Day one on the elimination diet has been a HUGE success. No artificial colors or flavors consumed today, minimal dairy, minimal wheat and eggs (despite a preschool slip-up, but we're pretty happy with just the artificial stuff being eliminated at this point), and only one little meltdown upon being told it was time to come in from bike riding for dinner, which Piper pulled herself out of (by clinging to my leg, but what the hey, she pulled out). In fact, none of the girls ate much artificial (Chloe had a hotdog, and Phoebe had an otterpop earlier in the day), and Phil says putting them to bed was positively DREAMY.

Oh, and I had to hold off on giving Piper benadryl tonight, because the chewables are chock full of artifical colors! So she got Zyrtec instead.

So I think I missed something on Miss Piper. I actually feel not so great as a mom at this point...

Piper started having her tantrums just before she turned three, between 2.5 and 3. At the same time she'd just gotten a new sibling, and her big sister who'd been home with her all the time started kinder, and she decided to potty train and go to preschool.

That's a lot going on... and it could have been any of those things.

BUT... what I missed was it was about two months after we had treated her food allergies, and since we'd seen no outward changes upon her eating those previous allergens, we let her eat them all (minus nuts and shellfish, of course).

They seemed to get better over the last year until about two or three months ago. At this time she had to give up her preschool offered nap (which she really seemed to need about 2-3 times per week), and her tantrums became frequent again. She's having two or three per day lately. Last night she screamed for over half an hour because her doll didn't have pants.

Of course for dessert, she'd had ice cream... mint chip ice cream, no less.

Let's see, dairy, sugar, and probably artificial color/flavor.

And last night it clicked for me. I don't think she's completely outgrown her allergies. I think it's all manifesting behaviorally.

I also started searching more on the internet, and I came across the Feingold program:

http://www.feingold.org/pg-overview.html

among a lot of other resources talking about artificial colors - and flavors, but mostly the colors - as culprits for a LOT of children's behavioural issues.

As of this morning we're cutting WAY back on her sugar intake, minimizing her wheat and egg intake, and essentially cutting her dairy and artificial color/flavor intake. She's all for it, she doesn't like how she feels when she's having tantrums. So she's been talking a LOT about what she can't have anymore, and wearing it like a badge. She wants an answer probably as badly as I do.