(no subject)

At this point, I could probably make banana bread in my sleep. It's the one thing Cordelia will reliably eat for breakfast. Unfortunately, I get about eight slices (plus crusts which she won't touch) per loaf, so my baking day moves every week. I've got some in the oven right now. It smells pretty good, almost good enough to make me want a piece (I don't like banana bread much. I actively dislike it if it's more than about a day old. I do not understand Cordelia's tastebuds in the least).

I've been letting the bananas age a week and a half to two weeks before I use them. That seems to be a balance between too-green-to-mush and so-overripe-I'm-revolted. That means that, at any give time, we have two sets of aging bananas on the hook. The ones I'm about to use always look decidedly iffy, and I have to remind myself that softer and older is better for banana bread.

I use a recipe from Joy of Cooking but vary it. I add vanilla which isn't called for and an assortment of spices which are mysteriously absent from the original recipe. I use canola oil instead of butter/margarine (so as to make this safe for Cordelia) and Ener-G Egg Replacer instead of eggs. I could use eggs, but the egg replacer, with oil for half of the water, works perfectly well in this recipe and can be stored in the cupboard.

(no subject)

At this point, I could probably make banana bread in my sleep. It's the one thing Cordelia will reliably eat for breakfast. Unfortunately, I get about eight slices (plus crusts which she won't touch) per loaf, so my baking day moves every week. I've got some in the oven right now. It smells pretty good, almost good enough to make me want a piece (I don't like banana bread much. I actively dislike it if it's more than about a day old. I do not understand Cordelia's tastebuds in the least).

I've been letting the bananas age a week and a half to two weeks before I use them. That seems to be a balance between too-green-to-mush and so-overripe-I'm-revolted. That means that, at any give time, we have two sets of aging bananas on the hook. The ones I'm about to use always look decidedly iffy, and I have to remind myself that softer and older is better for banana bread.

I use a recipe from Joy of Cooking but vary it. I add vanilla which isn't called for and an assortment of spices which are mysteriously absent from the original recipe. I use canola oil instead of butter/margarine (so as to make this safe for Cordelia) and Ener-G Egg Replacer instead of eggs. I could use eggs, but the egg replacer, with oil for half of the water, works perfectly well in this recipe and can be stored in the cupboard.

(no subject)

Cordelia's doctors appointments last week went about as I expected. The dermatologist took a look and said that, yes, she has eczema. We have a prescription for a stronger ointment that I don't plan to fill any time soon as the Desonide is working perfectly well (and we'd had it not quite a week when we saw the dermatologist).

We also have prescription for a nighttime antihistamine. I'm not convinced we should fill that either. It's nighttime only because it makes people drowsy. I'm kind of inclined, should we need antihistamines for Cordelia, to go with Claritin since that's once a day and doesn't cause drowsiness. We're more likely to remember a once a day medication, I suspect. Of course, my opinion may change in the fall when the eczema gets bad again (cold weather makes it worse. Dry weather makes it worse).

The allergist appointment was more stressful and less productive. The allergist said that, if taking soy and dairy out helps the rash, they're obviously triggers and should stay out. We had scratch tests done for soy, dairy, casein, wheat, and eggs (we skipped shellfish, nuts and peanuts). None were positive. The allergist told me that they don't do blood tests for kids with eczema because the thing they test for (IgA?) is sufficiently elevated in them that the test comes back positive for everything tested.

The allergist suggested bleach baths. He said he uses them for his daughter. Scott has rejected the idea out of hand because trying to wedge in additional baths (particularly baths that don't take care of hair washing) is horribly difficult. I'm still thinking about it as an option for fall. Of course, my understanding is that bleach baths don't necessarily help the eczema itself. They help prevent infections and bacterial aggravation of the basic eczema.

(no subject)

Cordelia's doctors appointments last week went about as I expected. The dermatologist took a look and said that, yes, she has eczema. We have a prescription for a stronger ointment that I don't plan to fill any time soon as the Desonide is working perfectly well (and we'd had it not quite a week when we saw the dermatologist).

We also have prescription for a nighttime antihistamine. I'm not convinced we should fill that either. It's nighttime only because it makes people drowsy. I'm kind of inclined, should we need antihistamines for Cordelia, to go with Claritin since that's once a day and doesn't cause drowsiness. We're more likely to remember a once a day medication, I suspect. Of course, my opinion may change in the fall when the eczema gets bad again (cold weather makes it worse. Dry weather makes it worse).

The allergist appointment was more stressful and less productive. The allergist said that, if taking soy and dairy out helps the rash, they're obviously triggers and should stay out. We had scratch tests done for soy, dairy, casein, wheat, and eggs (we skipped shellfish, nuts and peanuts). None were positive. The allergist told me that they don't do blood tests for kids with eczema because the thing they test for (IgA?) is sufficiently elevated in them that the test comes back positive for everything tested.

The allergist suggested bleach baths. He said he uses them for his daughter. Scott has rejected the idea out of hand because trying to wedge in additional baths (particularly baths that don't take care of hair washing) is horribly difficult. I'm still thinking about it as an option for fall. Of course, my understanding is that bleach baths don't necessarily help the eczema itself. They help prevent infections and bacterial aggravation of the basic eczema.

(no subject)

Tuesday night, as I was tucking Cordelia in, she told me that she'd fallen twice while at school. (She objected to calling them 'falls,' but I'm at a loss for a different term for going from standing up to down on the ground with no warning. I think she believes falling is more active, that one must be moving to fall.) She showed me how she'd ended up-- more or less sitting on the floor. She also told me that her teacher had sent her to the office to sit down because she wasn't feeling well. She was scared.

Scott and I were scared, too, and we were more than a little upset to think that nobody'd bothered to call me. I e-mailed Cordelia's teachers immediately. I also told Cordelia to insist that someone call me if it ever happens again and to tell a teacher if it happens. Scott and I decided to wait and see what happened next.

One of the teachers called me before school on Wednesday. She said Cordelia had looked unwell but that none of the adults around had seen her fall (there was some implication that she didn't believe it had happened because somebody would have seen it). I asked her to keep her eyes open and to let me know what happened as I was trying to decide whether to take Cordelia to the doctor.

The main reason I didn't rush Cordelia off to the doctor was that she spent her time after school Tuesday playing outside, playing actively, without problems. The two incidents were, according to Cordelia, close together in time, both happening at a health fair the school was doing. She hadn't had problems otherwise.

We're still waiting, but I'm breathing easier. Nothing more has happened in the last few days. I just wish it were easier to know what happens while she's at school. She's not very talkative most of the time (at least not about school), and her teachers have fifty kids to supervise.

(no subject)

Tuesday night, as I was tucking Cordelia in, she told me that she'd fallen twice while at school. (She objected to calling them 'falls,' but I'm at a loss for a different term for going from standing up to down on the ground with no warning. I think she believes falling is more active, that one must be moving to fall.) She showed me how she'd ended up-- more or less sitting on the floor. She also told me that her teacher had sent her to the office to sit down because she wasn't feeling well. She was scared.

Scott and I were scared, too, and we were more than a little upset to think that nobody'd bothered to call me. I e-mailed Cordelia's teachers immediately. I also told Cordelia to insist that someone call me if it ever happens again and to tell a teacher if it happens. Scott and I decided to wait and see what happened next.

One of the teachers called me before school on Wednesday. She said Cordelia had looked unwell but that none of the adults around had seen her fall (there was some implication that she didn't believe it had happened because somebody would have seen it). I asked her to keep her eyes open and to let me know what happened as I was trying to decide whether to take Cordelia to the doctor.

The main reason I didn't rush Cordelia off to the doctor was that she spent her time after school Tuesday playing outside, playing actively, without problems. The two incidents were, according to Cordelia, close together in time, both happening at a health fair the school was doing. She hadn't had problems otherwise.

We're still waiting, but I'm breathing easier. Nothing more has happened in the last few days. I just wish it were easier to know what happens while she's at school. She's not very talkative most of the time (at least not about school), and her teachers have fifty kids to supervise.