It's September...!

So, we have made it to September and Jack is just over 6 weeks old. He is definitely getting more alert! He can follow us (and our voices) around the room with his eyes, and he is constantly fascinated by anything RED around him! He loves looking at that color. He also is much more smiley and lately I have noticed him cooing at me in response to me talking, so before long he will be saying "Mommy" and "Daddy" ... at least I can hope!

Football season has commenced and while Jack was good luck to the Yellow Jackets, he was not quite such a charm on the Seminoles. Hopefully the season can only get better! :)

In other news, the doctor suspects that Jack is allergic to the dairy products in my diet. While I am not surprised (tummy troubles are not uncommon in his family!), I am also not looking forward to the diet that I have to follow for the next 72 hours. If this is successful, and he receives some relief, it will be permanent until I am done breastfeeding ... which is daunting when I contemplate the list from the doctor of what not to eat:

Sadly, there will be many foods that are simply going to be off limits as long as I am breastfeeding. Some of the most common are:
Pudding
Most store-bought cookies, cakes and sweets
Most chocolate and chocolate chips
Most margarines
Whipped cream, including many ‘edible oil’ whipped toppings
Specialty coffee drinks (One mom on a website called Starbucks to inquire about their non-dairy options and was told a)black coffee, b)tea, or c)fruit tea based frappucinos…they also offer a decent vegan brownie which is, obviously, dairy-free.)
Many crackers
‘Non-dairy’ creamers (non-dairy is simply a term used when a creamer is lactose free. Unfortunately these creamers all still contain sodium caseinate, which is the milk protein that our babies are so sensitive to.)
Most hot chocolate powders
Cheese and most cheese substitutes (most ‘non-dairy’ cheese still contains caseinate.)
All ‘Cream of’ soups (like cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, etc.), as well as many other canned non-cream based soups
Fruit sherbets (not sorbets though…those are OK)
Many store-bought pasta sauces (even the tomato based ones may contain cheese or other hidden dairy)
Some cereals
Many smoothies, like those found at Orange Julius
Most store bought granola and snack bars
Pizza (You can have it without cheese though…although be sure to ask if the dough contains dairy)
Most Italian and Mexican food (although enchiladas are often dairy free if you leave off the cheese)
Most potato and nacho chips (although pretzels, plain potato chips, and even the odd flavoured potato chip, depending on the brand, are usually OK.)

As you can see, it's a long list. And while 72 hours doesn't seem like a long time, I have been famished lately and starving in general...so the thought of cutting out all of my favorite foods is pretty scary! But because he has been screaming in agony with every bowel movement, and generally just uncomfortable in general, I am more than happy to do this if it will just make him feel better! It kills me to see him in pain.

We had a great visit with Mom this weekend - although it was too short as family visits always are. We are looking forward to our next round of visitors this weekend. Hope that everyone is well, and I will post some new pics soon!
Love, Kelly