The boys have reacted completely differently in many ways. They both have had some similar changes too though, like their BMs. Both had very strange (warning - graphic here) fluffy, chunky, floaty BMs for the first two days. Then they went from that to absolutely perfect BMs!! This happened both when we first introduced it and then again after our break and the reintroduction, with both kids. The stools reminded me of the reaction Grayson had when he was on Flagyl for Clostridia. That was the ONLY other time I saw such an odd, almost cotton candy-like stool. So was it die-off of some sort?? It did come with some emotional behaviors.
Both have also been talking a whole LOT more, little jabber jaws, only problem is that they don't have the awareness (or maybe it's the volume control) to realize that their brother is also talking....AT THE SAME TIME! It's getting exhausting, lol. They are both so excited and happy, they are just babbling away uncontrollably, about everything!! And while we are on the topic of speech, Gavin's vocabulary, cognition and sentences have just been out of this world while on the camel milk!! While he is talking, the eye contact is amazing. I love that his eyes are glowing in the process, so much innocence and excitement in them. He is using words I didn't even know he knew like Tyrannosaurus! He pointed to silly bands and called them wrist bands. His word recollection and complete sentences are continuing to amaze us. You can see his cognitive changes even in his new facial expressions. For instance, when I catch him in the act of doing something wrong (which seems to be often lately)...in the past, he wouldn't have even looked at me, let alone reacted. Now, he is looking me right in the eye with a face of shock, mouth open, stunned, like "oh shit", lol. He's also using the phrases, "I'm sorry", "I missed you" and "I love you mommy" all at very appropriate times. In fact, he's clever, when he's in trouble, he looks intensely into my eyes for a moment, as if he is reading my emotion and then he says, "I love you"....melts my heart!! And his humor, oh my goodness, this kid has such a sense of humor!! He's been so goofy, animated and interactive. He's also listening to direction better. In the past, if I asked him to pull up his pants or take off his own shoes, he would whine and cry until I came over to help him. Now, one request and he does it, then when he has a twisted waist band or something, he says, "Mommy help me, please." Wow!! And I thought he was just a defiant soul. We are seeing an awakening with him that we have never seen before, but it doesn't come without some difficult changes and I am not sure what to make of them. For instance, he is suddenly into EVERYTHING. I can't turn my head and let him out of sight for any period of time, he disappears and I find him climbing furniture with step stools, getting into my make-up, his diaper cream, things in the kitchen sink....you name it!! Typical two year old curiosity? Perhaps, and I welcome it, if this is the norm, but it doesn't make it any easier to handle cold-turkey!! I wasn't eased into this change! It didn't develop at a pace that broke me in, he woke up one day like this! It's all so very strange to comprehend. He certainly is playing more on his own now, but it now comes with a price. Silence is my new enemy! Lately he has more personality than I am capable of reeling in!! We both need lessons on where the new boundaries will exist.
In the first two days of starting the camel milk, Gavin gained 2 pounds!! I had weighed him just days before starting it (because I weigh him almost daily, lol) and then two days later his weight went from 27-29 pounds overnight! I kid you not. I kept waiting to see that weight drop thinking it would be temporary, but even when they were off the milk for a long weekend, it remained! I had read about how it increases bone density and in studies it caused the same kind of immediate weight gain in a child from the absorb-able calcium it provides.
Grayson has reacted so differently. His tummy has stayed flat for the entire period!! His mood is very calm, eerily calm, like a mature boy! He still has periods of emotional outbursts, but they seem to fizzle fast and are always followed by immediate remorse. It's as if he is acting out of habit and then realizes how wrong the behavior was. He is telling us he loves us much more now, and hugging us a lot! He has even been able to verbalize his emotional needs. He told me he needed more "mommy time" and was wondering why only daddy has time to play with him most days. Of course, this was right in the middle of when I was making breakfast from scratch for both of them, before lugging him off to his bus stop for the day, lol. I had to remind him of the days we spend together, guitar lessons that I take him to, the movie we just went to alone (he and I) a week ago, the books I read him, doing arts and crafts together, but of course, if he needs more of me, I want to fulfill his needs so I swapped bedtime duties with my husband that night (he put Gavin down) so I that I could put him to bed and spend more time with him. We read together and goofed around, he laid on me and rubbed my arm while I read, we hugged and laughed and made funny faces. I love that he felt confident enough to tell me how he felt and I hope he felt like it got a response. He's our sensitive little guy, very emotional with both his give and take of relationships. I am so proud of the development he is experiencing.
With both of them, the one thing I am having a very hard time with is how hyped up they get at night/bedtime and I honestly don't even know, if this is the milk or just coincidental timing. It seems to be a trend that we see with every New Moon, which is two weeks before the full moon. Gavin has also gotten severely bloated, the red ring came back again and his moods are becoming more volatile. He's still been playing on his own pretty well, which normally isn't the case when he is going through a parasitic growth period, plus he has kept the gains we have seen with the camel milk, so it's been an odd combination of progress and regression. Another thing we ALWAYS see cycle around the moon phases is potty training regression. It's awful!! He is going to be three in a month and a half, I can't believe how he just regresses so horribly around the New Moon, but it must have something to do with the Dientamoeba Fragilis. We have to figure out a way to deal with this nasty bug, because naturals aren't cutting it. I think we will retest, since our DAN! told us to try another couple of rounds of natural parasite cleanses and then, if they don't work, we can travel down the RX road. Maybe the camel milk will help....HTH!
UPDATE on Thursday the 12th - I just cannot get over how incredibly aware Gavin is, and since this experience was very different from usual, I wanted to report it here. Gavin and I have been going to music class together for weeks. He has always just sat in my lap quietly while I participate in the singing and dancing. Even my attempts to help him clap or sway were met with harsh resistance. He hid behind my legs when people would talk to him, he was very intimidated by the environment. One thing he has always participated in was instrument use. He would get very excited when instruments were part of the song, going into his own little world while playing along with the music. But when participation involved following instruction, he would immediately shut down again.
We haven't been to a class since the week we started the camel milk, because we've had a lot going on with the house, so this was our first class since starting the milk. I thought he would be even more reserved, considering the two week span since our last attendance. I was pleasantly surprised with the exact opposite! He had me stunned through every minute of the class starting with the minute he stepped through the door. He greeted his instructor and two other class mates by name. When one of the parents asked his son, if he remembered Gavin's name, Gavin promptly replied, "Gavin!" with a big grin on his face. He was pulling me to sit, which is how we start. He couldn't wait to get going, wow, already different!! Instinctually, he started out on my lap, like usual, but then he looked around at the other kids sitting beside their parents and he plopped himself on the floor next to me, double-wow! I have never been able to convince him to sit beside me. Then the singing began and wouldn't you believe, this child sitting next to me must have replaced himself with my child, because he was Mr. Animated!! He followed every single hand motion, lyric and step in the classroom! I had to work hard to hold the tears back and I kept watching him in awe, loosing my own place in the songs. I couldn't believe it, this was like night and day! He even answered questions out loud, when no one else did. He was proud to add his own lyrics to the songs when prompted. I didn't even recognize him. I could see his teacher looking at him through most of the class, even she noticed how "on" he was today. He was happy, confident, and on cue. He has never had another day like this before. If this is what camel milk is going to do for us, I'm on board!
P.S. - he is now 30 pounds and holding it!!
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