Report card

We got James's first report card about 2 weeks ago. First of all, this just makes me feel like a grown up, which is funny. But it's also just so interesting because it shows all the progress that James has made, which is truly significant.

This is a little hard to see, but basically, the blue bars are where he started and the red bars are where he is now, and the number scores indicate this as well.

And here's a little summary of what it means. Fascinating.
This week I will learn which reflexes actually have a relation to digestion and am hoping that eventually this helps everything. Treatment for the bacterial overgrowth went well and James's appetite has definitely improved, along with gaining a much needed pound. Apparently the overgrowth is rather common among sensory kids, and it may just have to do with this neurological disconnect that affects so many things. He may need treatment again; some kids have to undergo monthly antibiotics; but we know what we are dealing with in this at least. There can be dietary triggers to it as well, but it can be really hard to pinpoint. We do know that his gut can't handle processed foods really well, especially baked goods. The hard part about this is that those things are really the easiest things for him to eat. So while I never wanted to feed my kids a bunch of processed crap, it was an easy thing to hand him that he enjoyed, ate by himself, and usually was packed with calories. Plus it was easy to keep on hand, prepackaged, etc. So now I'm trying to figure out how to make it all myself.
Whenever I run low, I make a really good Pioneer Woman chocolate cake, cut it into sections, wrap up the pieces and freeze them individually. So when he asks for chocolate cake, voila!!



Same with muffins and pancakes, which is usually our morning breakfast. Then I've concocted this no bake cookie, where basically I throw oats, nuts, full fat coconut milk, peanut butter, and a little maple syrup into the food processor and blend it up into a thick paste. Then I press it onto wax paper and chill for a few hours. Once it's cold I cut it into servings and then toss it into ground oats so it's not so sticky.



This is what he takes to school for a snack. You can even make abort of sandwich out of them, like a Jammie Sammie. Very tasty, and you can use regular milk if you aren't trying to gain multiple pounds. :) Its so nice to be able to make something he enjoys and actually finishes during his short snack time at school. My only fail has been at homemade Pediasure, which he has started drinking and has probably made the biggest difference in his weight. I tried all sorts of things, but he just loves the bottled stuff. So I'm lettin that one go! It kills me just a little. ;) He's doing great though so who am I to complain!