Saturday, June 28, 2008
MARK THE CALENDAR
Melqui has been on the gfcf diet for 2wks and 3 days now and I must say, I have been a little discouraged these past few days because its been hard getting gfcf food ideas for Melqui to eat. I'll find a gfcf food one day and he will eat it up, but then when I try to give it to him the next day, he won't touch it!! very frustrating! but I guess it's all part of him being a toddle and a picky eater. Well this morning changed my view....get ready to mark your calendars....ok here it goes.. this morning Melqui had his very first....very formed.....and solid.....POOP!!!!!!! It's sounds crazy, I know, but if you have a child with ASD you will know that these children have diarrhea like poops for years until they start the diet. Melqui is almost 3 and he ALWAYS had mushy and lumpy poop. So it's a HUGE thing when it changes for the better. It becomes your daily topic.. like--how's the poop today?.... Me and my husband truly believe, and so does our DAN doctor, that Melqui has big gut issues, simply because of the constant diarrhea and diaper rashes that are yeast issues. So solid poop means we are going in the right direction, and that makes you feel reassured that you are doing the right thing for your child. You Go Melqui, and Keep Pooping!!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
AutismGym
Tuesday 6/24/08
While looking on the internet one day I came across a website called AUTISMGYM.COM. It's a gymnasium here in FL and its held every Tuesday for an hour from 6-7pm. I went for the first time Tuesday night with the family. It was raining that night (it rains here every night during the summer) and I saw some people standing outside the pool area.. It was the founder of the GYM an her son, they were disaapointed because it was lightening out and they werent allowed in the pool.. her son was upset so she was tring to leave without him getting upset. But before she left Me and my husband got a chance to speak with her. She is a very nice lady and she opened autismgym for her son joey,who is now 23. They have a lot of activites to raise money and she is even going to sponsor Melqui to get swimming classes in september, how awesome is that!! I was a little like "oh, my gosh how will they train Melqui to swim?? be she told me that they are going to train the trainers on how to deal with autism.. after thinking a bit I said lets do it. Why not try I thought, Melqui LOVES water so if worse comes to worse and it doesn't work for him we will just stop. It's going to be for 2 wks, 4 times a week. I'm excited!! and the best part is while he is taking lessons my other kids can swim too!!! It's GREAT to find places like this for our kids. Well after speaking with her she said she had to go but that we could go inside the gymnasium and play with the kids for an hour because that hour is always booked for her so we went in with some of her volunteers and my kids had a blast! they played hoolahoop and basketball and all sort of other stuff, it was o nice just seeing Melqui being able to run and sream and have plain fun without people staring at him! and thats exactly what the Lady told me, she said when they go swimming the pool is closed for the public, they open it just for the autismgym and she says its great because the kids scream and have a good time and no one cares how loud they are because everyone there has a speacial needs child and has been there done that.. thats worth driving 30 min a week for!!!! Thank you autismgym!!!
Physical Therapy
Melqui went for his evaluation yesterday for physical therapy and well I guess Melqui is too Physical because he wore them out!! after 30 min they said theres nothing else they need to see and that he doesn't require physical therapy, which is great! that means we are one step closer!!
While looking on the internet one day I came across a website called AUTISMGYM.COM. It's a gymnasium here in FL and its held every Tuesday for an hour from 6-7pm. I went for the first time Tuesday night with the family. It was raining that night (it rains here every night during the summer) and I saw some people standing outside the pool area.. It was the founder of the GYM an her son, they were disaapointed because it was lightening out and they werent allowed in the pool.. her son was upset so she was tring to leave without him getting upset. But before she left Me and my husband got a chance to speak with her. She is a very nice lady and she opened autismgym for her son joey,who is now 23. They have a lot of activites to raise money and she is even going to sponsor Melqui to get swimming classes in september, how awesome is that!! I was a little like "oh, my gosh how will they train Melqui to swim?? be she told me that they are going to train the trainers on how to deal with autism.. after thinking a bit I said lets do it. Why not try I thought, Melqui LOVES water so if worse comes to worse and it doesn't work for him we will just stop. It's going to be for 2 wks, 4 times a week. I'm excited!! and the best part is while he is taking lessons my other kids can swim too!!! It's GREAT to find places like this for our kids. Well after speaking with her she said she had to go but that we could go inside the gymnasium and play with the kids for an hour because that hour is always booked for her so we went in with some of her volunteers and my kids had a blast! they played hoolahoop and basketball and all sort of other stuff, it was o nice just seeing Melqui being able to run and sream and have plain fun without people staring at him! and thats exactly what the Lady told me, she said when they go swimming the pool is closed for the public, they open it just for the autismgym and she says its great because the kids scream and have a good time and no one cares how loud they are because everyone there has a speacial needs child and has been there done that.. thats worth driving 30 min a week for!!!! Thank you autismgym!!!
Physical Therapy
Melqui went for his evaluation yesterday for physical therapy and well I guess Melqui is too Physical because he wore them out!! after 30 min they said theres nothing else they need to see and that he doesn't require physical therapy, which is great! that means we are one step closer!!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Elisabeth's Birthday Party
Yesterday was Elisabeth's birthday party. We were suppose to go to the beach but since there was a 70% chance of rain we decided not to go for it. so sad for everyone, we all love water but I HATE the sand! So I wasn't too upset :'). Well we still had a birthday to do, so my sister recommened Chuck E Cheese...sounds good, but what about Melqui, I thought to myself at first. The last time we went there we had to leave because Melqui bit some other kid! And since I learned that children with autism have a problem with having too much noise around them I started to TRY and avoid places that have too many people and are too loud. But I thought about it and decided to go and take my children and see how MElqui would do. Well to my surprise he did pretty good, ACTIVE but good! He didn't hit anyone (except his dad when we were trying to sing happy b-day and he wanted to continue playing) and he played nicely. I was lucky because all the people there seemed kind of layed back, which was more comforting. Some parents get really upset just because your kid bumped into their kid. But anyways, bottom line he had fun and so did my other kids. My daughter got alot of clothes, which she loves. she is only 4 now but she acts like a teenager at times! Like if her hair is out of place she flips out until you fix it, WHATS UP WITH THAT!! she's a girly girl, so sweet!
Well today I had a follow up appt with the developemental doctor at 10:30pm and well an hour and a half later..... I was still in the waiting room, then I finally got told "he is not going to be able to see you today,do you wanna reschedule?" ooooookkkkkkk...i said no tell him to call me and we will speak over the phone, I am booked with appts..i couldn't return. Let's see how long it takes for him to call me.
Tomorrow Melqui has an appt at 11a to have a dry blood test done, a little blood from his finger, nothing big. Then I have an appt at 3:30p for my daughters physical and for Melqui to get an allergy test written up..after that we are going to the Autismgym in Ocoee at 6p for an hour...........long day-can't wait!
Well today I had a follow up appt with the developemental doctor at 10:30pm and well an hour and a half later..... I was still in the waiting room, then I finally got told "he is not going to be able to see you today,do you wanna reschedule?" ooooookkkkkkk...i said no tell him to call me and we will speak over the phone, I am booked with appts..i couldn't return. Let's see how long it takes for him to call me.
Tomorrow Melqui has an appt at 11a to have a dry blood test done, a little blood from his finger, nothing big. Then I have an appt at 3:30p for my daughters physical and for Melqui to get an allergy test written up..after that we are going to the Autismgym in Ocoee at 6p for an hour...........long day-can't wait!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
The Marcus Approval
Pushing my luck
This morning I gave Melqui gfcf french toast stixs and his "cup" full with juice. Yesterday he did really well with the cup but today is a different story..he refuses to take it! I even tried giving him juice in a regular cup but he still wouldn't take it. I think it's really hitting him now, not having his bottle, I feel so bad...I don't want to give in, but now it's after 12pm and still nothing! I hope that he takes it now because I just put him to sleep with the bottle sitting on the bed next to the wall and hopefully he just reaches for it and drinks it. It worked yesterday, lets see what happens today.
The Seal of Approval
If you have PICKY eaters, you know how hard it is to try new foods.. no matter what you do they put on a face even before they have the "new" food in their mouth, it's ridiculous! But when you have found something that gets "Approved" it stays in your house forever!!! Well today I gave Marcus ( my oldest) a gfcf bagel with gfcf "butter" and the fire works were in the sky shinning bright!! Marcus said "you can't even tell its gfcf, it taste just like a regular bagel" So we put a great Big MARCUS STAMP OF APPROVAL and it will be an item always on the shopping list!
This morning I gave Melqui gfcf french toast stixs and his "cup" full with juice. Yesterday he did really well with the cup but today is a different story..he refuses to take it! I even tried giving him juice in a regular cup but he still wouldn't take it. I think it's really hitting him now, not having his bottle, I feel so bad...I don't want to give in, but now it's after 12pm and still nothing! I hope that he takes it now because I just put him to sleep with the bottle sitting on the bed next to the wall and hopefully he just reaches for it and drinks it. It worked yesterday, lets see what happens today.
The Seal of Approval
If you have PICKY eaters, you know how hard it is to try new foods.. no matter what you do they put on a face even before they have the "new" food in their mouth, it's ridiculous! But when you have found something that gets "Approved" it stays in your house forever!!! Well today I gave Marcus ( my oldest) a gfcf bagel with gfcf "butter" and the fire works were in the sky shinning bright!! Marcus said "you can't even tell its gfcf, it taste just like a regular bagel" So we put a great Big MARCUS STAMP OF APPROVAL and it will be an item always on the shopping list!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Great Morning
Bye, Bye Bottle
This morning I decided to try to get Melqui off his bottle, It's been such a form of comfort for him, it's been hard even thinking of taking it away. Once he bit the top of the bottles nipple off and when I changed it to a new one he sreamed because he knew it wasn't the original one. But the speech therapist said that sucking on his bottle prevents him from speaking right. I bought him a cup (it has a nibble on it, looks some what like a nipple to start the change slow) and well for a few days, even with the therapist, he refused to take it. So this morning I hid his bottle and left the cup full of juice where he was playing and.................nothing! he wouldn't even look at it! Then I decided to take a regular cup and turn his cup up side down and pour the juice from his cup into a reg. cup, and well he drank from the reg. cup, so I praised him...then after doing that 5 -6 times I said "finish" and left his cup on the table w/ juice still in it and I took my cup away...and to my surprise............He drank his cup!!!!!!!!! I started screaming from the kitchen "YAY!!!!!!!" "YOU DID IT, MELQUI!!!" you had to see every time he took a drink, me and my other kids all started cheering him, and he loved it! I'm SO proud!
New York Style Bagels
I found these bagels yesterday at Whole Foods that are gfcf Tapioca New York Style Bagels made by Kinnikinnick. And THEY ARE AWESOME! Melqui always LOVED bagels but the gfcf kind that I found were VERY small and hard. These are bigger, softer and some what sweeter. I toasted one half and put dairy free smart balance "butter" and he LOVED it... I made him the other half and he ate that too... WE FOUND A WINNER!
(and he drank another CUP full of his milk.. he's such a good boy!)
This morning I decided to try to get Melqui off his bottle, It's been such a form of comfort for him, it's been hard even thinking of taking it away. Once he bit the top of the bottles nipple off and when I changed it to a new one he sreamed because he knew it wasn't the original one. But the speech therapist said that sucking on his bottle prevents him from speaking right. I bought him a cup (it has a nibble on it, looks some what like a nipple to start the change slow) and well for a few days, even with the therapist, he refused to take it. So this morning I hid his bottle and left the cup full of juice where he was playing and.................nothing! he wouldn't even look at it! Then I decided to take a regular cup and turn his cup up side down and pour the juice from his cup into a reg. cup, and well he drank from the reg. cup, so I praised him...then after doing that 5 -6 times I said "finish" and left his cup on the table w/ juice still in it and I took my cup away...and to my surprise............He drank his cup!!!!!!!!! I started screaming from the kitchen "YAY!!!!!!!" "YOU DID IT, MELQUI!!!" you had to see every time he took a drink, me and my other kids all started cheering him, and he loved it! I'm SO proud!
New York Style Bagels
I found these bagels yesterday at Whole Foods that are gfcf Tapioca New York Style Bagels made by Kinnikinnick. And THEY ARE AWESOME! Melqui always LOVED bagels but the gfcf kind that I found were VERY small and hard. These are bigger, softer and some what sweeter. I toasted one half and put dairy free smart balance "butter" and he LOVED it... I made him the other half and he ate that too... WE FOUND A WINNER!
(and he drank another CUP full of his milk.. he's such a good boy!)
Good day for therapy
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELISABETH!! WE LOVE YOU SWEETIE!! 6/19
(even though it already 12am and it now past)
Speech Therapy and OT therapy
When I went to speech today with Melqui at 11am and I had to take all my kids with me. I told the therapist to take him by herself so he wouldn't be distracted...and to my surprise, he did fairly well. she told me he hard time cleaning up but overall he did good. She told me she feels OT (occupational therapy) would be great for him to get right before his speech session, she feels he will get calmed with OT so that he can focus more with speech. Well I went home and the office called me that they had a space for OT evaluation at 3:30pm if i wanted it, I said ok and off we went. The OT therapist was really nice, and let Melqui be himself so he didn't get too upset just meeting her.. she basically just watched him and tried to think of different technics that might work for him.. we put him in the ball pin ad he loved it.. I learned that autistic children LOVE pressure on their bodies, its like the ball rolling on their bodies (or even a bean bag) feels like the puzzle of their bodies is being complete..almost like their bodies are full of pieces not put together and the balls all over them complete those gaps..get it? yea it took me awhile to understand, but it works! so all is well..
(even though it already 12am and it now past)
Speech Therapy and OT therapy
When I went to speech today with Melqui at 11am and I had to take all my kids with me. I told the therapist to take him by herself so he wouldn't be distracted...and to my surprise, he did fairly well. she told me he hard time cleaning up but overall he did good. She told me she feels OT (occupational therapy) would be great for him to get right before his speech session, she feels he will get calmed with OT so that he can focus more with speech. Well I went home and the office called me that they had a space for OT evaluation at 3:30pm if i wanted it, I said ok and off we went. The OT therapist was really nice, and let Melqui be himself so he didn't get too upset just meeting her.. she basically just watched him and tried to think of different technics that might work for him.. we put him in the ball pin ad he loved it.. I learned that autistic children LOVE pressure on their bodies, its like the ball rolling on their bodies (or even a bean bag) feels like the puzzle of their bodies is being complete..almost like their bodies are full of pieces not put together and the balls all over them complete those gaps..get it? yea it took me awhile to understand, but it works! so all is well..
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Today's progress
Today was Melqui's first DAN (defeating autism now) appt. My old pediatrician, who I was so sad when she moved, is a DAN doctor and I was so excited I booked an appt quickly. This appt is costly but worth it when you find a GREAT doctor! We are going to start on the gut issues and yeast, which I was informed should be the first thing you start so everything else could fall into place. It's hard though because everything we are doing is out of pocket cost, no insurance company excepts it. So we have a lot of saving up to do. But overall I am very pleased..its going to be a long journey, you have to have a lot of patience, but I know the out come will all be worth it!
Today's surprise
I had left Melqui at his grandma's house and me and my husband ran some errands.. wait first thing- Mequi never liked being left at someones house but now I notice when we go to grandma's he wants to be the first one out the car to go inside, its like now he understands we will be back to pick him up.. so this morning when we took my other kids to grandma's he got upset that he wasn't going in (we had the appt to take him to) and he got a little bothered looking at his siblings go without him, but then he was ok... but that was such a huge accomplishment for him! ok back to the errands..when we came back to pick up the kids, I took Marcus, Elisabeth and Melqui and headed to the car. I left the baby in the car seat so my husband could bring her for me. Well Melqui noticed I didnt bring her with me so he kept sort of whinning... at first I didnt understand why, but then he went back in the house and attempted to push the car seat to me... HE DIDN"T WANT ME TO LEAVE HER! I was like WOW he's caring for her!!! It was such a beautiful moment!!! I'm so proud of him!
Today's surprise
I had left Melqui at his grandma's house and me and my husband ran some errands.. wait first thing- Mequi never liked being left at someones house but now I notice when we go to grandma's he wants to be the first one out the car to go inside, its like now he understands we will be back to pick him up.. so this morning when we took my other kids to grandma's he got upset that he wasn't going in (we had the appt to take him to) and he got a little bothered looking at his siblings go without him, but then he was ok... but that was such a huge accomplishment for him! ok back to the errands..when we came back to pick up the kids, I took Marcus, Elisabeth and Melqui and headed to the car. I left the baby in the car seat so my husband could bring her for me. Well Melqui noticed I didnt bring her with me so he kept sort of whinning... at first I didnt understand why, but then he went back in the house and attempted to push the car seat to me... HE DIDN"T WANT ME TO LEAVE HER! I was like WOW he's caring for her!!! It was such a beautiful moment!!! I'm so proud of him!
Monday, June 16, 2008
A waffle moment
Today I decided to try to get Melqui to eat a waffle. Van's has this gfcf waffle that I tried before and he didn't like it. It's been abouta month so I bought it again to see if maybe now he would give it a try. We woke up late today so I know he was hungry. I toasted the waffle gave him the whole waffle in his hand and off he went.. he took a bite then spit it out, but I noticed that he held on to it. Usually he would bring it to me once he doesn't like something, so I thought, maybe he wants to give it a try so I waited and watched...about an hour and half later.... He takes it and eats it! He had drank about 2 bottles of milk in between, but he ate it. Another accomplishment!
Movie night
Last night for Father's Day we went to the movies. We haven't been to the movies in about a year. When Melqui was younger he wouldn't sit still during the movie and he would scream a lot. So we decided it was time to try it again. I packed up some Lay's chips, a pear, a gfcf hot dog and gfcf milk for Melqui in a bag and off we went. We saw Kung Fu Panda, that movie has so much action in it and its so LOUD that even if Melqui screamed you couldn't hear it. He ate popcorn (with no butter) and he did really well. I kept him in his stroller so I could get up easy just in case he acted up. But to my surprise it went well. Towards the end he got too excited and wanted out the stroller so I picked him up and took him to the side and watched the remainder of the movie there, but it was ok, he made some progress. I personally didn't get to see the WHOLE movie ( I had to keep making sure Melqui was kept with food or a drink) but I was okay with it. I don't want us to be isolated inside our home, so sometimes you make sacrifices so that everyone gets to have fun! Overall it was GREAT!
Movie night
Last night for Father's Day we went to the movies. We haven't been to the movies in about a year. When Melqui was younger he wouldn't sit still during the movie and he would scream a lot. So we decided it was time to try it again. I packed up some Lay's chips, a pear, a gfcf hot dog and gfcf milk for Melqui in a bag and off we went. We saw Kung Fu Panda, that movie has so much action in it and its so LOUD that even if Melqui screamed you couldn't hear it. He ate popcorn (with no butter) and he did really well. I kept him in his stroller so I could get up easy just in case he acted up. But to my surprise it went well. Towards the end he got too excited and wanted out the stroller so I picked him up and took him to the side and watched the remainder of the movie there, but it was ok, he made some progress. I personally didn't get to see the WHOLE movie ( I had to keep making sure Melqui was kept with food or a drink) but I was okay with it. I don't want us to be isolated inside our home, so sometimes you make sacrifices so that everyone gets to have fun! Overall it was GREAT!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Happy Father's Day
Happy Father's Day, Daddy! We Love You! Your The Best! XOXOXOXOXO
-From your Loving children Marcus, Elisabeth, Melqui and Isabella
Pancakes
Yesterday my kids and I ATTEMPTED to do gfcf pancakes.. and well it didn't come out so good. It had a strong taste of potatoe. I guess because I bought bob's red mill gfcf flour and it had potato starch in it, but I didn't think the taste would be so strong. So I have to get a better, sweeter recipe.
Liberty Bakery
I finally reached Liberty Bakery yesterday (a gfcf, and all sort of allergen free, bakery) and it was opened! The lady who attended me was AWESOME! she also has a child with autism and she was so helpful! She started writing some information for me and told me all about her experiences.. I got there right before 5pm when they close and I didn't leave until about 5:35pm..and she didn't even rush me out, she took her time and let me ask ALL the questions I needed to ask and it was great! and there chocolate chip cookies are the BEST! I love finding places like this, it gives you a "at-home" feel. Thank you Liberty Bakery!
-From your Loving children Marcus, Elisabeth, Melqui and Isabella
Pancakes
Yesterday my kids and I ATTEMPTED to do gfcf pancakes.. and well it didn't come out so good. It had a strong taste of potatoe. I guess because I bought bob's red mill gfcf flour and it had potato starch in it, but I didn't think the taste would be so strong. So I have to get a better, sweeter recipe.
Liberty Bakery
I finally reached Liberty Bakery yesterday (a gfcf, and all sort of allergen free, bakery) and it was opened! The lady who attended me was AWESOME! she also has a child with autism and she was so helpful! She started writing some information for me and told me all about her experiences.. I got there right before 5pm when they close and I didn't leave until about 5:35pm..and she didn't even rush me out, she took her time and let me ask ALL the questions I needed to ask and it was great! and there chocolate chip cookies are the BEST! I love finding places like this, it gives you a "at-home" feel. Thank you Liberty Bakery!
Melqui Loves to Dance
This is Melqui dancing and singing (you can't hear it) with his big sister to a movie they are watching. (Melqui is the one with the orange tank top and pamper...and yes it's a boy, he just has long hair). If you notice Melqui looks straight into the camera, he's letting me know that he is aware of me taking a video. (Melqui also talks to his hands, so you see when he puts his hands to his face he speaks to them, sort of like a puppet).
Friday, June 13, 2008
Keeping up with dates
Melqui's Outline
September 10,2005
- This is the day my beautiful little boy was born
- The first year he completed ALL his milestones on time, if not earlier.
September 10,2006 (Approximately)
- Melqui had his first evaluation with his pediatrician when he was about 1 y.o.
The pediatrician told me:
- He is too young to notice anything
- He is a boy and boys develope slower than girls
- and that he didn't believe it was any kind of "disorder"
About 1 1/2 years pass.......
February 4, 2008
- Melqui was sent to a Ear,Nose and Throat doctor because he had HUGE tonsils (they told me his tonsils were +4) and I ALWAYS had a concern with his hearing so they checked it all.
- Melqui had a hearing test that came back perfect
- They told me that I should have his tonsils and adenoids removed (he snored BIG time and at times had difficulty breathing)
- and while removing the tonsils they would check for fluid in his ears and if it was present they would insert tubes.
February 12, 2008
Day of surgery
- They removed tonsils
- They removed adenoids
- They found fluid in his ears and inserted tubes
April 2008
Melqui had his 2nd evaluation with his pediatrician (he was about 2 1/2 y.o.)
She referred us to a:
- Child Developmental Doctor
- Neurologist (this was for some discoloration on his skin)
- Speech Therapist-(he went in april to have evaluation)
- and to have blood work done
But before leaving the office they told me Melqui was behind on one shot and gave it to him.
May 6, 2008
Melqui was diagnosed by the child developmental doctor with PDD/NOS with Autistic features
Prescriptions he gave were:
- more blood work to do
- MRI
- EEG
- and EKG (the results came out perfect)
May 8, 2008
Neurologist appt.
The doctor said the discoloration wasn't a concern to him and told me he would also like the above prescriptions done.
May 10, 2008
I removed dairy. Melqui was a HUGE milk drinker so I knew this would benefit him. I didn't do perfectly but learned as I went.
May 15, 2008
I started Melqui on Cod Liver Oil (1 tsp per day)
The combination:
When I removed dairy and started cod liver oil within a couple of weeks I noticed better eye contact, more words being said, more aware of his surroundings and he wasn't off playing by himself, he started playing with his brother and sisters more.
May 28, 2008
Melqui started speech classes
All he did for 30 min. was hit the therapist (so you can imagine how that went).
June 2, 2008
EEG appt.
We didn't get to accomplish this one because, even though they gave him medicine to go to sleep, he just wouldn't go to sleep. so they sent me home.
June 10, 2008
MRI and blood work
This was hard for me. When they went to put him to sleep they called me back with him and I had to watch him struggle with a mask over his face and it just tore me up inside.. As soon as he fell asleep I started crying. But he came out ok,screaming but ok. The nurse that was with me was SO understanding and didn't make me stay, she told me "your his mom and you know whats best for him". She helped me pick up and off I went.
June 13,2008
Melqui is going to get an evaluation, at home, for Behavioral Therapy.
June 17, 2008
Melqui goes for his 1st DAN doctor appointment
June 25, 2008
Melqui is going for Physical Therapy evaluation
July 8, 2008
Melqui goes for Occupational Therapy evaluation
Thank You God, He ate the bread!
The Bread Moment
Well yesterday I repeated breakfast and lunch for Melqui as the day before. And he ate most of it. But the BEST part of it all was around 7pm last night, when he wanted a peanut butter sandwich. I had some gfcf EnerG Tapioca bread in the frige, so I toasted it, put peanut butter on one piece and tried my best to fold the slice without breaking it and it did pretty good. He did cry a little but I left it on the table and then he came to it by himself, picked it up..and.......HE ATE IT! I was so happy I felt like crying. I thought he would never like the gfcf bread. You see Melqui LOVES peanut butter sandwiches and I would take one slice of regular bread, put the peanut butter on it, and fold it in half..well since gfcf bread is so breakable he couldn't stand seeing it break in half, he would have a fit.. but thankfully he's ok now and I am so happy!
Speech Therapy
Yesterday we also went to speech therapy.. I tried a new therapist and it went GREAT..better than I could have imagined! He took such a strong liking to her. she knew exactly how to get his attention and keep him active in what she was trying to get him to do. It was wonderful. She even picked him up and he put his arms around her neck, I cound't believe it. So I am sticking with this one! Now today the Behavioral therapist is coming to my home to give Melqui his evaluation. His child developmental doctor referred me to this therapist that comes out to your home to give him therapy at home, where he is comfortable. I think it's awesome, especially since his insurance covers it.. but I think there are free programs that also do this for people.
So over all, yesterday was a really good day.. but since I started the diet I have been holding off on the Cod Liver Oil so that its not too much at the same time but I will put him back on probably in a couple more days. I ordered the Super-Nu-Thera w/o A & D vitamin and I should be receiving it next week. Everything is just flowing so well... Keep up the Prayers!
Well yesterday I repeated breakfast and lunch for Melqui as the day before. And he ate most of it. But the BEST part of it all was around 7pm last night, when he wanted a peanut butter sandwich. I had some gfcf EnerG Tapioca bread in the frige, so I toasted it, put peanut butter on one piece and tried my best to fold the slice without breaking it and it did pretty good. He did cry a little but I left it on the table and then he came to it by himself, picked it up..and.......HE ATE IT! I was so happy I felt like crying. I thought he would never like the gfcf bread. You see Melqui LOVES peanut butter sandwiches and I would take one slice of regular bread, put the peanut butter on it, and fold it in half..well since gfcf bread is so breakable he couldn't stand seeing it break in half, he would have a fit.. but thankfully he's ok now and I am so happy!
Speech Therapy
Yesterday we also went to speech therapy.. I tried a new therapist and it went GREAT..better than I could have imagined! He took such a strong liking to her. she knew exactly how to get his attention and keep him active in what she was trying to get him to do. It was wonderful. She even picked him up and he put his arms around her neck, I cound't believe it. So I am sticking with this one! Now today the Behavioral therapist is coming to my home to give Melqui his evaluation. His child developmental doctor referred me to this therapist that comes out to your home to give him therapy at home, where he is comfortable. I think it's awesome, especially since his insurance covers it.. but I think there are free programs that also do this for people.
So over all, yesterday was a really good day.. but since I started the diet I have been holding off on the Cod Liver Oil so that its not too much at the same time but I will put him back on probably in a couple more days. I ordered the Super-Nu-Thera w/o A & D vitamin and I should be receiving it next week. Everything is just flowing so well... Keep up the Prayers!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Yesterday was a good day
GFCF DIET
I started the diet yesterday. I found Ian's french toast stix in the local health food store and some gfcf chicken hot dogs and Amy's gfcf pizza (spinach) and well I gave Melqui the stix for breakfast...and... he ate them, like 5 pieces. He just holds the french toast stix in his hand and just eats it. Then for lunch I made him 2 gfcf hot dogs (w/ no bun) and he ate it up. ( i learned that these hot dogs can't be microwaved, they get stiff.. they are BEST boiled, and taste really good) and I made the pizza for my other kids (who are not autistic, im just trying to get the family to eat gfcf) and told them that the spinach was actually food coloring for the sauce and down the hatch it went, I couldnt believe it! For dinner I made homemade chicken nuggets with sweet potato fries and the nuggets were a hit for my kids and the fries were a hit for me! Melqui didnt eat none of it so I made him another hot dog and he ate that.. you see before the diet Melqui would only eat bread, peanut butter, fries, hot dogs and pizza ( but as a baby he would eat everything in sight until he turned about 1 1/2 y.o.) so I took what he would eat and made it GFCF so I hope eventually he will start to try more new foods.. and hopefully the family can join in as I get more recipes to do at home.. I am going to try a gfcf pancake recipe I found online tomorrow and some gfcf chocolate chip cookies i bought to make. I also found a nearby bakery that is GFCF! I am SO EXCITED, I can't wait to try their goodies!
I started the diet yesterday. I found Ian's french toast stix in the local health food store and some gfcf chicken hot dogs and Amy's gfcf pizza (spinach) and well I gave Melqui the stix for breakfast...and... he ate them, like 5 pieces. He just holds the french toast stix in his hand and just eats it. Then for lunch I made him 2 gfcf hot dogs (w/ no bun) and he ate it up. ( i learned that these hot dogs can't be microwaved, they get stiff.. they are BEST boiled, and taste really good) and I made the pizza for my other kids (who are not autistic, im just trying to get the family to eat gfcf) and told them that the spinach was actually food coloring for the sauce and down the hatch it went, I couldnt believe it! For dinner I made homemade chicken nuggets with sweet potato fries and the nuggets were a hit for my kids and the fries were a hit for me! Melqui didnt eat none of it so I made him another hot dog and he ate that.. you see before the diet Melqui would only eat bread, peanut butter, fries, hot dogs and pizza ( but as a baby he would eat everything in sight until he turned about 1 1/2 y.o.) so I took what he would eat and made it GFCF so I hope eventually he will start to try more new foods.. and hopefully the family can join in as I get more recipes to do at home.. I am going to try a gfcf pancake recipe I found online tomorrow and some gfcf chocolate chip cookies i bought to make. I also found a nearby bakery that is GFCF! I am SO EXCITED, I can't wait to try their goodies!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
My family
The Family United
My name is Carmen and I am married to a wonderful husband named Miguel and we have 4 beautiful children, Marcus-7, Elisabeth-4, Melqui-2 and Isabella-11mths. We love doing everything as a family- going shopping, having family night, watching kid movies, and especially praying and seeking God. So when we got the diagnosis of our lil' boy Melqui we all knew that we had to go in as a family and be there for him.
About Melquisedec (Melqui)
Melqui was born on September 9, 2005. He was a beautiful little boy (I know all parents say that, but really he was so beautiful) his first year was very calm and he hardly gave me any trouble. We took him every where and we would always hear from people how good he was and how you didnt even notice he was there. Melqui reached ALL his milestones on time (actually before time). He started walking at 10 mths old and smiled all day long from the moment he woke up in the morning. The only concern I had was that he never spoke, he never called me mommy and that was hard for me because he would gert hurt and not come crying to me... so when he was 1 y.o. I took him to the pediatrician where they told me that he was still young and that he was a boy and boys tend to start late, the doctor told me to give it time and that he didnt believe it was any type of "disorder". So I waited... and I prayed asking for God to lead my way and to confirm to me that everything is going to be okay, and He did just that so I stayed calm. That was all until Melqui turned 2 y.o. and he began to hit..and hit...and bang everything! He still didnt call me mommy and hardly said anything at all. So I decided to go get him evaluated again... but before I did, I prayed and ask for God to lead the way for me.. and on May 6, 2008 was the day my journey would begin....
The Diagnosis
On May 6, 2008 Melqui was diagnosed with Pervasive Developemental Disorder (PDD/NOS) with Autistic features. With all the research I did prior to the diagnosis I already had an idea that this was going to be what the doctor was going to tell me. The only problem I have is when the doctor says "There is no cure"... because I know God is the only one who has the last say on that, we believe that God can make the miracle.. but in the mean time we keep praying and doing our best to make Melqui has comfortable as possible and with the gfcf diet it can improve the inside of his body greatly!
The Treatment
As soon as I heard about the GFCF diet we instantly knew this was it, your motherly instincts light up and says You've Got it! now I know this is not for everyone but when you know its for you, you know its right. I quickly took Melqui and removed dairy because he was such a HUGE milk drinker I knew this would benefit him.. and I added Cod Liver Oil and with in a couple of weeks up to this day his eye contact has improved, when before there was hardly none, he started saying more words and best of all he wasnt sitting off by himself while his siblings were playing, now he wants to play with them and he is always looking for them to play with him, he might try to get there attention in the wrong way (by hitting) but he does mean well. He is only trying to get them to play but doesnt know how to say it but we are working on it. He is now going to speech therapy for 30 min. a day for 2 days a week. And by the beginning of next month he will be in physical and occupational therapy. I am still working on the behaverol therapy. And next week we have our DAN doctor appt. which is very exciting because we get to take test to see what foods he is allergic to so maybe the diet can be a little easier knowing what foods to really avoid... So the journey begins.. one day at a time... always moving forward.
My name is Carmen and I am married to a wonderful husband named Miguel and we have 4 beautiful children, Marcus-7, Elisabeth-4, Melqui-2 and Isabella-11mths. We love doing everything as a family- going shopping, having family night, watching kid movies, and especially praying and seeking God. So when we got the diagnosis of our lil' boy Melqui we all knew that we had to go in as a family and be there for him.
About Melquisedec (Melqui)
Melqui was born on September 9, 2005. He was a beautiful little boy (I know all parents say that, but really he was so beautiful) his first year was very calm and he hardly gave me any trouble. We took him every where and we would always hear from people how good he was and how you didnt even notice he was there. Melqui reached ALL his milestones on time (actually before time). He started walking at 10 mths old and smiled all day long from the moment he woke up in the morning. The only concern I had was that he never spoke, he never called me mommy and that was hard for me because he would gert hurt and not come crying to me... so when he was 1 y.o. I took him to the pediatrician where they told me that he was still young and that he was a boy and boys tend to start late, the doctor told me to give it time and that he didnt believe it was any type of "disorder". So I waited... and I prayed asking for God to lead my way and to confirm to me that everything is going to be okay, and He did just that so I stayed calm. That was all until Melqui turned 2 y.o. and he began to hit..and hit...and bang everything! He still didnt call me mommy and hardly said anything at all. So I decided to go get him evaluated again... but before I did, I prayed and ask for God to lead the way for me.. and on May 6, 2008 was the day my journey would begin....
The Diagnosis
On May 6, 2008 Melqui was diagnosed with Pervasive Developemental Disorder (PDD/NOS) with Autistic features. With all the research I did prior to the diagnosis I already had an idea that this was going to be what the doctor was going to tell me. The only problem I have is when the doctor says "There is no cure"... because I know God is the only one who has the last say on that, we believe that God can make the miracle.. but in the mean time we keep praying and doing our best to make Melqui has comfortable as possible and with the gfcf diet it can improve the inside of his body greatly!
The Treatment
As soon as I heard about the GFCF diet we instantly knew this was it, your motherly instincts light up and says You've Got it! now I know this is not for everyone but when you know its for you, you know its right. I quickly took Melqui and removed dairy because he was such a HUGE milk drinker I knew this would benefit him.. and I added Cod Liver Oil and with in a couple of weeks up to this day his eye contact has improved, when before there was hardly none, he started saying more words and best of all he wasnt sitting off by himself while his siblings were playing, now he wants to play with them and he is always looking for them to play with him, he might try to get there attention in the wrong way (by hitting) but he does mean well. He is only trying to get them to play but doesnt know how to say it but we are working on it. He is now going to speech therapy for 30 min. a day for 2 days a week. And by the beginning of next month he will be in physical and occupational therapy. I am still working on the behaverol therapy. And next week we have our DAN doctor appt. which is very exciting because we get to take test to see what foods he is allergic to so maybe the diet can be a little easier knowing what foods to really avoid... So the journey begins.. one day at a time... always moving forward.
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