Fake is Fake

When we decided to have children, I knew that it would take sacrifice on our part. That we would need to think of their needs before ours, that we would forgo things we wanted to do, so they would be able to have the things they needed. And I was prepared for this. I was prepared to sacrifice. But I have had to do much more than this...I've had to give up my milk!!! Let me explain.

Sophie wasn't gaining weight as rapidly as the doctor wanted to see during the first month so we went to see a lactation consultant. During my meeting with her, I mentioned that she seemed fussy sometimes while I fed her. The lactation consultant said that there were a number of things that could be causing her to have an upset stomach but as it was common for some children to have problems digesting if the mother had dairy in her diet, she wanted me to go on a dairy free diet. Have you ever looked to see what has dairy in it? Let me save you some time by just saying pretty much everything or anything that would taste good and add meaning to your life. It's not just butter and cheese and milk. Chocolate- out. Seasoned french fries- gone. Processed lunch meat- you got it. I was deeply saddened to have to go on this dairy free diet as I love milk. I drink 4-5 glasses of it a day. And this lady was telling me that for my child's sake I needed to give up the milk. And so I've done what any parent does- give up what you like for the love of your child.

On the dairy free diet, there aren't really any dessert options. (Paula Deen seems to have it right- everything good has butter in it.) Last Friday I broke down and got desperate. I needed some type of dessert. I walked over to Mollie Stone's (fufu grocery store with lots of organic stuff) and started looking for something to wet my whistle. Low and behold I found dairy free ice cream! Sounds contradictory but I thought I would try it. Surely if they were calling it "chocolate decadence" and if they were going to charge me $5 for an ittie bittie portion it had to be good. I walked home, cracked open the lid and jammed my spoon in. This had to be as good as ice cream, I wanted it to be as good as ice cream, I NEEDED it to be as good. But the taste that met my lips was...basically frozen chocolate water. Sadly, my fake chocolate ice cream tasted like fake chocolate ice cream. I have now determined that when sacrificing you might as well just accept the things that you have to give up, because trying to find a version that works is just never as good as the real thing.