Overwheated: Living gluten-free in the land of deep dish pizza
In April, my son Moose bombed his 30 month evaluation from Early Intervention. His developmental delays in cognition and speech were enough to warrant something drastic. Given that Moose lived for bread and dairy products, I knew something wasn’t right.
Moose’s OT Ms. Michelle mentioned improvements in another one of her client’s families once the child began a GFCF diet. Several books, consults with doctors, and countless hours on the web later, I removed dairy from Moose’s diet. Next on the docket, gluten.
Here’s Moose enjoying GFCF grilled “cheese”:
Suddenly, new words emerged. He said “Mom” for the first time in over a year. He made eye contact. His dermatitis on his chunky thighs cleared.
A few weeks later, we booted gluten from our house. His therapy team raved about the changes in his behavior. My husband and I were thrilled with the changes we were seeing in our son. Namely, he started taking a nap again.
See, here’s proof:
Earlier this month, some of the small gains we saw began to disappear. So, I took him in for allergy testing, and voila, soy became the new culprit.
Unfortunately, soy is a primary ingredient in many of our favorite GF products. Avoiding gluten and dairy (casein) is hard enough, but coupling those restrictions with soy has been challenging. Also, Moose is a picky eater to being with. He won’t touch any vegetables, rice, pastas, or eggs.
Once my son began this diet, I decided to support him by doing it as well. Two months later, my chronic migraines disappeared. My moods improved, and my energy levels rivaled my two toddlers. In July, I learned I was gluten intolerant.
Growing up in an Italian family in Chicago, I was conditioned to think pasta and bread were “good” for me. Now, I see those staples in a much different light.
Momnivore lives in the second city with her husband, The King of Chicago, their wild toddlers Moose and Monkey, and their fur child Doodle. She blogs about parenting and GFCFSF at www.momnivoresdilemma.blogspot.com.
