Four and so much more!

 

 

 

What can I say, my little girl is growing up! Time sure flies. Everyone always tells you to enjoy every minute, which is impossible to do, even with the most well behaved child by the way, and with my "spirited child," forget about it. Some days, I am just counting down the moments until books are read, "head stories" are finished, and lights are out. 

Elle has had many milestones recently, aside from turning the big FOUR. I shudder to recall me as an outgoing rambunctious four-year old, but apparently I never whined, had tantrums, and I always shared. I must have been the most amazing child ever! Elle, is a "typical" four-year old, whom to quote her preschool teacher, "is an exuberant, creative and tender-hearted child." She has her moments that are not so fantastic, but she is a ball of fun and creativity!

She continues to LOVE all things art. Coloring, painting, song writing, clothing design (well outfit selection, anyway), interior decorating, you name it. She is a girl of many talents.
here she is working on one of her masterpieces

here are some of her most recent ones



this flower is now framed in my bedroom. It simply makes me smile
 

 

 

 

The sun, flower and clouds (she paints these images a lot)

 



the art wall in my entry way

Now, hopefully you are smiling too!

 

Recently, she got her first salon haircut by my hair stylist, Liz at Salon Blonde

 Harlan also got a little one himself

 

Afterwards, she even sat at her first bar...


NO, not to order a drink, but a slice of peperoni pizza...which btw, after LOVING pepperoni her whole life, she now thinks it is too spicy and prefers sausage and olives. Who knew.

Most recently, as of yesterday, she even got rid of her beloved pacifier. I know, judge all you want. In my defense, and hers, she has had it limited to sleeping since she was 20 months old, and it always stayed under her pillow until bed time. I mean, she wasn't roaming up and down the isle of Target with it or anything, but it was still embarrassing to say that my almost 4-year-old still used a paci!

Well, a few nights ago, Elle decorated and signed a letter to the "pacifier fairy." For those of you who have never heard of, or have had a visited from this mythical character, you simply write her letter with what you wish to get in return of sending your used pacifier (to give to other babies in need) and place it in the mailbox. You also "sprinkle" magic fairy dust in the envelope to alert the fairy that she has a package waiting. The next day, your present appears. Magic!






I have to say, the thing was so chewed up (she has only had one for over a year) that it had no pacifier suction...I think it was just more of a novelty than anything. She went to sleep no problem and hasn't mentioned it today. Hopefully, things will continue to be so easy.

She also started indoor soccer (thanks, Mimi!) and LOVES it. There is something magical about coach Steve, and she can't wait until next week! Once a week, they just kick, run around and do some drills...there are no games, or competition, just play. Just how I like it.



go Elle go!

 

Aside from those big changes, she continues to amaze me everyday with her vocabulary, creativity and charm. Some of  my favorite words and phrases she uses are "apparently I will never go to kindergarten", something she says when she is trying to do something on her own and can't, "cat-a-killer" instead of Caterpillar, etc... I could go on and on, but I won't.

Her love for words leaves not one moment in a day in silence. I recently had the privilege of sleeping with her, and let me tell you, she doesn't even stop talking in her sleep. My friends and family often wonder why I don't listen to music in the car, but sometimes, those are my only moments I can sit in quiet.

She is absolutely obsessed with school, can't wait to go, and is equally obsessed with her best friend Kennedy. Those girls are a force to be reckoned with let me tell you.

 

they were left alone minutes and this is where we found them

 It is quite sweet how much she adores her, and her mom, Molly. She tells her "she wants to keep her around forever."

 

here we all are! One big-extended family

Beginning next school year, she will be going to preschool 5 days a week in the morning, and without Kennedy. Hopefully her enthusiasm for school, will continue. We will still see them lots though I am sure. Molly and I both joined the preschool board, and will be planning the school biggest fundraising event together, the auction (dun dun dunnnn). We will be seeing LOTS of each other, which we wanted. Next up, PTA...lol. Well, we will see. Never say never.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On her birthday, I asked these questions, and I intend to ask her the same ones for the next years to come. I guess until she will answer me. I am not very optimistic of the teenage years...

20 Questions on Your 4th Birthday:

 

1. What is your favorite color? Pink and purple

2. What is your favorite toy? Minnie dolls

3. What is your favorite fruit? Strawberries

4. What is your favorite tv show? Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Bug snacks

6. What is your favorite outfit? Minnie shirt, leggings and skirt

7. What is your favorite game? Matching game

8. What is your favorite snack? Pirate’s booty

9. What is your favorite animal? Elephants, cats and dogs

10. What is your favorite song? Twinkle, Twinkle little Rose

11. What is your favorite book? The long one all about Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes

12. Who is your best friend? Kennedy, duh!

13. What is your favorite cereal? Cheerios

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Jump in my trampoline

15. What is your favorite drink? Orange juice

16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Night-nights (her blanket)

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Omi and Papa Sausage

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? The hamburger store (In n Out Burger)

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Minnie



I suspect, many of these will change dramatically throughout the years and it will be fun to see the evolution.


Elle is a light in my crazy life. THE light, most of the time. She does not make parenting easy, but she keeps me on my toes, and I know a whole lot about parenting philosophies because of it.

We LOVE you, Elle! Happy Birthday!

I can't wait to see even more of the person you will become.

 

p.s. Elle had an amazing Pinterest worthy Minnie Mouse themed birthday party that I plan to blog about soon. It was simply too much to combine with this homage to her.

Boy, Oh Boy

 

Seriously, a year? I can't believe it!

So, how is the boy measuring up these days? What is he up to?

Clearly, despite his less than desirable and restricted diet, he continues to thrive and exceed all expectations for growth of an FPIES kid. Not to say that feeding Harlan doesn't continue to be a challenge. Not just because of his limited diet, but because he whines the whole time, throws his food, and ruins our meals with his screeching and constant demands. No, I am not bitter. In his defense, I think he is frustrated with being the served the same options, 3 meals a day, and he has always (since his first spoonful of food) had wanted to feed himself. So, I thought I would try a new tactic. I purchased some suction cup bowls, so he could not tip them over, or try to eat the bowl, like he has done in past attempts. It is "helping" the situation, but he is still frustrated. He does spoon feed himself with accuracy, when he is not throwing the spoon. I tried to get a video of him doing it, but of course he waited till the camera was off to do it. Oh boy, Oh boy...this kid. However, he did manage to let out a pretty good "Walls" worthy burp. Elle even fed him a spoonful afterward. She really has learned to love her baby brother (except when she is playing in her room).

 

Since my last "boy" update, we have added only one new SAFE food for him. He can now tolerate, millet, pears, mango, spinach (his absolute favorite) and the newby, broccoli! He continues to have more food fails, then passes. Our latest food fails have been quinoa, coconut, and surprisingly, canola oil. Canola oil was a "typical" (non FPIES) allergic reaction though, resulting in an instant rash around the mouth and diaper area , not an intestinal one. Very bizarre. I was really hoping to get a "safe" oil for him so I can try baking. I think I will try cottonseed next? I am open to suggestions...

Harlan, is not yet walking, but he becomes more and more steady by the day and stands like a pro. If he can find furniture, a chair, a leg, or a wall, he will use it to help him walk, over crawling, any day. My favorite is when he climbs under the kitchen table to get a chair and begins his journey. Elle always yells,"Hey, chairs are not for walking, they are for sitting silly!" It really is quite comical...both the sight of him using a walker, and Elle lecturing him on the properness. She could use a lecture from time to time too (which she gets from yours truly).

He has more hair on his head then Elle did at 2.5, and it has the most adorable curls at the ends. It reminds me a lot of my cousin Shanna's hair when she was little, and I cherish it...both her memory, and his adorable trestles. I honestly don't want to cut it, ever. Brandon on the other hand, says it can't touch his shirt collar, but I disagree. I think the perfect length would be just touching. Either way, it is adorable, and it brings a smile to my face every time I run my fingers through it. I won't lie, he has been accused of being a "girl" twice this month. These people who have blatant disregard (oblivion) for gender specific clothing baffle me. I mean the boy is dressed in head to toe shades of blue, and he is a girl? I remember when Elle would be in a pink dress with a pink headband with a huge flower or bow attached to it, and she would be called a boy. Really, people? Granted she had NO hair, but the outfit isn't clear enough? I tell ya...

Shockingly, he is no word smith either. Elle was a savant, so I guess I should have known, I wouldn't have two early talkers. I guess this is the area of development he is not quite up to snuff. They say (the experts) he should be saying Mama and Dada indiscriminately by now, but he isn't. He babbles a ton, and practices with sounds, and understands commands, so I am not worried. It is just a stark contrast from what I was used to. This is when I wish I did baby sign language with him so he can communicate his frustrations a little more. Oh, well. I am sure he will be talking soon enough...well if Elle doesn't do it all for him. Bless her heart.

Harlan is "a handsome little devil," as my grandma Phyllis would have said. I feel like he looks a little less than his daddy these days, but I am not sure that he has any of my good looks (ahem) either. Nonetheless, he is beautiful little boy, with an amazing spirit about him. A little coy at times, but rarely shy, his smile lights up any room, and his laugh is infectious. Elle LOVES when he belly laughs and tells me to do whatever it is I am doing to cause it, more!

Oh boy, is he a boy. When he is not pushing around a truck or car on the ground, he is trying to discover how something is made, playing with his dad's empty beer bottles, discovering what it means to be a janitor, throwing toys in the toilet, and destroying anything that he seems fit. Lord help me...I can only imagine what my house is going to look like once he does start walking and learns to climb (because he already wants to).

You can't help but love this little guy. I know WE do.

If you're goin' to San Francisco....

 



 

      Well, we finally had Harlan's "Specialist" appointment at UCSF. I wish we actually saw an FPIES specialist, though. He was a very nice young man, and I could tell, he would be very helpful if he actually knew anything more about FPIES then what he has read in some medical journal articles. It was a fear of mine that this would happen. I have discovered through this process, and watching my sister go through it with my nephew Tyler, that when your child has a rare condition (in Tyler's case, Angelman Syndrome) , you become your own expert and advocate. Our pediatric GI was incredibly receptive to everything I shared with him, and even thanked me for the new knowledge pertaining to FPIES. He was very quick to admit that he was not sure how he could help Harlan, other than to perform a scope of his intestinal tract, both upper and lower and take biopsies of both. Harlan would be given anthestia and would be completely out for the procedure which would take place in the operating room. Of course, I imediately teared up. The thought of my little boy with a tube down his throat for breathing while laying on some brightly lit table in a cold operating room scares the crap out of me. I am sure it would anyone. At this point, we are unclear as to wether we are going to go through with it. They will not really find any new discoveries, other than inflamation and vulli damage consistent with other FPIES kids. It wil not help treatment, or determine which foods he will and will not react to, it can simply lead to peace of mine that he infact displays further evidence that he was properly diagnosed (which I know, he was). I would love any advice on the matter...especially to anyone else out there that has had a scope performed on them or their children.

     Another big concern I wanted addressed, was what Harlan is supposed to eat after he turns one (I can't believe how close that is). He can't drink formula forever! The doc sent in some dietitian's, who also admitted they had never seen an FPIES patient before. They did show me, and even gave me a few samples of what Harlan should switch over to at a year. It is the same enzymatically hydrolyzed formula, as his current Nutramigen, but it is "more age appropriate". It is more like a Pediasure, but it is called Peptamen Jr. To my dispair, it is NOT any cheaper than his current bank breaker formula now, it is arguably even more expense (sigh). Oh, well...not much we can do about that. I just refer to Harlan as my million dollar baby...and maybe one day, he will become a millionaire and will support his mom and dad. One can dream, anyway.

  We did make the visit a family one, and to Elle's luck, Santa was visiting the hospital the day we were there. She even got a stuffed animal from him (we all know how much she needed one of those), and apparently she was very receptive to him ( I was in the room with the dietitians during this). Last year, she cried and wouldn't even attempt to sit on his lap...so I was so pleased, to know this year would be different. After the appointment, we went to Pier 39 for lunch and some sight seeing fun. 

 

 

Elle was ecstatic to be outside with the breeze in her hair (her words btw)

she rode the carousel (twice)

she LOVES dragons!

Harlan enjoying watching his sister

a quick look at the Golden Gate Bridge

Elle being silly, again

then to the sea lions

Merry Christmas

and happy Hanukkah!

O Tannenbaum...

Our masterpiece

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Wie treu sind deine Blätter!
Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit,
Nein, auch im Winter, wenn es schneit.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
Wie treu sind deine Blätter!

translation...

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
Your branches green delight us!
They are green when summer days are bright,
They are green when winter snow is white.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
Your branches green delight us!

Christmas is my favorite time of year. Not just because of the gifts, but because the warmth of the home, the beautiful Christmas lights (I am still waiting husband...tick tock) accessorizing peoples homes, and for the Comcast "yule log" on On Demand (really, it is amazing and I look forward to it every year). Umm...hopefully, you know what I am talking about, and if you don't, you should learn -you are missing out. Oh, and of course, because of family.

For the last three years now, we have made it a Burgdorf/Hustad family tradition to go to Silveyville Tree farm in Dixon to get our Christmas trees and ride Santa's sleigh. Otto, and myself opt for the beautiful pre-cut trees


They even haul them off for you on a tractor...I think ours in on this somewhere

This year I was exceptionally annoying, I had the workers pull out 4 or 5 trees before settling on the first one Brandon had selected. Brandon thinks he over heard them in Spanish, saying some not so nice, things about me. I can't help that I am so particular...

Tanya and the boys, opt to cut theirs down

Lucas giving it his best

papa giving it his best

it turned into a "piggy pile", as usual

Wyatt and Elle giving their support

After we all select our trees (even the kids get their own little ones for their rooms), we wait in the line for the sleigh ride with Santa. I think the reason the kids love it so much, because it is not for the rides excitement or elevator music that plays while slowly making our way through the sparse trees, it's the lollipop's they get.

the whole gang (well, minus me the photographer)

Harlan and the elf having a laugh

After an unusually long wait, we were off...

It was another fabulous trip, and now we have another fabulous tree!

Elle's Tree

For the birds

Harlan's food trialing has been discouraging to say the least. To date, Harlan can only eat/tolerate 3 foods (pears, mango and spinach). I never thought at 10 months old (wow, already!), my child wouldn't be able to eat practically anything. My goal by his first birthday is to be able to eat a grain, a couple of veggies, various fruits, and a meat of some sort. I guess we have a few of those checked off the list, but it is my intent to get the grain one next. After doing some investigating in the FPIES blogger community, I discovered that "millet" is a common tolerated grain (practically the only one) amongst FPIES kids. I also discovered it is a common bird feed. Well, he does tend to eat like a bird, he is messy, picks at his food, and throws it all on the floor... so heck, this just might work?

 So, I went down to our local Co-op and got "hulled millet" out of the binned grains and came home to google how to cook it.

I boiled it like you would rice, and voila! He loves it!

Not the happiest expression, but he really gobbles it all up. So far, we are on day 3 of it and having no violent reactions. Keep your fingers crossed. His sleep has been disrupted the last few days (a huge indicator of a problem food), but my heart tells me it is because of his teeth (top 4 are all the way in, 3rd bottom one is coming right now, and 3 more are on their way), and activeness, not pain related.

We did finally get a referral from his allergist. He pushed very hard for Harlan to be seen by a pediatric gastroenterologist, so we will be heading to UCSF, hopefully, very soon. I will keep you posted.

 Here are some recent pics of him and the family...

swinging at the Ranch

my pathetic attempt at a picture of Doodle and me

with daddy and cousin Lucas on Turkey Day!

here he is using a wooden puzzle piece as a pacifier...he does this everyday!

"The Boy" update

Wow, where has the time gone? I can't believe that Harlan, "the boy", "big boy", "truck", whatever you call him, is 9 1/2 months old. I mean, really? It seems like yesterday he made his presence in the world, but when you see him, it seems like over a year ago. He truly is a BIG BOY. We just had his 9 month well baby visit today and here are his stats,

weight: 23 lbs 6 oz
height: 30 inches

How does he measure up to his sister? Elle at 9 months was,
weight: 20 lbs 12 oz
height: 29 1/4

Just because I actually have them (thanks parentals), here is how he compares to his mama at his age
weight: 18 lbs 13 oz
height: 29 inches

Needless to say, he is thriving. Despite his food allergies and troubling FPIES diagnosis, he continues to grow at an accelerated pace (94th percentile for both weight and height).

I was surprised to find out at his appointment that the little sores he had on his hands and feet were not from the constant sucking of them, like I thought.  Instead he had the very common, not as alarming as it sounds, "hand, foot and mouth disease" virus. It is highly contagious in the first week, which he has passed at this point (sores are on the mend almost null), but wow, I wish I knew this before having a play date with my dear friend, Nicole, an her two children (her oldest for sure has it and has already passed it to his preschool class). Or having Tony and baby tone, "Samuel", over for the first time ever to my place yesterday! It was such an amazing visit, so I only pray, Samuel doesn't get it. Oye vey!

How precious is he!

Oh yeah, he also has SIX teeth pushing their way through his gums right now...No wonder he has been pitiful for the last week, plus.

As for his allergies. We did go in for a follow-up/next step appointment, and he encouraged us to just continue offering new foods and textures to him systematically.  This is easier said then done given his painful reactions are hard to bare. I understand the logic, but it isn't fun. He recommended we start with Cheerios. Fail. He also put in a referral order for us to see a specialist, either an FPIES allergist specialist, or a pediatric GI. Hopefully we will find out soon, and get in to see them asap. The more we know the better. The allergist made it clear that this is not a common diagnosis, and admitted to only giving it out, a few times. We are among one of the lucky ones.

FPIES reactions are usually caused initially by rice, oats, soy and dairy. However, egg, barley, wheat, sweet potatoes, squash, poultry, corn, and legumes are also very common triggers. After joining FPIES mommy forums, and blogs, to do my own research, I discovered many other common first food triggers (prunes, peaches, banana,strawberries, blueberries, carrots, avocado). Harlan has reacted to many on ALL the lists. One step, or one food at a time, we will figure this out, and hopefully get him eating more table food, and relying less on "liquid gold" as he nears his first birthday. For those of you wondering, we have not given him egg yet, despite seeing the "guru". We plan to soon. It is on the "trial" list, and I am semi-confident he will pass. Right now, we are trialing "rice", and so far, so good. However, it builds and can create reactions as late as 10 days later. Keep your fingers crossed for us (we are on day 4).

I will leave you with some recent pics of the boy and the fam....

 

He was a lion for Halloween

Elle was a monarch butterfly

                                                    

Classic

 Sibling love

Blogging, crawling, preschooling, and allergy-testing, oh my!

Hello, everyone...It has been awhile. Not awhile that I haven't blogged, I have been doing that everyday for the last 15 days actually. I started a mommy blog (http://magazinemom.wordpress.com/)
 a month or so ago, to discuss parenting challenges, thrifty-ness, and crafting projects, etc.. I recently joined a group of women in a 31-day blog challenge. My topic, "Confessions of a magazine mom...The things you wish someone would have told you about pregnancy and motherhood." If you are interested in checking it out, just know some of the topics on my 31-Day blog challenge, are a little graphic (in the female organ sense) and incredibly politically incorrect (just the way I like it). My ultimate life goal is to turn this this into a book, so I really laid it all out there. I realize it is not intended for a family audience, but you might get a kick out of it. You can always carouse and see if it tickles your fancy. I recommend you skip the "conception" blog, especially if you are one of my parents or in-laws. If you like what you see, click on the "follow" link on the bottom right of the blog, and you will receive all new post directly to your email. Make sure you look at all posts, including how I got the title on this "about" section.

Any who, shameful plug, I know.  My real intent was to update you all on Harlan and Elle. As you know, Elle began her second year of Preschool at Davis Parent Nursery School in September, and is still LOVING it. She is, like me, a social butterfly who wakes up every morning wondering which friend she will be playing with that day. On a preschool day (M,W,F) she is ecstatic. She loves her teachers, and she gets to be with her best friend, Kennedy! She has made many more friends too



  being kitty cats

Kennedy, Elle and Raya

here are some of her preschool friends at the park

She is really into letters right now. Both "writing" letters and putting them in her handmade mailbox, and learning to write the letters in the alphabet. She can even write her name. Sometimes it is "llee" or "eell", but most of the time, she gets it right. I am a little worried she may inherit her fathers dyslexia, but nonetheless it is adorable. She is especially into the letters that people she know "owns". Like her letter is E, and Harlan's is H, Briana's B, G for G-pa, etc, etc. No one else can have these letters, just their rightful owners.

 She has adjusted to having a brother, finally, but she still is not ooogling and ogling over him. She does talk to him and let him play with her toys, although with Harlan now mobile, no toy is safe. So it may become an issue soon. Here is a video of him on the move. It is not his best work, because every time I attempt to video him, he just stops and smiles at the camera, but it's a glimmer into his new active life.

He really is a happy BIG boy, as you can see at the end of the video when he looks up and gives a big smile. I actually love all the nicknames he has accumulated in his 8 1/2 months of life. My mom calls him "porker" or "chubba bubba". I call him biboy (like big boy minus the g), Elle calls him "mustard baby" or "baby tookie" (pronounced "two-key") not sure why, and my favorite, Brad calls him "beef". All very fitting, of course. Last weigh-in a couple weeks ago he was 22.5 pounds. Needless to say, I do not have to lift weights.

He is eating some solids now, but reacts to many things. He does have lots of intolerance's, and possible IGe allergies to foods (I have another appointment with the allergist booked) and has been diagnosed with Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitus Syndrome (FPIES), a type of food allergy affecting the GI tract. I am learning more everyday, but have so much more to learn. It will be a part of his life for at least 3 years, but will most likely always suffer from allergies of some kind. So far, the only foods (that we have given him that are not on the top list to avoid) he CAN eat are: apples, prunes, blueberries, pears, peaches, strawberries (questionable), nectarines, honeydew, and spinach.

He has shown signs of allergies/intolerance's to the following: Eggs, all dairy products, wheat, gluten, and all grains, all starches, peas, beans (questionable), carrots (questionable), bananas, watermelon. I think that is it, for now. He doesn't leave a lot of room for me to offer nutritious meals, that's for sure. He is pretty behind on eating. He eats less table food then a "normal" baby would have at this age. I think Elle was already eating pizza by now. He still can only do puree foods, or fruit in, what Brandon so lovingly termed, the "suck sack". No finger foods or chunks of anything yet. He just pushes them out with his tongue.

My sister turned me on to her acupuncturist Dr. Jens Maaseen, "the guru" as I call him. He specializes in many things, muscle testing for allergies being one of them. It is a procedure known as Nambudripad's allergy elimination (N.A.E.T), where you identify an allergy, intolerance or sensitivity through muscle testing and then treat it through acupressure/acupuncture (well that his how he did mine). Skeptics are welcome. He will even admit to the crazy notion that you can hold a vile of a potential allergen in one hand, and hold your arm up while he pushes down on it to check your strength in the other. If you can't hold your arm up (loss of strength) it means you are allergic or intolerant to that source. I know it sounds like voodoo witch stuff, especially since you quite literally get needles placed in your body at some point, but it is quite remarkable. Foods that I was intolerant too, my arm would buckle. I had zero strength..it was almost as if it were someones elses arm attached to my body. He tested me on a variety of things (he has over 200 vials of potential allergens, so we only did about 20), mainly the ones I would most commonly encounter in my diet.

 Of course, the real reason I wanted to go to him, was for the testing of Harlan to find out if my assumptions were correct, and to see which FPIES triggers, I should have him avoid. How do you test a babies strength, you ask? Oh, through me. Are you completely thinking I am off my rocker yet? I simply held Harlan's skin (I held his belly) with the vial hand, and Dr. Jens tested my other arm for strength. Don't worry, of course we checked the same vial without me touching him to see if the same results applied. They didn't. Harlan is severely allergic to egg (which I knew, but this confirmed), but I am not. While holding him, I had ZERO strength. Then I would stop holding him, retest and I HAD all the strength in the world (well for me). I know you western medicine-er's, this is a tough sell...but really, what do you have to lose? The only drawback to this N.A.E.T technique, you can only cure (alleviate) one identified allergy at a time. For myself, I chose soy (my most severe were soy, calcium, and gluten), amongst a whole slew of sensitivities/intolerance's/allergies I had. It was very enlightening and unnerving all at the same time. Harlan's revealed exactly what FPIES says. His biggest were, egg, dairy, nuts, gluten, all grains, and all starches. He did not show reactions to beans, which is great news. I haven't really given him any yet, but I plan to since he isn't getting protein anywhere else. According to the FPIES organization, turkey, chicken and fish are also triggers. Clearly, we could not, nor did not, test him for everything. We had a limited time table for him since it was his nap time. My sister actually rescued him and brought her back to her house at nap time, while I stayed for the remainder of my 3 hour appointment. I am pretty sure, he is not making any money on the deal. He is just a guy, who cares deeply about people and their well-being and nutrition. I have not had a chance to stream the movie he high recommends, "Genetic Roulette", but he says it is a must read for people, especially those with children. He has no part in this movie, nor does he receive any kick-backs from it for telling us about it, he is just a genuinely caring person who likes to educate people on nutrition. It is sad that us skeptics, assume everyone is in it for the money. I will say to you skeptics, because I am sure you are wondering, I did not know what vials I was holding while being tested. He told me AFTER each one. So, how does he treat you? Well, for Harlan he had me hold him on his lap touching my stomach. He stood behind me and had me breath various ways, while applying pressure down my spine. After about 1 or 2 minutes, we were done. He then had me retest strength, and lo-and-behold, I had full arm strength. Harlan did have to literally wear the vial of egg on his chest (taped) for 25 minutes too, and he was not to touch, or eat egg, and a list of other foods for 25 hours. Not hard since he really only eats formula. For me, it was the same, but after the breathing he places about 10 acupuncture needles in my hands, arms, legs and feet. After 25 minutes of laying there under a heat lamp, I was done. My strength, restored. He did say for me, that it might take 2 visits since my allergy was so severe, but for Harlan, well all kids, cure so fast that one should do the trick. I haven't fed Harlan any egg yet, I guess I too am still a little skeptic. I will say my soy reaction is almost null. I guess the proof is in the pudding, or the egg. I will keep you all posted.