Sleep - It's a Good Thing

From here

Sleep, it's a huge issue in our home. Kids don't get it so neither do the parents. I remember hearing parents gripe about a kid not sleeping well. You hear stories of "one more glass of water", "a few more pages, Daddy" and the like and you smile. You laugh inside knowing it's a part of growing up.

Yeah, that's not what I mean at all.

Picture a child so anxious about night time that he will beg, plead, and beg more to not sleep alone. Imagine a child so revved up that he runs for hours in his room until he finally slows down at 1am, napping for an hour or two (and I do mean light sleep), waking up, stimming some more, going back to sleep lightly for two hours, and continuing like this until one time he wakes up, sees sunlight outside, and is out of his room at 6am.

I mean sleep issues!

There are ways to help these issues. The problem is, many people want a one size fits all approach. I honestly have people ask me all the time, "what are you using for him and tell me the exact dose".

Here's the issue with that. 1) How big is your child compared to mine? If mine is 65lbs and your child is 32, that's a huge difference in weight and what my child can take might harm your child. 2) What are your child's reasons for not sleeping? What is causing my child to stay awake might not be what causes your child not to sleep. Did you know the reason my older son doesn't sleep is very different than why our younger son doesn't sleep? Same result, different mechanisms in the body.

Instead, I tell the person to call our doctor, or give them the names of other similar doctors who can help them figure out what's going on in their little one's body.

Having said that, this post is to also share our newest possible success in the sleep realm. Our younger son has a lot of anxiety tied to bedtime. Who am I kidding? He has a lot of anxiety tied to life in general. Our doctor has figured out a lot of the reasons why and we are starting new protocols slowly. We have only started two items and one is something we have used before but his body is deficient so he's on it again. When we start supplements, I always start one at a time. This let's me know what's working, what he might react to, and what he might be having an odd side effect with so I can tell the doctor.

Here's what we have so far:

• Massage - At least once a day, moving up to twice a day, I massage our son's back, calves, and feet. I use Ava Anderson's Dream Cream with two drops of Lavender essential oil mixed in. He loves it. He has always loved massages. If I only do it once during the day, I make sure that one time is after supper. If I do it twice (which we are moving to) then I do it in the morning after breakfast but before school and then before bedtime. I take my time and allow his muscles the time they need to really relax. I start on the shoulder area of the back so he will start to breath in the oils and that will help relax. 
• L-Glutamine - Our doctor has us giving him 2,500 mg of L-Glutamine from Klaire Labs even evening before bed. I give it to him after his massage and just before he brushes his teeth. We use the powered form and put it in some pear juice (just enough for the powder to fully dissolve as there is no taste to the supplement). 

We have other items we will be adding, but this is where we are since meeting with our doctor. Here is what we have seen so far:

• A child who is calmer and more able to move through stressful situations. 
• Monday - it took our son 2 1/2 hours to fall asleep with quite a bit of anxiety and being in his room. 
• Tuesday - it took our son 1 hour 16 minutes to fall asleep in his room with my aid and medium levels of anxiety (reading stories, singing a lot of gospel songs, praying with him, etc).
• Wednesday - it took him 40 minutes to fall asleep in our room with no anxiety. 
• Thursday - he woke up and came to me asking if tonight he could sleep in his own room with me helping him a bit with a story and song. He said he thinks he's ready to move in there now. 

Why this is big: He has always had so much anxiety with sleep that even suggesting he sleep in his room would throw him into a massive panic that was honestly fear based. For him to come to us and ask to sleep in his own room is a huge, huge step. He also takes a very long time to fall asleep, even if we lay down with him. The fastest way to get him to sleep is for us to be in there, but even that is a long journey. For him to fall asleep in 40 minutes, that's a big deal. 

Our son, who has had sleep issues since he was a week old, is starting to sleep. I pray this is his answer. God lead us to an awesome doctor who is, what I would classify as brilliant. He saw our two kids issues and knew how to help. He said what we were doing for our younger son would happen quickly and I was afraid to have hope. I am starting to let go of that fear and see the hope that is out there. 

If you are a parent and feel like giving up, or have given up, don't. There is hope. It might not happen overnight. We have been trying for sleep for 7 1/2 years. But it can happen. Pray hard, seek His face, and look for doctors who will listen and know what to do once they understand your child's issues. 

If you need a place to start in finding doctors, let me suggest the two websites below. You can find one closer to you. You might have to drive a bit, but ask about phone and Skype appointments. Many will do that for those who aren't local.

Defeat Autism Now - don't let the name fool you. They are biomed doctors and can help much, much more than Autism. 

MAPS - the newer and very up-to-date people out there. 

Stand strong, parents. You can win this war. 

*Most of the links in this post are not affiliate links. The only one that I am affiliated with is the link to Ava Anderson. I receive nothing if you click the link, only if you make a purchase. You will not pay more for the item, but I do receive commission on anything purchased. 

Simple Changes

I learned about how cosmetics, cleaners, personal care items, and more that we use on our bodies and in our homes can affect us in a big way. I started to look for those types of items in stores. I found some. I found some good ones. But, honestly, I live far away from those types of stores and running out is an issue. Add in that some had just one single ingredient that either I (need no endocrine disruptors) or my sons (gluten, dairy, soy, colors, apples, etc, etc free) couldn't use, and it was hard.

That's when I found Ava Anderson. I ordered a few items after doing some research and I was sold. Not only did they fit in our list of no-no, but they also smelled good, were priced right, and were things you actually wanted to use.

I decided to join so I could get the discount that distributors received. Yeah, I am cheap like that.

I thought I would pass on the site information so you, too, could check them out. Do your homework, research, and, if you decide to give it a try, I would be honored to have you visit my online store where you can order from the privacy of your own home, have it shipped to you, and never have to share your personal information with me.

My Ava Anderson Store

**All links in this post are my personal store links on Ava Anderson. I receive no compensation if you click on them, only if you decide to make a purchase. All proceeds will be going to the biomedical care our sons receive for their medical needs. 

Reducing Toxins in Your Life - Your Body

From here

The dictionary defines toxin as:

tox·in

ˈtäksən/

noun

1. an antigenic poison or venom of plant or animal origin, especially one produced by or derived from microorganisms and causing disease when present at low concentration in the body.

When we think of toxins we often think of men in chemical suits protecting their skin, eyes, and lungs from the horrible fumes and chemicals that one must be around for a dangerous job. But, did you know we have toxins of many types in our world today, in our homes, in our daily lives? They don't look like the fume emitting chemicals of movie making greatness. They look like dishwashing detergent, pain relievers, clothing, and more. 

Of course, we could go nuts trying to figure out how to get rid of every toxin. We just can't get rid of them all. But we can help to reduce the load on ourselves and our families with a little education and effort. 

What are some simple ways we can lower toxins? Let me share a few that will cost you nothing or very little. 

• If you are pregnant, could be pregnant, or want to be pregnant, avoid any metal containing dental for for 3 months prior to getting pregnant. This includes having gray colored fillings removed. 
• Always avoid Acetaminophen. It lowers your body's glutatione levels, which is it's natural detox system. It's just not a good medication unless you have 100% no other choice. 
• If you are sick, or within a 2 week period after sickness, don't get vaccinated at all. I am not saying to not vaccinate yourself or your family. That is between you and your family. I am saying, as do the vaccine manufacturers, that a sick person should not be vaccinated. Doctors often ignore this warning, but it's there for a reason. Your immune system cannot take that type of hit when it's trying to heal from something else, even something small. So, if you want to be vaccinated, just wait until you have been healthy for 2 weeks. 
• Check your household products for aluminum. This is in items such as water, antiperspirant, foil, broth boxes or other boxed foods such as soups, and even cooking items such as pans. Did you know "stainless steel" pans can have aluminum in them. This gets in your body and, yikes, lookout. 
• Eat clean. I wrote, not long ago, you are what your eat eats and you can't excrete. If the cow didn't excrete it, what makes you think you will? Instead of hoping you get rid of the toxins in your food, just know your food source and don't take a chance. 
• GMO = no! I can't believe I have to even say it. But if it's modified in such a way, just skip past it in the grocery store. If you aren't sure, skip past it until you can confirm it with the company or a 3rd party independent organization. Science making food in crazy ways, no thanks. 
• PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) are in things like pajamas, furniture, beds, and more. You need to label read everything. For these types of items it will mean looking online and calling companies. Or, you can find a safe fabric source and buy from stores that use those. 
• TEFLON! UGH! I grew up in the 80's, was an adult in the 90's, and I remember the Teflon craze. Food doesn't stick to the pan, it is awesome. Yeah, well, it's a toxin. It's so bad for us. It's bad for our environment. It's bad for our pets. I remember, 20 years ago, when I met a couple that, back then, would have been called hippies, freaky, tree huggers (yeah, and now I would call them friend - lol). They told me they didn't use Teflon because she burned something once and both their birds in their kitchen died. She said Teflon did it. I smiled, shook my head in agreement with her, walked out, and said they were a bit nutty. Now I know they were right. Get rid of the Teflon. This doesn't have to be expensive.
• Body products - Get rid of the junk. I know it smells like lilac and lavender, but it's chemicals. If you want lilac and lavender scented soap, by soap that uses real lilac and lavender. Body care, hair care, and personal care products are usually full of toxins in them. Women, they are full of endocrine disruptors as well. If you aren't familiar with that term, you need to be. Do a bit of research. 

There are a lot of products out there that will help you make the switch. For clothing and fabric items in your home the internet is a huge buffet of great options. Just google organic cotton clothing and you will have weeks worth of reading and options at your fingertips. 

GMOs are a bit harder. Companies are lobbying against the labeling of them. Gee, wonder why. If they are so wonderful and safe, why not proudly say you use them? Sticking with organic will nail that one. You cannot have an organic GMO by law. (well, and logic)

Teflon - think about what our grandparents used to use. Look for high quality stainless steel (check make sure it's not mixed with aluminum) or go cast iron. If you use cast iron, make sure to go quality. Go for a company like Lodge made in the USA. There are cheap knock offs and you will pay for it with your toxin load. 

Body products - just check out stores like Whole Foods, Sprouts, and more. Look online for the myriad of organic or natural choices. I use Ava Anderson myself. I am not writing this post to sell it. But, if you are in the market for a bit of research, please feel free to visit my store online. If you want to order, you can do it all without contacting me so you don't have to worry about me having your personal information. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me. My Ava Anderson Page

Talk soon.

*This post contains a link to a company I am affiliated with called Ava Anderson. I receive no compensation or award if you click the link. But, if you purchase anything I do receive commission.