Tonight, Derrick and Lindsay came by for a visit and Noah was sitting in Derrick's lap in the recliner. Jamie was sitting beside them on the couch and Noah turned to Jamie, reached for him and said, "Da-ah?" He kind of dragged it out into two syllables and it sounded like a question. We all jerked our heads toward him in shock! Jamie was so happy that Noah said "da" before he said "ma". But I'm just so happy that he said something. It's such a HUGE thing that he was looking right at Jamie because that lets us know that he knows exactly what it means and that cognitively he knew what he was doing. We know that Noah knows what a lot of words mean based on the excercises and things that we do to work on his speech... but I still worry about his cognitive development since he doesn't verbalize anything. So this was so HUGE for him!!! Noah's speech therapist wants us to make a huge deal and get really excited (which we do anyway) when he makes ANY sounds so that it will encourage communication so of course when he said "da" we all freaked out and started clapping and saying "yaaaayyyy!" Noah had the hugest grin on his face! :) Hopefully it won't be long before we hear it again!
He has said "ball" a couple of times in the past when he's been playing with a ball but like I said it's only happened twice and the last time he said ball was several months ago. So technically this isn't his first word but I'm going to count it because I hope that he'll continue saying it more frequently than he has "ball".
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Lesson learned from the GFCF Diet
Pre- Gluten-Free/Casein-Free Diet, I fed Noah ALOT of (unhealthy) Gerber meals... you know, the kind that you just pop in the microwave. I did it because it was so easy and it didn't cause any kind of mess in my kitchen (like dishes to wash, etc.) I was big on convenience foods. However, since implementing this diet, I've had to go a different route... and it's SOOOO much more healthier and better for Noah.
Here's some examples of what I've been feeding him Post- GFCF Diet:
scrambled eggs
Gluten Free Chex w/ Rice Milk
Steamed Veggies (with a little butter substitute and garlic salt)
Turkey meat (I'll tear it into pieces and mix it with stuff, such as the veggies)
White Rice
Lots of fruit (strawberries, peaches, oranges, applesauce)
Peanut Butter and apples
Baked Potato (with butter sub. and Casein free cheese)
Raisins
Sweet Potato (w/ butter sub. and cinnamon)
Gluten free Pasta with Amy's All Natural Spaghetti Sauce (GFCF)
Grilled Chicken
Occasionally I'll do a Grilled Cheese (with Rice Almond Bread and Tofutti Cheese) or PB sandwich
I'm DEFINITELY feeding him better well-balanced meals and he LIKES it... which is the crazy part. He hardly eats bread or carbs anymore and he's eating fruits and veggies at almost every sitting. We used to give him so many carbs it was ridiculous. Pre-diet, instead of trying to come up with a healthy meal, I went for the easiest option, something pre-packaged and quick. My go-to meals were mac-n-cheese (you know, the microwave kind), soup, pb&j sandwich, hot dog weenies, grilled cheese, and gerber meals. So even if this GFCF diet doesn't have an effect on Noah, I'm still sticking with the healthy well-balanced meals, just non-GFCF versions. I will never buy another Gerber meal again!
Now, as far as any changes that I've noticed... none so far. But I've read where I need to keep it up for 1 - 2 months to notice a difference. One thing that I think I forgot to mention is that I'm also giving him liquid B-12 (as recommended) twice a day.
However, on a different note... this little boy is pulling up on any and everything now. He used to only do it on carpeted floors, mainly in the den, and only on something that was really sturdy, such as furniture. Now, he is no longer content just sitting on the floor; WHEREVER we are, he grabs onto something and stands up. He opens the bathroom drawers and stands up by holding onto them and then plays with whatever is in the drawer (99% of the time it all ends up on the floor because he loves emptying drawers). He grabs the kitchen counters and stands up.... barstools, the kitchen table, my leg, etc. I don't think words could express just HOW happy it makes me! And he's become fearless about it... he'll be in his socks and grab onto something and stand up in the kitchen (on the tile floor), and slide down because of his socks... only to turn right around and do it again. Just a couple of weeks ago, that made him so upset to the point where he would be crying (even if he didn't hurt anything). I KNOW walking is soooo close I can almost touch it! :) I CAN NOT WAIT for him to finish up his program next month because I truly think it's all he'll need to be walking all over the place! I told Jamie that when we come home from B'ham, it's my DREAM for Noah to walk to his daddy to hug him! The thought of that just makes my heart so happy. I know Jamie and I both would LOSE it if that were to happen. :)
Here's some examples of what I've been feeding him Post- GFCF Diet:
scrambled eggs
Gluten Free Chex w/ Rice Milk
Steamed Veggies (with a little butter substitute and garlic salt)
Turkey meat (I'll tear it into pieces and mix it with stuff, such as the veggies)
White Rice
Lots of fruit (strawberries, peaches, oranges, applesauce)
Peanut Butter and apples
Baked Potato (with butter sub. and Casein free cheese)
Raisins
Sweet Potato (w/ butter sub. and cinnamon)
Gluten free Pasta with Amy's All Natural Spaghetti Sauce (GFCF)
Grilled Chicken
Occasionally I'll do a Grilled Cheese (with Rice Almond Bread and Tofutti Cheese) or PB sandwich
I'm DEFINITELY feeding him better well-balanced meals and he LIKES it... which is the crazy part. He hardly eats bread or carbs anymore and he's eating fruits and veggies at almost every sitting. We used to give him so many carbs it was ridiculous. Pre-diet, instead of trying to come up with a healthy meal, I went for the easiest option, something pre-packaged and quick. My go-to meals were mac-n-cheese (you know, the microwave kind), soup, pb&j sandwich, hot dog weenies, grilled cheese, and gerber meals. So even if this GFCF diet doesn't have an effect on Noah, I'm still sticking with the healthy well-balanced meals, just non-GFCF versions. I will never buy another Gerber meal again!
Now, as far as any changes that I've noticed... none so far. But I've read where I need to keep it up for 1 - 2 months to notice a difference. One thing that I think I forgot to mention is that I'm also giving him liquid B-12 (as recommended) twice a day.
However, on a different note... this little boy is pulling up on any and everything now. He used to only do it on carpeted floors, mainly in the den, and only on something that was really sturdy, such as furniture. Now, he is no longer content just sitting on the floor; WHEREVER we are, he grabs onto something and stands up. He opens the bathroom drawers and stands up by holding onto them and then plays with whatever is in the drawer (99% of the time it all ends up on the floor because he loves emptying drawers). He grabs the kitchen counters and stands up.... barstools, the kitchen table, my leg, etc. I don't think words could express just HOW happy it makes me! And he's become fearless about it... he'll be in his socks and grab onto something and stand up in the kitchen (on the tile floor), and slide down because of his socks... only to turn right around and do it again. Just a couple of weeks ago, that made him so upset to the point where he would be crying (even if he didn't hurt anything). I KNOW walking is soooo close I can almost touch it! :) I CAN NOT WAIT for him to finish up his program next month because I truly think it's all he'll need to be walking all over the place! I told Jamie that when we come home from B'ham, it's my DREAM for Noah to walk to his daddy to hug him! The thought of that just makes my heart so happy. I know Jamie and I both would LOSE it if that were to happen. :)
Monday, December 28, 2009
Christmas Time... Warning: Lengthy Post!
I apologize in advance for this lengthy post... but I love having a "record" of what we did each Christmas, so I'm sparing no details. We had a wonderful Christmas! Christmas Eve Eve we went to Mom and Dad's where we exchanged gifts with Derrick (Lindsay's bf) before he headed home the next day. He and Lindsay got Noah an inflatable ball pit that was a HUGE hit! Noah had a great time playing with it. The next morning, Christmas Eve, we went to my grandmother's (my dad's mom) for breakfast and presents. My dad's family is LARGE with a grand total of 35 people when everyone is there. So it's pretty loud and crowded and crazy but always fun. Noah is always a little overwhelmed but he seems to be warming up to everyone alot more lately. He's gotten to where he plays some with the younger kids and he'll go to my other family members when they want to hold him. He was a bit uncomfortable while everyone was opening presents just because it was SOO loud and chaotic but he got over that pretty quickly. Afterwards, my mom took Noah to go play on the piano in my PaPaw's old bedroom and he had the greatest time banging on the keys with my cousin's little girl, Allison (who is a week older than Noah). Just to clarify, my Poppaw had Alzheimers for over 20 years and was bed-ridden for the last 7 years, so he was in a hospital bed in a seperate room from my grandmother... that's why I say "Poppaw's bedroom"... it's not like they slept seperately or anything. But back to the story, anyways, everyone came in to watch Noah and Allison play the piano, which led to my Aunt Linda (who is awesome at playing the piano) to begin playing Christmas songs, which caused everyone to join in singing. As corny as it sounds, it was actually a very special moment for me. My Aunt Lin in addition to be a great piano player, has a beautiful voice and my PawPaw used to LOVE listening to her sing and play. Here we all are in the bedroom he passed away in, singing and having a great time together. I KNEW he was smiling as he watched us. Not only that, but I was SO IMPRESSED with how many of my aunts and cousins (and my dad, which I already knew) could sing REALLY GOOD! It was definitely one of those moments I'll remember for a long time.
After MaMaw's house, Jamie, Noah and I went home to let Noah nap for a couple of hours, then on to visit Jamie's grandfather, Papa Jim, who had had back surgery the day before. We went from there to Jamie's parent's house for the evening. We used to always spend the night on Christmas Eve with them and the rest of Jamie's family but this year we decided we wanted to begin our own tradition of spending Christmas Eve at home (which was sooo nice). So they let us open our gifts that night. My goodness... they always do a really big Christmas and they didn't disappoint by any means. It's a good thing we just turned our spare bedroom upstairs into a playroom for Noah because we needed it after all the toys Noah racked up on. We really enjoyed spending the evening with Jamie's family; it's even more fun now that Noah's not the only kid... Madelyn is almost 10 months and Eastlon is almost 2 months so its great getting to play with and love on them.
Around 8:30 or so, we loaded up the back of the car so we could head home. By this time, it was raining pretty hard. We get Noah in his carseat and I'm in the car when Jamie realizes he can't find the keys. He runs back in the house to look for them, to no avail. After he and I search my purse, Noah's backpack and the front and back seats, we still can't find them. I drive an Expedition and the ENTIRE back was filled full of presents, and we were afraid Jamie had laid them down in the back while loading the trunk. SO, in the pouring rain, we unloaded the trunk and searched through every box and bag that we had loaded up but STILL couldn't find them. I run back in to look over the house... nothing. By the time I get back outside, Noah's screaming his head off and Jamie's very frustrated so I get Noah out of the car and run back inside (we are now all 3 soaking wet). Finally, after 10 more minutes or so Jamie checks Noah's bag again and finds them in the bottom of his backpack. I'm not pointing fingers butttt, it wasn't my fault! :) He was pretty frustrated at the situation, as was I, but the LAST thing I was going to do was say something to him. Anyways, we get home and after we all changed out of our soaking wet clothes, we were able to laugh about it. We had invited my parents and sister to spend the night with us since it's just the 3 of them. Noah had a second wind so we read The Night Before Christmas and played with a few of his new toys before putting him to bed. After an hour or so of assembling Santa gifts, we hit the sack!
Noah LOVED playing with his new toys and was so excited Christmas morning! And to top it off, it SNOWED! It didn't cover the ground or anything but it was nice to have a little snow on Christmas. My mom and dad left around 10 to head home and prepare lunch, while the rest of us showered and got dressed. We spent the rest of the day at my parents house and had a WONDERFUL lunch, followed by napping and relaxing. Noah was a live wire... he was going non-stop all day. My parents had fun chasing him around all day (to give me a break) but later told me that he wore them out! :) My grandmother (my mom's mom, Nannie) used to make the BEST dressing and my mom and dad got the recipe from my grandmother once she was no longer able to make it. It really is my FAVORITE meal... I really considered having it served at my wedding reception but decided to go with the traditional shrimp and chicken tenders (dressing in August?... hey, I'd still eat it! :) Anyways, my parents did a great job and it tasted JUST like Nannie's. I didn't even eat dessert that evening because I just snacked on dressing... YUM! All in all, we had a WONDERFUL Christmas and look forward to all that 2010 has in store! I'm attaching just a few pictures since I've typed SO MUCH!... sorry, again.
Noah in his ball pit
Christmas Morning
After MaMaw's house, Jamie, Noah and I went home to let Noah nap for a couple of hours, then on to visit Jamie's grandfather, Papa Jim, who had had back surgery the day before. We went from there to Jamie's parent's house for the evening. We used to always spend the night on Christmas Eve with them and the rest of Jamie's family but this year we decided we wanted to begin our own tradition of spending Christmas Eve at home (which was sooo nice). So they let us open our gifts that night. My goodness... they always do a really big Christmas and they didn't disappoint by any means. It's a good thing we just turned our spare bedroom upstairs into a playroom for Noah because we needed it after all the toys Noah racked up on. We really enjoyed spending the evening with Jamie's family; it's even more fun now that Noah's not the only kid... Madelyn is almost 10 months and Eastlon is almost 2 months so its great getting to play with and love on them.
Around 8:30 or so, we loaded up the back of the car so we could head home. By this time, it was raining pretty hard. We get Noah in his carseat and I'm in the car when Jamie realizes he can't find the keys. He runs back in the house to look for them, to no avail. After he and I search my purse, Noah's backpack and the front and back seats, we still can't find them. I drive an Expedition and the ENTIRE back was filled full of presents, and we were afraid Jamie had laid them down in the back while loading the trunk. SO, in the pouring rain, we unloaded the trunk and searched through every box and bag that we had loaded up but STILL couldn't find them. I run back in to look over the house... nothing. By the time I get back outside, Noah's screaming his head off and Jamie's very frustrated so I get Noah out of the car and run back inside (we are now all 3 soaking wet). Finally, after 10 more minutes or so Jamie checks Noah's bag again and finds them in the bottom of his backpack. I'm not pointing fingers butttt, it wasn't my fault! :) He was pretty frustrated at the situation, as was I, but the LAST thing I was going to do was say something to him. Anyways, we get home and after we all changed out of our soaking wet clothes, we were able to laugh about it. We had invited my parents and sister to spend the night with us since it's just the 3 of them. Noah had a second wind so we read The Night Before Christmas and played with a few of his new toys before putting him to bed. After an hour or so of assembling Santa gifts, we hit the sack!
Noah LOVED playing with his new toys and was so excited Christmas morning! And to top it off, it SNOWED! It didn't cover the ground or anything but it was nice to have a little snow on Christmas. My mom and dad left around 10 to head home and prepare lunch, while the rest of us showered and got dressed. We spent the rest of the day at my parents house and had a WONDERFUL lunch, followed by napping and relaxing. Noah was a live wire... he was going non-stop all day. My parents had fun chasing him around all day (to give me a break) but later told me that he wore them out! :) My grandmother (my mom's mom, Nannie) used to make the BEST dressing and my mom and dad got the recipe from my grandmother once she was no longer able to make it. It really is my FAVORITE meal... I really considered having it served at my wedding reception but decided to go with the traditional shrimp and chicken tenders (dressing in August?... hey, I'd still eat it! :) Anyways, my parents did a great job and it tasted JUST like Nannie's. I didn't even eat dessert that evening because I just snacked on dressing... YUM! All in all, we had a WONDERFUL Christmas and look forward to all that 2010 has in store! I'm attaching just a few pictures since I've typed SO MUCH!... sorry, again.
Noah in his ball pit
Christmas Morning
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
One Week Down...
So, Noah's been on his GFCF Diet for one week now and I must say, it's getting a tad bit easier. I'm coming up with more options for him to eat and surprisingly, he's doing very well eating all the foods! This past weekend, my mom found some items at Publix in B'ham so that's helped too. He's been eating alot of steamed veggies, rice, turkey meat, potatoes, sweet potatoes, fruits, etc. so I'm afraid he might lose some weight and he's skinny enough as it is! The only difficult thing I've found about the diet is whenever we are not at home, I'm having to plan ahead. For example, on Sunday, we went to church, so I packed him some GFCF pretzels and juice. During Sunday School (me and Jamie were filling in for one of the teachers), they had a "Happy Birthday Jesus" party and everyone had cake and chips... and poor little Noah sat there and ate his boring old pretzels. :( Poor guy... the good thing is that he could really have cared less. Then after church, we went to my grandmother's to eat and there wasn't anything that Noah could have. At this point we had only been doing the diet for a few days, so I didn't think to ask my g-mother for some fruit or something to tie him over until we got home. So Jamie and I ate quickly and took him home and fixed him something. I felt so bad that I didn't pack him a sandwich or something. So, lesson learned... always pack a sandwich, just in case.
With Christmas coming up in the next few days, I'm going to have to get creative in order to make some meals to pack to take to all of our family functions. My mom plans on making seperate dishes for our Christmas lunch that Noah can eat so that will help out tremendously! What would I do without her?! :)
With Christmas coming up in the next few days, I'm going to have to get creative in order to make some meals to pack to take to all of our family functions. My mom plans on making seperate dishes for our Christmas lunch that Noah can eat so that will help out tremendously! What would I do without her?! :)
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Opryland Hotel
This past weekend, my mom, dad, Jamie, Noah and I went to Nashville on Friday evening. Everyone had to work so we didn't get to leave until that evening. We got up Saturday morning for a little shopping and alot of sight seeing! My parents hadn't been to the Opryland Hotel in a long time so it was a treat for them, plus we were excited to see what Noah would think of all the Christmas decorations. HE LOVED IT! He was so excited the whole time, looking all over the place, taking it all in. He got to have his picture made with Santa and surprisingly, he didn't cry! He was such a trooper the whole day, he didn't get to nap until we were heading home that evening, and he didn't fuss the whole day. We had a great time!
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