Yeah, autism sucks. The kid-at-age-4 not talking part. The kid not writing a Christmas list for Santa and decorating the tree with me. The hot mess of potty-training part. The whole Western-medicine lack-of-know-how part. The alternative treatments costing thousands of dollars a year. The health-insurance-pain-in-the-butt part.
But my Moose? He’s gentle. He’s sweet. He doesn’t suck.
Sure, the diet’s hard. The therapy appointments are a colossal pain. The special ed preschool is 5 days a week and smack dab in the middle of our day. The B12 shots are loads of fun to give. The supplement mixing and monitoring of poop were NEVER on my radar when Moose was a mere infant.
Back then, I was a card-carrying supermom. Breastfed til 15 months. Organic, homemade baby food. Organic clothes. Delayed and spaced out vaccines. Toys were only wooden and made in Germany. Cloth diapered. I cloth diapered for 3.5 years until Moose started PreK {the public school will not cloth diaper, of course}.
I was filled with joy being his mom. Those early days were precious, even though the grief of losing my dad when Moose was 6 weeks old was still so raw.
I thought I knew a lot about being a good mom.
I didn’t know enough.
But I haven’t done it alone.
I’ve met incredible mothers on this path. Women who have carried me through the muck and pain and sorrow. Women who pushed me and forced me to think. Women who have become like sisters to me in the shortest amount of time possible.
Without this “band of mothers”, Moose would still be eating a crappy SAD diet, albeit an organic SAD diet.
We wouldn’t be where we are now.
Our diet is cleaner. Our minds are open and critical.
What I wish I would have known back in 2005 way before I was pregnant with Moose:
1.) Get tested for celiac disease before you get pregnant. Everyone in this country should be screened, especially those with depression, anxiety, and those who have been on TONS of antibiotics.
2.) Question EVERYTHING when it comes to medicine and your health. Take your health seriously. Get into alternative medicine NOW.
3.) Antibiotics shouldn’t be given near vaccines. Don’t give Tylenol near vaccines, as it reduces glutathione in the body, which is the major antioxidant to push out all the crap they put in the vaccines to make them effective {aluminum, for starters}
According to the pediatric GI doctor at University of Chicago we saw two summers ago, she said the gut can take up to a year to heal after a course of antibiotics! The more I learn about antibiotics and gut health, the more I see that the gut never returns to normal after the assault of antibiotics.
Sure antibiotics are needed when NECESSARY, but doctors prescribe antibiotics without really explaining what happens to the gut flora. It kills the bad and THE GOOD.
Leaving us defenseless…like my Moose when he was struck with a series of ear infections at age 2.
90% of ear infections are viral, according to Moose’s ER doctor after a recent febrile seizure in August. AND THEY CLEAR UP ON THEIR OWN.
Antibiotics don’t work on viruses, just bacterial infections!
4.) Feed your kids real food. If it comes from a box, bag, can, or drive-thru window, don’t eat it yourself or feed it to your kids. Sure, it’s damn hard. Sure, it’s inconveinent. But your children are growing in a toxic, crap-filled world. REAL FOOD is their best defense.
Take it from a mom in the trenches.
If I only new then, what I know now…
Raising awareness @
Oh I love this! Very well said for many of us. Thank you!!!!!
Another great post! Feeding our kids real food can be exhausting, but the alternative path is even more exhausting. I’m glad to hear that Moose is finding himself a little more each day.
Applause!!! please don’t beat yourself up for what you didn’t know before. You are the most diligent mom ever! I’m in awe of all you do!
You are amazing! It is definately hard to try to be healthy in today’s society but it’s worth it! Thanks for the post!