Baby Steps

It's February tomorrow and I promised a *weight loss* update on the 5th but I thought I might do it early.
I'm not at all sure how this blog turned from a forum for all sorts of discussion to an e-diary and I dont really like it but everything evolves, right?
So, for those who aren't connected to me via facebook the picture is the baby born of my first solo doula-ing effort on the day she turned a month old and became officially ready to be presented to the world in the culture of her family. It was a delight and an honour to be there both when she was born and for the debut, if I may call it that.
I had another client who I ushered through days of pre-labour, even attended a "false alarm" but was eventually barred from the birth: there was a need for security at the birth and despite my requests I didnt get security clearance to be present so I spent the day sending good birthing vibes (as they say in this granola world) and the wee boy was born on the day Liam turned 18. January 15 is a good day to have a son :)
The weight loss program has resulted so far in not an ounce of discernible loss but also no gain, which is probably an achievement years of gradual porkiness. Apart from a night out with a girlfriend, when I thought it sociable to have one drink, I have managed to stick with the program, drink-wise. The breakfast thing still needs some attention but I'm doing better than I did and I am resisting cakes and ice creams some of the time. Baby steps!
After a few episodes of extreme wheeziness and lot of episodes of lesser wheeziness I figured out last week that Briony has a corn allergy. Corn allergy is a terrible allergy to have because there is no legal requirement that it be identified in labelling as things like nuts, egg or shellfish might be labelled and there is corn or a derivative in every imaginable product from toothpaste to shampoo, processed foods, disposable cutlery, medications.......and the list goes on.
I was a little overwhelmed until I realised that not every corn product is a problem for Briony and in fact, it is probably GM that causes the problem so we just need to be a little judicious. I told her that slurpees are probably a bad idea, due to high levels of corn syrup. Her response: "Oh yea, I knew I couldnt have slurpees, I react every time but I told you it was from running"
You gotta laugh, dont you?

The brief but steep learning curve over the maize thing has led me to reassess some of the products that come into the house and even though it's not as bad as I first thought, it has inspired some extra care over food. In line with the "baby steps" idea, I started to make my own muesli. It's good and really a lot better than what I used to buy. The only problem is it's too hot to be running the oven to make it so today I'm going to experiment with cooking it in the slow cooker. I'm looking forward to that!

So....there you have it, the run down of my little world and I'll finish with a pic of my new adult, cos he's irresistible.