every detail of labor and delivery and burst into tears as he watched Levi emerge. He prayed over us while I held Levi in my arms for the very first time- thanking Him for this new gift, committing him back to the Lord and asking for guidance as we train up this child in the way he should go. He changed every single diaper in the hospital, waited on me hand and foot, and held my hand every step of the way when we arrived home to our new life as a family of three.

I'm grateful that Ryan was home with us for that first week and never left my side. He graciously woke up with me in the middle of the night and changed Levi and brought him to me to nurse so I didn't have to get out of bed. He listened to me and hugged me when I cried during those first two weeks at home while my emotions and hormones ran crazy. He was there to hug me again when the fog lifted and I felt like I had turned a corner after those two weeks passed. He doesn't wait to be asked, he simply acts. When Levi cries, he picks him up and soothes him. He changes him, he feeds him a bottle, he swaddles him and puts him to bed, he talks to him, and most importantly, he prays for him. Having Levi has given me a whole new meaning for my love for Ryan. He's not only my husband now, but our baby's father and it's a beautiful, beautiful thing.

 

I'm grateful to be able to breastfeed Levi. I never imagined how much I would love nursing him or how blessed I would be by it. It is simply amazing how God has designed our bodies. Not only to conceive and carry a baby that He knits together, but to nourish that baby outside of the womb with nothing but your body--only God could do something so marvelous. I have absolutely LOVED this special bonding time with Levi for so many reasons. Of course I'm thankful that it gives him what he needs to thrive (and that it's free and I can do it anywhere!), but also for the forced time to sit and "be still and know that He is God." During his first feeding every morning I have my quiet time with the Lord. I read my Bible and open my prayer journal and pray while the house is quiet and it's just me and my little man. I treasure and look forward to this time every single day. 

I'm grateful that I was able to take 10 weeks of maternity leave to soak in and learn my newborn baby, figure out my role as new mommy AND wife, and concentrate on nothing else but our family. I'm even more grateful that I can now work from home and always have Levi by my side. During my maternity leave I worked through Angie Smith's new Bible study, Seamless, where she outlined the Bible as one seamless story from Genesis to Revelation. She did a great job connecting the dots from the OT to the NT, but what stuck with me most was her paraphrased prayer from 2 Timothy 4:1-2, 5:

"I charge you, Shelley, in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.... As for you, Shelley, always be sober minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."

This little person that the Lord has entrusted us with is now my ministry. Second only to my role as believer and pastor's wife, Levi is the ministry that I must fulfill. I'm grateful for the awesome and humbling opportunity to show him what Jesus looks like as his mother, as a disciple, and through covenant marriage. I pray he will grow up to see two gracious, kind, passionate, and loving parents who love and live for Jesus. The same Jesus that saved me, sustains me, and equips me to be the woman of God, wife, and mommy He has called me to be. He is the Firm Foundation beneath me as I walk this amazingly wonderful path of motherhood. 

And for that, I am most grateful.

((Colossians 3:15))

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

{Thank you to Sarah Pascutti Photography for the pictures- taken at 7 weeks old.}