Dyspraxic Journey

Tag Archive: diet

Mooo…yep, we are going to introduce you!

So, dairy has not been a regular part of CB’s diet for 2.5 years. We have tried introducing it back into his diet a couple of times but for various reasons have removed dairy each time after a few weeks or a month or so. This time Olem and I decided to add it back into his diet because 1) his latest 2 lab results look good, 2) his behavior has been more manageable for a couple of months, 3) his allergies are not bothering him currently, and 4) we do not want the food group entirely eliminated if it doesn’t need to be.

We started with whole cow’s milk yogurt today and will try it for several days, remove it for a few days, and monitor results. Fingers crossed his body accepts the change and we don’t see negative side effects.

This is sort of crazy, but CB is still in the same phase he was in from my last post in early May. What?? He has remained in a more positive place and has been more flexible with correcting his use of negative words during vocal outbursts/stems and modifying his inappropriate behavior with friends and younger brother. Maybe summer break suits him :).

CB watched his 3rd movie at the theater this past weekend, Cars3. We went to a sensory-friendly showing so kid attendance was high. CB stayed the whole time inside the theater and in his seat . He started wearing his headphones after the previews (which were slightly quieter). CB did ask to leave 2 times but his heart was not in his request. He didn’t insist on it. His teddy and headphones made him feel safe.

June 29, 2017 Allergy, Diet, & Supplements, Growth and Progress 0 Read more >

Short Nutrition Update

We have our latest update in our quest to get CB’s blood work to look unimpressive and plain jane. CB’s iron and zinc were solidly normal. IgA is just a little low, as well as, WBC and lymphocytes. Overall, it is a good report! His body seems to be in a good place. We are sticking with the GFCFSF diet and also started incorporating homemade coconut milk kefir into his diet. For the last couple of months, CB has not taken any supplements. We may add fish oil back in, as well as, a daily supplement, but not at this point.

March 9, 2017 Allergy, Diet, & Supplements, , 0 Read more >

Nutrition, Supplements and Therapy Update

Here is a quick summary of CB’s supplements, therapies, schooling and diet.

Supplements

  • Morning
    • Vitamin D3 – 1 drop (Franklin & Friends – 400 IU)
    • Multivitamin – 2 chewables (Garden of Life Vitamin Code Kids Chewable Whole Food Multivitamin)
    • L-Carnitine – 1 capsule (Now L-Carnitine Fitness Support 500mg)
  • Evening (Before Bed)
    • Probiotic – 1 capsule (RenewLife 15 billion)
    • Fish Oil – 1 teaspoon (Nordic Naturals Omega 3 1600)
    • Vitamin C – 2 chewables (Nature’s Plus Animal Parade Vitamin C Natural Orange Flavor) – Periodically 2-4x a week

Therapies

  • Speech – 4x a week (2 private therapists and 1 therapist through proportionate share)
  • Occupational – 1x a week
  • Physical – 1x a week
  • Extra-curriculars
    • Piano Lessons – 1 x a week (to improve fine motor and motor planning)

(more…)

September 18, 2016 Allergy, Diet, & Supplements, Therapy, , , , , , 0 Read more >

The kiddos started school and I am the one having the hard time, is it just me?

I was really looking forward to CB’s pre-k and HB’s mother’s day out program starting up so the kiddos would get back into their new routine. The summer chaos had settled in and there was no question that a routine would be great for all of us. CB had a lot of therapy changes and some additions so I was anticipating how it would all go. All of the new changes seemed like wonderful enhancements to CB’ learning and development. And you know what, the new routine and programs have been fantastic for CB. He is progressing well and has been playing with HB better than ever. So, the big question is, why is this tough for me? All this positivity should be beaming directly into my being and helping me to shine, as well. Unfortunately, this has not been the case.

Part of the matter boils down to me not taking better care of myself and another part is what to do with some added no kid time? I haven’t put any focus on either of these. I therefore have not eaten great in between shuffling the kiddos everywhere and have filled my free time w/frivolous things. I just finding myself not wanting to do anything when I have a free moment. You always hear about classes, articles, presentations, and on and on about how parents and especially parents with children with special needs need to make sure to take care of themselves and to make it a priority. Honestly, when you are in the thick of it and are feeling weighed down. The thought of taking care of yourself and making it a priority just sounds like work and more stress.

The realization that more needs to be done to take care of myself should help motivate me to get back on at least a somewhat regular exercise schedule and to make lunch meal prep for me, as well, a necessity. I think I just need to fill my cup up a bit more so I will have more to offer. It is probably not a bad idea to start periodically thinking about how I will want to fill my time next year when CB is in kinder and HB is in a mother’s day out program 3 days a week. That has also seemed stressful, but I think it is mostly related to perspective. I just need a new plan :).

CORRECTION STATED BELOW – So, we got further confirmation that CB in fact does have a peanut allergy. The IGE allergy testing he had done a few months back indicated he could have a peanut allergy as the numbers were slightly elevated. We have stayed mostly away from peanuts since the test. Well, last weekend, while out of town at the beach, CB ate a bunless burger with fries, pickles, some raw onions, and some bites of tomato. We knew the burger and fries were cooked in peanut oil, which seemed weird but we thought we would try it. Partway through the meal, I noticed CB’s cheeks were bright red and he had what looked like a big pimple forming on his chin just below his mouth. His lips also looked like they might be a little swollen. Since he had been at the beach, I wasn’t 100% sure if the cheeks were turning red b/c of the food or the sun. I really thought the redness was more apparent and didn’t remember the blemish. We set the food aside and gave him some food we had packed as back-up. We thought this could be related to the vinegar in the pickles b/c he is sometimes getting swollen lips from those, from the peanut oil, or from some other ingredient we didn’t even know about. Two nights ago, during dinner, CB had some thai spring rolls in peanut sauce. He got that same enlarged pimple/blemish. Guess we will keep that off the food list for now.

Diet/Nutrition Update: CB also started GSE (grape seed extract) a few days ago to help treat the yeast in his belly and a new probiotic w/30 billion active cultures (Ultimate Flora Extra Care Probiotic Supplement). We are also periodically giving him some dairy with no noticeable changes.

9/23/2015 UPDATE/CORRECTION: Yah, CB’s allergic reactions appeared to be peanut related, but they were reactions to the already known allergy, soy. The peanut sauce for the spring rolls had soy sauce in it. I can’t believe we weren’t thinking about that when we got it. The restaurant that said they cooked their burgers and fries in peanut oil were incorrect. I called them back and they double-checked the oil. It was vegetable oil with soybeans in it. It is so hard to really know what you are eating when you eat out. The cooks didn’t even know what they were using and then just guessed and guessed wrong.  I was so concerned we were going to have to start carrying around an epi pen and start having to worry about peanut exposure, as well, whew. It is nice to have one less thing to worry about for now.

September 15, 2015 Allergy, Diet, & Supplements, Worries, Fears, & Ramblings, , , , 0 Read more >

Allergy Report & First Food Reintroduction

CB is 4 years old …

Life is going well here in our little household. Olem and I are both thinking positively and just enjoying life. It is easy to see how CB’s behavior can be quite linked to our moods and reactions. CB is having a great week at school. I guess the aggression last week was either tied to the return to school after our trip and/or the reintroduction of fish oil after a 5 day break due to our little vacation. CB is still a bit off. His therapists mentioned that he did a good job and performed what was asked but that he struggled more and seemed more foggy-headed than he has been lately. When things like this happen, we immediately start looking into what is going on with him outside of therapy to see if there is a logical or easily-identifiable reason. CB is experiencing some seasonal allergies which may be contributing to these struggles. We now think the rash on his bottom is potentially linked to his seasonal allergies. We also found out he has to wear non-elastic underwear. The elastic irritates his skin.

We got 90% of his allergy report back and were pleasantly surprised. He only showed an allergy to mold (indoor and outdoor) and a borderline potential for a peanut allergy. Olem had allergy shots as a kid and was allergic to a long list of things so we really expected to see similar results for CB. CB’s nutritionist had recommended back in January that we hold off performing an allergy test b/c she felt the report would show a lot of false positives since his nutrition report showed several vitamin deficiencies and the selective IGA deficiency. I posted more about that at my Current Diet and Supplements post. Since his latest nutrition report showed that his body is in a much improved state, we decided to move forward with the allergy report.

We reintroduced plain whole milk yogurt (first casein protein introduction) yesterday into CB’s diet. He had a small amount yesterday afternoon and a small amount this afternoon. So far, he hasn’t shown any noticeable reaction. We really hope he can have yogurt again. We think CB for sure had, and potentially still has, leaky gut issues. Since his body is no longer reporting malabsorption issues, we thought it would be a good time to start reintroducing foods. We know the modified diet has helped, but we don’t know 100% why or what specific components have helped his body. Our plan is to reintroduce foods slowly, monitor CB’s body, emotional, and physical response, and have another nutrition report performed in 6 months. Hopefully, we will see some changes in one form or another that tell us when his body is having problems with a specific type of food. By performing the nutrition report in 6 months, we will be able to see if any vitamin deficiencies or malabsorption issues have returned.

Positive progress: CB stayed dry all night and urinated in the toilet on his own first thing in the morning. His sleep was very interrupted last night b/c of his younger brother. There is the chance he didn’t get to sleep as deeply and was able to control it better. Still, it is a great step for CB! Also, CB’s vestibular system is integrating more fully. He requested more types of swings during OT and at the pediatric therapy play gym and seems way more comfortable.

 

May 14, 2015 Allergy, Diet, & Supplements, , , , , 0 Read more >