You see, we have noticed a pattern over the years of increased attention and interaction for two or three days, then we’ll see the runny nose. (We’ve often wondered if there is some kind of physical connection that we could discover and capitalize on, but so far haven’t been able to figure out the mystery.)

But this increase in focus has continued for a couple of weeks now, with no cold symptoms.

Another possibility has popped into my mind. We are being more careful to eliminate casein (dairy) from Hannah’s diet. In the past, we have depended more on her enzymes to counteract the effect of the casein. But then I noticed that, when given the choice, she would prefer pizza with no cheese and macaroni without the cheese sauce. So I’ve started making no-dairy versions of any meals we’ve had with cheese, and Hannah has been voluntarily eating those instead.

I wonder if the casein was affecting her more than we thought, so much so that the enzymes were not powerful enough to deal with it.

Now, it would be really easy at this point to start berating myself and send away for another Bad Mommy trophy. However, I’m trying to think of this as another step on the right track of discovering how Hannah’s body works (which is a trick when she won’t tell you how she’s feeling). And if this more complete elimination of casein helps her process her surroundings better, let’s keep going!