I've noticed that with Kiernen, even as I make these little changes in his/my eating, I am seeing subtle changes in him and his navigating the world, even if I am sometimes unable to pinpoint exactly what those differences are, because our kids are always growing and changing, and is it the diet? Or is it a phase? Or or or???
Fortunately I have outside eyes, other eyes like Baden, who is an expert on diet and changes it creates, and is my greatest support in taking on this new way of eating for myself and Kiernen.
The other day we were talking about the changes and I was saying just what I said above, and she mentioned to me that she had noticed a difference in him in just the past couple of weeks, which is about how long I've been really implementing these changes. She mentioned that I had told her that he takes a bit to warm up, especially to adults, but that all of a sudden in the past two weeks he has been really interacting with her, and even been willing to stay in the room without a parent with her or other adults around. That was pretty much unheard of before - Kiernen would never stay in a room without Mama or Daddy there, not for an extended period of time. If it was just kids, he might for a bit, but with other adults, no way - it was an unpredictable element for him. And both Baden and her sister, who is here frequently as well, have noticed this sudden change.
Is it his diet?
And. He has all of a sudden become just fine with baths. We've been working with him on this for awhile now - we realized we could get him to take a bath if he had a friend in there with him, and then for awhile there it was every time, because it was literally the only way he'd bathe. But recently, just in the past two weeks, he has been fine to the point of my saying, "Hey, you need a bath," and he just says, "Okay," and climbs in. And that's that.
Is it his diet?
In the past two weeks, we've been slowly transitioning. I am finding that it is important to add more things in when I am taking other things out. We've done away with wheat and sugar altogether, in any form other than fruit or honey. No fruit juices, even, unless I've personally made them myself and they are very fresh. But even then the only ones I'll really make for him are watermelon juice, which he rarely drinks, and orange juice, which we mix with his "foot and leg juice" (magnesium).
We tried cod liver oil, we really did, but he took it all of two times before the mere mention of it brought him to sobbing. I'm thinking to order some flavoured stuff - they have these flavoured gels and such - we'll see.
We're doing bone broths as often as we can - it's hit and miss with my soup recipes, so we're working with that - most of the time they're wonderful, but when they're not, they're not, and its disappointing. We all like really good tasting food, so we don't really settle for anything else.
I'm also adding lots of raw fats, like grassfed butter, avocadoes, raw cream (if he tolerates it - we're trying raw cow milk kefir right now to see how we do with it). I also use the high vitamin butter oil as well, about 1/2 tsp per day when I manage to remember it.
I'm wondering if I need a checklist of some sort, as I seem to forget things I mean to remember daily. Yeah, I believe I need a checklist.
We're trying to do the baby calm daily, as well, generally before bed, as it helps with a good night's sleep. Probiotics are another one I am trying to manage to remember daily. Checklist needed!!!
Foods...well, I'm working on that one. Lots of eggs, some fruit - still lots of fruit but making a transition to less, gradually...he won't eat salads or drink veggie juices, so I rely on green smoothies for greens, which he will drink a little of every day. Soups. Raw grawnola (made with nuts, seeds, etc) for cereal if he likes (I need to make some, though, as we haven't had any in awhile). Chicken, salmon, homemade veggie burgers, homemade but burgers...
Yeah, I am still working on foods for him, because there is still this level of picky, but still something I can work within for the most part, I just have to get creative about it.
I'm watching his teeth closely, and his behaviour, as well. Both are pretty steady right now - not getting worse, even possibly getting better.
I notice immediately when he hasn't had enough food or if he has accidentally ingested a food that isn't working for him - today we went to out favourite organic fair trade coffee shop to hang out a bit. I got him a kids smoothie - because it is just fruit and ice - and immediately after beginning to drink it he went a bit loopy and got silly. Nothing too over the top, and most people wouldn't have noticed really, but I saw the difference immediately. I tasted the smoothie and I could tell it was just too concentrated, the fruit, so I mixed my unsweetened rooiboos iced tea with it and diluted it greatly. Not only did it taste amazing, it really did the trick - he was much calmer after that when he drank his smoothie. In future I believe I am just going to make him my own kids sized smoothie or hot chocolate with my own ingredients and being it there and put it in their cup for him - so much safer.
I look forward to being able to get more raw fats into him - more kefir maybe, and raw cream - I have a source for these, I just need to make sure we both do okay with them before proceeding and making them a permanent part of his eating.
So yeah - also, what he eats, I am eating. Oh! also the raw cheese - although I believe it important to make it grassfed - I've introduced some, and though he doesn't seem to be having any reaction to it other than going back to pooping every other day, I am not faring as well (it makes me break out, my skin is a mess). He LOVES being able to have cheese, so I am going to get some cheese from the raw milk lady and see if that makes a difference.
