How about changing tact with the dietician? Rather than deciding what foods to challenge get her to go over a food diary and tell you what nutrients are missing and then work out the safest way to get them.

Mummy Mia - I'm just plain jealous that you are able to complain about a wet bed. We had one last night too but that was because she forgot to put on her dry nite. We've had about three dry nights in the last six months and they are only because the paediatrician has treated her night time wetting two weeks ago. Up until then we were having to change the bed once a week over the last few months as the dry nites weren't coping. And to make everyone else feel better she has been in our bed probably every second night in the last week as well.

I use the rice milk with chickpeas in it for baking - the baking turns out better than plain rice milk, but Gem doesn't drink it often.

PS: Perhaps I could start a sob story thread!?!! LOL. I'm over the night time wetting like three years ago when I realised she wasn't going to be dry as young as her sisters. What I don't like is a $17 pack of dry nites on top of my gluten free, dairy free shopping!

Oh Im hearing you Roz. Last night was not an exception!!It is a regular nightly rictual. If I put a pull up on him he will piddle it for sure.Given the choice to stay in bed and wet his pullup or get up in the cold to go to the toilet he will always wet the pullup!!!So we are trying without pullups so we have maybe one accident a week which is great.
I have a proper matt he lays on(plastic bottom,fabric cotton top) and if he wets in the night I can just remove that and it does not envole a whole bed change.It just sits on the top sheet . I got it of a freind who works in a old folks home they use it on the pensioners who wet the beds!!LOL

It is hard, we are always getting told to challange Emily, but she is so all over the place that I can't really see the point. I have been feeling rather down the last week, she has just turned 20 months and everyone is so adament she will outgrow everything by 2 years, but I can see that she still refluxes just as bad as ever, I can't see it happening. I feel like I am totally unlistened to because of this.

I would almost tend to avoid challanging (except those unplanned ones) until after your trip to starship, she is so unsettled it just seems unfair to keep pushing it for all of you. It must be hard for your other girls as well.

I can see why they want to do it, for the extra vits etc but it can't be doing them any good eating so little, I am having a hard time getting anything into Emily at the moment. It is so hard seeing them so tired and wanting to sleep but they are just so uncomfortable.

Wow, lots to reply to there!

OK - firstly Claire to the unplanned food challenge ... hope that Elise is OK for you? Lucky she didn't really like it I guess? Look forard to hearing about anything interesting from your appt with the doctor today.

Roz - go on, a whinge/sob story thread would be the best! Katey has had an analysis done but only for the main vitamins and minerals I think and thus is on iron and calcium supplements. Those mats that Mariya is talking about you can get from Farmers etc and they cost less than $20 each which is a fab investment - and they really are easy to remove from the bed with minimum fuss which is very good in the middle of the night.

Daisy - yes, that was the reasoning we came up with too ... but if she didn't react to plain cows milk twice (challenges 3 days apart) then maybe we can get away with it? Starship appt won't be until next year I think so it's a long time to hold off doing anything. Unplanned food challenges are such a part of tlife with three kids but really, we as the parents need to be a bit more proactive about it. I think it might be time to revisit Emily's meds or look at other foods that might be upsetting her? Hugs, it's not much fun at all for anyone.

Oh - best news left to last of course LOL ... Katey had her best night for weeks and woke up in a far better mood this morning ... hubby is still questioning the chickpea connection but I am sold on it if she continues to improve tonight. Best night = a pain to get to sleep, waking three times and then up for the day at 6.30 BUT she was happy to play in her cot for a while this morning and didn't wake up screaming, and she didn't have any extra bottles last night although she did ask for them but fell asleep before we got one for her. So yeah, what do you all think?

Yahhh to you. Yes those mats are wonderful. God to be up to him refluxing all night is bad enough without dealing with a wet bed and mattress. We also have a full bed cover on to save the mattress then I put that on the sheet to save me in the night doing a complete bed change. We only had one waking last night to.Things are getting better.We only have maybe one accident a fortnight???????Things are improving.

Yay, at least things are improving. We had a good night too, first for so long I can't even remember - 7pm to 7am and didn't hear her all night!

I would go with you on the chickpeas. The improved night could also be because she had no bottles, I personally find that one is a bit of a viscious circle, eases their pain and discomfort, gets them back to sleep and then they wake again an hour later refluxing like made and wanting another bottle. Makes it so much harder to say no when they can say "mummy bottle, mummy bottle" in this sad little voice! I have the same problems with the unplanned food challanges, not at home but at daycare, she now helps herself to others food, having her home sick the last 2 weeks has really emphasised how much 'bad' foods she is obviously having at daycare.....only 3 more weeks until I finish work and I am hoping this will help things.

I thought your starship appt was this year...I deal with them through work, aren't the staff just lovely?

Fingers crossed Katey keeps improving.

Kate

Yay to a better night had all round then .

I think you might be right with the theory about the bottles Kate, it is a vicious circle and I am pleased we got away with not adding to it last night. Starship appt will be within 6 months they said (a couple of months ago). I have only got praise for the Starship staff having dealt with them on a number of occasions. Not too sure what it would be like to stay there overnight though?

We are so lucky that at the kids pre-school they take Katey's food issues seriously and will even make playdough out of rice flour next year when Katey starts with them, or they will have clay out instead of playdough when she is there (which will be three mornings per week). I would give them a bit of a rev up if I were you - they need to know how it affects the child outside of the centre!

I haven't really much to add except to say I know as all the others do how you feel, how exhausting and totally tiring it all is, all you want is a happy child! Lets hope you can get her back on track! Gotta go crying wee man supposed to be ASLEEP!!

Yip, I have given them a rev up several times, I think they are genuine mistakes now and she is a cunning little monkey. I have seen her take a cracker with cheese off a little boy just as he was popping it in his mouth, it was down her hatch (she has jaws of steel I am sure) before I could get it out, it was all over in seconds. I'm sure she doesn't chew!

Hi all

Viv- glad you had a better night- great for the soul and energy to keep positive!

Claire- yep, I nearly fell for that bread once too. I hope it worked out okay for Elise. Good luck with the doc. I heard last night of a naturopath that thinks she overdoses teh supplements for these kids. I have started easing back on iron, zinc and vit C for Jemma and just seeing what happens and for Riley, I may take out the selenium as he eats brazil nuts. I need to do some research so will be keen to hear what you learned.

Excuse my ignorance but what is the relationship between chickpeas and soy because that is the rice milk we use and Jemma seems okay - she only has equivalent of 1/2-1 cup a day so I am thinking soy may no longer be an issue for her.......but am not keen to challenge her because our nights are finally better. Though we had a bad night after some tinned salmon (though she has had battered cod before- homemade style). In fact, when she reacted to what I thought was lactose free milk, that was the only other time she had salmon as well.........hmmmmmmmmmmmmm........

Rachel I have a list as long as my arm of suppliments to take they include vit e, vit a coromega, evening primrose oil, zinc drops molybdenum and iron for later, and calcuim. I'm going to do a bit of reading into it before I start, and will probably start one thing at a time. Things are very settled her at the mo.

Viv the doctor I see has an interest in allergy and autism and she has a holistic view of medicine.
Any way she gave me this handout when discussing the suppliments. It was about the effects of having high copper in your system She said when tested alot of kids with gut problems and allergies will be high in copper (not sure why)
Some of the symptoms were Gastritis, constipation, and Salicylate intolerance, iron deficiency, agitiation, insomnia, fatigue. (there are more but they are less relevant to our kids) Any way to bring the copper down is with the zinc suppliment. she thinks if we can bring the copper level down and her gut has time to heal with the help of other vitamins then we maybe able to start reintroducing some salicylates.
That's all for now I need to read all the information she gave me and do some research and stop my head spinning then I'll let you know more.

BTW she slept all night go figure!
CLaire

Gem's problem with wetting is medical I guess as it doesn't seem she is able to concentrate her urine overnight. She is being given a synthetic version of the hormone and it is making a huge difference. I may look at one of the mats though because it would be nice to have that added reassurance when we can give up the dry nites.
As for food challenges and deciding if they react or not, some of us have to challenge for two years before deciding there is a reaction.
Soy and chickpeas are both legumes and if you react to one legume you have a 5% chance of reacting to another. (There is a table on the Allergy Clinic link I posted earlier.) I see if you are clinically allergic to cow's milk you have a 92% chance of being allergic to goat's milk, but are the gastrointestinal symptoms without rash and swelling clinical allergies or just intolerances. Gem is perfectly fine with goat's milk but has diarrhoea within a short time of cow's milk. Some of our children just like to be difficult.
Better go as she has had a gastro bug and vomited her Losec two days ago, and although the bug seems to be gone is very irritable and grizzley today.