NutriiVeda - Four Month (and final) Update

I haven't done a NutriiVeda update in quite some time. Before I give my final thoughts on the supplement, here's some basic information about how we used it. We never used a full two scoops a day, as recommended. The most we ever managed was about 1 1/2 scoops a day. For the first two months or so I was pretty consistent about getting that amount into Ava on a daily basis. After that we used the product fairly sporadically.

When we first started using the product I thought I saw an improvement in Ava's speech. I thought she was talking more often in longer utterances. Looking back, I'd say that the improvement was likely due to a developmental spurt or due to the speech therapy services she was receiving.

When we went on a family visit for about a week and Ava did not take the supplement I noticed no change in her speech and language. When we came home and began taking the supplement again I still noticed no change. After that, our use of NutriiVeda became more sporadic and I didn't put the same effort into getting it into her daily.

Now, Ava also has some suspected sensory issues. We haven't had our OT eval yet. One of the ways this effects her is to make her an extremely picky eater. I like the nutritional profile of the NutriiVeda as a meal replacement. It is high in protein and low in sugar. Several times a week I mix it into some yogurt and I feel good about giving it to her for purely nutritional reasons.

We are still buying the product. The company will let you call and delay the autoship for a month. We do that every other month. So, we're buying the product every other month instead of every month and we're doing that for nutritional reasons rather than because we feel it has had a significant impact on Ava's speech.

After having tried it, with high hopes, this is my final opinion:

If you can afford it, and want to try it, go ahead and try it. Many parents have reported that it works for their child and you can't know if it will help you unless you try it. However, unless the results are dramatic and you are positive that the product helped improve your child's speech, your money would be better spent on additional speech therapy or perhaps some speech therapy products to help you with home practice.

Children's Picture Book Review - Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site

I wanted to share this picture book with you. Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site written by Sherri Duskey Rinker and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld is a wonderful read. The gentle rhymes tell a delightful bedtime story. The story takes you through the last job of the day for Crane Truck, Cement Mixer, Dump Truck, Bulldozer, and Excavator and then puts each truck to sleep. The illustrations are beautiful and the details in the pictures provide discussion material independent from the story. Both my three year old son and my two year old daughter love this book and join me in whispering, "Goodnight" to each truck in turn. This book is a treasure.

Weekend Update

We had an extremely busy weekend around here. Friday night we went to a local children's museum. As it turned out, we spent the entire evening in their courtyard first in the sand pit, then playing with the little stream and boats, and finally playing with the huge set of foam building blocks they have outside. Some of the blocks were as big as the children. We got home past bedtime, but it was completely worth it.

As is perfectly normal for our children, they did not sleep in even a little because they were up late and so Saturday morning began before 7am. We spent the entire morning in our own backyard. We played in the water and on the playset. My husband continued to work on the deck. He's about 60% done laying the floorboards. After afternoon nap we went to the grocery store. So, an at-home day, but it felt busy anyway.

Sunday morning we rushed out of the house so we could get to the zoo by their opening time of 8am. Entrance to our zoo is free, but between 8am and 9am many of the pay attractions are free as well. We rode the carousel three times in a row which was lovely. We could have gotten into the children's zoo section for free during that hour as well, but we didn't make it. The zoo train didn't start running until 9am, so we wandered a bit. We saw the penguins and bears and went into the bird house. This was really our first visit to the zoo where the children actually seemed interested in the animals. Usually it is just like a big park to them. After the zoo we went to lunch and then back home for afternoon nap.

Sunday evening we drove 45 minutes to a small frozen custard store that occasionally has live bands. Everyone brings lawn or camping chairs and sits in the parking lot listening to the band and eating frozen custard. This week was a Cajun band and we all had a good time. My parents came with us and a friend of the family met us there. The children danced in the parking lot entertaining everyone around them. We got home past bedtime again.

As I am essentially a homebody, I found the whole weekend to be a bit exhausting and I'm quite looking forward to spending all of Monday at home. At the same time, I loved the family time and outings. Building memories. As always, I wish I had taken more pictures.

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On a completely different note, Sunday was my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. I love them both and I'm looking forward to helping them celebrate many more anniversaries.

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On another completely different note, I know I have several comments and at least one email to respond to. I love comments and want to respond to them all. Thank you for writing them. As soon as I get a chance to catch my breath and the children give me some uninterrupted time I will respond to all of you.