Quick Update

Being 37. 5 weeks pregnant, I have been pretty lax with giving Buzzy his supplements.

The upside to that is that we have not noticed any change in behavior. There was a time when if we stopped his (many) supplements we definitely saw a change, and it wasn't for the better.

And considering how few supplements he is on, we think that's pretty awesome.

He is doing well in speech. He is able to sit and watch videos, maybe not for the entire time (unlike his little sister!), but it's progress.

He is also getting better with crossing midline in OT and in general.

We are still working on getting him to eat what we are eating for dinner. We have seen a lot of progress with sitting for breakfast and lunch, though.

We are going to (once the baby comes) work on getting him up at night so he can be potty trained at night. He just sleeps so deeply (wonder what that's like!) that he doesn't wake up to use the bathroom.

Well, that's all I have for now.

Appointment Updates!

First off - Gabriella. I took an initial ATEC with her. I apparently never got the results emailed to me, I just have an overall score, saved in my drafts folder. She scored a 54.

I just took an ATEC for her today. She scored a 9. That means neurotypical. What that really means is she is doing awesome.

I may start breathing again!

Once we finish up the rest of her shots, we will move to sublingual B12. She has been super difficult to give shots to, so moving to something a little less invasive makes sense.

 Everything else is pretty much staying the same - vitamin C, vitamin D, and fish oil. If she still acts constipated, we will add mag citrate.

Preston...we will be running another OAT test. We will also be running a mito panel. If those results look off, we will do a buccal swab to test for mito. Her gut feeling is that mito is not an issue, because he is so high functioning.

We will start B3 and change one of his probiotics.

We will also do a vitamin A protocol, when I feel like doing it (it's only 2 days). We are moving him to sublingual hydroxy B12, if I can figure out where to buy it. I didn't see his B12 was different from Gabriella's. Ugh.

That's about all. Everyone did well for the 4+ hour car ride (2 hours one way) and did really well at the appointment. That's about all I can ask for. :)

Finding Routine

I am not going to comment on the recent news of the CDC whistleblower, whose revelations have been largely ignored. That's something that pretty much gets my blood boiling. And I want to chronicle where Preston is and where we're going. Read the Thinking Moms Revolution blog if you want a recap of that situation. They are far more eloquent than I.

As for where we are now, fortunately I have seen no backslide (I was a little worried I might) with the huge change we did with supplements. At all his therapies, he works as hard as ever and has been doing great. At home, he has been biting his sister a lot. I am not sure what's going on with that. If I pay attention to how others view their 4 year olds, it's pretty grim. So, I don't know whether I can attribute his biting to being a 4 year old, or whether he's having health issues.

I do know he is very sensitive to stickers, yet is drawn to them. Anything with sticky on it is fair game, and it's been so hard to make sure he doesn't get a hold of all that stuff. Post-Its, stamps, mailing labels, stickers from fruits we buy, Scotch tape...he is obsessive about all of it. Electrical tape, too. I do the best I can. But, when he gets a lot of time with sticky stuff, he gets very aggressive. So, sometimes my best isn't good enough.

We have an appointment tomorrow with our MAPS doctor tomorrow. I am looking forward to seeing what the next steps are, because before I used to have at least a clue what might come next. Now I am not sure if all we need is time and patience.

Gabriella is still doing amazing. She will also see our MAPS doctor tomorrow. We just need to tweak some supplements and take care of her (now minor) constipation issue. We ran out of her vitamin C, so I will need to the pharmacy tomorrow up there and get more. And we need to do something to help her accept her B-12 shots. She is terrible during them, and I honestly don't know how Mike gets her shot up without even more misery than there is already. I am thinking EMLA cream might help. I would love to give her the shots while she's sleeping, like we do with Preston, but she's such a light sleeper. We will see what suggestions the doctor has tomorrow.

I am in the third trimester of pregnancy. Still tired, but that's okay. I am feeling very positive about things.

I am still undecided about seeing Dr. Frye. We have an appointment with Tami and I will ask her thoughts on it. Perhaps she will have some further insight on which direction to take. I do know a few therapies that would be great for Preston. Unfortunately, they both require me to go somewhere and get trained. One is Son Rise. The other is MNRI. Preston does still have some retained primitive reflexes that need to be addressed, so I am going to see what we can do...I really should probably start Mendability again (or ask Tami), but it's such a pain.

That's about all I have. All in all, we're doing well and had a good and busy summer. Preston starts preschool on the 3rd (I was wrong about the 5th!), but the real first day is tomorrow. We will be obviously missing it due to the MAPS appointment. I am sure he will do great, but I am still worrying a little about it anyhow.

Back to school

Not that Preston ever had a break!

Preston finished up the summer session on Friday.

Today he is starting fall. We have him in full therapies Monday and Friday. The rest of the week, he will get therapy at the house. And then in the afternoons on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday he will have preschool as soon as that starts. Which is on September 5th.

We are following the CEASE protocol.

I am still weighing whether we will see Dr. Frye based on some things I've learned about his office staff and him.

We are seeing slow but measurable progress. That's about all I've got for now.

CEASE

Where we are now:

We are still doing Goleic. It seems to be giving him some congestion at night, that I am using some essential oils to combat. The oil seems to have done the trick, because he wasn't all congested last night, and didn't wake up to join us until 7:20 this morning. And he was awake for the day then. Usually he joins us some time in the middle of the night and sleeps with us. Sometimes he is peaceful and sometimes we get kicked in the face. Such is life.

We are still doing Heilkunst.

We are still doing supplements. I like to change things up often, depending on need. The only constant ones are the fish oil, probiotics, and folinic/L-5-methylfolate, and the B-12.

We still have our appointment with Dr. Frye in December. I am hoping his office can get their shit together so we can go on a supplement vacation and get his bloodwork done. I really would like Dr. Frye to see him and see what his thoughts are. But, if they can't do that, we will have to cancel. And that would annoy me. So, I will start trying to get a hold of the nurses there (based on what a friend told me).

We are also going to be starting CEASE homeopathy on Tuesday. Well, that's when his first appointment is. I am really thinking this will be it. I have been wanting to do CEASE for over a year, but when I tried a while back to get an appointment, the wait list was quite long. So, I went with someone she worked with. And what we were doing wasn't CEASE. So, I asked Tami about CEASE and she found a good practitioner for us. And our first appointment is Tuesday. I just filled out all of the paperwork today and am looking forward to it.

We have an appointment some time in September with Dr. Usman.

We are doing a lot of summer therapy for the Buzz. ABA 5 days a week, speech twice a week, OT 3 times a week, and social skills once or twice a week.

This fall, Preston will be going to the preschool here in town. I hope to continue the ABA, OT, and social skills in the same frequency, but try to have some of the therapies done again at home to save me from having to do driving on the days he has preschool. We also are hoping to fit in some school provided (read: free and they should be doing something for him anyway) therapies as well.

Preston is showing some nice gains with paying attention to things he sees on TV (not yet asking questions or being able answer questions yet, though). He seems to be doing better socially, as well (during his social skills therapy). We still have things to work on (sophistication of speech, talking about things he's done or seen, articulation, focus, and the like), but we are making progress. So, it's all good.

I am also working on trying to get his addiction to carbs and fruit broken. I read a book about picky eating and am applying the principles I learned in it to mealtimes. It was really easy and Preston was compliant the first few days, but now it's turned back into a battle. I am not asking for much, either. We will just have to keep working on it. I suppose his comes by it honestly. I am a total carb addict, working on recovery. Ha ha.

Summertime

The Buzz has about 1 day of summer break before he starts his summer "Autism Camp" at Skill Sprout.

We have ABA for him 5 days a week, OT three times a week, social skills twice a week, and speech twice a week. And we fortunately met our out of pocket max for Preston about a month ago, so we won't be drowning in debt quite as quickly. Yay, I guess. LOL

Unfortunately, Skill Sprout most likely will not be doing an NT preschool class that Preston could join, and the BCBA that worked with him the last few months was quite adamant that he should be in an NT preschool. So, we are going to be touring a Montessori school on Wednesday to see how we like it, and if it will be a good fit for Preston. I have a good feeling about it, so hopefully it will be a good match. We will do whatever preschool we find in the morning and then we will continue to get speech, OT, ABA, and probably social skills at Skill Sprout. It's going to mean a lot more driving, and I am trying not to get too worked up about that already.

I finally took care of the paperwork to get Preston into a therapeutic horse riding program. I think it will be good for him.

I went to Autism One a few weeks ago, and (as usual) came back with some good ideas of what might be good to try now, and what to keep in my back pocket for the future, should we need it.

As for Preston....we have seen a lot progress in his social skills. He is doing much better in his therapy with asking appropriate questions, making eye contact, and playing appropriately with his peer model. We are crediting the Goleic with that. We have decided to do another round. I still need to take his ATEC after this round is done, though.

We went through a rough patch with Preston not taking his supplements and just general mean behavior, but fortunately we found the reason for that and fixed it. He was just needing a little more time with Mom. And that's probably because of the new baby.

So, those are the summer plans and what's coming up in the fall. His next MAPS appointment is in September.

And...Gabriella has been released from Early Intervention because she is now testing *above* age level in speech - expressive and receptive. To say we are relieved and excited is an understatement. I am so thrilled with her progress and how she is doing. It makes me even more excited for the day I can say the same about Preston: all caught up and doing great.

EEG and MRI Results

Late Wednesday night (later than I had planned!) I grabbed Preston and we headed off for his MRI and his 23 hour EEG.

We drove and stayed at a hotel that was about 10 minutes away from the hospital. We decided it would be easier than me trying to drive there the morning of and freaking out on the road, which is what would have happened.

The price was right on the hotel, but the skeeve factor was off the charts. We settled in at about 11:00 pm and went to sleep.

Needless to say, I didn't sleep well. I woke up just about every hour. Anyhow, grabbing everything and checking out went pretty smoothly and we were off.

I managed to find everything okay at the hospital, and I may have even been on time. I took advantage of the free valet parking, and then it was more waiting.

Preston was given some Versed around 9:30 am and then he was wheeled off for the MRI. I waited in the waiting room and inhaled a few muffins, because I hadn't eaten breakfast (since Preston hadn't either, I thought it would be mean to try to eat in front of him or to sneak food). A couple of times someone stopped by to let me know things were going well.

And then, he was done and I got to see him in recovery. He already had his EEG leads on him. It took a while for him to wake up, and once that happened we went up to his room.

He fell back asleep and so did I. Then, Child Life Services woke us up to see if he wanted to play. Umm, no. Later, when I wanted their help, they were gone for the day.

He drank some OJ and ate some chicken nuggets and promptly threw up. The nurse took her sweet time in helping, so he was already all clean by the time she showed up. Fortunately, I had caught much of it in the fun puke bucket. He then promptly ate a muffin and drank some water.

It got a little rough at 7:00 pm, because he was very energetic and it was hard to follow him around with the leads and everything. By 8:00 I was exhausted and he was getting his second wind. I turned down the lights by 8:45 and prayed he'd sleep. Not quite. He finally fell asleep at 10:45, and I was asleep soon after. He had a very restless sleep, and was tossing and turning and I had to keep getting up to fix his leads so he didn't get tangled in them.

He woke up at 5:45. Nooooo! He did fall back asleep, except he knocked a few leads loose, so someone came in to fix them. So, he then was up and that was it.

After breakfast we had Child Life come in and play with him while I showered. He did very well with them and had lots of fun playing.

Then, it was about another hour of trying to keep him entertained till it was time to take the leads off. He was very uncomfortable and kept scratching at two of the leads.

Then, they came in and did some fun things with a stroke light and a pinwheel. And then the leads were removed. We packed up and headed for his appointment with Dr. Smith to discuss the results.

Basically, no abnormalities were found in the MRI and the EEG was good. So, there was no structural reason we shouldn't see great continued progress. He said that he didn't see why Preston wouldn't be in-line with his neurotypical peers by kindergarten. Which is what I have always said! So, it was wonderful to have a doctor's confirmation of that thought. And it was nice to think I wasn't being overly optimistic or unrealistic.

I finally feel like we can put this issue to rest. We will continue to have yearly appointments and we will keep an eye out for puberty, which is when some kids start to have seizure issues.

All in all, Preston did really well. The nurses thought he was absolutely cute and he was quite cooperative and tolerant of everything they did.

I have to say, I highly recommend Rush and St. Alexius for their seizure/epilepsy program. Their facilities looked top-notch and everyone was very pleasant to deal with. And again, I have to say how much I liked Dr. Smith. I am very happy - not just with the outcome, but the entire process.

And yay - no issues for Preston! We will keep doing what we're doing. I'm so incredibly proud of my little dude for all he goes through. I have the best son in the world.

Where we are

My last post was pretty much a downer, so let's get that knocked off the top of page, and have this one get top billing.

Preston's EEG and MRI was rescheduled. I was starting to get quite anxious about it, so that was good for me and for my ulcers. Ha. Anyhow, he will have the MRI and EEG on the 10th of April, and then we will hang around there and get the results and meet with the doctor a few hours later. I think this will work better than two separate trips. So, hooray for that! It got rescheduled because of some equipment issues we were having.

I have to say, I am quite impressed with Rush and Dr. Smith. (I had his first name wrong in my prior post, so I just fixed that.) And the woman in charge of scheduling and EEG and MRI stuff (I don't have her exact title at my fingertips) is WONDERFUL. It's amazing the difference you feel when you are treated courteously and with respect and even treated just nicely in general.

We are starting the Goleic today. Deep breaths. LOL I am just nervous. It will be fine - better than fine. It will go great.

I also need to retake Preston's ATEC before we start. That's next on my list, after finishing this post.

I found my moodiness and irrational behavior was due to a heavy reaction from a homeopathic remedy I was taking. Apparently, it brought some things to surface a little too quickly. I will resume the remedy, but I want to make sure everything else is stable before that. Whew!

Preston has adjusted really well to the change in his meds. He was a little off for a few weeks, but now he is much better. In fact, we've some great improvements. He's more engaged with us at home. He plays less with the cords and the vacuums and it more attentive. He is doing great with the "regular" kids in preschool. He is also doing better in OT. We still have challenges, of course, but we are getting there. As people told me in the beginning (which I am starting to understand now!)...it's a marathon, not a sprint. As a runner, I have an appreciation of that from the physical "I'm a runner" sense, but now I know what it means from an autism sense as well. Preston didn't get sick overnight. And he won't recover overnight. But, he WILL recover.

We are moving through his clears homeopathically speaking. We are one clear away from all of the things that happened at his birth. I firmly feel we will see some great gains from clearing that trauma. I think the trigger that kicked off his issues were all the antibiotics they fed me in labor. I still feel angry about that.

But, we are moving onward and upward.

Oh, got distracted. New ATEC is 32! Woo hoo!

Today's thoughts

Yesterday was rough. Well, this last week was rough. I have had zero patience, and I don't know why. I am frazzled and not the mom I want to be. Not even close.

I have an appointment with Tami on Monday to try to figure out what is going on.

Our appointment went well a few Mondays ago. We added some more supplements, and upped the dosages of some of the things he's already on. And he's been a handful the last week. His sleep has also been restless, which we get to experience first-hand because he comes in to sleep with us every single night. I don't mind it usually, but when he's restless no one gets to sleep well.

I am pretty much taking today off. Everyone else can handle everything. I am going to go out for a run (which will be slow and I will suck), but at least it's above freezing. Well, not yet, but it should be. I need to clear my head and get some anger out.

I need to fill out all of Preston's paperwork for the MRI and EEG. That's coming up pretty soon, as is starting the Goleic.

We are still doing the clears and all of that. Maybe part of my issue is the clears - both Preston and I are reaching really difficult time periods in our timelines. He is getting close to clearing birth trauma and things during my pregnancy. I am clearing stuff from a while back when I was suicidal. So, it seems plausible.

Well, it's warm (compared to the Arctic) outside, and I gotta run.

Not in a good place today

I can't think of any area in my life where autism hasn't robbed us of something.

Like to go out and eat? Not if you're on The GFCFSF organic diet. 

Like to delight in and watch your child meet milestones? Ha ha, not with autism. You get to watch everyone else's child meet milestones, while you get to watch your own become more and delayed. More and more behind. And it crushes your soul. 

Vacations? Why the fuck would you subject yourself to something like that? That also includes even day trips. When you have a child that is prone to all out running and doesn't listen to directions and has no sense of danger, even the shortest trip is fraught with misery. Grocery shopping? No.fucking.way. Unless you want to abandon your cart in the middle of the store while you try to hang onto a screaming, thrashing demon-possessed child who has the strength of 10 men, it ain't happening. And at the end of it, you still don't have your groceries. 

You want more kids? If only it were as easy as that. Another child might also have autism. And...no. That's more sadness than most people can bear. I love children. I love babies especially. But, it's a hard decision and a definite risk. And it hurts so fucking much to watch other people easily contemplate having more, while they go on vacations and homeschool and raise "normal" kids. And go out to eat. And grocery shop. Or, you decide to have more. But, you can't get pregnant around December - because you have a doctor's appointment that you been waiting 14 months for. So, you need to put that off some more. And more. You know how they say there is never the perfect time? Yeah, fuck them. 

Take pride in your house? No a chance. Just today a chandelier got ripped out of the ceiling because someone swung from it, after climbing on the dining room table. While I was being irresponsible and eating dinner. I am such an ass - I just wanted one meal today while sitting down. 

Money? Forget that. Supplements, doctor appointments, co-pays, therapies, gas to drive to all these appointments, that takes care of any spare money and guarantees you will be charging your credit cards up as well. Spare money? Fuck NO.

Spare time? There is isn't much of that either. And if you do find some, you feel guilty because you're not researching the latest therapy and dedicating 100% of yourself to it all. 

I will never tire

This title means a lot of things to me.

What I had in mind at first, is that I will never tire of hearing my sweet baby, Gabriella talk. Today, as she held out her sippy cup she told me, "I need milk in it."

My heart melts every time she speaks. The adorable way she crinkles her nose and says, "Nooo!" (and the slightly demonic voice that accompanies it). When she says, "Go away, Buzzy". When I try to pick her nose and she tells me, "Those my bogies!". I will never get tired of hearing her speak, watching her develop, and watching her grow - as she should. As all children should.

But some kids don't get that chance. How sweet it feels with Gabriella, it is sometimes equally as bitter to watch Preston struggle.

Our neurologist appointment went well. He *listened* to us. He didn't criticize what we were doing. He told us we were doing a good job (which felt good). There was also a medical student in there as well. It was good for him to see real patients who were trying "alternative" treatments and having success in treating autism. All in all, it was a wonderful appointment. Our plan is in a few weeks we are going to get a sedated MRI done up north, followed by a 23 hour EEG. Which includes sleep. Which this doctor said was VERY IMPORTANT.

Did you hear that Dr. Rothman? And the crappy doctors/nurses at OSF Peoria? Autism IS reason enough to warrant this. And, puberty is another time we have to watch out for, because kids that weren't having seizures before, might start getting them at that point. Thank God for GOOD doctors. And Dr. Michael Smith at Rush in Chicago is one of them.

Which brings me to the other meaning of this post's title.

I will never tire of trying to find ways to improve Preston's life. To help him be the best he can be. To help his with his medical issues. Not to "change" him. Not to "fix" him, but to help him be happy and healthy. And there are some days when I am tired and I need a mental break. And I do that. And then when I am ready, I jump right back in the ring and start swinging. For all of the hard work Preston does every day at school and his therapies, I owe him that much.

Reaching Out

Just a quick Wednesday update on what we are up to...

Buzzy still has this rash that seems to be yeasty in appearance. We are treating it with oral thyme drops. He is still on Lauricidin, GABA, l-methylfolate, folinic acid, l-carnitine, his probiotics, fish oil, methyl B-12 shots, and homeopathy remedies. (Candida remedy is a huge one for him - without it he gets the red ring of fun around his anus. Good times.) I also added the kids NDF Focus, because it something he tested well for. We are going to be adding NAC (n-acetyl-carnitine), but I need to test to see how it does with his other supplements. I think I am going to have to cut out some of the other things to add that one in.

When I look at all of those typed up, it seems like a lot of supplements. But, for kids with autism doing biomed, it's actually pretty manageable. And he's been doing great on them.

We are looking at an April start date for the Goleic. I am excited.

No word on the service dog. Keep thinking positive thoughts. I went and looked at the current ones training, and there was one that just caught my attention. I think he is meant to be Buzzy's dog. I will keep being positive and patient.

On Monday we have our appointment with the neurologist. Positive thoughts, intentions, and prayers for that one as well!

Early March we have an appointment with his MAPS doctor. I am looking forward to seeing where we go from here. Because there is always somewhere to go!

And - irony - after years of dealing with horrible poop from Buzzy - I think he's moved to the other end of the spectrum - he seems to be a little constipated. Yes, irony.

I also applied to be a TACA mentor. I am very excited for this step. I feel I can really help people and look forward to working with families around here. I am planning for the future to start a TACA chapter around here - because one is sorely needed.

I will try to update after the neurologist. All I know is that we will keep doing what we are doing.

Ants in the pants

So, Buzzy has been on a tear lately. It completely reminds me of life a year ago. He is back to pushing chairs up the table and getting on the table and standing on it. He's getting into cabinets. He's opening the fridge. He's getting the baby to do all of the same things, and it's starting to drive me nuts. I am getting very frustrated. It feels like "the bad old days". The constant motion and getting into everything is wearing on my patience, and I have been doing more yelling and swearing lately than I'd like.

I am still working on my class with Tami. In fact, I am apparently supposed to work on Preston to clear this frenzied energy from him.

We ordered the Goleic. It should be here next week. I am expecting really wonderful things from it. I am also nervous as hell about it. Something as expensive as it is tends to do that. So, I am only going to think positive things about it, and everything will go well. And we will see great gains. There. The end. LOL

The baby continues to do well. I am going to be calling and scheduling her 2 year appointment with EI. The difference between how she is doing now and how she was doing just a few months ago is amazing.

Now all I need is for the weather to warm up so I can take kids outside to enjoy themselves. I am so done with winter, snow, and COLD.

Finding Gratitude in Bad Days

Well, not overall bad. Just bad news. Not the end of the world, but it's tough to swallow.

We have paid a lot of money out of pocket for Buzzy's therapies. Over $2000 in the last 9 months. So, to find out today we owe at least $930 more is a very tough pill to swallow. And then there is still the weekly bills from preschool we will be paying as well (add another $350 on top of that). Plus the co-pays for his therapies - $90 weekly for social skills, speech, and OT. If ABA has a co-pay as well (which I suspect it might) that's now another $150. A week.

Typing it out is making it worse.

However, it is only money. My son is here with us and healthy (and getting healthier every day) and happy. Avonte Oquendo's family can't say the same. Avonte is a 14 year old boy with autism that disappeared from his school in October, and it looks as his body has been found based on the clothing on it. His picture has been on Facebook and I have followed his story, praying for a positive resolution. Such a sad, sad case.

So, it really is only money.

The Spiritual Side

I am really excited about a few things today. Well, one of them is on-going, but whatever. It's all exciting.

First off, it's my birthday. And the baby was singing happy birthday to me! She said "happy birthday to mom happy birthday to mom". It was the cutest thing ever and just about made me melt. This is the same baby who didn't have even one word not that long ago. I am just so excited for all of the progress she's been making.

I also started taking a class from Tami. It's about energy healing and working with "awesome kids" which is what she calls kids with autism. It's about a month long, and I have to say even after only 3 days, it's been so helpful and wonderful. I also have an appointment with her tonight, and I am excited to talk about the muscle testing I have been doing and seeing if I am doing okay with it.

I have started meditation as well, and I think that is helping, too. I also am going to be taking a Reiki I class in February. I have so many plans for improving myself and helping my family heal. I am glad to have found this new path and new direction to take with my family.

------------------

Well, it's now Saturday, and I started this post on Wednesday. Oops! Anyway...

I have noticed so many positive changes in myself since I have started all of this. I used to yell. A lot. And swear. A lot. I had a short fuse. And was short on patience. I am working on all of those aspects with the help of some intentions I set during this course and with the meditation. I firmly believe now that further healing for everyone has to start with me. I was so hyper-focused on Buzzy, that the baby and everyone else sort of fell to the wayside. I am now trying to make sure everyone is being cared for.

Obviously, I am (as we all are) a work in progress. I am not perfect. I will never be, but I am happier with who I am as a person now. And as we are going through this journey, I have noticed more energy and I even have started to sing along again to the radio, which is something I used to love to do, but hadn't felt like it in a long time.

I can't wait to see what the next week brings to us!

Quick Update

I just wanted to post a quick update. I am trying to minimize my time on the internet in general, which actually means I should have more time to devote to this blog. I want this as a decent record of what I've been doing, so perhaps I need to post on it more.

Here's what's going on supplement-wise: We stopped the hourly dosing (8 times a day) of worm killers. I felt it was time to stop. Call it intuition, whatever. We also were told by our energy healer (Tami) to stop the goldenseal a while back. So, we did. We have added GABA. I spoke with Tami tonight about Buzzy, and we stopped the chlorella. We kept the B-12 shots, the Barlean's fish oil, l-carnitine, and the folinic/l-methyl-folate pills. We are increasing vitamin D. And those are the only supplements he's on. Which, for a kid with autism, is like nothing. We will be adding Goleic in about a month or two. We are also doing homeopathic remedies - cinnamonum, clostridia, and borrelia. Also, we're continuing with Rudi and going through his clears. We started a clear tonight for the one dose of Zantac he took as an infant. Oh, I forgot! We're adding Lauricidin for him for detox.

Buzzy is continuing to do well. He has more speech and is more verbal at school. He's been off school for the past few weeks, but will be going back on Monday. He's still had some therapy almost daily, but that's it. He's got a nasty, which I am going to be clearing up with some thyme essential oil. That didn't go well tonight, because I put on too much. I will go easy on it tomorrow night. He's been drooling more, which Tami said was due to pesticides. Which makes sense - we started letting him eat some pairs my husband bought from his FFA. Which aren't organic. Ugh.

I asked about foods to avoid with the Buzz. We got tomatoes, lard (LOL, just rendered some a few weeks ago), phenols, and pesticides.

So, we are getting more interactive play with him and he really seems to enjoy art and craft type things. (I painted with the littles a few days ago, and they really enjoyed it.) He doesn't care about vents anymore. He's day potty trained. He can take off all of his clothes. He can pull his pants and underwear up and down. He can put his shirt on. His speech is still garbled, but if he slows down his enunciation is clearer. He is starting to sing - he sings "Twinkle Twinkle Little Start" and "I'm a Little Teapot". He is starting to play pretend with things, as well. He is spontaneously giving hugs and kisses. And he really loves his baby sister.

Speaking of baby, she is continuing to make progress and do really well. We have an appointment with Tami coming up for her. Her rashes are coming back, but we started a new clear tonight (it looks like her birth is the clear) and we haven't been good about spraying her with lavender. And we need to get her to take some thyme orally, but that hasn't been working out. So, we will see what's going on with her in a few days. She is starting to play pretend as well. She likes fingerpainting. She also (as long as she is half-naked) will pee on the potty all by herself. We just need to work on having her wear undies, and then we are on our way. That and getting her to poop on the potty. I am just so happy with her progress. She really is a spitfire, and usually such a delight.

Well, it's late and I need to get to bed. That's all I've got. This time.