6months GFCF.....

My 2 gorgeous boys, Holden (6) & Ashton (9)

Well, it's our 1/2 year anniversary since going GFCF, so I figured we should celebrate, right?! :-D Ashton is doing extremely well, all things considering. Through the journey, he's battled several illnesses (and seems to be on the verge of another... argh!) such as pneumonia (which quite literally, knocked him on his butt for 2weeks.....!) and sinus infections. He's of course also dealt with the yeast monster (which we're treating with Nystatin and probiotics) and he's taking Super Nu-Thera, Calcium and Cod Liver Oil. Unfortunately, he's battling another cold/upper respiratory junk right now so he hasn't had the supplements/meds in a couple of days. He'll be back on track tomorrow though as I don't want his system to get used to NOT taking them, if you know what I mean? So .... BEFORE the diet ... 1. we had CONSTANT diarrhea, MULTIPLE times a day along with a nasty rash all over his behind 2. CONSTANT meltdowns over the SILLIEST things (move his plate an inch, screaming banshee comes alive!) 3. he had very little interest in his peers 4. was a CONSTANT battle to get good work out of him 5. and he just seemed so combative over EVERYTHING! So... AFTER the diet ... 1. his stools are down to ONCE a day (woohoo!) and are mostly formed. They got a bit icky when we started Nystatin (and each time we raised the dosage) but they're "okay" now. Not back to what they were pre-Nystatin but ANYTHING is better than runny water MUTIPLE times a day! 2. We're able to talk him through most of his meltdowns, which are really NOT meltdowns, just some minor "fussing us out" because we're asking him to do something he doesn't want to do. 3. he's become a social bug! He'll approach peers (and others) with interest and try to engage in conversations. Still a long ways to go but heck, I'm just happy that he's interested in other people, besides ME! lol 4. He does pretty good work with his system of reinforcers, with very few (if any) verbal reminders. 5. he is back to being our easy, laid-back kiddo! His eye contact is SO much better, his spontaneous speech has increased dramatically and he's a whole lot more conversational. Still working on him using SENTENCES as opposed to 2-3word phrases, but it's better than having to second guess him all the time. His eating habits have improved drastically and he's eating things we thought he'd NEVER eat, woohoo! I'm anxious to see what the future holds for us, and as long as we see improvements, we'll keep trying new things. We're getting the heavy metals toxicity test done and that's our next step I think. We'll see. SO ... if anyone out there knows someone contemplating this diet for an OLDER child (over the age of 5 or so...) please feel free to forward my email to them. I know SO many people think "oh my kid is set in his ways, he'll never go for it..." well, I thought the SAME EXACT thing and my kid is surprising me every day. Just wanted to share!

He ate GREEN BEANS!!

Ok, so it's not the best picture in the world of Ashton. It was getting close to bedtime and he HAD already eaten HIS dinner of S'better Chicken Fingers *gfcf* and Ian's Alphatots *gfcf* and his "milk" (dari-free powdered milk substitute). But when I made my husband and I's dinner (bacon-wrapped filet mignon steaks and green beans and dinner rolls) I thought of trying a trick and seeing if it worked. My trick was: telling Ashton that the green beans were green FRENCH FRIES!! (he ADORES french fries of any kind that are safe for him to eat) He quizically looked at me and said "Those aren't green french fries, those are green beans!". Oh his speech therapist would be proud; negation used, complete sentences, eye contact; you name it, he did it correctly! Anyways, to get to the point, I asked him if he wanted to try some and he looked at me said "No, I don't want to try green beans" and turned away from me. I told him if he didn't try ONE bite (it was a miniscule bite) that I would turn the TV off (this punishment, or rather, the THREAT of this punishment almost ALWAYS works!). He looked at me and said "No, turn the TV off, I want green beans!" hahaha .... so he gingerly took a bite (plain) and proclaimed it yummy whilst he had an awful look on his face. I asked him if he wanted to try them with kethcup (hey, Ronald Reagan said it WAS a vegetable after all, right???) and he perked up and said "YES PLEASE!" So I drug out the ketchup and he dipped his green beans in and ate probably 15 or so green beans before he decided he'd had enough. (he had already eaten HIS dinner if you remember). But the amazing thing is .... he hasn't eaten green beans in probably 8, or possibly even 9 YEARS!!! Anything squishy (liked cooked veggies tend to get) wouldn't last 2 seconds even NEAR his mouth, let alone in his mouth, chewed up and swallowed (at which point they would of normally been gagged on and thrown up). But he said he liked them and it even enticed his younger, 6yo, brother to try them and he proclaimed them YUMMY! Maybe we'll actually get them both to try a bigger variety of veggies but hey, this was a great and HUGE step forward. So YAY for Ashton!!!! He's getting past his texture issues and is actually trying (and liking!) new foods. Better yet, the foods he's trying are usually much healthier for him than he's ever eaten. Whew! Celebrate the small steps; they add up to BIG GIANT LEAPS!