Looking up

So, now we're up to date on Brandon and his Vitality journey. I haven't bumped him up to four per day, and I don't know when I will yet. I have had lots of friends noticing the changes in Brandon and asking me about Vitality lately. I've decided to go ahead and journal his changes here tonight, even though I'm not changing his dose at the moment.

Dec.  5, 2012...

Brandon has made many changes in the last month. I am so happy that I decided to go back up to 3 pills per day, and see what could happen. Because the rewards have been great.

1. I gave him the Toys R Us and Target Christmas catalogs to make his wish list for Christmas. This is the first year he has not picked at least one toddler toy. He has chosen ALL age appropriate toys for his Christmas list. I cannot express the  excitement over this.

2. He is walking less on his toes, and his arms are swinging correctly when he walks.His body is moving more appropriately, and more agile. He has lost a total of seven pounds since starting Vitality...4 and a half months ago.

3. I can talk him out of a fit, if he is having one. If he is going into a full-on meltdown, I can help him get out of it most of the time. That is a first. He is gaining control of himself.

4. He is reminiscing. He is wanting to watch old DVDs and tapes of cartoons and movies he liked years ago. Or, he'll say something like "Mom, do you remember when we lived at the house with the playground and the big backyard, and I was crying. Dad carried me into the house and I was sad." We can then have a discussion about it, and he can give me insight on what he felt and why. It's amazing. He has been talking about his old friends from his pre-k days. We had weekly playgroups. These kids were always at my house, and he very rarely talked about them, unless we were planning a birthday. Now it's, "Mom, do you remember Adam? He was funny." I want to go to Houston and play with him one day." Wow.

5. He is playing differently, He's developing naturally, without my teaching. I don't know how to NOT teach something. He is my first born, that's the way I parent. I teach how to walk, climb, smile, recognize facial expressions, etc. I don't know how to process him learning on his own. It's new, and weird, and amazing. He's blossoming, and I'm being allowed to observe. It's beautiful.

6. On Thanksgiving, his cousin came to visit. They haven't seen each other since Easter. Way before B started Vitality. My brother asked him "Have you noticed anything different in Brandon?" His answer, "Yeah, he's much easier than he used to be." Ok, a twelve year old noticed, definitely not my imagination, lol!

The past 4 days have been one of the biggest regressive progressions yet. Fits. talking back, meltdowns, you name it. It was stressful, worrisome, and hard. At the same time that he was hard, I could see the improvements there. It was like he was two kids. One moving forward and one pulling up the rear. The one in the back was screwing with him, and dragging him down. I had to help him pull himself together, literally. LOL! I knew from past experience that he needed to push through. I couldn't back off the Vitality, he was on overload and could work through it. Tonight, he started coming out of it. I can see changes. The next entry will be even better. I just know it. :)