Little is Much
I'm feeling much better this week. The weather has been much dryer. I am ready for Thursday's Small Successes!
1) We went to the park twice this week. Baby Wingnut's first words each morning are, "It's a beautiful day today?" If I say it is indeed a beautiful day, he knows we are going to the park. He loves his outdoor time!
2) My loving husband is out of town again this week. Nevertheless, I still made the bed every day this week. I do have a tendency to let things slide a bit when he is traveling. At least I kept our bedroom a haven, even though he is not here to enjoy it.
3) I cut out all artificial colors, flavors, and petroleum based preservatives from Special K's diet. I've needed to do it for a while, but I finally buckled down and did it. Miraculously, we have had a very, very good week. This really might be the key to her outbursts. I've also changed the way in which I address her undesirable behavior, partly because I realized it only perpetuated her tantrums, and partly because I think I finally understand why this is happening to her. She is such a special, sweet, and loving girl and I could not bear that she has been having such a hard time behavior wise. I am praying and hoping this is finally the answer. I am feeling very hopeful, as another side effect of eliminating "artificials" from her diet has been she has had 3 dry nights in a row. At seven, she is the oldest we've had still in pull-ups at night. I've promised to keep my three faithful readers up to date on the progress of our "Feingold" experiment.
Comments
I am reading the labels and looking for key words like: artificial color, caramel coloring, red dye # 3, artificial flavoring, vanillin(an artificial flavor very common in foods that we might otherwise over look), and the three petroleum based preservatives(for now) BHT, BHA, and THBQ that have been indicated as major culprits in behavior problems in children.
This is the bare minimum suggested by the Feingold program there is a much larger list that may need to be eliminated over time if needed including natural salicylates that are found in many fresh fruits and veggies that some folks may have a sensitivity to. Actually the Feingold program suggests removing salicylates from the diet at the same time as the artificial stuff, but I was not quite prepared to go that far. Time will tell if we need to go that route.
So far we've had to get rid of the following staples in Special K's diet: Nutella, graham crackers, Cheez Its, Gold Fish, fruit chews, Nestle chocolate chips (more expensive types of chocolate have no artificial garbage in them), certain cereals (Cheerios are ok) and every flavor of Rita's Ice with the exception of Alex's Lemonade.
I also forgot to mention that most "processed" meats, such as sausages, hot dogs, pepperoni, and deli meat had to be eliminated. It makes lunch a bit of a trick, as they usually make their own. I've been making scrambled eggs for her and she seems to enjoy those, but I'd love some other suggestions for lunch!
Thanks for sharing.
God Bless!!!
You are so funny, not! I hope those reading my blog do not take you seriously! I know you mock my pain because you are going through the same thing with one of your precious little girls. Laughter can be the best medicine. Keep on making me laugh!
Love,
Mau
Love ya Mau
Your Bro
No Nutella? How ever will she live? Keep us updated. I'm afraid I'll have to do something like this. Although, if it could make Josiah pleasant to live with. Wow, I can't even imagine. Googling the Feingold diet now...