The first bit of good news is that M’s behavior has improved enough over the last four months that both I and the behavioral therapist agreed not to meet again unless new issues arise. I can say M graduated, but really I’m the one who had to do the changing and put in the hard work. Parenting, as it turns out, is not about changing your kid, it’s about changing the way you’re doing things so that your kid can be their best self. The hard work of changing everything, from diet and environment to parenting strategies and daily routines, is on the parent. You can monitor your progress by observing the peace and happiness levels in your own home.
The second bit of good news came at the pediatrician’s office. She lost 2.5 lbs since mid-October putting her back on the normal growth scale at the 97th percentile (close to her baseline), and height is 77th, up from 50th in October. I attribute the weight loss to cutting out milk entirely (except occasionally skim milk on cereal), and decreasing her intake of cheese and yogurt after our two week dairy-free period. Now she has one or two cheese sticks per day, and the occasional yogurt, maybe one or two per week. I cook with dairy now, but don’t put cheese in anything. I’m pretty sure her weight explosion had to do with drinking copious amounts of fresh cow milk, and while I think milk from the cow is a wonderful thing, her body obviously did not need all those extra calories.
The doctor was very happy with her behavior in the office, too. I didn’t think it was stellar, but I guess compared to the first time he met her it was very impressive. He was grinning from ear to ear to hear that we have been discharged from behavioral therapy and she does not need further intervention for now. I am not pursuing OT right now, and she will remain on 1 drop of lugol’s iodine supplements (and not increase to two, due to her great progress on one). And he did not press for further elimination in the diet, which is awesome-sauce! His only other recommendation/prescription was for chewable probiotic supplements, which we’ll do.
Next appointment is her three-year-old wellness check in March. Yay!
Mother of All Things 
I am delighted to hear that she is doing so well!! Such a great quote – “Parenting, as it turns out, is not about changing your kid, it’s about changing the way you’re doing things so that your kid can be their best self.” Great work mommy!
This is great! You really have worked out and the benefits are being seen. I don’t know anything about the chewable probiotics, but it is totally safe (and less sugar and crap) to just open up probiotics capsules and mix them in applesauce or yogurt or whatever. That way you can control the quantity and strains of the probiotics she is getting. It is beneficial to have a variety and to switch them up.