Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Out of the mouths of Moms

Today was a busy day.  Playgroup in the morning, drop off to visit the Grandparents in from the Big City after.  In between required stops at the gas station, health food store, and back home to retrieve a forgotten item. 
I am more than frazzled.  In addition to the craziness I am coping with a regression in Charlotte's behaviour.

I let the f-bomb slip at an inconsiderate driver who did not care that I was tired, frazzled and had a brain running around in a million different directions.

Emmett looked up at me with his big, soulful brown eyes.

""F*ck me" is a bad word, isn't it?"

I said yes, then quickly said I shouldn't have said it and that HE certainly shouldn't say it.

"You shouldn't say "F*ck you" either, right Mom?"

No, Emmett, no you shouldn't.  (and, for the record, he learned that one at school.)

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

I'm a believer.

Today is day nine of Charlotte's new dairy-free life. We are now in this for the long haul.

By day three of her new diet she was sleeping an extra 1/2 hour a night, and going to bed with much less fuss. By the end of the week I noticed her moods smoothing out. She is still a firecracker. She is still bossy and opinionated, but her tantrums are shorter. She is listening better and responding better.

I like her again, and I know that MY change in energy around her is making even more positive impact on our relationship.

What really clinched it for me was what happened to us yesterday. She got Emmett's chocolate milk at breakfast instead of her own chocolate (rice) milk. Last night she was up again, wandering the halls. She had a meltdown at playgroup this morning.

I am so thankful for the help and support I am getting, and for this book: (click on the photo for an Amazon link)


My good friend (and fellow blogger) Carolyn loaned it to me. I immediately ordered a copy for myself. She has been so helpful in helping us make this transition. It is always great to have an ally in your corner who speaks the GFCF language and already knows the ropes.

Making a diet change on a hunch is not an easy undertaking. It feels so overwhelming at the start and I have heard close friends of mine say "Oh, I am having the same troubles but I could NEVER do that. It sounds too hard."

I thought that too. I waited a very long time before I worked up the gumption to do this. I can't look back now. The book was a huge help. The first few chapters outline WHY this diet can be helpful and gives concrete instructions on how to execute the changes. It shows you what exactly your child can eat when you think there isn't anything. The recipes are for kids and some take into consideration texture and sensory issues that seem to come along with an Autism diagnosis.

Charlotte has not been diagnosed with Autsim or ADHD, but these seem to be the books that have the information that I need--sometimes you have to open your mind and see past labels to get the help you need.

My new challenge will be to find rice ice cream in our little city. I am trying very hard to look for non-soy dairy alternatives as I don't want to substitute one problem for another potential one, and soy comes with it's own set of risks. I am going to wait a bit and try a cheese trial as there is no casein-free alternative that is acceptable. Did you know that even soy cheese has milk in it??

We are having really good results with just eliminating dairy, so I am not going gung ho with gluten, but I am trying to find lower-GI (glycemic index) foods that will help stabilize her blood sugar and prevent highs and crashes.

I am so happy to have my girl back!!!!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

.....a note about comment moderation

You may have noticed I have turned on comment moderation. It is not the fault of you, my wonderful, loyal readers.

I am getting spammed.

Rest assured, if you are a real human with real feelings and opinions, whether I agree with them or not, I will publish your comment.

If you are a spambot, well, you know where I think you can go.

Thank you for your encouragement and continued interest in the minutae of my life!

Am I one ot *those* moms??

I have been going through a rough patch with Charlotte. She is belligerent, wets her pants to get attention, and has real problems with sleep. I have reached the end of my rope with her more than once and have said things and done things to try to get her back in line that I am not proud of.

A meeting with Charlotte's preschool teachers got my mind going. According to them, with her current behaviour at school I should not be surprised if her elementary school teachers start calling me and suggesting she be screened for ADHD. (This is paraphrasing...in between dropping the ADHD bomb they said stuff like "we love her spirit" and "we embrace her individuality"...)

Ahem. Fuck that. I am SO sick of people painting an energetic kid who speaks their mind with the ADHD brush. I will homeschool my kids before I drug them. Period.

This whole changing the diet to change behaviour just smacks of new-age yuppy helicopter mom to me, and it sort of embarasses me to admit I want to try it. The last thing I EVER want to be accused of is being a new-age yuppy helicopter mom.

That being said, I would love to help Charlotte sleep and improve her eczema.


I am looking into counselling for us, and changing her diet. I am starting with eliminating dairy. Next on my hit list will be gluten. They say that mild intolerances to those substances can manifest themselves as sleep and behaviour problems.

Here is an article on milk
Here is an article on gluten

So, here is my question. Is it the diet change that is going to help?
OR
Is it the change in my energy around Char and the slight increase in attention I will pay her while analyzing everything she does going to help her?

I am probably just being crazy and overthinking...as usual.