Thursday, September 6, 2018

Intro to Grains

Since Ayden Jane was 8 months old we have been "grain free". Basically, grains in the form of infant cereals proved to cause improper body composition, in ability to grow, and mute her personality so we threw them out. There were a few select exceptions like occasional quinoa and flax meal.

It was likely a drastic response as the parent but they felt like desperate times (and they kinda were). I needed to make a big change and, although it may sound like it was a hard thing to suddenly remove all crackers,, bread, cereal, pasta along with the obvious cake and cookies, it was a simple straight forward rule. It forced me to get creative and come up with other things to feed a nearing one year old. The improvements were undeniable and I never wanted to go back.

I know it likely sounds strange but even the thought of Ayden Jane eating grains panicked me a little. I looked at food so differently and even went grain free myself for a time.

Now, Ayden Jane is nearing eleven - years that is. After discussions with Dr. Miller and the need for slow burning complex carbs to be available for growth rather than relying so heavily on protein she wants me to try introducing a very small amount of complex carbs into Ayden Jane's diet on a regular basis.

Ayden Jane has occasionally had beans like in chili, but certainly not regularly. Oats are a choice Dr. Miller would like us to try since being a girl with PWS by UPD, cholesterol levels run a bit high. She told me this back in January but I knew I needed to get Ayden Jane to a "better place" before messing with something new. Quite honestly, after she was doing so much better and I was home for the summer and could really watch, I forgot completely about it.

So.... This past Tuesday I worked up the courage to give her something we swore off 10 years ago. I gave her the full fat plain greek yogurt with frozen blueberries she loves AND added 1 Tbs raw steel cut oats and 1 Tbs healthy granola (oats, nuts and seeds). I gave it to her after school and she crashed early that night - 7:00. Then woke up with a belly ache around 3:15 and was up for hours.

She finally fell back asleep about 5:30 and I did not wake her for school. She did wake on her own at 7:15 though and was chipper and ready for the day. It was almost crazy! She went all day long with no problem and had a great day.

So.... where do I go from here? Experiment will continue on the weekend and I will give them to her at breakfast. (that's the goal anyway since I need to find something other than eggs for breakfast). We will see how it goes.

It is crazy how sensitive she can be to tiny changes in diet, supplements or medication. I am so very thankful, however, that I am home and able to work through the nuances that are Ayden Jane.

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