So Here We Are......

at the doctors office for her 4month visit, and we are discussing and assessing whether or not to increase my daughters medication (she is on a low dose of strattera) due to the fact that she is still having "behavioral issues with friends and teachers at school when I get that "it's time for Ritilin" look from her.  Noticing that look, I immediately I step in with "Wait, I would like to try a Gluten Free/Casin Free diet first". She sits back and listens. I go on to explain how much research I've been doing and how sometimes a Gluten Free diet can quiet the symptoms of ADHD. I ask her about what she thinks about Feingold, and recommended me to stick with the GF/CF lifestyle and to see where it takes us.

 Phew.

 I pacified the Doc for now. She's either giving me enough rope to hang myself, or she is beliving that a GF/CF diet can do some good. Either way, this is just the beginning and she pats me on my head and shoos me out the door.

So, with that, Jules and I go off and we do some food shopping for her new "diet". I used this word to describe to her what we were doing. I noticed really quick that even a seven year old girl will turn her nose up, cross her arms and plant her feet in the ground with resistance when referring to her new lifestyle as "diet".  Funny, I think that word is negatively embedded in the female brain while in the womb. Until just this week, we never used the word "diet" in our house and yet, she already hates what we're doing.

Sigh. And so it goes.

When starting a new "lifestyle" I have learned what to do and what NOT to do with a fussy, feisty, hyperactive seven year old:

So far, this is just a sample of  what I've learned:

Mistake:
Never bring the child into a regular grocery store just before lunch on the first day of the 'diet'. (I'm bright, aren't I?) This will make the child not only want EVERYTHING in the store, but want all of the foods that he/she can not have, resulting in the parent to keep saying "No" and the child start whining or crying stating over and over "I want my old life back", as the parent keeps pointing and smiling to the wonderful box of  Blue Diamond Nut Thins that come in a variety of 4 tasty flavors.....(however good, they are still the equivilant to the beloved Rice Cake).

Solution:
Bring the child to the Health Food store that supplies all of the GF/CF food that he/she can have. Here is where we found Utopia! Ahhhh alas, the beloved box of cereal that we were looking for! The cookies! The frostings! The pastas!! (My girl is such the carb queen. I'm so proud!) YES! YES! YES! It was a glorious day! She had turned into a happy child! No longer whining about what she couldn't have, she was now wondering about which box of GF "oreos" she should pick from... oOOoooOhhh.. which one shall it be??

We left the Natural Food Store with my wallet lighter 78 bucks and a bagful (yes that was not a typo); ONE bag of GF/CF foods. My daughter, hopped into the car snuggly fixed herself in her booster seat, happily adhering to my requests for bucking up, excited about her new found treasures for her new "diet"....and from the drivers seat she hears a muffled sound that kinda sounds like whining and crying saying.........

 "I want my old life back!"