Wow, has it been that long?

Life really pulled me away from the Internet.

Summary of what's been going on since my last post.

First, Sarah has been doing phenomenal. Her behavior has been improving and her flexibility has really started to increase (thank goodness). She's more willing to let go of things than she was in the past. She still has moments, but she's doing much better than she was before.

Rachel's sensitivity has decreased to the point where I can wash her hair without her screaming in pain now. And I can brush her hair though it still causes her some distress. Nothing like before, though. All this happened after our last cycle of the Heavy Mineral Bugleweed formula. She's at a point now where we're going to stop that part of her treatment for now and focus on speech therapy and teaching social skills (that's where Sarah mostly is though her's are at a higher development).

Finished the evals except for the recording I usually take. I couldn't find the voice recorder and I decided it was better to work with what I've got so far and just take a recording next quarter. Still it's good to know where the girls are. Rachel is now at a 3-4 year old level developmental age-wise and Sarah is around 6, in some ways 7, in her development skills, with the exception of occasional inflexibility. This means Rachel is almost ready to read and Sarah will probably be ready for baptism in the next few years.

I'm not sure how to prepare the girls for their sister's baptism. In our religion, that happens at 8 and their younger sister is coming up to that age faster than I realized. I know they'll want to be baptized, too... I just don't know how to explain why they haven't been baptized yet (i.e. why they don't need it now).

Finally, Stevie, our toddler. He's been doing better. We've changed his diet dramatically. All grains are sprouted or at least soaked, pasta has been severly curtailed as has most wheat and wheat products. The one exception is Ezekiel bread, which has been on sale for a while at our local health food store. It tastes so good I've been trying to figure out how to recreate it. Meat has become an extremely rare thing, and half the time we serve it I give Stevie a substitute. No dairy, with one exception: breastmilk (I pump a little extra and give him maybe a tablespoon or two in a cup... he's not a big milk drinker). We added the breastmilk after much thought and prayer. We feel that, considering his age, it's still the most assimilable form of food he can take right now. Also, since it's summer, I've tried making more and more "green" smoothies (like the Shrek shake which has spinach in it), so I think that's been helping, too. As for supplements, we've been using Kid-e-Mins, Kid-e-Calc, slippery elm gruel, and Complete Tissue Formula, internally and externally.

The results? All of this has been helpful, but the one that had the greatest effect was the breastmilk. He went from barely talking to, the next day (!), giving me a constant stream of "That, that," satisfied only when I told him what the item was. It's been that way ever since... has not stopped at all. :) He's also used phrases here and there (the best was when he pushed himself up from a lying down stomach-down position to sitting up... he said, "I did it!" and smiled like he was really proud of himself). Most, I don't completely understand, but one or two I do (see previous sentence). His overall energy improved dramatically and his digestion seems to have improved as well. He doesn't seem quite as distressed when I pick him up and I don't hear any reflux going on anymore.

The other stuff helps, especially the slippery elm gruel and Kid-e-Mins, but nothing seems to have helped like breastmilk.

As for motor skills, he doesn't ask me to pick him up as much. And he never asks for help down from a chair or his bed anymore. He'll climb down himself and usually will stand for a little bit before sitting on the floor. He's been scooting around more and I've been noticing he's been using his legs more often for things. For example, the other day he kicked one of his toys around for a few minutes. He's also been stretching his legs out more, including kicking himself on the head (gently), lol.

But the nicest thing is waking up in the morning, hearing him playing with his brother instead of waking up crying (and occasionally screaming). We've still got a ways to go, but I'm more hopeful than I've been in a while.

Last item I'll talk about today, I've found a list of possible doctors from a friend of mine. I'd still like to get Spirit Horse going for the girls and I'd kind of like a baseline for Stevie, so I'm going to try to set up interviews this week with some of them. I've found that tends to be a good indicator: if a doctor is willing to have a free interview with a parent, chances are they'll be pretty good. It shows whether or not they're willing to take the time for you and your kids, especially to answer questions. The last time I looked for a doctor, all but one refused the free interview. The only one who did turned out to be really good with kids and very knowledgeable. He had to retire not long after, but while we had him he was fantastic.

Looking foward to what lies ahead. And hopefully I'll be able to get back to blogging again on a more frequent basis.