A Milestone!

Most of you know about Jacob's food issues... peanut/egg allergies, lactose intolerance, a few other food intolerances... it can definitely make eating out a challenge. Some restaurants actually post a list of allergens on their website (thank you!) - but when you take out peanut, egg, & cheese... that doesn't leave much on the menu he will actually eat. Other restaurants, in their fear of being accused of being negligent, tell us not to bring Jacob... here is the email reply I received this week from the Olive Garden: "Given the complexity of our menu and multiple ingredient sources, and with the highest regard for your son's health and safety, we are unable to guarantee that any of our menu items are completely free of eggs and peanuts and safe for him." Blah, blah, blah... thanks for the help, not. Other restaurants claim their managers are knowledgeable about food allergies and can help us... only to find out when we get there, they don't have a clue.

Anyway, I digress... we have just gotten to the point that we either get take out & make him something at home or bring food for him if we want to eat out (pretty much ruining any spontaneity). So... since Jacob has been born, we have not been to a restaurant w/o bringing something from home. The good news is that Jacob seems to be outgrowing his lactose intolerance... there is a level of dairy he can now handle & that level seems to be increasing. So... after church on Sunday, we stopped by Moe's (Welcome to Moe's - my kids LOVE to go in there & they have an awesome food allergy table on their website - no peanut products on the premises.) We were going to do take-out, not having anything for Jacob to eat or drink in hand... and I decided we should test his lactose tolerance level w/a cheese quesadilla, light on the cheese... so we ate there! We gave him lemonade to drink... he LOVED his quesadilla... and much to our happiness, his tummy did not get upset!!! So... our big milestone this week is that for the first time ever, we ate out as a family of six w/o having anything prepared ahead of time! What a relief!