Autism Action

April is Autism Awareness Month and I think it is awesome that an entire month has been dedicated to autism but we are fully aware by now!  We are aware that autism is growing at an alarming rate.  We are aware that 1 in 110 children and 1 in 74 boys will be diagnosed with autism.  We are aware at the emotional and financial devastation this causes children and families.  It is time for some Autism Action!  There is a growing group of parents that "get it" and are taking action to recover, cure, prevent autism in their child/children but unfortunately there are so many others who still trust the "professionals".  I finally "got it" and will continue to spread the word no matter what.  I've lost friends, I have family who thinks I'm crazy, but I have a healthy son who no longer demonstrates "autistic characteristics"!  We love you Haiden!

Gardening Time

We try every week to stay within a budget when we go grocery shopping but rarely do.  Eating all organic can get expensive but to us it is totally worth it.  One way to save money on our organic fruits and vegetables is to grow them ourselves.  Last year we expanded our garden to 9ft x 13ft and we were able to get an adequate amount of produce.  Over the weekend my wonderful hubby expanded our garden to 9ft x 33ft!  We plan on growing all organic corn, tomatoes, bell peppers, potatoes, broccoli, cucumbers, asparagus, kale, spinach, and strawberries.  We also have a pear tree and a cherry tree.  Today we did a little gardening project with Ella and should have pumpkins in the fall! 

You can see the old garden gated and how far out Brian extended our new garden.

We found this awesome pumpkin gardening kit at Lowe's.

 She is ready to plant her pumpkin seeds!

 Of course Mason wanted to help.  Haiden is away for the weekend but he isn't much of a gardener.

 Adding organic soil.

 Helping Daddy put the pumpkin seeds in the soil.

 Watering the seeds.

 Our pumpkin plants will live here until May when we can transplant them outdoors.

Can't wait to show you our garden once we have all of produce planted and growing!

The Email

Here is an email I received from Haiden's special education teacher.

Hi Abby,


Haiden did such a nice job at the play today. I love when he is proud of himself... that confidence continues to grow! It was so cute to see your little group of kids sitting around you for the play! They were so good! The reason for this email is to share that the whole special ed team at WL feels that if you were interested or ready for Haiden to head back to his home school, we are all in agreement that he is ready. We are basing this on the level of sp ed support he needs to be successful. He has done so well in every facet, everyone has readily agreed that he could return to Eagle if that is what you would like for him. This is not a decision you need to make right away but if Haiden attending Eagle in 2nd grade is a goal, I need to start some transitioning discussions. Let me know your thoughts.

Maria

I could barely finish reading the email because my eyes were filled with tears.  This was something we really wanted for Haiden and we are thrilled that it is happening so fast!

Happy 7th Birthday Haiden

Dear Haiden,
Wow!  I cannot believe that you are 7 years old already!  I was always told by my parents that time flies by but I never really understood what that meant until I had my own children.  You are an AMAZING boy Haiden! 
Right now you love anything sports and have an insane talent for sport statistics.  This past fall you loved watching Notre Dame football on Saturdays and Colts football on Sundays with Daddy.  You remember the score to just about every NFL football game and know most of the starters and their numbers.  You also know their win/lose record without thinking twice about it.  Now, your new passion is basketball and you love anything basketball.  For Christmas we bought a "real" basketball hoop that hangs on a door downstairs.  You spend hours shooting hoops and have gotten very good at it.  You really like watching IU basketball on TV. 
In school you are a superb student!  You always have good behavior and seem to have many friends.  In fact, several of your classmates with be at your birthday party this weekend.  You are reading chapter books already and working your way through division.  You also have a photographic memory.  There will be times that we are reading together and you will look at a paragraph, look away, and "read" that paragraph to me.  The first time you did it I was beyond shocked and asked you to do it again. 
At home you are very patient with Ella and Mason and I know it is not always easy being the oldest.  I appreciate all of your help and how good you are with your little brother and sister. 
Seven years ago I never knew how  much you would change my life.  You have made me such a better person and everyday I try to be the best mommy I can be!
I love you to infinity!
XOXO,
Mom


He is such a goofball! 

Preventing ADHD, Sensory Integration Disorder, and Autism

The following post is my opinion.

Most expecting or new parents only want the best for their child.  As a parent we experience all kinds of worries and fears.  When I was pregnant with Haiden I always had an overwhelming fear about autism.  At the time I was student teaching and working with some autistic children so I just thought that was why I worried all the time.  I thought I read all the books, I thought I did all the research, I talked to my OB, I talked to Haiden's pediatrician.  I thought I was doing everything I could to have a healthy baby.  Little did I know, I didn't have a clue. 
I know so much more now but i wish I knew then what I know now.  I came across this great website called the Autism Research Institute.  They believe that autism is preventable and that autism is treatable.  I believe that too because my family has experienced it.  Here is a great link to all the ways you can prevent autism in your child, http://www.autism.com/fam_preventing_autism_now.asp.  A lot of it is controversial but after living it, I know that it works.  I didn't do any of these things with Haiden and he had autism.  I did a few of these things with Ella and she would most likely get an ADHD diagnoses if we weren't doing the Brain Balance program (http://www.chironeuroindy.com/).  I did almost all of these things with Mason and he is a "typically" developing child. 
If you are pregnant or the mother of a young child, please, please, please read this article.  It could change your life and your child's life.  Some of it may sound extreme but, after recovering a child from autism, I can tell you it isn't nearly as extreme as what you will have to go through if you have a child with ADHD, Sensory Integrations Disorder, or autism.
Please know I post this information because I care.  I know the devastation, the heartache, the stress, the anger, the guilt, and the helpless that comes from not educating myself.

Brain Balance and Yoga

I've mentioned in previous post that we feel Haiden is in a really good place.  He seems like a typical child with some quirks that only we notice.  Now that we are comfortable with Haiden's progress we have been focusing on Ella and her emotional needs.  She is pretty unpredictable and can make or break just about anything we are doing.  So we have started her on the Brain Balance Program and I have very high hopes!  We went last Friday for an evaluation and the findings were very interesting.  For example, she could track objects with her right eye but not her left.  Instead of trying to explain it all to you I'm attaching two links if you are interested.  I would also recommend the book that goes along with the program called Disconnected Kids. 

http://www.chironeuroindy.com/

http://brainbalanceindy.com/

I also started doing Yoga with the kids.  Haiden likes to do it every once in awhile but Ella wants to do it about 5 times a day.  She loves it!  Some friends of ours got us the book Yoga Therapy for Every Special Child by Nancy Williams.  (Actually, our friend's sister is Nancy Williams...pretty cool!)

 Ella demonstrating one of her yoga moves before bedtime. :)

 Haiden demonstrating the "table" move.

Life with three kids continues to be crazy.  I'm having a hard time balancing being a mom, wife, starting a photography business, babysitting two days a week, and running.  My husband has been so supportive and I wouldn't be able to stay sane without him!

Gluten, Dairy, Egg Free Cupcakes

I have found my new favorite Gluten, Dairy, Egg Free brand!  Cherrybrook Kitchen is great and they also make pancake mix, cookie mix, and frosting!  The kids were so excited when I told them that we were going to cupcakes!

Someone licked the batter!

 Here is the cupcake before we put icing on it.

 Cherrybrook Kitchen frosting

 The kids wanted to frost their own cupcakes. 

 Mason wasn't too sure about it so Daddy helped him.

The kids loved the cupcakes and were a little upset that I only let them have one. :)

Juicing!

There are so many health benefits to juicing.  Check out some of them here http://www.bestofjuicing.com/.  Luckily Ella and Mason LOVE when I juice.  Haiden, on the other hand, is not a big fan of it.  I didn't start making juice until Haiden was six years old so he knew that there was a difference between the homemade juice and the store bought juice.  Do you really believe that the store bought juice is "100% fruit juice"?  I sure hope not!  If so, you need to educate yourself a lot about the food you are putting in front of your children!

 My little Mason likes to sneak a few orange slices.

 Brian bought me this juicer about a year ago at Kohl's for $100.  It is one of the lower end models but works great!

 My little princess likes to take all the seeds out of the apples before I put them through the juicer.

 Voila!  Here is a carrot, apple, and orange juice!  We call it "I Love Juicy"!

 Mason taking down his second cup.

 The only bad thing about making homemade juice is that is stains the cups a little bit but to me a little stain is totally worth it!

Merry Christmas

We are having a wonderful Christmas and hope you and your family are doing the same! We attended Christmas Eve church service, put reindeer food in the yard for Santa's reindeer, made homemade popcorn out of non-GMO corn kernels, and watched Polar Express. When the kids woke up this morning they were overcome with excitement. I made gfcfef pancakes with honey and then the kids opened up their gifts. They spent the morning playing and we plan on staying in our pajamas all day and watching Christmas movies. Our Christmas dinner is going to consist of baked ham, gfcfef mac and cheese (this is a first so I'll have to let you know how it turns out), roasted potatoes, and broccoli.

Why Mason Is Healthier

It is almost embarrassing to say but I feel like I finally did things the right way with Mason. By the time I was pregnant with Mason, I was fitting all the pieces together with Haiden and Ella. So instead of typing a long story about all the things I did differently, I thought I'd make a list. Here it goes:
1. Only drank water
2. Didn't take any medicines (not even Tylenol)
3. Ate very well (So maybe the cookies at Marsh bakery don't count, but that was the worse thing I ate.)
4. Didn't vaccinate (Educate yourself people!)
5. Breastfed until he self weaned at 14 months (I never thought I'd be one of "those" people, but I totally am!)
6. Made all my own organic baby food
That's it! Here are the differences:
1. No colic
2. No jaundice
3. No major illness until two weeks ago (had a 24 hour bug).
4. Has met all developmental milestones
He lights up my life!

Saving Ella

Now that we have Haiden in a good place, it is time to focus on our little princess, Ella. I've mentioned it before and I'll say it again, I believe Ella was also damaged by vaccines. By the time Ella was born, we thought Haiden was damaged by having too many vaccines at once, not realizing that I didn't make strong babies, and that my kids couldn't handle ANY vaccines. I remember the day I went into the hospital to have Ella and the nurse asking me if I wanted her to have the Hep B vaccine. I had an unsettling feeling about it and told the nurse my fears. She said, "If you get the Hep B now, then that will be one less at her 6 week appointment." I thought, "Yea, that's true" and signed the consent form. A signature I'll regret for the rest of my life.

By 48 hours of age, jaundice had set in and she had to stay in the hospital an extra day and was sent home with a billy blanket. By 2 weeks of age she had RSV. By 4 weeks of age she had her first ear infection and was on her first round of antibiotics. By 8 weeks of age she had her second ear infection and had her second round of antibiotics. At her well baby visit I agreed to one, just one, vaccine. Two days later she stopped breathing twice, was in the hospital, and sent home with an apnea monitor. (If this would of happened in her sleep instead of my arms, she could of died and it would of been called SIDS.) I still hadn't put it all together and didn't realize the vaccines were causing all these traumatic illnesses so at her 3 month visit I agreed to one, just one more, vaccine. Four days later, Christmas Eve, she was throwing up all day, and we spent Christmas Eve in the hospital because she was dehydrated. Oh, and she had another ear infection. At four months of age she had her fourth ear infection and was put on more antibiotics. At five months of age she had her fifth ear infection and at six months of age she had her sixth ear infection. She also had a constant runny nose and "colds". I finally realized that her little immune system had been destroyed and felt that vaccines contributed to that so I stopped after 4 vaccines and I am forever grateful that I did. After a constant runny nose and colds for six months, Ella was no longer sick but the damage was done.

By now she had been diagnosed with hypotonia (low muscle tone) and still couldn't roll over. (The same girl that was holding her head up on her own at two weeks, all of a sudden had low muscle tone.) I contacted First Steps and physical therapy was started within two weeks. She started to make huge improvements but once we started "real" food, she would throw up or gag. I contacted First Step again and occupational therapy was started within two weeks. Soon we started Craniosacral Therapy and Ella stopped gagging and throwing up. By now she was dismissed from Physical Therapy too. At 18 months of age, when speech was not progressing, I had a speech evaluation and speech therapy was started shortly after. We also put Ella on a gluten/casein free diet. Within a month her language skyrocketed and she hasn't stopped talking since.

Like I said, the damage was done. Being born with a weak immune system, then having vaccines destroy it, not breastfeeding (which I regret giving that up), then antibiotics that strip all good bacteria away from your gut (which 80% of your immune system is in your belly) equals a huge yeast problem also known as leaky gut. A lot of "doctors" won't recognize leaky gut or yeast overgrowth as a real illness but my real homeopathy doctors do. Having yeast overgrowth and leaky gut can lead to a lot of emotional problems which is were we are at with Ella.

She is so smart, loving, helpful, independent, and has the best sense of humor but also so unpredictable. She can be happy one minute and the smallest issue can make her little world fall apart. It is also not easy being the middle child and only girl in the family so we've really been working on behavior modification. She gets a ton of one on one time with mommy or daddy and when she starts to break down we now remove ourselves from the situation instead of removing her. After almost a year of behavior issues with her, last week, was the best week ever! The only change I made was her breakfast and I can't figure out if that has something to do with it or not. Instead of gfcf/egg free waffles or pancakes with honey or real maple syrup, we had organic sausage or bacon with fruit. The change was awesome! The entire household felt less tense and more relaxed. (My husband actually wanted to be home.) Well, I haven't been able to go to the store to get more sausage and fruit so yesterday and today she had waffles with honey. Yesterday was totally exhausting and I felt like we took 10 steps backwards. After an amazing week last week, what in the world happened?! Could it be the food? I guess we will see.

Below is a picture from this past weekend playing out in the snow. She had so much fun!

Haiden's PT Conference

In November we had Haiden's parent/teacher conference and I am so proud to share it with you! On the conference form Haiden's teacher, Mrs. Beard (whom I love), wrote "Haiden just lights up the room. He has such a neat personality. He has a lot to offer!"
She went on to add that "he begins work promptly, stays on task, is willing to ask for help, takes pride in his independent work, demonstrates good handwriting (thank you hours and hours of O.T.), follows directions promptly, demonstrates good self control, assumes responsibility between school and home, gets along well with others, is courteous and has a positive attitude, and cooperates with supervising adults." The only negative comment was that "Haiden will sometimes talk off subject." This comment didn't surprise me at all. That boy is able to turn any conversation into a conversation about football! I am so proud of my little man! He has always been such a fighter and he has fought his way out of autism! Never give up hope!