Psoriasis Update

Just wanted to give a quick update on my progress, or lack there of... After sticking to my initial diet for a month with no results I decided that I would go back to eating normally.  Miko and I have been doing great with exclusive breastfeeding and I did not want to do anything that could potentially jeopardize my supply, especially since my psoriasis hasn't gotten any better.

 

For now I am strictly avoiding gluten and nightshades but have gone back to eating much more satiating foods again - like red meat. When I do finish breastfeeding, I will most likely follow the Autoimmune Protocol guidelines as these are much more in-line with my lifestyle and attitude towards nutrition (eating a primal diet etc.)

 

I have to admit that I cheated for a couple of days to see what would happen. My psoriasis did not get visibly worse, but the itchiness was insane! It took three days before my itchiness subsided to a level that was bearable. That test was enough to keep me away from nightshades for the foreseeable future. I am now on a mission to find easy and delicious nightshade free recipes, which isn't that hard with internet at my finger tips :) 



Getting Outside as a Family - A New Easter Tradition

Since we don't have any family here where we live, we don't usually have a lot of things to do during special holidays. We didn't have any plans for Easter Sunday this year so we decided to go hiking as a family. The weather was beautiful and we wanted to try out our new Ergo carrier so we hit the trails at Crawford - a local hiking and mountain biking area in Kelowna.

 Miko is already approaching 20 lbs, so we had to go out and buy a new carrier and car seat last week. The Ergo has been great so far, it provides a lot of support and hiking with Miko on the front was easier than I expected. We also used the sleeping cover to protect Miko's head from the sun, it came in very handy.  The carrier itself was a little tricky to put on but I think I am getting the hang of it now. I can't wait to try him on my back and see how that feels.

 

Being outside in nature was a much needed, relaxing excursion for all three of us. It was nice to see  other people had the same idea, it was quite a popular spot!.  There were hikers, bikers, dog walkers and lots of people riding their horses. Of course the exercise was a nice way to counter-act the chocolate and sweet consumption.  This will definitely become an annual tradition for us.

Road Trip to Vancouver

We took Miko on his first road trip last weekend. Our plan was very ambitious; drive to Vancouver and back in one day.  We wanted to go on a road trip but had limited space to work with in the car so we decided not to stay overnight at a hotel (babies have a lot of equipment!).  The reason we needed lots of space was because we had a sizeable shopping list of things to buy at Ikea.  Oh yes, our entire trip consisted of eating delicious Dim Sum and buying stuff for Miko's nursery. It was actually quite fun even though it took twice as long to get there.....  Ah well, we knew it was going to take longer, we just ended up getting home really late at night.

 Here we are at our first stop outside of Merit.  A very nice young man offered to take a family photo for us. We are very thankful because we don't get many pictures with all three of us.

Miko was great on the road, he slept well and was easy to entertain during his awake time.  We did have to make frequent stops for feedings and diaper changes, which was expected.

 The drive from Kelowna to Vancouver has so much beautiful scenery.

Here I am sitting in the back with Miko during his awake time.

 Wow, CHEEKS

 

 And nap time of course. 

 

 There was still snow up on the Coquihalla, we still had our winter tires on just in case.

 

 Here's another stop in Hope.  We wanted to let Miko stretch out his legs in the back.  We may or may-not have consumed McDonalds at this point ;)

 Here we are in Chilliwack.

 

 We treated this as a little 'test-run' to see how Miko would handle it. Luckily he was just as easy-going as he is at home.  He hung out at the restaurant with us and didn't make a peep. He also managed to take a nap while we were in Ikea. The only issue we had was that Miko was obviously  uncomfortable while we driving up or down large mountains. We realized it must have been because his ears were equalizing, which is understandable.

All in all it was a successful trip, we got everything we needed at Ikea and had just enough space in the car to fit it (and us) all inside for the drive home.  We got a crib, high chair, bed linens, some feeding supplies and also some toys for Christmas (I like to plan ahead!) There was definitely a high ratio of driving but next time we plan on staying overnight somewhere as it appears Miko doesn't mind traveling too much.

Miko's First Easter

Favourite Pics - 3 to 4 months

 

(I know I just posted the above two pictures but I absolutely adore them!)

Growth Comparison

That's the 3 month picture on the left, 4 month picture on the right.

 

 And here is the 1 month picture next to the 4 month pic to show how much he's grown.

 

And the whole spread from 1 to 4 months!

Miko At Four Months



How Miko is Doing
-Miko weighs 17 pounds (!) and is 65 cm long
-His feedings are just as frequent as last month, still every couple hours during the day and anywhere between 1 and 7 hours at night
-He has mastered so many new skills in the past month its almost hard to believe
-Miko babbles and 'talks' to us all of the time.  I wake up to his sweet voice every morning.
-We have successfully transitioned Miko out of his swaddle and into his sleep sack
-Miko can now reach out and grasp objects on the first attempt, either with one or both hands. He can shake his rattle and mouth objects. His rainbow rings are officially his favourite toy at the moment.
-We have had many people comment on what a happy and easy-going baby he is. Luke and I couldn't agree more!  He is also quite the charmer as he has not yet developed stranger anxiety.
-Miko can support his head and loves to sit against our chests and look around.
-Miko is now too big for some of his 6 month clothes and is onto size 3 diapers according to the weight range!
-Tummy time is now fun for him, he sucks on his hands,moves his knees and kicks out his feet.  He has yet to move very far in this position though.

How I'm Doing
-Still trying to get a handle on my Psoriasis situation
-The amount of sleep I get every night is very manageable, I feel like a normal, rested human now :)
-I have decided that I need to buy a new bathing suit this summer - some sort of tankini thing that will be a little more forgiving in the tummy area
-We went on our first family road trip to Vancouver and Miko was amazing - such a trooper
-We had lots of visitors this past month, it was very good timing because Miko is so interactive now
-Books I've been reading: Millionaire Teacher,  and I'm still working on Sarum (it's going to take awhile)

Here are some more pictures I took during our 4 month photo shoot:

(alright Mom, that's enough pictures!)