My "Mom"ments!!: June 2008

Well, tomorrow marks the first week of decreasing William's meds. So far, so good. Still having some emotional issues (crying, whining, aggression, etc). We have had one good whole day where William was so affectionate constantly hugging and kissing ... I loved it but after a whole day of it I was annoyed! Hyperactivity seems to be somewhat better though. I have started William on a diet per say, I came across a diet used for children with ADHD called Feingold's Diet. Supposedly the artificial colors used in foods is connected with increasing hyperactivity in children. This diet/plan also improves a lot of other conditions as well, such as eczema. So basically what I am doing is cutting out foods with artificial coloring, high fructose corn syrup, and other chemicals. If you have ever read food labels, there is a lot of junk in certain foods, pretty scary! He can't even have certain fruits and veggies! I have not dove into this all the way yet, as I have lots of stuff in the pantry and fridge that I am not going to just throw away, so we (my family) will finish off the stuff that I once thought was good for us. This is not just a change in eating for William as Morgan and I will also change our eating habits as well. Hopefully, this will clear her eczema up (which is already much better). Eczema is an allergy that can derive from food allergies! Getting Will (my husband) to change his eating habits will be a little harder, but if the 3 of us are gonna do it, he will have to eat what we eat or starve :) I bought some groceries geared towards this change the other day and it was not much more costly than normal. For example: canned natural veggies where less than a $1 (I bought corn and under ingredients it says, corn and water only) No added sugar, salt, or chemicals!! I also got lots of packaged beans, pasta, and bananas. Organic foods work great into this plan but are more pricey. I am on the lookout for any coupons for organic foods including meats and produce (as these items don't have as much chemicals as non-organic foods). I don't even buy cheap milk anymore (such as the walmart brand) These types of milk are altered ex: homogenized, pasteurized, and etc. William has been drinking soy milk for awhile, but apparently soy is a food to avoid on this diet as it can cause allergies, etc. This diet cuts out a lot of foods that can cause allergies, basically you cut everything out and start from scratch and see what causes reactions in your child. But I am not so much worried about that as I am with decreasing Williams hyperactivity and increasing his attention/ability to focus, however I am somewhat watching to see what foods Morgan eats and how it affects her skin. Anyway, cross your fingers for us as we venture into a whole new world of foods! Pray that this transition will go smoothly and that everyone will adjust! I always thought we ate pretty healthy as we are not junk food types, but even good for you foods are not so good. If anyone wants some more information on what food chemicals to avoid, let me know.