One fish, two fish, no fish on my dish

Amelia's not allergic to fish. She's been tested (skin and blood) more than once, and she's come up negative to cod, salmon, and tuna (presumably, that means she's fine with just about any fish). But since it's a top-8 allergen, and one that can cause serious reactions in people who are allergic, I was nervous as can be about offering it to her.

As I've said before, her caution combined with my nervousness equals not taking enough risks, either of us. So I decided tonight was the night to put some fish on Amelia's plate. I made some really simple and tasty oven fried cod. It was super basic (dip cod in melted margarine, then dredge in crushed rice cereal mixed with salt and pepper, bake for 15 minutes at 400). I put a tiny bit on her plate, along with a baked potato and (of course) her turkey. Plus a bowl of strawberries. She devoured the turkey and then set to work on the berries. When she asked for more strawberries, I told her she was welcome to seconds if she'd try a bite of either the fish or the potato first. She did a lot of lifting up of the potato, then putting it down. Finally, she grabbed some fish, stuffed it in her mouth, cried, spit it out, and told me she didn't like it. The whole thing took about 1/10th of a second. I had a moment of "uh-oh, is she allergic after all and spitting it out because it is making her sick?" but then I realized, hey, if you don't like something and you're three, you spit it out.

As the meal went on (fish incident over as quickly as it started) she told me sometimes she doesn't like a food the first time she tries it but then she starts to like it more the second time. It's cool that she realizes that. Maybe it's because we're taking swim class and we've been talking about how each day she is less scared and likes it more, and how proud I am of her. She even asked if I was still proud even though she was scared, and I explained how I was even prouder -- that it was hard to do stuff when you were frightened and that made it all the more awesome that she was forging ahead.

Oh, today we made some yummy Ian's Alphatots. Not the healthiest, but once in a while, why not? I heart that company -- they make a ton of free-from-top-8-allergens foods, and really make an effort to make stuff that's fun for kids. I called them once, too -- and the customer service rep was super friendly and helpful. Plus they sent me a coupon, so it's true love forever now. What can I say? I'm a cheap date.