Have I noticed a difference?

I have had a few questions about my two boys that have Trisomy 21 and how our lifestyle/diet affects them. The truth is, it is because of them that we started on this journey and I'm so glad we did. There have been a few ingredients/ products that I have noticed a major difference in the cognitive functioning and behavior of my boys.

One of these ingredients is SOY. My oldest who is a typically developing child weaned himself early, to my dismay. Thinking I was being a healthy mom I put him on soy based formula instead of just regular formula and he became a tyrant. His behavior was awful. He couldn't sit still, listen, obey.... I couldn't figure it out until I read an article about the dangers of using baby formula. And then read an article about the dangers of soy. I immediately took him off the formula and it was a night and day change. He was a different child. It was because of this incident that I never gave the lils (boys with trisomy 21) soy of any kind.

Another product that I noticed a drastic change once I took them off of it was Pediasure. This was a hard product to give up. I felt that I couldn't get the boys to gain weight if I didn't use it. (Keep in mind that Bohdan weighed 13 lbs at 3 years old when he came home from Europe). Not to mention the fact that Bohdan LOVES pediasure. LOVES it!! It was our functional medicine doctor who explained the dangers of Pediasure and any other processed nutritional drink. She explained that the ingredients acted as a neurotoxin in the boys brains. Well yuck! I begrudgingly sold ALL our Pediaure, Boost Essentials, and Duocal just knowing that my boys would lose weight and would NEVER get any bigger (little dramatic). I kept a journal of their progress and weight. It was also during this time that we started the new eating plan as listed under the page "What do we eat?"

The changes has been astounding!! Both boys are gaining weight and getting stronger. In the last few months their development has increased exponentially. They are picking things up more quickly and trying new things they have never tried before without any coaxing. And it is not just us who is noticing. I asked Caius' attendant if she noticed any change and she said "Uhh Yea!! He is doing SO much better." Even their therapists have asked us what we are doing differently because they are noticing a difference. One therapist was amazed and said that the boys seem more focused and able to concentrate on specific activities for longer periods of time. I even had a family member, who hadn't seen the boys in about 5 months and didn't know we were doing anything differently, tell me this past weekend that the boys look so much better. They look so much more healthy and alert.

It is so good to hear these things because it lets me know we are on the right track. Not to mention it is rewarding to know that all this trouble (and I guarantee you it is trouble) is SO worth it in the long run.

I know it is worth it for me personally because of the difference I have experienced in my own health. I have been able to get off of my Zoloft, I have lost 15 lbs, I have energy and don't crash in the afternoons. I sleep!! I go to sleep quickly, sleep all night and when I wake up I'm ready to go! This was not at all true of my sleep habits 4 months ago. Plus I get a ton of complements on my skin and complexion. Yea!!

For you Mommas of kiddos still on bottles or just eating mash just like my lils: this is how I make their food.

Meat mix: I cook meat (beef, chicken, lamb, salmon) with onion, celery, fresh herbs, carrots, zucchini, squash, broccoli and any other veggie I can come up with. (I keep the starchy veggies to a minimum and usually only use carrots or cauliflower). Once everything is almost done cooking I put in a ton of green leafy veggies to soften. Spinach, collard greens, mustard greens, kale, and any other greens I have on hand. I mix all that up and put into a blender, the mix ends up being about 1/3 or less meat to 2/3 or more veggies. I make sure and use all the broth that was used to cook this cuz it is full of nutrients from the food.
Fruit mix: I then make their fruit mix. It changes depending on what is available. I use alot of apples. Now that the boys are older I don't cook the apples I just blend them raw. I use a lot of berries, full of antioxidants, and other fruit available such as peaches, pears, etc. My favorite thing to mix with the fruit mix is pumpkin and squash. I cut them in half, place on a cookie sheet face down, cover bottom of cookie sheet with water and cook for an hour on about 400. Scoop meat out into a blender add apples and berries and blend. I like to make it with just apples and pumpkin adding stevia, nutmeg and cinnamon, super yummy.
Then at meal time the boys eat 2/3 meat mix to 1/3 fruit mix with a long squirt of flax oil. Once a day I blend a whole avocado and mix into their food. You can adjust the thickness by adding water depending on how you child is doing with solids.

For breakfast the lils eat a smoothie:  strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, banana, vanilla coconut yogurt, spirulina, and flax oil. They love it! You can get organic frozen berries at Costco.