[Spudx7]

After my oldest was born, I started using less chemicals to clean with and more of the natural personal care items (as our budget allows). This is just anecdotal...but my oldest is the only one to suffer from any medical conditions and it's more than one. He is allergic to almost everything—trees, grasses, weeds, molds, cats and dogs. When they did the patch test on his back, he had a strong reaction to 30 of the 36 allergens, poor kid. He also has asthma and mild ADD. Our other kids haven't been to the doctor in years. Sometimes I wonder if I did something wrong while pregnant with my oldest, life is just harder for him in many ways. There is no way of knowing, but a mother's feelings of guilt don't require any proof!

[mlizzy]

I hear you!! I consumed a plentitude of sugar with my first, and with my second too, until I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. At that point, I did a turnaround in my diet, but both sons had some difficulty in school with hyperactivity/attention/allergy issues. We went on to have two more children, but my diet was pristine at the onset (concerned over the diabetes), and they are honor students, excelling in most sports they play. They also are extroverted (overly social?!). Did my diet have anything to do with it? To me, I think it may have. My diet now is “organic” (when possible), and as a family we’ve dumped most ALL the chemicals via cleaning products, shampoos, etc. and our kids have picked up on these positives (our 2nd is now an extreme health-nut), but our first still battles that “sugar-jones” I passed along to him. Our family now sees holistic physicians first, before going to our family doctor if necessary, and I use acupuncture (with great success!) for the guilt *smiles* ...