You could call him an Alkali

Ben saw the doctor today and was swabbed for the flu - it was negative!!!
That's the good news.

The bad news is he has an intolerance to multi-grain cereal.
I brought in my food calendar for Ben. Doc took one look and said the time line fit perfectly with his symptoms. That surprised me. As did the violent nature of his reaction.

The doctor said, "Benjamin has already declared himself highly reactive."
Whereas most people respond to a cold virus with a runny nose, my kid gets skin rashes and a cough so violent he vomits. His skin is sensitive and so is his tummy. That's not always a bad thing - it means that his immune system is highly responsive and it kicks into overdrive whenever any intruder hits. It requires us to be more diligent about policing his diet - introducing just one new ingredient at a time and avoiding anything "multi" :)

The cereal I used was Earth's Best. I thought I was cool because from what I could tell from the ingredient list, there was only one new thing - millet. I have a bag of millet in the pantry for homemade cereal... there's an experiment waiting to happen.

And wait we will!
For now, it's back to rice, bananas, and sweet potatoes.


"The alkali metals, found in group 1 of the periodic table (formerly known as group IA), are very reactive metals that do not occur freely in nature. These metals have only one electron in their outer shell. Therefore, they are ready to lose that one electron in ionic bonding with other elements. As with all metals, the alkali metals are malleable, ductile, and are good conductors of heat and electricity. The alkali metals are softer than most other metals. Cesium and francium are the most reactive elements in this group. Alkali metals can explode if they are exposed to water*."

*or millet