Did someone say Vitamin D?

Well, in preparation for this Fall another thing I had on my to do list was to check my vitamin D levels - since I think I heard low vitamin D levels and Autism about 60 times at the Autism Research Institute (ARI) conference. So, when I had to go in for my sinus infection, I thought why not get it done then.
My doctor told me the normal range was 30-80 and that we wanted to aim for about 50. Off to the lab I went. Today, the lab calls me. You know it's never good when you get a phone call instead of that sheet of paper they drop in the mail that means nothing when you get it.

So my level: 21.4. So, now I have to take 50,000UI a week of Vitamin D for 8 weeks and get it rechecked in 12 weeks.

Next week at Will's check up I am definitely going to ask to have his levels checked.

Gluten Dairy Galore!

The last days of Gluten and Dairy and soy await me. I am not a big fan of soy anyway, considering most of the soy in this country is not in it's original state but Gluten and Dairy how I will miss miss miss you! I feel like I need to eat a big vat of pasta - I won't but it's tempting :)

I am going to be phasing things out, cold turkey is for smokers not for food. So I wonder what is easier to leave behind dairy or gluten?? For me, coffee will be a challenge without dairy because I can't drink it black, although I might if I get desperate and gluten will be hard because let's face it pasta is SO GOOD. You don't come from an Italian background and hate pasta.... It's like telling a Southerner not to like fried okra or biscuits and gravy.

What would you eat if it was your last gluten meal for 2+ years?

Holy Pill Box!!

So after my research I have found that the following information from the ARI (Autism Research institute) website that could help decrease risk. Most of these are common sense, but none the less, good changes to make. We are not planning on starting to try till the Fall, which is helpful as many of these should be started prior to conception.
1. Go on an ORGANIC WHOLE FOOD pre-natal vitamin - I chose New Chapter prenatal
2. Add an Omega 3 supplement - I choose Nordic Naturals
3. Bring Vitamin D supplement to at least 2000IU - chose Kirkman labs supplement
4. Take a probiotic - I chose Klaire Labs Pro-bio complete
5. At least 1800 mg of calcium a day - added a supplement in addition to my multivitamin - Kirkman labs makes a powder
6.At least 800 mcg of Folic acid a day- our multi that we chose has 600mcg so I added additional support from a supplement from Kirkman labs
7. Avoid vaccines, dental work (especially mercury fillings), and drugs when possible
8. Get enough protein -80gms
9. get weekly chiropractic care
10. natural childbrith
11. Drink enough water
What I also believe is that avoid drinks outside of natural organic juices (veggie and fruit), and water. Avoid drinks with chemicals and try to eat as much of an organic diet as possible.
Personally, I will be going GFCFSF (Gluten, Casein, Soy) free which will be the hardest part of my journey.
Nothing is proven, none of this may help, but personally I am going to follow these steps to help prevent my second one from receiving an Autism diagnosis. As I go through the steps prior to conception and through pregnancy I will let everyone know how the diet is going as well as discuss my feelings about my birthing plan. I hope you will come with me on this journey and enjoy my successes and learn from my challenges.

The questions we had when deciding to have a second child

It's a big debate among many parents who have children with Autism - should we have more children? What are the risks? Is there a way to prevent Autism or at least try? What would you do if you have a second child with Autism, could you handle it without going crazy? Would you be able to financially afford it? The decision is an emotional one and a mental one. No one has a crystal ball to tell you what will happen in the end, so really it's all about risk - are you willing to take the risk? We know the risk is higher than an average family if you already have one child with Autism or your close family members do. To us, we want a second child so because of this I went after the research to find out how to lower the risk of my second little one to have to go through what my little Will goes through.