Special Diets

[CrystalB9]

I have been researching diets. I have an ADHD son, another son with asthma, my husband has ADD, and so on. I have been told by numerous people of diets that help with these problems so that you can eliminate all meds. One that I recall is the Feingold diet. Has anyone heard or tried this one? Or even certain foods that are benificial with certain medical conditions. I have would like to see my family eat healthier. Any input at all would be appreciated. :lol:

[Brooke]

Hi, Crystal. My son was diagnosed with ADHD and Tourette's Syndrome a year ago. Since then his specialist has taken him off of Straterra for ADHD and he is doing very well so he might have symptoms of ADHD but not actually ADHD. An added note is that he didn't gain but a pound in the last year but the first month off of Straterra he gained 5 pounds!!! :shock:

I am going to be looking into diet changes, too. I have looked ions ago at a Christian ADHD website that had diet alternatives but I never read up on them. I know that most of the diets I've heard of eliminate artificial colorings and preservatives, and usually wheat and gluten as well. I'll do some more checking.

I asked his specialist about diet and he said to absolutely try it out. The diet that you mentioned was one from the 70's maybe??? that he told me about. He said most of the ppl he talked with either said it worked perfectly or not at all.

If you want the Christian ADHD website let me know. I remember it talking about homeschooling as well.

[Brenda]

Gotta love ADHD... All three of my boys are ADHD (I guarantee you that there is never a dull moment in my home :wink:), another is ODD and is waiting to be seen by a child psychiatrist (waiting for a diagnosis of Tourette's). This same boy (with ODD) has asthma, hearing problems and vision troubles (that could be corrected if he would wear his glasses, but he won't because he was tormented when he was in public school when he got them).

I haven't really put either of them on any special diet, however I do eliminate the foods that I see causing them a problem. When Christian was diagnosed in grade 1, I remember being told that some food coloring should be avoided (I don't remember the names of them, but I do know that red food colors were one of them) as well as many food preservatives (MSG comes to mind). Ready to eat puddings aren't supposed to be good for them and in our home, offering chocolate is like someone without ADHD taking speed - it sends them into a spin.

Another lady I worked with years ago told me that someone reccomended to her that she give her son coffee to drink! For us, it wakes us up, gets us going (or keeps us going). For a child with ADHD it's supposed to bring them down (although I will admit, I have never tried it and I'm not sure that I would - I don't like the idea of feeding my boys caffeine).

We don't allow the boys to drink pop (soda) with dark colors (root beer, coke, pepsi, etc) because we have learned that it triggers more hyperactive behavior (like we need anymore of it). Our boys LOVE fresh fruit and vegetables - Noah gets fired up even more when he eats them and I suppose I should probably limit them for him, but when we weigh the pro's and con's, I can handle the behaviors that he displays as opposed to offering him not so healthy alternatives.

I haven't looked into gluten free diets, but I do know that they are extreemly expensive (a loaf of gluten free bread here is about $5.00 a loaf if not more!!!). On that note though, I just learned a couple months ago that when you have a condition that requires a special diet (I'll use diabetes for an example), (in Canada anyway) you can claim the cost differences between the special foods and 'normal' foods on your taxes as a medical deduction. Diabetic sugar costs about $4.00 a box (and the boxes are small), a regular bag costs $1.69 so we're allowed to claim the difference as a medical expense (I haven't done this but I have an Aunt who has celiac disease and she has to eat a gluten free diet and it is expensive).

These are only some of the things we have tried. Not sure if it's any help or not...I would be interested in looking at the website that you mentioned Brooke. Is it in the home schooling thread?

Brenda

P.S. DId you know that some people would suggest that milk & wheat can contribute to the behaviors seen in ADHD? Blows me away! How to you not give your child milk when they need it for growth?

[Jackie]

From a special ed/medical perspective, ADHD kids respond differently than the others. What for "normal" kids is a stimulant (ie: caffiene), in them it acts the opposite. Which is why the medicine for them are considered "uppers" to "normal" folks. I know of two children that came through my program who were being given coffee/tea to help control their ADHD. The coffee child actually had a doctor's prescription for it! The teacher suggested tea to the mother of the other child, which the mother agreed to. When the child started "bouncing", the teacher would give her a cup of tea, and it would work. The mom was trying to keep the kid off meds, and found this to be a much more "acceptable" alternative.

I believe strongly in diet. My personal belief is that many of these kids are not "truely" ADHD, but it is induced due to additives in the diet. Unfortunately, these additives are not easy to eliminate, as they're in most of our foods. But to me, I'd prefer it over drugs. I know some children really need the drugs to keep their behavior under control, so I'm not totally "against" them. However, I feel they ARE overused.

[CrystalB9]

Brooke - I would very much like the Christian ADHD web site!! Thanks. :D

Brenda - The milk thing is weird. I just read in a book I got from the library that whole milk was very good for ADHD/ADD children. Drinking a glass in the morning was to have lasting calming effect all day. It also said it helped them to concentrate on their schoolwork. I have checked out so many books, but I think it was - Healthy Eating For Life For Children. It also has recipes in it. It only had a small section on ADHD and diet.

Jackie - I too have heard that caffiene worked. Like Brenda I havent tried it either.
I am also sure that there are many that dont need the drugs. I think doctors are quick to diagnose children with ADD/ADHD. I personally havent ever met anyone that felt their child was improperly diagnosed. For us it is a real issue. He is one of the reasons we homeschool. He has not been on any meds for many months. He seems more like himself now. He acted drugged when on meds. We even cut his dose way back and still had the same effect on him. I have also noticed things like during his hour karate class. He is great the first half hour. By the second he has lost focus. I have thought about putting him in a shorter class, but think that would be worse for his self esteem as he is a green belt and the half hour class are white belts just starting. Also with our summer reading program he has a very hard time retaining any material read. He does well when I read to him.

I am anxious to check out the site you talked about Brooke!!

Thanks so much for all your feedback!!

[Brooke]

Hi everyone! The website is www.christianadhd.com. I haven't looked at it in about a year so some of it might have changed. It had articles about homeschooling ADHD children and non-drug treatments.

My brother is a school psychologist and he is the one who told me that studies have shown that drinking a cup of coffee has the same effect as the ADHD drugs. It's not that it affects them in the opposite way so much as it is that the caffeine is stimulating the part of the brain that is under stimulated due to the ADHD or look-alike condition.

I have also in the past recommended the Nat'l Assoc. of School Psychologists at www.nasponline.org for general information for parents and teachers. You can drag your curser over "Helpful Information" and it will give you options for parents and teachers. Those links will supply you with a ton of information for ADHD and ADHD look-alikes, Tourette's Syndrome, depression and other conditions. They are printables and are handy to have on file to pull out and take a look at for "classrooom" ideas.

I can't remember all the things I was wanting to respond to (cooking lunch and all :D ) so I'll reread and see if there were any other questions or comments I wanted to address.

Many blessings! ~ Broooke

[becky]

I tried that diet with Kevin, Crystal. No luck. He drank a lot of milk, so for about two weeks I kept that from him, with no change. Then I tried peanut butter, and whatever other food he had a lot of. I hope you have good results with whatever you try.

[Anonymous]

I always thought that the Feingold diet was along the lines of a diet used to eliminate allergies. You basically take everything away except a few "miracle foods" then slowly like maybe one food a week add things back in. If the food has a bad reaction then you know to keep that food out of the diet.

My son was diagnosed with ADHD, but I have come to find out that is wasn't ADHD at all. He just needed stronger motivation to keep on target. He hasn't been on any medication for over four years now and he is doing great.

The only thing that I really took from the Feingold diet was eliminating artificial colors and flavoring. I do that anyhow, artificals have a bad effect on me from a numb tongue to migrains.

[CrystalB9]

http://www.feingold.org/home.html

This is the website for the diet I spoke of. I have not had a lot of time to look or read over it. Not sure if it will help or not.

[Brenda]

When I took Andrew out of public school I stopped medicating him and I saw a huge turn around in him (this would be the second medication he was on so now I wonder if the medication wasn't a factor in his case).

The milk thing that I read was on a website I found this morning (I can just imagine telling my boys they couldn't have milk - that would go over like a lead balloon). I have a nutritional healing book (but it's packed right now). When I get it unpacked, I'll have to tell you some of the things out of it (it tells you essential nutirents, strongly recommended, etc). It has every condition in it from nuts to bolts.

The tea thing mught become a relaity in our future. If it worked and meant that I didn't have to medicate my boys BONUS!!! I'm not an advocate for any kind of medication. If there's another way to handle the issue, i prefer the alternative route.

When Andrew wanted to play violin, his paediatrician strongly recommended it saying that musical instruments and karate/tea kwon do were excellent choices to teach a child self control. Andrew enjoyed playing the violin until grade two when our lives were ripped apart by an accident. He didn't want to focus on much at that point and it's been an upward hill battle since then, but I think we're almost out of the worst (well, we will be when we get moved).

As for too many children being diagnosed with ADHD I absolutely agree!!! When a child squirms in their seat they're automatically labelled and it's hard to get rid of the label. Public schools don't have the resources to handle any child that steps off the line even a little bit and so (in my experience anyway), they oush for a diagnosis (and won't stop until they get it) and then they want the medication. It's up to each parent to decide whether medication is the right way or not. What works for one child may not work for another (not one of my boy respnds the same way to the same treatment).

Brenda

[yankee girl]

My son is ADHD. I do let him have coffee in the mornings (sometimes cappacino or mountain dew). I know that sounds weird to a lot of you but after a lot of bad days I gave in and let him have caffene just so that he would do some of his work at ps. Main reason for homeschooling this year. We tried changing his diet but nothing seemed to work. (during the summer he has no caffene in the morning and only gets soda once a day but then he doesnot have to sit still and concentrate on anything).

Tammy

[CrystalB9]

Something else that was recomended to me during our school time was to give my son silly putty or play doh - something like that. He squishes and squeezes a ball of it like crazy in the opposite hand he is working with. If he isnt walking around the house he also uses it when he reads. It almost works as an energy outlet. When he stops squishing it and starts playing with it we take it away.
Glad to hear about the karate being recomended by your doctor Brenda. It has worked out well for us. Some of the classes actually tire my son out! Others he can loose focus. It depends on what they are working on. Over all it has been great!
Until I actually choose a diet or life change for our eating habits I am working on cutting down on our sugar and fried foods. Like I said this is to help my ADHD son, but I would lke my whole family to eat healthier. My husband and I are trying to get pregnant right now and I am trying to prepare my body as well. I feel so much better when we are eating better. The last time we ate at a fast food place my husband felt so sick afterwards. He swore it was all the greace.
What about veggies. Has anyone heard of any specific veggie that is better then others for ADHD??

[becky]

Susan, the reason I tried Feingold with my son was because early in his diagnosis, the doctor said an allergy could be making him act up. Finding and eliminating whatever it was could help him, was the thought. I think now, too, my son just needed different teaching methods to conform.

[CrystalB9]

Maybe I havent read enough of the Feingold diet yet to be sure, but I thought what I have read sounded like it helped much more then just allergies. Infact the one page addressed ADHD. Like I said I need to make more time to do some research.
What I am looking for is a way to feed my entire family healthier. I am hoping by doing that I help with other problem areas.

[becky]

I have another book I used when I was trying to help Kevin, called Diet Plan For Teenagers, by Dr Lendon Smith. There's all kinds of stuff in there, as well as recipes to make your own healthier snacks. Crystal- there's a recipe to make your own chips out of tortilias! I've made spinach ones, tomato, whatever flavor of tortillia I could find. They really get nicer if you give them a light spray of Pam before you bake them. Cruncheee!

[moondancer7825]

I'm thinking about trying some of the adhd diets out there myself. DH and DS are both ADHD. Makes it very fun at our house. Especially when DD feeds off their energy. When DH and I started dating I freaked out on him because he was drinking so much coffee, then I saw how hyper he was without the coffee. Needless to say the man continues to drink coffee, as much as I can force into him!! We talked to DS's doctor about it and he actually told us to try it. He even went as far as telling us that we could try nodoze or vivarin since they are pure caffeine. They problem with the pills was that a whole pill made him sick but a half pill didn't last but 2 hours tops, usually less. The boy wont drink coffee of any kind and I think giving him mountain due is defeating the purpose because your giving them caffeine to calm them down but your still giving them sugar. Just my opinion cause DS doesn't seem to get a calming affect from sugar like he does caffeine.

[becky]

Does diet soda make a difference? I tried the coffee idea for a week, until the teachers said he was in the bathroom too much and missing instruction. I was desperate to get him off te awful Ritalin.

[moondancer7825]

Becky, I wouldn't go with the diet soda because nutrasweet is not supposed to be good for kids. Maybe try half a nodoze or vivarin and see how that goes. We found that vivarin works better and doesn't make him sick but then again we are giving it to him about every 2 hours. IT may just be my son though. It may work better for your child.

[becky]

You're right about the nutrasweet. I thougt Jeannie had a urinary tract infection last year, but it ends up the nutrasweet was irritating her system.( I would let her share my diet soda.) I drink a lot of coffee with Sweet & Low, and when I cut back to one packet per cup, I couldn't believe how many fewer bathroom trips I had to make. It makes you wonder why they sell such a thing. I enjoy it, though!

[moondancer7825]

Becky, I know what you mean about the caffeine and sweeteners. I don't drink much coffee though. I'm a diet pepsi addict. But since we are TTC#3 I have severely cut down on the amount that i am drinking and I am definetly not rushing to the bathroom as much any more.

[CrystalB9]

Moondancer - Not truly up to date on the computer abbreviations, but I am assuming that your TTC#3 was that you and hubby are trying to conceive? If so we are too. Have you found any fertility diets?? :lol:

[moondancer7825]

Crystal yeah your right ttc#3 is trying to conceive #3. Sorry I'm on 3 other boards that are pre-pg related and sometimes I forget which board is which lingo. I haven't found any diets for ttc that sound like they would even work but I have found supplements that are supposed to work. I have a page on our family website about herbs and ttc. www.geocities.com/babcocks2004/home.html Currently I'm taking Vitex, Vita-mom prenatals, and vitamin e. Fertility Friend is a pretty decent temp and cycle charting software and they have a discussion board as well.

[Jackie]

The therapists at my school would take a balloon (not blown up!) and fill it with about a cup of flour (using a funnel) and then tie it off. It works just like Crystal's play dough. For a while you could buy them already made at various stores for about $5. They would also "brush" our kids on a regular basis. I know this sounds weird, but they would come into the classroom first thing in the AM and right after lunch with a very soft vegetable brush, and just brush the child's arms. I sure don't understand the way it works, but somehow the sensory REALLY helped settle the child down!

[CrystalB9]

I like the balloon idea Jackie. The play doh can get messy sometimes. He can end up picking at his nails because of it. :shock: I will have to try that. I bet the arm brushing thing works. Sometimes at night to calm my son down I run my fingers down over his face. That seems to really calm him. I have to be careful sometimes becasue as he says I get tickley. :wink:

[CrystalB9]

Also I forgot! For those of you (like me) that are trying to get pregnant. I just read that oysters aid in fertility. I skimmed the article, but remember is was becasue they are packed full of zinc. Infact they contain ten times as much as any other source.

[moondancer7825]

Oyesters! Yuck. Sorry just can't handle seafood. Vitex is supposed to be the herbal equvalent to chlomid. Stimulates the ovaries and regualtes your system. It works great for most women. Also false unicorn root, but you have to be careful I heard of one woman that took it and got pregnant with quads.

[Jackie]

FALSE UNICORN ROOT??? What is THAT? I've been told Boxer Shorts helps with conception.

[CrystalB9]

We do the boxer shorts, elevated hips, I am taking folic acid and watching my diet. I wouldnt mind taking an herb to help the process along, but with seven little ones already I dont think quads would be a good thing. I think I will research the Vitex. We have only be trying since May.
All in His timing. :D

[moondancer7825]

Jackie, False Unicorn root is an herb supposed to be very beneficial to fertility.

Crystal, we've been trying for a year come October. Our problem really isn't conception its unknown cause recurrent loss. So I'm looking into herbs that are miscarriage preventatives. We quit doing the elevated hips thing and moved on to Instead cups. Works great.

[CrystalB9]

Okay fill me in. What is Instead cups??? :shock:
How many miscarriages have you had? I had one a few years ago. I was just begining my second trimester. NOT something I ever want to go threw again. :cry:
I am not "due" until next week, but already feeling crampy. So I think it will be another month of trying ahead. :wink:
Is false unicorn root harmful in any way?

[moondancer7825]

Ok the website for instead cups is www.softcups.com Basically they were designed for use during "that time of the month" but alot of women have been using them to get pregnant. THey serve the same purpose as a cervical cap. You slide one in after and it traps the little guys up near the cervix. Sorry tried to keep that as clean as possible.

I had 3 single and 1 twin m/c before ds was born and 2 more singles since we've been trying this past year. I'm completely on the verge of giving up and going with a surrogate but I just can't bring myself to do it. I love being pregnant.

I'm not sure if there are any bad effects to false unicorn root. I haven't done much research into it after hearing about the woman having quads. That scared me away from it.

[Jackie]

Moondancer, don't worry about how you say things. When it comes to topics of this nature, the only thing you can do is come out with it, and if the language is too graphic for some, then they can switch threads.

[CrystalB9]

Moondancer, Sorry to hear about your losses.

Right on Jackie. Sometimes there is just no other way to describe something.

[Anonymous]

There is a magizine that I have been getting for a while now called sensory comfort. I has some things that some of you might find interesting. The internet site is www.sensorycomfort.com.

I got a major Pepsi problem that I'm trying to break right now, I was drinking 2 liters a day. Today I have only had three 12 oz sodas plus a few caffeine pills -- not liking it. :x headache to spare :cry:

[Anonymous]

There is a magizine ... not liking it. :x headache to spare :cry:

OK twice in one day, time to register ... lack of caffeine :wink: can't concentrate.

Susan

[moondancer7825]

Thanks for the kind words crystal.

Susan thanks for that site. I found a yoga tape I might have to try with ds.

[becky]

When my husband got his vasectomy the doctor sais a very strange thing. My husband has this funky vein on this right inner thigh, that I always assumed was some type of varicose vein. The doctor said no, it was some type of vein that affects the men's reproductive system somehow, and he was actually surprised my husband was able to father a child.

That doctor wasn't the only one surprised!! :lol:

[CrystalB9]

My parents tried for over 6 yrs to get pregnant. Back then they only seemed to ever test and check the woman. Finally after all those yrs my father went in to get checked. They found a vein out of place so to speak, similar to that of your husbands Becky. After having it removed I came along! :lol:

[becky]

Frankly, for 10 years we never used birth control, because my husband was told that since he had chicken pox at 21, he was sterile. The vein was never a question.
God had a plan, though, because Jeannie showed up in 2000!

[moondancer7825]

Well thankfully now they test both partners but usually not until after about a year of trying. We were lucky though with dh's age and the fact that he had a visectomy reversal years ago and my history, they started doing testing at about 5 months. So far there aren't any problems with him. It seems to be all me.

It will happen when the time is right. I know it will I just sometimes get into these "when is it gonna be my turn" modes. Yesterday was a particularly bad one but I'm doing much better today (think it was just hormones due to my "friend" showing a week late)

We're gonna continue to try until Febraury and if we haven't had any real success by then then we are turning to a surrogate. My youngest sister has voluntered so at least we know the person well as well as her medical history.

[CrystalB9]

My husband just had a vasectomy reversal in May. They told us it could take up to a year. It took us four yrs to save for the surgery so I guess I am over anxious and starting to feel the old bio clock ticking.
I dont think we'll have any baby news this month either. Although I am not due for a few more days I am very crampy tonight. :(
If we are not blessed with a child of our own I think we will adopt again. We have seven wonderful kids. Three from his previous marriage, three from mine and we have already adopted one together. We actually have adopted each others children too so they are all "ours".
Would you ever consider adoption Moondancer?
Thats an incredible thing your sister is willing to do.

[moondancer7825]

I'd love to adopt. My little brother, 2 years old, was adopted from Guatemala 18months ago. I think it's one of the greatest things in the world that you can do.

[becky]

In a general sense, what is the cost of adoption?
Friends from church have grandchildren adopted from, I think, Vietnam or Taiwan.
Another family we know went to Maine to adopt a baby. There was a wait before they could take the baby over state lines to bring it home.

[CrystalB9]

My brother and sister in law are in the process of adopting a baby girl from China. The final cost will be up close to $25,000.
My adoption was only lawyer fees. This particular mother knew us and came to us and asked if we would adopt.

[Brooke]

I was reading the last few posts with great interest. We had a thread not long ago about fertility and vasectomy reversals and so forth.

My husband had a vasectomy a few weeks after dd was born (you know, we had a boy and a girl and it's just silly to have more than two kids these days :roll: ). Well, now we know how stupid we were and we've been praying for the Lord to honor our repentence in this area and miraculously give us more children. We have talked about usuing the $ from tax returns to have at least one side of the vasectomy reversed, but we'll see if we are needing to pay off some debt first.

I was curious about adoption costs when you go through public adoption. And Crystal, we had a mother come to us wanting to give her child up, too--she didn't offer the baby to us directly, but she is in my small group and was aware we had been praying for a child. It took all the strength I had to councel her through her situation. She decided to keep the baby and it was born yesterday, on my mom's birthday. I know her troubles are temporary and in another year when she is done with college she would not feel like her situation is dire anymore. She has three other children already who had been watching mommy's tummy grow and it would've been extremely traumatic for the whole family if she would've gone through with the adoption.

Is anyone familiar with this Proverb?:

Proverbs 30:15-16.......There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough: The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.

I thought that it was interesting that among death, drought, and fire, the barren womb is considered of the same devastating magnitude.

My heart and thoughts (and prayers for those who covet them) are going out to so many on this forum who are having trouble becoming pregnant or carrying to term. Please let me know who all I can add to my list of people to pray for on this matter.

[becky]

Now Crystal, that mother is the one who is still involved right? Isn't adoption difficult due to parental rights issues? I think someone said earlier it's easier to adopt abroad.

[CrystalB9]

Brooke I wish I would have seen that thread on fertility and reversals. Your post was really nice. Thank you for sharing that verse with us. I want a baby so badly but I know it will be in His timing. I would very much appreciate your prayers on this matter. Thank you!
Becky, Yes this is the little girl that we allow the mother to be involved. It was a hard decision, but one that we felt lead to do. It is by our choice NOT the legal system. There is nothing legally binding us to the bio mother. Just our word to her that we would involve her. We have set up "rules" and thus far she has respected us on them. Our little girl we adopted just turned 5. She knows she is adopted. I wanted her to know where she came from. I did it for her. I also respect her bio mother for her choice to do what is best for her daughter and to trust us with this precious gift.
Its not a daily involvment. We are able to conduct a "normal" family life. Periodic visits that are set up in advance, usually at our home. Like I said, she - the mother, is very respectful of my husband and I.

[moondancer7825]

I'm not sure of the cost in the states to adopt. In alot of cases it is easier to adopt from other countries. Which if we adopt will be how we have to go. DH is twice my age and adoption agencies here in the states frown upon that. Also I went through a really rough teenage rebellion and I'm afriad that would be held against us because some of it occured when I was 18. Course if you knew me then and saw me now you wouldn't believe I was the same person but most agencies don't look at how much you've grown and changed they just look at what your record says. My mother was 52 when her and her dh (34 at the time) adopted. At first they went to china but were turned down, after they had their referal and pics of the baby, because my mother has been married too many times. They ended up in Guatemala. They got a referal for a little girl, went to visit her, and then the mother changed her mind. Then they got a referal for Dakota and brought him home a few months later. I think all in all it cost them like $30 grand but that was including the China fiasco.

[becky]

I know they have to be careful, but it seems like they want you to be Super Parent. Who of us is? What if you have the possibility to be a Super Parent, but you simply don't have the money it takes? It must take a lot of stamina to go through the process.

[moondancer7825]

Yeah it takes alot of stamina, money, and emotional stability. It is a very long and difficult process and can at times be very heartbreaking. I remember how my mom reacted everytime they got bad news and it reminds me of how I feel every month when "the hag" shows up. But I also see how much joy is in her life now that they finally have my little brother. Honestly you'd never know that he is the youngest of my mom's 6 kids. You'd think him and I were her only kids.

[CrystalB9]

Not all adoptions in the states even cost money. I have two friends that adopted a child or children out of the foster care system and it is free! They even recieved a supplemental income from it. It has to be done in your own state from what I understand. It is called the SWAN program. They have a website if you do a search on SWAN I bet it would come up. Although that may just be the name of the PA program. I will look into it.

Like I said in an earlier post, my brother and wife are adopting from China. There was a very - I mean very small "something" on his record. The amount of paperwork that he now has to do is incredible and not fair to boot. They check you out with a fine tooth comb!! Any spot on your record will be investigated and followed up with more paperwork.

When we adopted our little girl we had to have the home study done and all kinds of background cks on my husband and I. The child was already living with us. If something would have come up she would have gone to foster care.

Becky - I forgot to say something about a question you had earlier about it being easier to adopt abroad. If you mean with the parents changing their mind, then yes. There are no parents involved when you do an international adoption. You are only dealing with the agencies. A case like mine, which I know is not common to just have someone ask you to raise their child. Once we filed the paperwork with our lawyer our little girl was safe with us. No one could come take her. Once we appear in front of the judge there will be no period of time for the mother to change her mind. Not in a case like ours where she willingly handed over her rights. It might be different in a "regular" adoption, but not ours. The bio mom lives out of state, so its not like she just shows up. But our daughter is a little older then a baby, she knows who her bio mom is. I didnt want her to think she abandoned her. We have all sat down together in a room with the entire family to discuss what was happening. I just think it was better for all parties involved to do it that way. We do call it an open adoption, but in the state of PA our lawyer said that do not do that. It is up to the adoptive parents what kind of involvment you give, if any to the bio parents.

In a case like Brooke had I think she did the right thing. The mother had a temp. bad situation. I know that must have been hard, but right. My daughters bio mom's situation is not temp. It is a life long illness, sadly.

[moondancer7825]

Afternoon ladies, Just wanted to jump in and say that depending on the country you may have issues with the birth parent. In China you don't have to worry about dealing with the birth parent but like I said earlier when my mom got her first referal from Guatemala they had gone over to visit with the baby, bought her a few things and left them with her, and were planning the trip to bring her home when her birth mother changed her mind. According to what we were told, her parents didn't know the child exsisted and told her that they would help her raise the baby so she decided to keep her. One thing about Guatemala is that they make the parents do a dna test to prove it is their child before the adoption can be completed so the parents still play a part in the adoption, unlike china, and can change their mind at any time up until they sign away their rights which can't be done till the test results come in.

I'm not sure about other countries though.

[becky]

I posted and it disappeared! Let's try again.
Getting back to ADD- my son was medicated from 1st or 2nd grade until this school year. He's been out of school nearly two months, meds free. I see no ADD symptoms whatsoever. Nothing.


Do any of you use the Instead cups for menstral protection? They seem like they would be difficult to use and unsanitary. When they first came out, CVS here was giving them away, and a cashier told me no one would take them.

[CrystalB9]

Becky thats great about your son. :lol:

Until Moondancer wrote about them I never even heard of them. I think I will ask my sister in law who is a OB/GYN nurse and get her input on them. Let me know if you find anything out about them.

[becky]

I've seen them- I think the resemble an unrolled condom, only they are around the size of the palm of your hand. You squeeze the sides together, put them in and they are supposed to stasy there if you follow the directions. Once they are full you slide them back out and throw them away. I can't picture that being anything but a mess.

[moondancer7825]

Becky that's great about your son. Mine has been off his meds all summer but then again he's been at grandma's so I haven't had to deal with it but I've been told that he's still bouncing off the walls no matter how busy they keep him.

I've used the cups for my cycle before and I just don't like them. I think it's gross. Someone suggested buying latex gloves to wear when removing them then just leave the cup in the glove when you take it off. But I still don't like it for that. They do look big but I don't even feel them.

[Brenda]

I was away for a couple days so that we could get moved into a new home and when I checked in last night, I laughed my head off to see this thread go from diets to condoms (interesting combination). :lol: I'll have to go back sometime and read through all the posts to see what got us here... Always something to be learned here. Leave it to us... never know where somethings going to go... :wink:
Brenda