My Dad's Deli-Style Potato Salad

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My Dad's Potato Salad - ButterYum

Some of the best recipes are made with the most basic of ingredients and that's the case with my Dad's Deli-Style Potato Salad.  The ingredient list is small, but there's a whole lot of flavor packed in there.  On a side note - July is a special month for him because it's the month he emigrated to this country.  He loves this land and he's one of the most patriotic people I know, so Happy 45th Anniversary to you Dad!

Note:  My father is a purist and prefers no garnish, but I like a sprinkling of fresh parsley or chives for color.


My Dad's Deli-Style Potato Salad
Printable Recipe
makes 5 pounds

5 pounds white or red new potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
8 cups water
1 teaspoon kosher salt

sauce:
2 cups mayonnaise (we love Duke's)
1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup finely minced onion
optional garnish - chopped parsley, chives, scallions, etc.

Place the cubed potatoes in a 6-quart stockpot, add water and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt; bring to a boil and cook until fork tender.  Drain and cool potatoes completely.

In a large bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar, onion, salt, and pepper.  Pour over cooled potatoes; gently mix and garnish if desired.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Miette's Homemade Graham Crackers

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Miette's Homemade Graham Crackers - ButterYum

How do homemade graham crackers sound?  Irresistible if you ask me.  That's why I ran straight to the kitchen to make them when I came across the recipe in the Miette Cookbook.  I had a lot of fun making them.  Flavorwise they're scrumptious, although the original recipe called for honey which I found to be a bit over powering so I substituted my favorite ingredient, Golden Syrup, which adds a beautiful caramel flavor.  The dough can be made up to 2 days ahead and the baked cookies can be stored for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container..


Roll cookie dough between 2 sheets of wax paper.  I find a ball-bearing rolling pin does the job best.  To ensure all the cookies turn out the same thickness and bake in the same amount of time, use 1/8-inch wooden dowels as a guide when rolling the dough.


 Cut your cookies with your favorite cookie cutters.  I love my set of scalloped cutters and my Williams-Sonoma Message Cookie Cutters.


 The message cutters are so fun to play with.


Transfer wax paper to a sheet pan and chill until dough is very firm.


 When dough is firmly chilled, slide an offset spatula between the cookie dough and wax paper.


 Transfer cookies to a parchment or silicone lined sheet pan.

OR

After making several batches, I discovered I could speed the process along a bit faster if I chilled the cutouts in the freezer for about 5 minutes.


Partially freezing the dough firms it enough to peel the wax paper away easily.


And the partially frozen cutouts are easier to transfer to a prepared sheet pan for baking.


Keep cutouts chilled until it's time to bake them.  Before they go in the oven, sprinkle them with granulated sugar.


 If cutting round shapes, use a skewer or toothpick to poke a few decorative holes - this will help the cookies bake evenly.  This step isn't necessary if you use the message cutters.


Eat 'em plain.


Or turn them into ice cream sammies.  Fun-fun!!

Homemade Graham Crackers
makes two dozen 2 1/2-inch cookies 
adapted from the cookbook Miette: Recipes from San Fransisco's Most Charming Pastry Shop
Printable Recipe

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (6 ounces)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (4 ounces)
2 tablespoons Lyle's Golden Syrup (or honey)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (7 1/2 ounces)
1/3 cup whole wheat flour (1 1/2 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
granulated sugar for sprinkling

To make the dough:
Sift dry ingredients together; set aside.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and golden syrup together for 5 minutes.  Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 days.

To cut cookies:
Using a rolling pin, roll dough between layers of wax paper to 1/8-inch thickness.  Use 1/8-inch wooden dowels as a guide.  Cut shapes from rolled dough and chill well before transferring to a sheet pan.  I used these scalloped round cutters and these Williams-Sonoma Message Cookie Cutters. 

To bake cookies:
Preheat oven to 350F.  Place chilled cookie cutouts on a cool parchment or silpat lined sheet pan and sprinkle with granulated sugar.  Bake in the center of a preheated oven for 10-13 minutes.  Cool completely.  Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

My Notes - Measuring ingredients like flour and sugar by weight is much more accurate than measuring them by volume so weigh ingredients with a digital scale.for the best results.

This recipe is being shared over at Yvonne's blog StoneGable.

captain's log: day 5

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captain's log: day 5

I'm still in the red.

While this map of the electrical outages looks 100% better than it did even just yesterday, I'm still waiting. I've been through this before (Hurricane Gustav, 2008, no power 8 days), so I know I can make it. It's just a matter of sweating it out... I mean waiting it out.

On Thursday I had to face the truth and admit that everything in my refrigerator and freezer would be lost. All of my homemade chicken broth, almost an entire batch of slow cooker marinara, some slow cooker black beans, and single serving portions of taco chicken bowls and taco stuffed shells all went in the garbage. But hey, the refrigerator needed a good head to toe cleaning anyway. It's important to keep a positive perspective in these situations.

I'd love to post some "no power" recipes, but honestly, I can't even be inside of my apartment without sweat rolling down my back. So, no work will be done until I'm electrified again. Plus, I really don't even want food right now. All I crave is a huge 64 ounce Big Gulp full of icy cold liquid - It's HOT y'all!

I'll continue to try to answer your questions and emails when I can, but my access to wi-fi is somewhat limited.

All in all, this storm has really been nothing more than an inconvenience for me. I've actually got it really, really good and I'm grateful for that. My thoughts go out to those who have had significant damage and hardship because of it.

People may ask why we choose to live in the path of such potential danger. It's the same reason people choose to live in Venice, Italy when it is literally sinking straight into the ocean. The culture, history, and lifestyle that are unique to New Orleans cannot be experienced anywhere else on the planet. It's a fantastic place to live and I'll gladly endure an adventuresome week without power every now and then to live in a place that is so wonderful the rest of the time. :)

If you have any movie (available in Redbox) or book suggestions to help keep me busy, please share! Hopefully we'll be back in business soon!

XOXO
Beth

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curry beef with peas $6.99 recipe / $1.17 serving

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curry beef with peas

$6.99 recipe / $1.17 serving

This recipe was born out of a craving for my mom's meat pies, which I haven't had in YEARS (like, 15 at least?). I don't have the recipe, I just remember that it was some sort of ground beef mixture seasoned with curry and stuffed inside of fluffy bread. They were so good that I couldn't pass them up, even on the day that I had my wisdom teeth surgically removed... "I'll just chew with my front teeth," I told myself. That didn't work so well.

So, I planned to create something similar except stuff the yummy beef filling inside of pie crust as sort of an empanada type thing, but then I realized that was way more work than I was willing to commit to today. Instead, I realized that this beef mixture would be great just served over rice or stuffed into a piece of naan, almost like an Indian taco. Yum. Anyway, I didn't include the rice in the price break down because you don't necessarily have to eat it that way. That's just one option.

To keep costs low, I "beefed up" the beef by adding potatoes and green peas. I always try to bulk up beef, which means not only cutting the cost but adding fiber and other nutrients. WIN.

Because I'm a spicy kinda person, I like this with a little chili garlic paste or sambal on top. But that's just me.

Curry Beef with Peas

Total Recipe cost: $6.99
Servings Per Recipe: 6 (about one cup each)
Cost per serving: $1.17
Prep time: 15 min. Cook time: 30 min. Total: 45 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
2 Tbsp	vegetable oil	$0.04
3-4 cloves	garlic	$0.16
2 inches	fresh ginger	$0.21
1.5 Tbsp	curry powder	$0.23
1 tsp	turmeric	$0.05
a pinch	crushed red pepper (optional)	$0.02
1 lb.	ground beef	$4.42
1 medium	potato	$0.81
1 cup	beef broth*	$0.11
1 tsp	flour	$0.02
1/2 lb.	frozen peas	$0.82
to taste	salt	$0.05
TOTAL		$6.99

*I used beef base to make one cup of beef broth, which is far less expensive than purchasing canned beef broth.

STEP 1: Mince the garlic, peel and grate the ginger. Use a vegetable peeler or scrape with a spoon to remove the peel of the ginger. Cook both with vegetable oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until softened.

STEP 2: Add the curry powder, turmeric, and red pepper flakes. Stir and cook for about 1-2 minutes more. Add the beef and continue to cook until fully browned.

STEP 3: While the beef is cooking, peel the potato and then cut into small cubes. Once the beef is fully cooked, add the cubed potatoes, beef broth, and flour. Allow the whole skillet to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes have softened and most of the moisture has evaporated off (about 15 minutes). If it gets too dry before the potatoes have finished cooking, simply add a little bit more water and continue cooking.

STEP 4: Once the potatoes are tender, stir in the frozen peas and heat through. Give it a taste and adjust the salt to your liking. Serve over rice or with naan bread.

Step By Step Photos

Note: I added my spices in a different order because I was adjusting as I went along, so the color in the pictures might not match what you see in your skillet. Yours will probably be bright yellow from the get go due to the turmeric, which I added towards the end.


This is what I started with. Potato and peas to bulk up the beef, garlic and ginger for seasoning. I intended to use a yellow onion, but realized this morning that I forgot to pick one up!


Start by sauteing the garlic and ginger in vegetable oil over medium heat. I had minced the garlic and grated the ginger with a fine holed cheese grater. You could also mince the ginger if that's easier for you.


When the garlic and ginger have softened a bit, add the spices. The picture only shows the curry powder and red pepper flakes, but you can add the turmeric here too. Saute the spices for about 1-2 minutes more.


While that's all happening, I peeled and cubed the potato. Cubing is a lot easier if you cut it into rounds first.


After the spices have sauteed for a minute or so, add the beef and cook until fully browned. Then add the potatoes.


Add the beef broth to help cook the potatoes. I use Better than Bouillon to make my beef broth because this stuff tastes great, lasts just about forever, and you can make any amount that you need. Add a teaspoon of flour along with the broth because this will help thicken it a little and make a slight gravy.


Allow the whole skillet to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes have softened and most of the moisture has evaporated off. If it gets too dry before the potatoes have finished cooking, simply add a little bit more water and continue cooking.


Once the potatoes are soft, add the frozen peas and heat through. As you can tell, this is the point where I realized that I needed to add some turmeric, so the color went from boring to KA-POW! Adjust the salt to your liking here. The beef broth probably has a good deal of salt, but potatoes tend to soak that up, so you may need to add more.


And now you're ready to eat!

spicy green beans $2.16 recipe / $0.54 serving

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spicy green beans

$2.16 recipe / $0.54 serving

This might be my new favorite treatment for vegetables. I have big plans to try it with every single vegetable out there... until then, here is the green bean version!

I love green beans because they're so fast and easy to cook. A quick boil or steam and then they're ready for any flavor that you want to throw at them. I like my green beans cooked just until tender, but still with a very slight crunch. Always bright green and never mushy. There's a sweet spot between raw and fully cooked, but that's just me.

I used Sambal Oelek (chili paste) to flavor the beans. The kind I used is made by the same brand as our beloved Sriracha Sauce (Huy Fong Foods) and is usually available at most places that sell Sriracha. They also make a similar sauce, called "chili garlic sauce" that would be equally good in this recipe. Just find some sort of crushed chili paste and you'll be good to go.

This recipe takes about ten minutes to cook and is SUPER good!

Spicy Green Beans

Total Recipe cost: $2.16
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Cost per serving: $0.54 (about 2/3 cup each)
Prep time: 5 min. Cook time: 5-7 min. Total: 10-15 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
1 lb.	green beans	$1.67
1 Tbsp	butter	$0.11
1 tsp	brown sugar	$0.02
2 Tbsp	chili paste (sambal)	$0.34
a pinch	salt	$0.02
TOTAL		$2.16

STEP 1: Snap the stem end off of each green bean and snap the longer beans in half. Place the snapped green beans in a colander and rinse well.

STEP 2: Place the rinsed green beans in a medium pot and add enough water to just come up to the top of the green beans. Bring the pot to a boil, with a lid, and let boil for about 5 minutes or just until tender. Alternatively, you can steam the green beans if you have a steaming basket.

STEP 3: Drain the boiled green beans. Add the butter, brown sugar, and sambal to the warm pot (with the burner turned off) and mix until combined. Add the drained green beans back to the pot and toss to coat. Add a pinch of salt and serve.

I LOVE EASY!

Step By Step Photos

Start by snapping the stem off of the green beans and snapping the long ones in half. Rinse the green beans well.


Place the rinsed green beans in a pot and add enough water to just come up to the top of the beans.


Bring the pot up to a boil and let it boil for about five minutes or until the green beans just become tender and bright green. You can steam them instead of boiling, if you prefer. (I used to have a steaming basket, but lost it)


Drain the green beans.


This is the sambal that I used. As I mentioned, this brand also makes a "chili garlic paste" that looks almost identical and would work equally as well in this recipe. It just has more of a garlic flavor.


Add the butter, brown sugar, and sambal to the still warm pot - with the heat turned OFF.


Let the butter melt and stir it all together.


Add the green beans back to the pot and stir to coat. I originally used only 1 Tbsp of sambal, but then realized that I wanted more, which is why there is some on top in the photo.


I could have easily eaten the whole batch, but in reality it's probably about four small side dish sized portions.

Falling Off the Wagon

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In the spirit of being honest, I'm just going to say that we've fallen off the wagon a bit lately. It's just too much for me to pack/unpack a house--mostly all by myself... take care of four kids... have Tom out of town on a week long deal... and deal with all the various errands that accompany a move... I have neither the time, nor the energy to cook three times a day. I know many of you will say "if you just did..."  but I'm a fairly goal-orientated person, and if I fail to meet that goal (staying Primal) it's because doing so would cause serious mental harm to me or members of my family.  And I'm not even (really) joking. 


However, we haven't been out eating pizza or downing the Pepsi (ew, anyway) every night. It's been mostly some potatoes (white) and a couple of sweet (frozen yogurt...cookies) things, and probably a bun or two. Interestingly, my kids thought they were going to be in heaven when I said "look, whatever. You know what it will do to you, so you figure out if it's worth it."  I was pleasantly surprised when one of them, Veronica (who was the most resistant to this "diet" when we first started) said "well, I ate my burger with only the bottom of the bun, and just *one* french fry. . . because... I was hoping to eat that half cookie later today, so I thought to myself "ooh, don't eat too many bad things, because you will be sorry."  


Okay, so even though we could be scolded for not staying Primal, I was really happy that my seven year old showed that much self-control and forethought when it came to her food. I was even more happy when it turned out to be my carboholic, will-do-anything-including-sell-my-own-grandmother-if-it-means-I-get-extra-carbs daughter.


I've been craving carbs like crazy. I eat mostly potatoes when that happens. I think it's because lifting 50lb boxes and 90lb rugs have a way of making your heart and muscles burn fuel like crazy. I wish I like sweet potatoes... I have tried and tried, but man, I just don't get how anybody could like them. It's icky. And orange. And sweet. NOT a potato, people. It's just not. 


I wish I could find my camera cord because I have some nice photos of food we've made at the new house. One day we had: Breakfast: eggs, bacon and fruit.  Lunch: nitrate-free hotdogs with a spring mix salad, topped with feta, blueberries and a honey-lime dressing. And dinner was hamburger patties and a vegetable salad.  It was all very pretty and very tasty. Hopefully tomorrow I can get the recipe up for the salad. 


Let's see... what else... not sure. I'll be very happy with the unpacking process is completed, because we now have some awesome walking trails right next to my house, and I cannot wait to get out there and walk.  I just have to figure out a way to keep Elizabeth in a stroller. And I suppose giving her cookies to munch on is out?  


I kid, I kid!


I'll give her some tree bark and tell her it's super primal. 


Tom says I have a different personality in my writing than I do in real life. Well, duh... in writing you can be as dumb as possible, but I don't have to see people roll their eyes at me when they are way on the other side of the ... computer, I guess. I told him we can't all be like him; charming and good looking all the time. 


Okay, so that's my update for tonight. I am really hoping to get back to cooking/baking sometime next week. 


Wish me luck!

Amy's Story

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Amy Rose Woods, born on April 28th, 2006 --- five weeks early. 

Amy on her sixth birthday

My pregnancy with Amy was just like all the other ones... very difficult. This one was made worse by the fact that I now had two other babies to care for AND I was in my last semester of school--trying to earn my associates in Liberal Arts. I was rushing to finish this so I could have some type of degree should the police ever come after me for homeschooling my own kids...eventually. 


So I was in and out of the hospital many times, but I thought all was going well, until I went in--for the 30th time--to the hospital for fluids/check-up and I asked them for an ultrasound within a week or two. The doctor asked why and I said "she needs to be checked on."  He didn't seem convinced, but his nurse was really nice and said "Look, she's already had two, if she thinks there is a problem, we should look."  Thank God for that nurse, because she scheduled me for an ultrasound the next day. 


I went in for what I thought would be a routine U/S and instead it took well over an hour. I was alone since Tom was at home with Regina and Veronica (we really had no sitters in NY at this time)... anyway, I sensed something was off, but was too afraid to ask. I know now they did a stage 4 u/s, which means they were checking organ function, blood flow, and other signs of life/trouble. 


They told me to come in the very next day for an induction and that she would probably be fine. I asked why and the doctor said "Oh, you have no amniotic fluid. Best to just induce you right away."  I knew that wasn't all since I had the same issue with the first two pregnancies, and all they said was "drink water and bedrest".  But... whatever. I was tired of being sick, and sick of being pregnant, so whatever, let's have a baby! 


Amy was born the next day about six hours after labor begun. Turns out, she had a triple nuchal cord and the more she grew the more it was closing off her airway and blood flow. The doctor said it was so serious that if I had come in three days later, she would have been stillborn. . . that still gives me the chills.


She was in the NICU for five days due to breathing issues. I was told, after they released her, that I was very lucky she did so well.  Don't know what that means, but hey, I knew then that she was going to be my feisty-fighter kid. And she is! 


Amy weighed in at 5lbs 2oz and 18 inches long. She dropped to 4lbs 10oz in the hospital--not bad, really, but sounded so tiny!  She had developed a bad case of jaundice, but we fixed it eventually. Her mouth was so small she couldn't feed well, so we had to use tiny bottles. I was so sad that I couldn't get her to nurse. I tried everything I could, but gave up after three weeks when she wasn't gaining weight and her jaundice still lingered. She really was just too small and the energy it took to eat was too much for her.  I was really sad, but relieved that her angels had told me to get her out while we could--at least she was alive!


I finished finals while Amy was in the NICU. I still don't know how I did it. I graduated when she was three weeks old. And we moved from NY to AL when she was six weeks old, I think? So in all the hubbub we weren't forced by her doctor to give her all the vaccine shots. I did have her checked out in AL since I was still worried about her growth... I went into the doctor's office... they had me wait 2.5 hours!!...with all three girls (who at this point are just 3, 1.5, and newborn) and waited to see the doctor. To say I was tired in an understatement. I was almost catatonic. We finally walk into the exam room and the nurse comes in saying "she needs all the vaccines"  I was so frazzled at this point because Amy had been freaking out screaming for the last 20 minutes, and the other two were crying loudly for the last hour because it was way past lunch time.  I said "no, she was five weeks early, so really she's only about a week old, and I don't want her to have anything at this point."   The nurse didn't like that at all... so she talked to the doctor who also urged me to give Amy, a preemie, not one vaccine but SIX all at once.  I was so tired, and so frazzled, and so sad I just couldn't move, so all I could say was "No."  


They did it anyway. Yes, I asked them not to, twice, and they did it anyway... even the stupid one! I forget what it's called but I said "why does she need that" and they said "because she might get a cold and it would mean she needs to be hospitalized if she throws up or has diarrhea."  I said "I'll take my chances, she doesn't need it for a possible cold."  

They gave it to her anyway.


I felt so abused at this point:  Waiting in a waiting room for nearly three hours with three crying kids, all of us hungry, they made no attempt at an apology, and then I was bullied once I got back there. I am sure they sensed how rundown I was and knew I couldn't fight, so they just did what they wanted. It still makes me angry to even think about it. And it makes me sad, not only for Amy, but for me that I was that ill myself, and nobody--not even me--knew it. 


I forced myself to get the kids and get to the car. I cried the whole way home. I then decided I wouldn't ever go back to a doctor for routine care. There are definitely legitimate reasons to see a doctor, but being bullied isn't one of them. 


I tore up the appointment card and never went back.


Amy seemed to do well. She was on fully on formula at this point and seemed to thrive on it. I received a lot of wonderful comments about it... such as "you know she'll have weight problem when she's older...formula does that to them"  or "You know they use rat poison in that, right" or "her brain won't develop correctly if you don't breastfeed." and "she is always going to be sick, you shouldn't give that to her!"   All said by well-intentioned people, but all I knew is that I couldn't pump round the clock with two other kids running around and me being in a perpetual zombie-like state. 


Ironically, Amy has turned out to be my most thin, healthy, smart kids.... not that that's saying much for how sick the family is, but just goes to show that while breastfeeding is best, you will not ruin your baby if you have to go with formula.


About this time is when Veronica began to have all her issues, so I can't remember Amy having any real issues during this time.


Fast forward a few years... Amy was fully potty trained a few months after her 2nd birthday (if I remember correctly). She was trained for a good six, or more, months and all was well. Until one day she began having "accidents" all over the place, all day long. I thought it was a bladder infection, but everything was okay with that. I took her to the doctor (not the one who gave her shots, but the one who had been seeing Veronica) thinking it might be a kidney problem.  His answer?  Guess. Go ahead. Guess! 


"She's a little girl. That's what they do."   Yes, I say, but not to this degree. And Amy hates to be out of control of things, and she's very much a neat-nik, everything must be perfect, or she's not happy... this is very unlike her.  "Well" he says "you're pregnant. Again (this time with Elizabeth). And she's probably reverting back to her babyish ways."   I suppose, I said, but I don't think so.  He told me to go home and let her grow out of it. 


We tried everything... bribes, taking away toys, being super nice, sitting all day in the bathroom, getting angry, and crying. A lot.  This went on from ages three to four. I could not believe this really smart kid would just refuse to go to the bathroom and instead go on everything in sight. Tom and I were pulling our hair out with her.  I took her back to the doctor thinking it must be some sort of genetic defect. And I was really scared it had to be something from her days in utero where she had no fluid (which does have a lot to do with the formation of kidneys) or maybe the cord cut off too much blood flow to something in her brain... kinda seems silly now, but it was scary back then. 


So he says "oh, she's still little.  And she is probably constipated which can put pressure on her bladder and make her go. You should feed her a more balanced diet and lots of fiber."   Well, I took exception to this since my whole life at this point revolved around making sure my kids ate well. No, it was Primal, but I am fairly certain my kids were the only kids on the street who enjoyed eating salad and vegetables and ate things other than chicken nuggets and french fries. If that's what you feed your kids, I'm not judging that... I just wanted my kids to eat a lot of good for you food and so I really took that seriously. We would often talk about food at the table "who wants strawberries! What kind of nutrients are in strawberries... onions...broccoli...etc".  So I didn't like the idea that I must be a mom who is just stuffing cookies down Amy's throat and couldn't tell between constipation and a real problem.


I said "look, my kids probably eat better than 90% of your patients... she is not constipated. She has plenty of vegetables and whole grains and lots of water."  He didn't like that so he challenged me by saying "Okay, then we'll just have to get an x-ray to look at her colon."  I hate it when doctors try to prove points based on nothing...  "Okay. Go ahead."   

The xray came back a few days later. I had a phone call from the nurse saying "well, she's not constipated... but the dr wants you to go ahead and give her heavy doses of Miralax for a week."


Miralax is a white powder that you mix into liquid and it bulks up while in your intestines creating "fake fiber".  I said I was not going to give my 4 year old fake fiber just because, and since it is not constipation causing this bladder issue... what else could we do?   She said "He won't do anything until you try the miralax."   


What. Ever. 


We held off on giving her the miralax for a few months. I tried to up her vegetable intake and her water intake to see if that would help things. After another few months I told Tom she was getting worse and maybe we should try the miralax for a few days just so the doctor would take us seriously. Tom said ok, so we did.  Of course it did nothing to help Amy. I went back to the doctor (only because I needed him to order tests for me)  and he said "well, she's probably constipated, give her miralax."   Seriously? I mean, seriously?!   I said "you already checked her for constipation and the xray said she was clear."  He said that couldn't be true and he was going to check the xray again...only his computer wouldn't pull it up, so he was going to assume it was constipation anyway.   What the???


He said "well, I could refer you to a specialist but they'll be like "why are you wasting my time, she's four and this happens all the time."   I felt like punching him. Three visits to his office ... we've dealt with this for a year... and he has the nerve to tell me I'm wasting their time?  I said "I still want to do it."  And he said "they usually grow out of it by six months. Don't worry."  I wanted to scream :you do have *her* chart on the computer you have been staring at non-stop for the last five minutes, right?!  Instead I just said "it's been double that."  He said it must be because we had a new baby. I said "then why did it begin before the new baby was born?"  He said "it's not a big deal."  I said "yes, it is." 

I did take Amy to the chiropractor who had been helping us with Veronica. He worked on her a little, but it didn't seem to help. He did say that he's not specialized with little kids, so maybe a pedi chiro would work better. 


At this point Tom called in favors from one of his Harvard friends who went on to become a pediatrician. She didn't have much to say, if I recall correctly. I think she knew a couple of doctors in AL who might be able to help, but at this point I was burnt out on AL doctors (no offense, anyone!) so I said "we're moving in six months. Let's just wait until we get to Kansas."   So we did. 


Once we got to Kansas we had an ultrasound ordered for her... her kidneys showed that everything was well except that they couldn't find one of the tubes going from the kidney to the bladder. I said "oh good, is that the problem?!  The tech said "well, they kinda float around, so it could still be there."   They think it probably was hiding since there was no fluid backed up into the kidney and all else looked well.  Darn. I was hoping for an answer. 

We finally settled in with school and the new house and all that, so Dr. Rob (in AL) helped me find a chiropractor here in Kansas who might be good for the whole family. 

We found Dr. Stacy and she was really great from the start. I told her Amy's issues, said "Amy is now five and and still having these issues and I have nothing left to try."  She said "of course there is a problem. How could any doctor let this go on for so long?!"  I thought that was a great question. Dr Stacy has been working with Amy for about nine months now. Dr. Stacy said it was a nerve issue, that she had such a kink in her spine (and you could feel it) that it had to be blocking the nerve signal to her brain telling Amy "get to the bathroom" and so her bladder would just release whenever there was something in there.   Made sense. The ironic part is that Amy did become constipated at some point because she stopped drinking fluids "but Moooom, they always make me go to the bathroom!"

So it took about four months of Dr. S working on Amy to get her better. We still have no idea what would have happened to make the spine get all kinked up. And it's taken another two months for Amy's brain to relearn the "go to the bathroom" signal. We did have a few time periods where Amy (ever the strong willed child) used the "I'm not going to the bathroom just because you told me to" weapon.  Never worked. She would definitely get in trouble for that, but was often excused for the "I just got busy and forgot" accidents.  Still dealing with this issue for basically 3 1/2 years has really been draining (haha). 

Dr. Stacy has been amazing. She really worked very closely with us. She tried many different techniques, she gave us a lot of time and support, and after the first few visits, she treated Amy for FREE. She said if she could help our family, and especially help Amy to get back to normal, that would really make her day. What a 180 turn for us... going from such a dismissive, rude doctor to an all-out caring one. I was really touched. 

Even when Amy was going through her stubborn "you can't make me go to the bathroom" stage, Dr. Stacy went to the store and with her own money bought Amy "prizes" for every week she went to the bathroom five times (daily). I mean, really... she was off the clock and still took the time to work on Amy, even though she wasn't getting paid!   

Chiropractors rock. 

Okay, so what does this have to do with being Primal?  Well, not much, I suppose. At least, this part of the story isn't too primal, but she's always getting left out of stuff, so I thought it only fair to share her story as well.  Once we cleared up her bladder issue we had the time and energy to focus on her other health needs. 


She's, by far, my pickiest eater. She has to have foods cooked a certain way. She hates bone-in chicken because it's slimy and has "icky bones and stuff." She must be a texture person, because most of her complaints aren't about taste, but about how it feels or looks. Ugh. I don't know if it's a new power-play move or what, but I'm not playing. I serve her what I serve everyone else and she can choose to eat it or not.  She always loved pizza and mac 'n' cheese (whole grain) but she's been a job and a half since going Primal.  Thankfully she will willingly eat many vegetables and fruits and dairy, but she's difficult to please with meats. 


Amy is prone to anger outbursts. It can be pretty bad at times. Her sisters bear the many marks and a few scars from Amy's scratching and biting. I was really surprised when this behavior began since my other kids had never even really hit each other. Amy's anger was (and still can be) out of control. She is a perfectionist, and must be in charge, and has the final say, and is *never* wrong. I see a lot of myself in her, unfortunately. I don't bite though. 


Anyway, the whole house would kind of have an "aww man" moment when Amy would wake up for the day. We all knew it was going to be fighting and screaming and power struggles all day. It was really not a lot of fun to be around her. She was always angry. I tried the usual parental tricks of "this is your thing you are in charge of and nobody else can do it/touch it" or "as soon as you get angry, go to your room and sing a song" and "think of how much it hurts Jesus when you hurt your sisters" kinds of things. Nothing worked. 


About a month or two after Going Primal Tom and I both said one day "Hey... Amy is like a different kid!"  And she was/is. She is still prone to anger outbursts, and you can still find a claw mark on her sisters every once in a while (by the way, any advice on how to punish for that?) but overall, she has a lot of happy moments and fun-filled days.


I'm not sure what dietary thing she was eating (corn syrup, too much sugar, grain, food coloring, etc) that was magnifying these issues... but I'm glad it stopped! I really thought I was going to be dealing with a crazy-hulk-like kid for the next 12 years, and though I love her, I wasn't too thrilled about the idea of fighting all day, every day.


I've been allowing her to pick her own cheats since choosing stuff makes her feel in charge of herself, and because I want to see how her cheats affect her. Corn syrup is now on the "I don't care how much you beg, you can't have it" list. It turns her into a scary little thing within 20 minutes. No, thanks. 


Looking at all the changes my kids have made--just from diet!--it makes me wonder how many kids today are on medications, in therapy, or are labeled as "problem kids" needlessly?  And if the parents knew it could be controlled (at least to some degree) with monitoring food intake, would they choose to do it?  It does take a lot of time and energy to be a foodie.


Two morals to this story. 1) Always trust your parental gut. And 2) It's worth Going Primal, even if it's just two or three weeks, because you never know what kind of positive effect it will have on you and your children. I never would have thought to even seek a cure for Amy's anger, and it was a very great gift to have it reduced by just a few simple food choices.

Elizabeth's Story (so far)

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Elizabeth Kathryn was born two weeks early on January 25, 2010.




My pregnancy with Elizabeth was somewhat better, but towards the end my blood pressure skyrocketed, I was having headaches, and just not feeling great. I had a great doctor who actually listened to me and trusted me when I said things weren't right. So when I woke up one morning and just felt off, I just walked right into his office without even calling for an appointment. My blood pressure was "wow, kinda high" they said, and said I had other signs of preeclampsia. He said he knew something wasn't right because I told him it was time for this to be over and crying. I never cry.  He said okay and sent me to the hospital. 

I went in to the hospital and it turns out my blood pressure was 200/116 (way too high). So, yet again, I was induced. I was really hoping to finally have one labor start naturally, but I guess it wasn't to be. Tom arrived at the hospital and the doctor gave me an epidural. I didn't really want one, but because of my BP they thought it would be best to have as little pain as possible. I felt pretty good, and then...

I crashed. 

I remember waking up in a fog and hearing "okay, we might be out of the Woods!"  I wondered why they were talking about getting out of me....  They thought the epidural had lowered my blood pressure too much, and they had trouble getting it back up. Ironic. 

A little while later nurses and doctors were in my room having me flip, turn, and all sorts of tricks. I just did it... had no idea why. About five minutes later I hear "call it, we gotta go now! ... but all O.R.s are full!...get the one downstairs prepped!" 

Finally my OB says "her heart rate is not coming up, it's getting lower and I've tried every trick. Don't try to figure it out, we don't have time." 

When I crashed it wasn't because of the epidural, it was because I was beginning to hemorrhage, and now the placenta was abrupting (separating from the uterine wall) which leads to death for the baby, and can also be deadly for the mother.


I had to tell Tom to call my mom and his mother... "what do I tell them?" he asked.  I didn't have the courage to say "tell them one of us is dying,"  At this point it wasn't clear how much danger I was in myself.  


As they are pushing me down the hall to the operating room (which, I have to tell you, was the longest, most heart-stopping moment I've ever had) the OBs and the Anesthesiologist were arguing over whether or not I could stay awake. The OB was saying there wasn't time, I had to be put out. The Anesthesiologist said I could just have hyper-doses of epidural drugs since I already had one in. I really believe it was God's intervention that I was semi-forced to have an epidrual at the beginning...


They let me stay awake (although, I really didn't like the idea) but Tom could not be present. I don't know how much time elapsed from the call until she was born, but it was crazy fast. She came out screaming and fighting.  And then they took her away. 


She was 5lbs 8oz and 18" long. They said she had stopped growing about three weeks prior. The placenta was too small and had really stopped function well. And if I hadn't come in to the doctor that day, she definitely would have died, and there was a high probability I wouldn't have made it either. 


That still gives me chills. 


It was four or five hours before I could hold her. I was so sick from all the drugs and trauma that I couldn't do anything but lay flat. And vomit. Continuously. 


I finally was able to get Elizabeth into my room. She did not look happy. I was sure she was just as traumatized as I was. She wouldn't eat at all, really. She was losing weight fast. After three days, the doctor said I should go home (even though my pain was running rampant) because babies tend to perk up when mom's are home and more comfortable. 


We went home and I literally did nothing but hold her and try to feed her. By the time we went in for her check up three days later, she was down to 4lbs 8oz and had jaundice. I was desperate to make breastfeeding work... especially since I was unable to nurse Amy as a baby... so I tried everything. About day five she did finally start eating, and eating well... however, she was still losing weight. By her two week check up, she hadn't even broken 5 pounds. 


I had to borrow a baby scale and weigh her daily. We thought maybe she was too little to eat effectively, so I was also pumping and feeding her from a "closet to the breast" type of bottle. She still lost weight. I tried the tube trick. I tried dripping milk in her mouth. I tried force-feeding her. I tried the syringe... and anything else I could think of. She either lost weight or maintained, but never gained.


During this time, Tom and I were in and out of the pediatrician's office every other day. He was concerned and asked about giving Elizabeth formula. I said I really didn't want to, but maybe I could mix a bottle with half formula and half breast milk. He was okay with that. I have to say he was much less pushy than I expected him to be. He clearly wanted me to do formula, but was very respectful when I said I wanted to try other things.


At a few check-ups I told the doctor that she was very lazy when eating. She was constipated. She was irritable. I don't remember him offering much advice. Just that all of that is common in babies who aren't gaining weight. 


At her six week check up she was just a little over 5lbs, but still didn't seem right. She was still too lazy, she didn't want to eat, but cried a lot, and her stools didn't make sense to me. I said "well, I give up, I guess we'll just go ahead and switch to formula."  He thought that was great. And then he asked "when do you want to do vaccines?"


Are you kidding me?  This baby was born too early, into a very traumatic situation, hasn't been growing and is always irritable, and he wants to shoot her up with whoknowswhat?  Yeah, right. 


I sleep deprived. I was an emotional wreck. . . I mean, my baby wouldn't grow, I had a horrid c-section, I couldn't even walk on my own, and now I have to fight him on vaccines? I feebly said "you know, I really would rather wait until she's older to deal with vaccines."  His demeanor immediately switched from "happy and helpful" to "on edge and condescending".  "What are you thinking you're going to do about this then?"  I said I wanted to wait and there's no rush for it now. 
He said, yes, babies need to be protected and if she caught whooping cough in her fragile state, well, it might not end well.  I said I was sure she'd be fine for the next few months. He said "are you sure?"  I asked him about rates of measals and mumps, and haven't those rates dropped drastically over the last few decades, and didn't clean water and better living conditions contribute to this, more-so than the vaccines? He said "well.... yes... but measels are on the rise again!"  I asked "Oh, wow. So how many children have you seen in the last five years with measels?"  His answer? "Two."

So I have to vaccinate my tiny baby against something that basically doesn't exist, and it would really be an issue to wait a year or two?  He said it would be an issue, and we really shouldn't delay. I asked why, and he said--I kid you not!--"well, if she gets a fever or has an issue in the meantime, I'd have to admit her to the hospital right away... and... I'd have to test her... for several things...all at once!" 
 I said "so I should vaccinate her because you might have to run extra tests if she gets ill?"  I don't think he said much to that. 

I don't remember what we ended up doing with her. I think we did two vaccines when she was a couple of months old.  I feel like he knew I was not in a position to make a rational decision given that I was still on pain meds, had no sleep, and was really focused on Elizabeth growing. I think it was bullying. Why not say "as a doctor I disagree with you, but here's some info to think about, and we'll talk about it next time you come in." ?  


Anyway... after Elizabeth's six week check up, literally a day later, I noticed a white splotch in her mouth. What a minute... I saw that splotch when she was two weeks old, now that I think about it.   It suddenly dawned on me: she has thrush! And she had probably had it since she was a few days old. Thrush in newborns leads them to not eat well because their mouths hurt. They're gut is all of track, so their stools are funky. They don't gain weight well. And they are very irritable. How, how, how did the doctor miss this? This is a routine problem with newborns and doctors are supposed to check for this at every check up. How could he not have put all this together?  


I looked more closely at her mouth and saw that it was c.o.v.e.r.e.d. in white stuff.  Should I have spotted this earlier?  Yes, probably. My job as a mother is to nurture and feed and take care of the baby. His job as a doctor is to look for health problems and make sure babies are doing well. This was inexcusable. I was also miffed that my OB hadn't told me they have me antibiotics after my surgery, which would be a cause of thrush for the baby. 


I took Elizabeth back into the doctor. I was a little miffed and said "She has thrush!" the doctor said "Oh, is that what it is? Here you go, give her nystatin."  I took it just so I could avoid an argument, but I had no intention of using it. Nystatin kills yeast, but it also kills other things in the process. On the label it says "can cause diarrhea; mouth irritation; nausea; upset stomach; vomiting"

Yup, if I had a baby who couldn't eat, wasn't gaining weight, and generally not doing well, that's exactly the drug I would have her take.   

I went to our local health food store and told the owner the issues, what the doctor gave me and she said "what? He want her to die?"  Of course I know he didn't want that, but it did make me chuckle. She helped me find a yogurt with live cultures. I had to take it home, and then strain the yogurt so that it would make a paste. Then I'd take the paste it spread it on the inside of Elizabeth's mouth. I did this twice a day for ten days, and the yeast problem went away completely. (Nystatin must be used a few times a day for two weeks.) 

By this point Elizabeth was used to bottles and would not go back to breast feeding. I was so upset, but I had to appreciate the fact that she made it through the rough pregnancy, through delivery, and was now gaining weight, and just be happy about it. Once we switched to formula she took off, she did really well.   


If this was the only problem I had with this particular doctor, I would have just let it slide... we all make mistakes... but this is the same doctor who had misdiagnosed all of my girls, and hadn't been too nice in the process. So, yeah, I pretty much did not like him anymore. At all. 


So we get everything squared away, Elizabeth starts growing, she stays on formula (mixed with breast milk for a few months) and I held her constantly for a year. She is still petite, but has hit all her milestones and is a really smart, stubborn kid. 


When Elizabeth was about seven months old we moved to Kansas. She was a little cranky, but I figured it was just the stress of the move and the disruption in her routine, so we waited for her to chill out. At about a year old she started crying all day. Every day. Non-stop. She was really high maintenance, nothing made her happy, really. It was really tough on the family, it is such a downer to have a baby/child constantly angry and crying, and knowing there is nothing you can do. I tried everything I knew how: schedules, no schedules, new foods, old foods, movies, reading, keeping her mind busy, doing more quiet time,traveling, staying home ... everything!  She did like to be outside, so we tried to do that a lot, but you can't live your whole life outside, even if you are Primal ;)

I kept telling Tom that she would grow out of it, that she's just high maintenance and needs a lot of attention. We waited for months for her to grow out of this phase. Once we settled into Kansas we had a friend who would come over to my house a few times a week and help watch Elizabeth (and Amy at the time) so I could go out and run errands. My friend told me that Elizabeth was always good for her and she didn't see any of the behavior that Tom and I would see all the time. That made things a little more complicated... it really made me wonder if I wasn't being a good enough mom, or if the stress of starting a new school (for the kids), moving into a huge house, and having the new experience of Tom working from home--which meant coordinating schedules most of the time--, not to mention cleaning the 5200 sqft house, had really just upset Elizabeth too much.  I had taken her into a new pediatrician here in Kansas for a check up, and as I feared, her growth chart line was falling, not rising.  Here we go again!

I really tried to tone things down and get Elizabeth relaxed, but it didn't seem to help much. I added in more high fat foods and tried to make sure she always had something to much on. I don't think it worked much. By this point she is two years old and her behavior is getting worse. She was constantly angry. I mean anything and everything set her off. 


If anybody looked at her the wrong way she would scream, throw toys, scratch (and draw blood), she would even rip out her hair... and all the while she'd look at you like a wild animal. It was really scary at times. I started wondering if she had some sort of mental issue. Or could she have some sort of sensory issues? All of this continued for months and months. The family was held hostage to her moods. We couldn't go out anywhere because there was 100% chance she'd be disruptive and cut our trip short. We even had to switch off going to Mass on Sundays. There was no way we could even step into a quiet church with her. Thankfully, Grandma would take her every other week so we could attend Mass as a family.

I think also about this time we discovered she had another yeast infection. So I did all the routine things: took her off sugar, added probiotics, and lots of water and rest. It helped her irritability somewhat, but not for long. 


I took her back to the pediatrician, desperate for ideas, but all I got was "feed her more food. And you might want to make an appointment with a nutritionist so you can learn about healthy foods."  That is a common theme with doctors and nurses, they look at me and decide that since I'm big, it must be that my kids subsist on french fries and fried chicken nuggets. It didn't how much I would talk about the kids eating fruits and vegetables, and meats, and whole grains... they never quiet believed it. Anyway, I never went it for a $50 class on how to feed your baby.


Still, her behavior continued and it was really wearing us down. I even thought about enrolling her in a preschool. My thought was that if she were nice enough for other people, maybe she'd be happier in a different enviroment. I was sad though, because I really didn't want to "send her away."


About this time I decided to write a post about Veronica's health issues, and while I was writing about it, I thought how similiar Veronica's behavior and that of Elizabeth's seemed to be. This made me wonder if, just by chance, Elizabeth's rage, and tiredness, and poor growth had more to do with dairy than it did with environment. So Tom and I decided to take her off dairy for two weeks just to see what happened. 


Within five days we could tell a major difference. We were cautiously optimistic since she had briefly gotten better after we went Primal, but then it came back. So after two weeks and she was still improving, we decided that it was indeed the dairy causing the problems. She can have yogurt and butter, but anything else seems to be a trigger for her.


She is now a completely different child. We attend Mass as a family. We are able to eat out at restaurants. I can even take her grocery shopping now. She refuses to sit in the cart, of course, but she'll walk happily along side of me.  She is still very stubborn, and she still has days where she wants what she wants and she'll let you know it, but at least you can redirect her attention and get her to be happy at some point.I no longer have to think about putting her in preschool either, and that is a big relief.


She is sleeping better as well, but the best part is that she has started growing again! She is putting on more weight and is getting a bit taller, thankfully. At 2.5 years old, she can still wear some clothes size 18 months, and some size 24 months, which I consider a success. Thankfully she seems to have no long term effects from the placental abruption, and we look forward to seeing what she accomplishes in life with her strong will and her "can do" attitude.  


We are very grateful that we decided to take the whole family primal. Who knows where we'd be mentally *and* physically if we had never taken the leap. So we are a real testament to the great effects of Going Primal. 


And hopefully the rest of Elizabeth's life will be very healthy and she won't need extra paragraphs added to her health story.

Don't Go Away!

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I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. Yikes. 


Don't go away! The family is in Alabama for the month of July so Tom can play with all his geeky friends. And so the kids can have fun seeing their old friends. And it turns out going on "vacation" for a month right after you move is actually kinda stressful in the sense that you are always busy. Our apartment has a saltwater pool (Yippee!) so we have been hanging out there a lot. Also, it doesn't help that the only way my internet works here is if I sit right next to the TV in the living room... with lots of kids climbing all over me... that tends to shorten the amount of time spent on the computer... and therefore, the blog. 


What are you favorite Summer, quick dishes?  We need some new, fun ideas!  We did bring all of our Paleo/Primal cookbooks with us. Have we actually looked through them yet?  Nope. 


Also, thank you for all the responses to My Story. I am looking into the suggestions some of you have offered. Thanks so much!

We're Home!

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Thanks for bearing with me during our crazy Summer. It feels like I've been in so many homes, cars, and States over the last month or so, that I keep forgetting where I am. 


Now that I'm really home I have much easier access to the internet. So we can now resume blogging! 


This week or next I am going to go buy a turkey so I can finally do the post on how to make the perfect turkey. We'll have to see when that happens though... Tom is sick with some kind of icky virus. The kids have been out of sorts today, so I'm sure that means they will be getting sick shortly. 


Interesting Fact: This is the first virus/sickness we've had (as far as I can remember) since we've gone Primal back in January!  Incidentally, we've had a lot of junky food the last few weeks, so coincidence... probably not. ;) 

Can You Help (no, not money)?

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Since I was a kid I've always had this weird temperature thing where my body temp is too low, but I'm *always* hot.  And I mimic the signs of under active thyroid, but my labs come back normal (well, they only ever test two things: TSH and T3)...

 anyway I'll save you all the details, but someone recommended I look into Wilson's Temperature Syndrome.

Are any of my readers familiar with it?  And, if so, do you have any advice on doctors or self-care?

Thanks!

Amy's Story

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Amy Rose Woods, born on April 28th, 2006 --- five weeks early. 

Amy on her sixth birthday

My pregnancy with Amy was just like all the other ones... very difficult. This one was made worse by the fact that I now had two other babies to care for AND I was in my last semester of school--trying to earn my associates in Liberal Arts. I was rushing to finish this so I could have some type of degree should the police ever come after me for homeschooling my own kids...eventually. 


So I was in and out of the hospital many times, but I thought all was going well, until I went in--for the 30th time--to the hospital for fluids/check-up and I asked them for an ultrasound within a week or two. The doctor asked why and I said "she needs to be checked on."  He didn't seem convinced, but his nurse was really nice and said "Look, she's already had two, if she thinks there is a problem, we should look."  Thank God for that nurse, because she scheduled me for an ultrasound the next day. 


I went in for what I thought would be a routine U/S and instead it took well over an hour. I was alone since Tom was at home with Regina and Veronica (we really had no sitters in NY at this time)... anyway, I sensed something was off, but was too afraid to ask. I know now they did a stage 4 u/s, which means they were checking organ function, blood flow, and other signs of life/trouble. 


They told me to come in the very next day for an induction and that she would probably be fine. I asked why and the doctor said "Oh, you have no amniotic fluid. Best to just induce you right away."  I knew that wasn't all since I had the same issue with the first two pregnancies, and all they said was "drink water and bedrest".  But... whatever. I was tired of being sick, and sick of being pregnant, so whatever, let's have a baby! 


Amy was born the next day about six hours after labor begun. Turns out, she had a triple nuchal cord and the more she grew the more it was closing off her airway and blood flow. The doctor said it was so serious that if I had come in three days later, she would have been stillborn. . . that still gives me the chills.


She was in the NICU for five days due to breathing issues. I was told, after they released her, that I was very lucky she did so well.  Don't know what that means, but hey, I knew then that she was going to be my feisty-fighter kid. And she is! 


Amy weighed in at 5lbs 2oz and 18 inches long. She dropped to 4lbs 10oz in the hospital--not bad, really, but sounded so tiny!  She had developed a bad case of jaundice, but we fixed it eventually. Her mouth was so small she couldn't feed well, so we had to use tiny bottles. I was so sad that I couldn't get her to nurse. I tried everything I could, but gave up after three weeks when she wasn't gaining weight and her jaundice still lingered. She really was just too small and the energy it took to eat was too much for her.  I was really sad, but relieved that her angels had told me to get her out while we could--at least she was alive!


I finished finals while Amy was in the NICU. I still don't know how I did it. I graduated when she was three weeks old. And we moved from NY to AL when she was six weeks old, I think? So in all the hubbub we weren't forced by her doctor to give her all the vaccine shots. I did have her checked out in AL since I was still worried about her growth... I went into the doctor's office... they had me wait 2.5 hours!!...with all three girls (who at this point are just 3, 1.5, and newborn) and waited to see the doctor. To say I was tired in an understatement. I was almost catatonic. We finally walk into the exam room and the nurse comes in saying "she needs all the vaccines"  I was so frazzled at this point because Amy had been freaking out screaming for the last 20 minutes, and the other two were crying loudly for the last hour because it was way past lunch time.  I said "no, she was five weeks early, so really she's only about a week old, and I don't want her to have anything at this point."   The nurse didn't like that at all... so she talked to the doctor who also urged me to give Amy, a preemie, not one vaccine but SIX all at once.  I was so tired, and so frazzled, and so sad I just couldn't move, so all I could say was "No."  


They did it anyway. Yes, I asked them not to, twice, and they did it anyway... even the stupid one! I forget what it's called but I said "why does she need that" and they said "because she might get a cold and it would mean she needs to be hospitalized if she throws up or has diarrhea."  I said "I'll take my chances, she doesn't need it for a possible cold."  

They gave it to her anyway.


I felt so abused at this point:  Waiting in a waiting room for nearly three hours with three crying kids, all of us hungry, they made no attempt at an apology, and then I was bullied once I got back there. I am sure they sensed how rundown I was and knew I couldn't fight, so they just did what they wanted. It still makes me angry to even think about it. And it makes me sad, not only for Amy, but for me that I was that ill myself, and nobody--not even me--knew it. 


I forced myself to get the kids and get to the car. I cried the whole way home. I then decided I wouldn't ever go back to a doctor for routine care. There are definitely legitimate reasons to see a doctor, but being bullied isn't one of them. 


I tore up the appointment card and never went back.


Amy seemed to do well. She was on fully on formula at this point and seemed to thrive on it. I received a lot of wonderful comments about it... such as "you know she'll have weight problem when she's older...formula does that to them"  or "You know they use rat poison in that, right" or "her brain won't develop correctly if you don't breastfeed." and "she is always going to be sick, you shouldn't give that to her!"   All said by well-intentioned people, but all I knew is that I couldn't pump round the clock with two other kids running around and me being in a perpetual zombie-like state. 


Ironically, Amy has turned out to be my most thin, healthy, smart kids.... not that that's saying much for how sick the family is, but just goes to show that while breastfeeding is best, you will not ruin your baby if you have to go with formula.


About this time is when Veronica began to have all her issues, so I can't remember Amy having any real issues during this time.


Fast forward a few years... Amy was fully potty trained a few months after her 2nd birthday (if I remember correctly). She was trained for a good six, or more, months and all was well. Until one day she began having "accidents" all over the place, all day long. I thought it was a bladder infection, but everything was okay with that. I took her to the doctor (not the one who gave her shots, but the one who had been seeing Veronica) thinking it might be a kidney problem.  His answer?  Guess. Go ahead. Guess! 


"She's a little girl. That's what they do."   Yes, I say, but not to this degree. And Amy hates to be out of control of things, and she's very much a neat-nik, everything must be perfect, or she's not happy... this is very unlike her.  "Well" he says "you're pregnant. Again (this time with Elizabeth). And she's probably reverting back to her babyish ways."   I suppose, I said, but I don't think so.  He told me to go home and let her grow out of it. 


We tried everything... bribes, taking away toys, being super nice, sitting all day in the bathroom, getting angry, and crying. A lot.  This went on from ages three to four. I could not believe this really smart kid would just refuse to go to the bathroom and instead go on everything in sight. Tom and I were pulling our hair out with her.  I took her back to the doctor thinking it must be some sort of genetic defect. And I was really scared it had to be something from her days in utero where she had no fluid (which does have a lot to do with the formation of kidneys) or maybe the cord cut off too much blood flow to something in her brain... kinda seems silly now, but it was scary back then. 


So he says "oh, she's still little.  And she is probably constipated which can put pressure on her bladder and make her go. You should feed her a more balanced diet and lots of fiber."   Well, I took exception to this since my whole life at this point revolved around making sure my kids ate well. No, it was Primal, but I am fairly certain my kids were the only kids on the street who enjoyed eating salad and vegetables and ate things other than chicken nuggets and french fries. If that's what you feed your kids, I'm not judging that... I just wanted my kids to eat a lot of good for you food and so I really took that seriously. We would often talk about food at the table "who wants strawberries! What kind of nutrients are in strawberries... onions...broccoli...etc".  So I didn't like the idea that I must be a mom who is just stuffing cookies down Amy's throat and couldn't tell between constipation and a real problem.


I said "look, my kids probably eat better than 90% of your patients... she is not constipated. She has plenty of vegetables and whole grains and lots of water."  He didn't like that so he challenged me by saying "Okay, then we'll just have to get an x-ray to look at her colon."  I hate it when doctors try to prove points based on nothing...  "Okay. Go ahead."   

The xray came back a few days later. I had a phone call from the nurse saying "well, she's not constipated... but the dr wants you to go ahead and give her heavy doses of Miralax for a week."


Miralax is a white powder that you mix into liquid and it bulks up while in your intestines creating "fake fiber".  I said I was not going to give my 4 year old fake fiber just because, and since it is not constipation causing this bladder issue... what else could we do?   She said "He won't do anything until you try the miralax."   


What. Ever. 


We held off on giving her the miralax for a few months. I tried to up her vegetable intake and her water intake to see if that would help things. After another few months I told Tom she was getting worse and maybe we should try the miralax for a few days just so the doctor would take us seriously. Tom said ok, so we did.  Of course it did nothing to help Amy. I went back to the doctor (only because I needed him to order tests for me)  and he said "well, she's probably constipated, give her miralax."   Seriously? I mean, seriously?!   I said "you already checked her for constipation and the xray said she was clear."  He said that couldn't be true and he was going to check the xray again...only his computer wouldn't pull it up, so he was going to assume it was constipation anyway.   What the???


He said "well, I could refer you to a specialist but they'll be like "why are you wasting my time, she's four and this happens all the time."   I felt like punching him. Three visits to his office ... we've dealt with this for a year... and he has the nerve to tell me I'm wasting their time?  I said "I still want to do it."  And he said "they usually grow out of it by six months. Don't worry."  I wanted to scream :you do have *her* chart on the computer you have been staring at non-stop for the last five minutes, right?!  Instead I just said "it's been double that."  He said it must be because we had a new baby. I said "then why did it begin before the new baby was born?"  He said "it's not a big deal."  I said "yes, it is." 

I did take Amy to the chiropractor who had been helping us with Veronica. He worked on her a little, but it didn't seem to help. He did say that he's not specialized with little kids, so maybe a pedi chiro would work better. 


At this point Tom called in favors from one of his Harvard friends who went on to become a pediatrician. She didn't have much to say, if I recall correctly. I think she knew a couple of doctors in AL who might be able to help, but at this point I was burnt out on AL doctors (no offense, anyone!) so I said "we're moving in six months. Let's just wait until we get to Kansas."   So we did. 


Once we got to Kansas we had an ultrasound ordered for her... her kidneys showed that everything was well except that they couldn't find one of the tubes going from the kidney to the bladder. I said "oh good, is that the problem?!  The tech said "well, they kinda float around, so it could still be there."   They think it probably was hiding since there was no fluid backed up into the kidney and all else looked well.  Darn. I was hoping for an answer. 

We finally settled in with school and the new house and all that, so Dr. Rob (in AL) helped me find a chiropractor here in Kansas who might be good for the whole family. 

We found Dr. Stacy and she was really great from the start. I told her Amy's issues, said "Amy is now five and and still having these issues and I have nothing left to try."  She said "of course there is a problem. How could any doctor let this go on for so long?!"  I thought that was a great question. Dr Stacy has been working with Amy for about nine months now. Dr. Stacy said it was a nerve issue, that she had such a kink in her spine (and you could feel it) that it had to be blocking the nerve signal to her brain telling Amy "get to the bathroom" and so her bladder would just release whenever there was something in there.   Made sense. The ironic part is that Amy did become constipated at some point because she stopped drinking fluids "but Moooom, they always make me go to the bathroom!"

So it took about four months of Dr. S working on Amy to get her better. We still have no idea what would have happened to make the spine get all kinked up. And it's taken another two months for Amy's brain to relearn the "go to the bathroom" signal. We did have a few time periods where Amy (ever the strong willed child) used the "I'm not going to the bathroom just because you told me to" weapon.  Never worked. She would definitely get in trouble for that, but was often excused for the "I just got busy and forgot" accidents.  Still dealing with this issue for basically 3 1/2 years has really been draining (haha). 

Dr. Stacy has been amazing. She really worked very closely with us. She tried many different techniques, she gave us a lot of time and support, and after the first few visits, she treated Amy for FREE. She said if she could help our family, and especially help Amy to get back to normal, that would really make her day. What a 180 turn for us... going from such a dismissive, rude doctor to an all-out caring one. I was really touched. 

Even when Amy was going through her stubborn "you can't make me go to the bathroom" stage, Dr. Stacy went to the store and with her own money bought Amy "prizes" for every week she went to the bathroom five times (daily). I mean, really... she was off the clock and still took the time to work on Amy, even though she wasn't getting paid!   

Chiropractors rock. 

Okay, so what does this have to do with being Primal?  Well, not much, I suppose. At least, this part of the story isn't too primal, but she's always getting left out of stuff, so I thought it only fair to share her story as well.  Once we cleared up her bladder issue we had the time and energy to focus on her other health needs. 


She's, by far, my pickiest eater. She has to have foods cooked a certain way. She hates bone-in chicken because it's slimy and has "icky bones and stuff." She must be a texture person, because most of her complaints aren't about taste, but about how it feels or looks. Ugh. I don't know if it's a new power-play move or what, but I'm not playing. I serve her what I serve everyone else and she can choose to eat it or not.  She always loved pizza and mac 'n' cheese (whole grain) but she's been a job and a half since going Primal.  Thankfully she will willingly eat many vegetables and fruits and dairy, but she's difficult to please with meats. 


Amy is prone to anger outbursts. It can be pretty bad at times. Her sisters bear the many marks and a few scars from Amy's scratching and biting. I was really surprised when this behavior began since my other kids had never even really hit each other. Amy's anger was (and still can be) out of control. She is a perfectionist, and must be in charge, and has the final say, and is *never* wrong. I see a lot of myself in her, unfortunately. I don't bite though. 


Anyway, the whole house would kind of have an "aww man" moment when Amy would wake up for the day. We all knew it was going to be fighting and screaming and power struggles all day. It was really not a lot of fun to be around her. She was always angry. I tried the usual parental tricks of "this is your thing you are in charge of and nobody else can do it/touch it" or "as soon as you get angry, go to your room and sing a song" and "think of how much it hurts Jesus when you hurt your sisters" kinds of things. Nothing worked. 


About a month or two after Going Primal Tom and I both said one day "Hey... Amy is like a different kid!"  And she was/is. She is still prone to anger outbursts, and you can still find a claw mark on her sisters every once in a while (by the way, any advice on how to punish for that?) but overall, she has a lot of happy moments and fun-filled days.


I'm not sure what dietary thing she was eating (corn syrup, too much sugar, grain, food coloring, etc) that was magnifying these issues... but I'm glad it stopped! I really thought I was going to be dealing with a crazy-hulk-like kid for the next 12 years, and though I love her, I wasn't too thrilled about the idea of fighting all day, every day.


I've been allowing her to pick her own cheats since choosing stuff makes her feel in charge of herself, and because I want to see how her cheats affect her. Corn syrup is now on the "I don't care how much you beg, you can't have it" list. It turns her into a scary little thing within 20 minutes. No, thanks. 


Looking at all the changes my kids have made--just from diet!--it makes me wonder how many kids today are on medications, in therapy, or are labeled as "problem kids" needlessly?  And if the parents knew it could be controlled (at least to some degree) with monitoring food intake, would they choose to do it?  It does take a lot of time and energy to be a foodie.


Two morals to this story. 1) Always trust your parental gut. And 2) It's worth Going Primal, even if it's just two or three weeks, because you never know what kind of positive effect it will have on you and your children. I never would have thought to even seek a cure for Amy's anger, and it was a very great gift to have it reduced by just a few simple food choices.