Can birthdays be fun without cake? Absolutely!! Just look at Elmo.
For Ellie or any individual with PWS cake, cookies, treats, and sugar-laden junk food are not a great combination. That's not to say that they cannot have a treat, or have a small piece of cake at a birthday party, it can just make things more difficult. Individuals with PWS do not process carbohydrates and sugar properly. They are not used for energy, but rather are only stored as fat. Ellie and others with PWS metabolize their food at 60% of how we metabolize food. Really think about that for a second. 60%.....
So, what does that mean for us? We substitute high healthy fat in place of carb-loaded, typical toddler diet. Is it harder, yes....Goldfish, chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, cookies, and sugar is EVERYWHERE.
Doctors are starting to find that PWS kids on low carb, high healthy fat and moderate protein diets are faring better mentally and physically, than individuals on low-calorie diets. So, bring on the avocado, Greek yogurt, eggs, nuts, and fruit (think berries). Ellie does well with this diet, and we have learned ways to make occasions special and fun.
If you really stop and think about how many times we "celebrate" something or someone...it is constantly. Toddlers live at birthday parties, have countless school celebrations, "go out for ice cream," receive food for a job well done, or a task accomplished. Should we, as parents really be promoting that? Can't we find other ways to show that we are proud of our kids?
What if it was taken away from you.....
You adjust, adapt, and overcome. You sub fruit for cake, veggies for carbs, and activities and small toys for candy. To be honest, birthday parties scare me, intimidate me, and cause loads of anxiety surface in me. Each year at Ellie's birthday, friends' birthdays, and school parties, and sports functions, I rack my brain, talk with other PWS parents, and stalk Pinterest for new ideas.
It can be done. They can be fun.
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