Desperation Diet

I've been sitting here for about an hour now trying to figure out how to write this post. The topic is Jason and his behavior. The problem is I could write a book on such a topic. I think, at the risk of losing every reader's interest, I must stick to the shortened version.


I mentioned that he was a complete terror while on vacation. My thought on this is that it was a result of what he was eating. Seeing how we were vacationing our diet was not as healthy as it usually is. At home we eat a very healthy diet. I realize "healthy diet" can be widely interpreted... but there you have it, I'm not going into that right now. :)

I have spent hours upon hours searching for answers to Jason. We have tried many things. Things regarding diet as well as emotional and disciplinary issues. Nothing has worked.

Well, we are trying something new. A new diet. A diet of desperation. The Feingold Program, ever heard of it? We have not spent the $80.00 to buy the diet and join the website, but we are experimenting with what information I have gathered from the internet.

We tried a bit last week and had one really great day. Then things fell apart, but I have found information explaining exactly why. So armed with new information we are starting over. I thought it was just taking out all artificial preservative, flavorings and additives, but there are also the natural forms of salicylate which are suppose to be taken out for stage 1 of the program too. These can be slowly added back in later to pinpoint any that cause a reaction. Some of the foods on this list include apples, grapes, raisins, tomatoes, almonds and apricots...all of which Jason has been chowing down on most of this past week.

So tomorrow we start again with an approved food list of about 6 things. We do this for about a week or until we notice a change. Then we will start adding in other foods. It will be a rough few days, but will be so worth it if this works. Praying we have found help. All my eggs are in one basket here. I don't know what I'll do if this fails.

Actually, yes I do.
I'll cry.
I know I will.

16 Week Appointment

I saw the midwife this past week. Everything is fine. It was a normal visit except for the part where she couldn't find the heart beat. After trying for the longest 1O minutes of my life, she suggested that I get up and walk around for a while. She tried to tell me that it can be hard to find the heart beat at 16 weeks. I pretty much told her that I knew full well that she should be able to find it.

She took the next appointment and then we tried again. She found it within a minute. I was so relieved!

Since I have a hospital issued midwife they have all these regulations regarding what they must tell a new patient. It's driving me crazy. Not only have I heard or read all this stuff before at least 4 times, but I heard it all just last year! But regulations require them to treat me as if this is my first baby! Even down to telling me how important it is to take a folic acid supplement.

I'm not liking my new midwife this time round. I'm trying to give her a chance. It's just not happening for me yet. :(

I miss my midwife in the States.

Our Holiday, Part 3

Ok, the third and final entry about our vacation fun. Our one big splurge was taking the boys to the Animalarium. A habitat for unwanted zoo animals. Very small, but worth going to...once.

The first thing we did was the pony ride. Overpriced, entirely too short, but very much enjoyed.


Paul was so cute. Seth went first and Paul was very concerned that he wasn't going to be able to have a turn too. But for how much he wanted to ride and how much he didn't want to get off at the end this was the only picture where he looked happy. He was scowling the whole time. lol! Crazy kid!


I'm really glad we did the ponies first, because Jason didn't last much more than an hour after. I know we have some happy pictures of him and he looks so sweet on this pony, but these are just frozen moments in time. In actuality he was a complete terror for much of our vacation. I have more to say on this, but that is another post.


He had many warnings, disciplining, and second chances. But when the kicking, screaming and scratching started he and I finally had to go sit in the car while Caleb kept the others. He had exhausted himself so much by his fits that he fell asleep. So I was not there when these next pictures were taken, but Seth and Paul got some more fun in.

Paul took the feeding of the goats very seriously...

Overall, we had a great 4 days and, I think, made some good memories. But, I tell you, vacation with small children is NOT a vacation. Well, at least not with my small children. :) I'm needing a vacation from my vacation. lol!

Our Holiday, Part 2

Being like so many other young families who live on a small budget we are all about the free fun. Fortunately we were able to find enough things to keep our guys entertained.

The castle ruins were not my cup of tea, but the boys really enjoyed the climbing, jumping, running, hiding and exploring. And as an added bonus the periodic downpours provided plenty of puddles for splashing in.

We had a castle playground with bathroom facilities right there in the background...nice and close and convenient. It's always good to know where those are. :)

On the prom we had a paddling pool. Seth and Jason absolutely loved this, with Seth telling us many times how special it was. This picture was taken about 7 o'clock at night and it was really cold out, but they didn't seem to notice.

Morgan was the smart one and stayed warm and dry in his daddy's arms.

The Park and Ride was Paul's favorite activity which we did many times...

Because, you know, nothing is more fun then riding the bus.

We walked to the top of this not-so-high, but steep hill where we were greeted by a beautiful view...but that was not the reason for our efforts.

It was the bouncy castle so kindly provided by the nice little cafe at the top.

"Oh, what awesome parents I have!"

Our Holiday, Part 1

We went to the seaside town of Aberystwyth for 4 days and stayed in a holiday flat just a block from the beach. It rained off and on for the first two days, but then turned nice for the final two. Our flat had six single bedrooms, a kitchen and two bathrooms. It was nice. The boys were so excited. They were up until 10 o'clock the first night!


There was a promenade the length of the beach. (Is it called a promenade in the States? I really have no idea.) It was about 1 1/2 miles long. I did my morning walk along there twice. It was quite lovely.


On this particular occasion Caleb took Seth and Jason out one morning while I got the little two ready for the day. Now if I had taken them this is how they would have enjoyed looking down over the beach below...


But as it was their father who took them so this is what they were actually doing...


We took a walk on the prom each day rain or not...

Morgan

Well, we are home. I have lots to share in regards to our holiday, but first I must put up Morgan's 11 month update. I missed it while Heather was here and I know you all are just on edge to find out what our littlest guy is up to now. :)


In reality, this is the only place I write down baby's firsts, so I want to record it while I still remember.


This past month brought big changes to Morgan's life...he was weaned. Twas not in my plans. My plan was to encourage self-weaning somewhere around 16-18 months. I put so much effort into stalling his solids. He was still nursing about 8 times a day and at 10 months his only food was a bit of rice cereal in the afternoons. But my big plans went ka-plooey in one short month.

After 2 weeks of very painful nursing, which I thought was soreness due to pregnancy, I discovered Morgan had thrush, which he so kindly shared with me. A few more days of pain and I decided I couldn't take anymore. He was weaned in a week. I was not ready and neither was he, but it had to be done. So he's been weaned onto goat's milk and his food repertoire has rapidly increased. He's a picky eater...my first.

He also had a horrible yeast diaper rash for the whole month. I didn't realize it was yeast until after finding the thrush. Then I connected the dots and ordered garlic oil from the health shop. After a week with no show I did some googling and decided to try tea tree oil. I bought some cream and it cleared up right away. I was so glad. He was a hurting little boy.


Three firsts:

• Waving bye-bye.
• Clapping.
  
• Saying Dada.

WAHM Plug

My bloggie friend Sarah makes really cute all-in-one cloth diapers. I haven't tried any, but am certainly going to next time I need to buy. Check out her site...

http://www.crazyclothshop.com/

Pili Palas

Yesterday we took a trip to the Pili Palas or the Butterfly Palace. The boys really enjoyed themselves. They saw snakes, lizards, snail, tarantulas and all kinds of nasty creatures, besides the bunnies, guinea pigs and turtles. The butterfly room was really cool. They had it set up with all kinds of tropical vegetation, just over 80 degrees, and tropical humidity to go with it. The butterflies were flying all around us as we were walking through there. They were beautiful!

The boys got to play with the snakes...


Haha! Just kidding...that one is fake. But this one isn't...


And neither is this one...


They also got to hold one of these little lizards...


There was 3 different play areas...plenty to keep busy boys entertained. One was an outdoor area with swings and such. There was an indoor soft play area and a huge jumpy castle.


This was one of Paul's favorite features. Just a few ride-on toys to keep the kids occupied in the cafe area.


Jason loved the Shetland ponies. He keeps mentioning how he wants his very own horsey when he goes to America. lol!


Morgan is still a bit too young to have really enjoyed our activity, but he was a good boy for us. And he did get to crawl around in the soft play place.


We were also fortunate enough to have a clear day with no rain. Yeah!

Birthdays and Baby

We had a combined birthday celebration for Seth and Jason today. I didn't have the heart or the patience to leave Jason out of the fun again even though his actual birthday is still a month away. I made a special double-dino cake...


They both opened their gifts from my parents which Heather brought with her. The timing was perfect. Because...


The boys had a couple new movies to watch while Aunt Heather babysat and Caleb and I went alone to have our first ultra-sound. Yippee!!! It was wonderful to see baby's little heart fluttering away. My due date got moved back a week to February 11th. Not a very good picture, but there you go. That is what our newest addition looks like. :)

It's a Boy Thing

Surely only a boy
would think to fill his squirt gun
by peeing in it.