Pickle Barrel
BEING A YUMMY MUMMY is all about being prepared. Extra diapers for long trips. Snacks for rumbling tummies. Wipes for unexpected leaks. Extra underwear just in case. But, as this yummy mummy has discovered, no matter how prepared you think you are, being a parent is all about surprise and learning to cope with the twists and turns life throws your way.
At the opening celebration of Becoming Maternity, a parenting resource centre on Eglinton Avenue West, I was schmoozing with a couple of working moms: Julie Cole, founder of the successful mompreneur business Mabels Labels and mother of four, and Ariana Birnbaum, owner of Becoming Maternity, and mother of two. I talked about discovering my two-year-old daughter’s allergies to fish and nuts and how big an impact it had on our lives. They shared my pain as I described my constant fear she would mistakenly ingest something with nuts and go into anaphylactic shock. There was some serious mommy bonding starting to happen.
Then, Julie told us that her sixyear- old son is autistic. Talk about life throwing you a curveball! She explained how at 18 months her son didn’t have language skills, but she wasn’t too concerned. It wasn’t until Mack was just over three years old that he was diagnosed. Within a week, Julie had hired a consultant and a team of therapists and started a 40-hour-a-week applied behaviour analysis program. She turned her basement into Mack’s school.
Now, Julie spends her days taking care of Mack and his three little sisters. In her spare time she runs her very successful label company while managing to find time to stand at Queen’s Park to advocate for children with autism.
“You do what you gotta do,” she says with a shrug.
Ariana listens intently to this story and starts telling us about how her daughter Erin went from being a precocious one-year-old to losing her ability to walk and talk within a week. All signs pointed to autism. Erin was constantly hitting her leg with her hand with a vacant look in her eyes. She slept erratically, waking every 20 minutes. She refused to eat. The only thing that would calm her was a bottle of milk, which she drank voraciously. Her pediatrician was at a loss. Career plans were put on hold as Ariana faced endless appointments with speech pathologists, occupational therapists, neurologists and nutritionists. Not to mention the hours of research she and her husband put in to try and understand what was happening to their daughter.
A breakthrough came when a girlfriend told Ariana about the book Unraveling the Mystery of Autism, written by Karyn Seroussi, a mom whose child suffered from similar symptoms as Erin. This book links diet to autism. According to the research, some children are missing enzymes needed to break down long chain proteins found in dairy, gluten, corn and soy. This triggers the child’s opiate receptors causing a drugged-out effect. Bingo!
Ariana put what she read into action. When she stopped feeding Erin dairy, her daughter went into a terrible state of withdrawal for three days. Then gluten, corn and soy were removed from Erin’s diet.
The results were nothing short of remarkable. Within a week of this new diet, combined with a regimen of enzyme pills, Erin was walking, talking and playing like normal. She slept through the night for the first time in her life!
As a mom you really never know what’s around the next corner.
Yummy finds
Coping with a sick child was the
genesis of a new project by yummy
mummy Jodie Pappas. Her doctor
suggested she keep a journal to
record her appointments,
questions and instructions from
doctors. This inspired Get
Organized! Family Medical Journal
— a workbook to keep track of
your family’s medical history and
children’s medication,
immunization records, growth and
developmental milestones, allergic
reactions. Bring it to
appointments, take it on vacation,
leave it with caregivers. A portion
of the proceeds go to SickKids
Foundation. Available at:
www.getorganizedjournals.com. 
Post columnist Erica Ehm is one of Canada’s most recognized personalities. As the first female MuchMusic host, she was the voice of her generation. Now she’s become a voice of a new generation: yummy mummies. Visit her new website, at www.yummymummysite.com.
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