Blogger Layouts

Monday, November 28, 2011

Life Changes

How do you read the title of this post? Do you read "Life" as a noun and that it changes? Or do you read it as "Life-long" changes?
Well, either way you are correct. Life does change, but for this post, I will mention changes that we will be making that should be for life.
Jim and I have had concerns about Joshua's hyper behavior. We know that he's a boy, we know that he's a toddler and we know that it's common. However, we feel that we know our son better than anybody and that his constant need to move coupled with his very short temper and extreme aggression are cause for concern.
Our family doctor, during our very first visit asked, "Is he always this hyper?" and it's the first time anyone outside of Jim and I have recognized exactly what we have been concerned about. And his recommendation (mind you, this is a MD) was not, "Get that kid on meds", it was, "you need to eliminate dairy and sugar from his diet". Poor Joshua though, his two favorite foods are cheese and anything with sugar! But, he's such a smart little guy and really does understand so much for such a young child. We have been telling him that sugar and cheese are hurting his belly and that sugar is what causes him to act out and now he will tell us that he cannot have certain foods. (For example he told his Uncle Phil tonight that he can't have cake and ice cream because it has sugar in it and sugar is bad and hurts his belly).
A dear friend of ours (and a sister in the church) has been working with different diet changes with her own family and has been such a big help to me. She has been recommending a diet called the GAPS diet (Gut And Psychology Syndrome). A diet designed by a medical doctor with a degree in neurology as well as nutrition. We ordered a few books pertaining to this diet and will begin our journey as soon as the books arrive (via mail 4-6 days).
This is a very radical diet- and while the diet itself will take approximately 2 years (the time it will take to heal the gut) it really is a life-long change. I am saying very little about the diet itself as I have a LOT to learn about it.
I hope to keep a log of the changes we make as well as results we encounter.
We of course have a lot of foods in the house that we are going to try and use up (so we don't waste money)- we had a pkg of instant oatmeal (which is full of sugar) that we made for Joshua Sat. am and within an hour he was bouncing off the walls. On Sunday he had ZERO sugar and he was calm in church, he actually played quietly after church and Jim and I were able to sit on the couch and talk (without being interrupted) but then we gave Joshua a snack with cheddar cheese and within an hour he was almost uncontrollable (of course it could have been because he was excited to be with his cousins too) but I am convinced it was the cheese. At one point this evening he walked up and punched his Uncle Kyle for no reason (other than he was all hyped up and thought it was funny)???
I think the hardest part is going to be for me. I LOVE to eat out with my family. I am going to have to figure out a way to still eat with my family all while not eating the wrong foods. We're going to go through these changes a long with Joshua- I think we could all use a little help!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, very interesting. I can't wait for you to get the books and start recording the changes. I pray this is an answer to your prayers.

And lucky for you, Lindsey and I LOVE Crispers and Panera Bread and they offer some really great choices for ALL of us, when eating out!

143

Bekah said...

I love that your doctor suggested diet changes and not meds, which is what some doctors would immediately jump too. I pray that it all works out beautifully for you all and that you have the strength and patience to get through the tough times with the new diet.

Paleo isn't the same as what you are going to do, but it does eliminate sugar and dairy and it's actually been surprisingly easy for me to find things to eat at pretty much every restaurant we go to (when I'm not cheating, of course). It just takes you being "that" customer who asks for modifications to dishes (no cheese, dressing on the side, etc).

You can do it!!

Anonymous said...

Poppa & GiGi Love that little boy and we will help out any way we can but we will need some education also. Keep us informed and our prayers are with you guys.

Michael D. Green, Jr. said...

Cool! We've read the books too and are looking to make this change after the holidays too. Keep us updated on your progress :-)

lydia said...

I am so impressed that your doctor suggested making the dietary changes instead of medicating! I pray this will be the answer you are looking for and I will be looking forward to hearing about the progress!I think it's great that Joshua has seem to understand and is picking up on what he can and can't eat. I hope he is able to notice a difference in the way he feels and be motivated to stay away from those foods that are causing the problems.

Rachel said...

wow Kelly, this sounds like quite the challenge but I know it will be worth it in the long run! I will be keeping you in my prayers, I've been having to make my own diet changes the past months due to stomach upset and overall not feeling 100 percent....granted school stress didn't help either!

oh... I'm back to blogging :)