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How Mom Stole Halloween

Tuesday, October 26, 2010



I'm the worst Mother ever.
My kids are going to hate me.
I ruined Halloween.
I love my babies.


Yesterday, Charlie got tubes put into his ears. A years worth of ear infections were indication that we really didn't have much of a choice. You know what else a years worth of ear infections did to him? They tore apart his stomach.

One bad diaper every couple of days, turned into two... turned into a never ending cycle of digestion nightmares for the kid. Not my favorite topic of discussion, but by now I'm good at it, and- lets be real for a minute- when your kid hasn't had a solid poop in 3 months, something isn't right.

It had been mentioned to me in the past, "oh it could be yeast, cut out sugar". And like most of us do, when we hear something as astronomical as "cut out sugar", I did. For a day, maybe.

When it got to the point of my son's bottom being a solid sheet of red raised rash, broken and bleeding-

After the last double ear infection, after another double round of antibiotics-

When Charlie's body stopped digesting literally everything, and he cried and screamed and begged, anytime we'd go anywhere near his diaper-

I put my foot down. I put on my Mom pants, I took a deep breath, and I said the words that I had been meaning to say for months...

We're cutting sugar out of our diets.
We're detoxing.




I had been doing my research. I had been collecting my courage. I had had enough. When I said that we were cutting out sugar, a sacrifice that none of us were going to be prepared to make, I meant it.

And then, I realized that it was October.
My heart sank. But sunken heart or not, I couldn't take back my words. Not this time.

Really? Did I just take away Halloween?
You bet your candy bucket, I did.




What kind evil beast takes Halloween away? What kind of terrible monster denies even the worst behaving children the joy of fighting over the last pumpkin shaped peanut butter cup?

Wait just a minute, now.
I'm not a monster.
I'm not a beast.

I'm a mother. And I love my kids.


I love my kids so much, that I'm going to let them hate me.
This is what being a Mother is all about, right? Teaching them, and doing whats best for them? Even if it means that they hate you for it?

So I did what I said I'd do. I made my demands. I pleaded my case to Christopher, and he willingly stuck by my side as I threw away the freshly baked ghost shaped brownies on the counter. There wasn't going to be a "we'll start tomorrow" option, it was now or never. Next went the candy from the parade, followed by the marshmallows- "rest in peace, sugar", we said, "feed somebody elses yeast and overgrowth".

If you're wondering what sugar has to do with my sons stomach problems, well let me try to explain it to you in the cutest way possible:

Imagine a game of pacman. Everyone knows what pacman is, right? Well picture a nice round circle (the tummy), filled with those little colorful balls that pacman eats (the balls are yeast and bacteria). A few balls are ok, no big deal, right? And then you've got pacman (the good bacteria), zooming around in there, eating the balls (the yeast, remember?) one or two at a time, tra la la, keeping things in check. Well, along comes a ghost (antibiotics), and he tries to kill pacman! And soon, more ghosts (more antibiotics)! Pacman dies. The good bacteria is gone. So then, what do you have left? Just a whole bunch of colorful blinking balls. And you know what those blinking balls thrive on? Sugar.

Did that make sense? Are you following?
I know there isn't any sugar in the game of Pacman, but-
I tried.


Basically. My son took so many antibiotics over the last year, that his belly filled with yeast and bacteria, and his digestion stopped working properly. Take away the sugar, and theres nothing left to feed the bacteria. Throw some probiotics in there, and you've got an all out war on your hands. Believe me, you do not want to be around when the yeast/bacteria start to die off.

We're two weeks into being sugar free, and after it got worse (poor Charlie, Mommy loves you!), it got much better.

After months and months and months of awful diapers and tummy aches- we went from 4 runny stools a day, to 1 or two solid stools. Did you read that right? Cutting out sugar, worked! Taking Halloween away from my babies, worked!

Ok, so I didn't really take Halloween away. We're still going out trick or treating. We're just not going to eat any of the candy. Instead, the kids are collecting it for the Halloween Fairy, who will in return bring them the bath time Disney character and super cool motorcycle toy that they've been wanting. (And pajamas for Evelyn, since if you don't tell the Halloween Fairy what you want, so Mommy can run out and get it, you get pajamas. Sucks not being able to talk, huh Evelyn?)



And, because I'm not pure evil (even though the kids think I am)- I slaved over a hot double boiler -boil boil toil and trouble- and made the kids stevia sweetened Halloween chocolate (seen above), which by the way, is not an easy thing to do.

A thorough detox will take 6-8 weeks. We're sticking to it for the full duration, and then some. I'm doing my best to make meals, snacks, and treats for all of us, while still sticking to our other dietary restrictions (which vary from person to person). I can't promise that everything will taste amazing, but... I'll gladly sacrifice my taste buds for the sake of my family's well being.

24 comments:

Brooke @ Blushing Noir October 26, 2010 at 3:57 PM  

ugh poor little mister =( Lydia had digestion issues when she was teeny and we had the red bleeding bum... NIGHTMARE and EXPENSIVE formula... good lord man.

GREAT idea on the Halloween Fairy!!! Kudos! (not the candy! lol)

Anonymous,  October 26, 2010 at 4:10 PM  

I know you had mentioned you guys cut sugar but I wasn't sure why. Thanks for clearing that up. I think it's great that you're sticking with it this time and even greater that it's working! You ARE an amazing momma, keep it up!
xx

undomestic mama October 26, 2010 at 4:42 PM  

I don't think you're a horrible mother at all! Halloween can mean decorations, costumes, crafts, all the other fun Halloween-y stuff, and I bet they won't even miss the candy (you'll have to update us.) I'm sure it's hard but poor Charlie's system will probably be thanking you 1000 times over. Good luck!

CourtneyKeb October 26, 2010 at 5:02 PM  

You're a brave, brave woman lady!

One day I'ma be like you! :)

April October 26, 2010 at 5:11 PM  

I think taking away Halloween is well worth saving Charlie's booty!!

You're one awesome Mama!!

Casey October 26, 2010 at 5:55 PM  

We do what we've gotta do, and it sure is always easy but that's what makes a good mom, and you definitely are one
-Casey

Megan Harmeyer October 26, 2010 at 6:06 PM  

Good for you!! Where I work, we deal a lot with digestive issues and 9 times out of 10, they recommend cutting out sugar (all kinds, especially refined) and starting on probiotics. It's hard. I'd even go as far as to say that it super sucks. But. If you stick with it. It helps. Like, cures helps. Good for you for sticking to your guns! Your kids won't hate you - forever. LOL

beka October 26, 2010 at 6:10 PM  

Oh my dear.
Those chocolates look SO good.
I'm so happy that the detox is working!! Charlie can start to feel better now:)

MM October 26, 2010 at 7:59 PM  

That sucks. I mean, not the sugar thing. It's a good thing even without discernible health issues. It sucks that Charlie's been sick. Chris was a pretty healthy kid. Is a pretty healthy kid. :/

Good for you though for sure.

There's so much crap in the modern diet.

Laura Craig October 26, 2010 at 8:11 PM  

Momma's gotta do what momma's gotta do!!!! We had to cut out all milk for maddy, so no chocolate for her either :(

You may want to contact your kids dentist and see if they are doing a candy drive! Our kid's dentist does a Halloween Candy Buy Back. They buy the candy for a certain amount of $ per pound! Just a thought!

Rogue Wild October 26, 2010 at 8:17 PM  

you are such a great mama!!!

Anonymous,  October 26, 2010 at 8:37 PM  

You're a great mommy..and I think you're doing a wonderful thing. They may hate you, only because they won't truly understand..BUT if it makes them feel better and function better..than it's all worth it. Hang in there..and keep your head up!!

Krystle October 26, 2010 at 9:28 PM  

Go Mama! Way to stick to your guns and do what you know is right for your family.

I salute you.

Kalii October 27, 2010 at 1:01 AM  

You will probably think this is really stupid or maybe you will think it's interesting BUT sugar is bad in many ways. The worst being health BUT in a historical sense...it is single handedly the reason why the trans-Atlantic slave trade happened. So theres a historical fact that you can just put right in your pocket and feel even better about not eating sugar.

Love Your best friend,
Kalii "Buzzkillington" Nettleton

Nicole October 27, 2010 at 1:49 AM  

Yay for detoxing! I was going to recommend acupuncture- but it seems you have it under control... I think some people specialize in working with children, but I'm not positive.

Jennifer October 27, 2010 at 9:40 AM  

It definatly takes a strong momma to do that! WAY TO GO YOU!



Someday i would like to be that brave.......

Colleen October 27, 2010 at 9:52 AM  

It's great that you were able to figure out what you needed to do in order to make Charlie feel better. I imagine that a total sugar fast would be rather difficult around Halloween, but you seem to have figured out a way way to make the holiday fun even without all the candy. :)

Mariah October 27, 2010 at 12:15 PM  

I too had to detox due to yeast overgrowth and while it wasn't fun and took awhile there are a number of ways to go about it and if you are interested in hearing how I beat it I would love to talk with you about the herbs I took that helped shorten the time of the detox and also helped to insure that it was 100% effective due to the fact that it isn't just sugars that can feed yeast there are other food items as well. Shoot me an email if you want to dialog about this in specifics.

Brandy L October 27, 2010 at 2:07 PM  

WOW Tia! Awesome to you for sticking to your guns. Who's to say in a months or years that you can't introduce sugar slowly. Stick to your guns and i'm sure in no time Charlie's digestive system will start to slowly go back to normal. Don't give up on the no sugar i know you guys can do it!

Anika October 27, 2010 at 2:38 PM  

It is pretty amazing what sugar can do to our bodies, not to mention antibiotics! Way to hang in there...it's tough, I know! Poor little guy... You are a wonderful mom!

Anonymous,  October 27, 2010 at 11:32 PM  

good for you and sticking to your guns! and you're such a good mom for finding alternatives for everyone's diet. :) i hope the halloween fairy enjoys her candy!

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