I woke up sore and swollen. My tummy was flat. I took my Bio-Kult and drank water. I had a little carrot juice and bloated a little bit. I ate soups with sauerkraut juice and egg yolks all day with one cheat of a tiny bit of raw honey (supposed to be ok in tea, but I just had a little on the tip of a spoon). I resisted licking my fingers or any utensils while making and serving nut butter to my kids for a snack.
I felt tired, as in wiped out, after every meal. I'm very bloated. I haven't had a BM for two days and will have to take care of that tonight.
Why the bloating? Die-off or food intolerance? Oh, how I wish I knew. I e-mailed a bunch of questions to my doctor (chiropractor and naturopath) and am waiting to hear what he has to say about everything. Ah, well, I feel better on intro, even with die-off, than I did a few weeks ago.
Why am I doing intro again? I was nursing a new baby when we started, I had no idea what I was doing, and I couldn't cook for anything. I want to give it one good shot at doing this by the book and see what happens. I do think (actually I am most certain) that it is parasites that are holding us all back. I did ask my doctor about this. He has already told me that he can help us figure out what would be the best cleanse to do for our family. I think we will all need to do this very soon. It IS part of the protocol, but we have never done it because I just couldn't figure out which one to do. So...pressing on and moving forward.
April 21, 2011
Intro Again - Day 14
I hurt.
I am very happy with soup and sauerkraut and egg yolks. My tummy is flat. I'm sleeping well. I feel great mentally. I added some carrot juice yesterday and plan to increase that so I can stay with soups and egg yolks for a while (I found that I should be fine hanging out on stage two if I include juicing, too - from FAQ page of the gapsme website).
So why do I hurt? Carrot juice? Maybe. Or could be the fingerful of nutbutter I cheated with yesterday while serving my kids a snack. Maybe. Can't say for sure, but my whole body hurts, my hands and feet are swollen, I can't make a fist, and I felt like I was awake all night. Such a big reaction to such a small amount of whatever.
What is it about intro that makes food so powerful? Why is it that I could eat these things before intro and not now? I ate them, but I was constantly bloated. I did not test well for any of these foods, but I was treated for them. Why do I have such a strong reaction now?
I need to go and talk to God about this. Only He really knows what is going on here.
I am very happy with soup and sauerkraut and egg yolks. My tummy is flat. I'm sleeping well. I feel great mentally. I added some carrot juice yesterday and plan to increase that so I can stay with soups and egg yolks for a while (I found that I should be fine hanging out on stage two if I include juicing, too - from FAQ page of the gapsme website).
So why do I hurt? Carrot juice? Maybe. Or could be the fingerful of nutbutter I cheated with yesterday while serving my kids a snack. Maybe. Can't say for sure, but my whole body hurts, my hands and feet are swollen, I can't make a fist, and I felt like I was awake all night. Such a big reaction to such a small amount of whatever.
What is it about intro that makes food so powerful? Why is it that I could eat these things before intro and not now? I ate them, but I was constantly bloated. I did not test well for any of these foods, but I was treated for them. Why do I have such a strong reaction now?
I need to go and talk to God about this. Only He really knows what is going on here.
April 13, 2011
Update on Food Sensitivity Elimination Technique
I was treated for all of my food sensitivities and I enjoyed eating many new foods for a time without seeing any reactions, but it did not seem to last or work well when it came to apples and dairy. My last two menstrual cycles were painful and preceded by several days of insanity. I really felt angry and out of control. My current cycle is symptom free, as I have not had dairy in weeks and I started intro just before. What a dramatic difference!
I do think that the treatment has had an impact on my being able to add eggs, bone broths, and marrow without any problems. I am not nauseous after eating the soups made with bone broth. I am not irritable. I do not have any headaches.
We also treated our four year old, CKS. He is doing great! He is growing, learning, and developing normally for his age. His rashes have all faded away. His cheeks are so soft and kissable, not red and scratchy like sandpaper. He is happy and creative and playful. He looks at me and talks to me. He interacts with people all day long in a cheerful and easygoing way. He is even easygoing with his baby brother who just turned two. Amazing!
He is still eating little bits of fruit and honey and he is not turning into a sensory-seeking wild child as he has in the past. He is still eating some cucumber and tomato with a little salt and pepper. He had a little kiwi and a little pear today. No problems.
He is not having as many bathroom emergencies as he had before the treatment. There is definitely less urgency.
Apples seemed to induce rigidity and anxiety leading to meltdowns when things didn't work out like he imagined they should. For example, he wanted seconds on something but did not tell me and he began to cry when I sat down without putting any more food on his plate. He does get over it faster, though. Interestingly, I still have an issue with apples, too, even after the treatment. I wonder what is up with that.
All in all, I'm very pleased with the results of the allergy treatment.
My thoughts are to treat the other kids and redo the intro for each of them. I think it will make a huge difference in progressing through intro and getting the healing food into their precious little bodies. We had a rough time getting through the intro stages when we started, as we reacted to everything. I remember eggs being quite a traumatic experience. Anyway, these are my current thoughts. Lord, help me to see clearly what should be done.
I do think that the treatment has had an impact on my being able to add eggs, bone broths, and marrow without any problems. I am not nauseous after eating the soups made with bone broth. I am not irritable. I do not have any headaches.
We also treated our four year old, CKS. He is doing great! He is growing, learning, and developing normally for his age. His rashes have all faded away. His cheeks are so soft and kissable, not red and scratchy like sandpaper. He is happy and creative and playful. He looks at me and talks to me. He interacts with people all day long in a cheerful and easygoing way. He is even easygoing with his baby brother who just turned two. Amazing!
He is still eating little bits of fruit and honey and he is not turning into a sensory-seeking wild child as he has in the past. He is still eating some cucumber and tomato with a little salt and pepper. He had a little kiwi and a little pear today. No problems.
He is not having as many bathroom emergencies as he had before the treatment. There is definitely less urgency.
Apples seemed to induce rigidity and anxiety leading to meltdowns when things didn't work out like he imagined they should. For example, he wanted seconds on something but did not tell me and he began to cry when I sat down without putting any more food on his plate. He does get over it faster, though. Interestingly, I still have an issue with apples, too, even after the treatment. I wonder what is up with that.
All in all, I'm very pleased with the results of the allergy treatment.
My thoughts are to treat the other kids and redo the intro for each of them. I think it will make a huge difference in progressing through intro and getting the healing food into their precious little bodies. We had a rough time getting through the intro stages when we started, as we reacted to everything. I remember eggs being quite a traumatic experience. Anyway, these are my current thoughts. Lord, help me to see clearly what should be done.
Day 6 of Intro
Yesterday and today I took about a quarter cap of Bio-Kult. I put a raw egg yolk and a little sauerkraut juice in every bowl of soup. I feel great today! I took another quarter cap of Bio-Kult this evening. I do hope I am not pushing it, but I do not want to take F-O-R-E-V-E-R to get to a therapeutic dose this time around. We will see how it goes.
I AM sleeping better and I am NOT waking with aching and tingling limbs anymore. My tummy feels awesome. I am NOT as gaseous as I have been, nor hugely bloated. My temper is calm and easy-going. Nice!
Not much else to say...
What have I been eating?
Lemon water.
Chicken broth.
Chicken in broth.
Chicken soup made with chicken, broth, pâté, peeled carrots, peeled squash and zucchini, green beans, onion, mushrooms, and Celtic sea salt.
Beef soup made with boiled beef, beef bone broth, marrow, onions, peeled carrots, peeled zucchini, green beans, peas, mushrooms, peppercorns, and Celtic sea salt.
Hamburger soup made with ground buffalo meat, beef bone broth, carrots, and Celtic sea salt.
Raw yolks in soups.
Sauerkraut juice in soups.
I AM sleeping better and I am NOT waking with aching and tingling limbs anymore. My tummy feels awesome. I am NOT as gaseous as I have been, nor hugely bloated. My temper is calm and easy-going. Nice!
Not much else to say...
What have I been eating?
Lemon water.
Chicken broth.
Chicken in broth.
Chicken soup made with chicken, broth, pâté, peeled carrots, peeled squash and zucchini, green beans, onion, mushrooms, and Celtic sea salt.
Beef soup made with boiled beef, beef bone broth, marrow, onions, peeled carrots, peeled zucchini, green beans, peas, mushrooms, peppercorns, and Celtic sea salt.
Hamburger soup made with ground buffalo meat, beef bone broth, carrots, and Celtic sea salt.
Raw yolks in soups.
Sauerkraut juice in soups.
Happy Second Birthday!
Our youngest just turned two a week ago. It was a great party! We had streamers, farm animal balloons, shooting discs, party hats, and GAPS bread cupcakes with candles. The grandparents all came over to celebrate with us.
SSS enjoyed opening his presents and he took a little time to play with each one before opening another. He squealed with delight over the Bunny Hop game and the R/C car.
Just in the last week or two he has really been putting lots of words together and they are getting clearer and much more understandable. Yay!!!
Wow!!! My baby is two!!!
SSS enjoyed opening his presents and he took a little time to play with each one before opening another. He squealed with delight over the Bunny Hop game and the R/C car.
Just in the last week or two he has really been putting lots of words together and they are getting clearer and much more understandable. Yay!!!
Wow!!! My baby is two!!!
Intro Again - Day 5 Update
Found some chicken and some broth in the kitchen and had that for a snack. It was very satisfying.
Took a bath with ACV.
Began to feel sick during the bath: tired, achy, nauseous.
Did a bunch of chores and heated up a little soup.
Ate soup and felt a wee bit better.
Did more chores.
Posted update (this one)
Really tired. Not enough sleep last night. I had better go to bed soon.
Took a bath with ACV.
Began to feel sick during the bath: tired, achy, nauseous.
Did a bunch of chores and heated up a little soup.
Ate soup and felt a wee bit better.
Did more chores.
Posted update (this one)
Really tired. Not enough sleep last night. I had better go to bed soon.
April 12, 2011
Intro Again - Day 5
So far, so good, although I do not recommend taking a full capsule of Bio-Kult on day two.
I felt great on day one. I figured that I had been taking seven capsules of Bio-Kult for months and had only gone one day with none so one seventh of that dose should be a breeze. Was I ever wrong! I was so sick by the end of day two and through the night. Headache. Swollen glands. Stuffy nose. Sore achy muscles. Sick tummy. Weak, very weak. So I took a day off and have taken about a quarter cap a day for several days now with no problem.
I'm sleeping much better already. Yay!!! It's worth it.
I am putting a bit of sauerkraut juice and an egg yolk in every bowl of soup. I'm eating about 3-5 bowls of soup in a day.
I have been surprised at how easy it has been for me to prepare and serve other food for my kids without being tempted by it. Right now I am feeling like I need something. I want to eat something, but not soup. I think I will go have a bowl of soup right now with lots of added fat. Maybe I will feel satisfied after that.
I think that I want to eat because it is so quiet in the house. The little three are all asleep and the older two are at a ballgame with Daddy. It is NEVER this quiet in my house. It feels very strange.
What I am really excited about is that I can actually do intro as it is laid out (minus the fermented fish). My soups are delicious. I am no longer grossed out by chicken skins and raw egg yolks. I can feed my kids GAPS food and know that it tastes good without tasting it. We always have sauerkraut juice and sauerkraut available because we make it weekly. There is no learning curve and to top it all off, I already have 19 months of healing behind me. I am doing this alone so I can take my time and go at my own pace. No pressure.
Funny thing is...several of my children are begging me to restart intro after Easter. Go figure. I'll have to think about that. Everyone wants to eat my soups. No. No. No. Mine! All mine!!
I love my kids. I love my family. Oh! Thank You, Lord, for what You are doing in our family right now. You are transforming us by the renewing of our minds. You are helping us to break free from patterns and habits that have been repeated for years. Things are changing. Relationships are growing and developing. Children are maturing and understanding. I am finally understanding things I never understood before. I will continue to seek You and Your Kingdom. Keep up the good work You started in us. I know that You are faithful to complete it! Amen!
I felt great on day one. I figured that I had been taking seven capsules of Bio-Kult for months and had only gone one day with none so one seventh of that dose should be a breeze. Was I ever wrong! I was so sick by the end of day two and through the night. Headache. Swollen glands. Stuffy nose. Sore achy muscles. Sick tummy. Weak, very weak. So I took a day off and have taken about a quarter cap a day for several days now with no problem.
I'm sleeping much better already. Yay!!! It's worth it.
I am putting a bit of sauerkraut juice and an egg yolk in every bowl of soup. I'm eating about 3-5 bowls of soup in a day.
I have been surprised at how easy it has been for me to prepare and serve other food for my kids without being tempted by it. Right now I am feeling like I need something. I want to eat something, but not soup. I think I will go have a bowl of soup right now with lots of added fat. Maybe I will feel satisfied after that.
I think that I want to eat because it is so quiet in the house. The little three are all asleep and the older two are at a ballgame with Daddy. It is NEVER this quiet in my house. It feels very strange.
What I am really excited about is that I can actually do intro as it is laid out (minus the fermented fish). My soups are delicious. I am no longer grossed out by chicken skins and raw egg yolks. I can feed my kids GAPS food and know that it tastes good without tasting it. We always have sauerkraut juice and sauerkraut available because we make it weekly. There is no learning curve and to top it all off, I already have 19 months of healing behind me. I am doing this alone so I can take my time and go at my own pace. No pressure.
Funny thing is...several of my children are begging me to restart intro after Easter. Go figure. I'll have to think about that. Everyone wants to eat my soups. No. No. No. Mine! All mine!!
I love my kids. I love my family. Oh! Thank You, Lord, for what You are doing in our family right now. You are transforming us by the renewing of our minds. You are helping us to break free from patterns and habits that have been repeated for years. Things are changing. Relationships are growing and developing. Children are maturing and understanding. I am finally understanding things I never understood before. I will continue to seek You and Your Kingdom. Keep up the good work You started in us. I know that You are faithful to complete it! Amen!
April 9, 2011
Intro Again
Just a quick note to say I'm doing intro again. I've been considering it for a while. This morning I woke up after another miserable night and just decided to go for it.
So easy! Only me. I ate only chicken soup all day. It was so yummy and so satisfying. I added a little sauerkraut juice to my last bowl of soup this evening. I plan to eat soup all day tomorrow. I might add an egg yolk to a bowl of soup, if all goes well. Sounds delicious.
Boy have I changed. All of this was so disgusting to me only 18 months ago and now I love it! Chicken pate (blended skins and soft tissues) really do make they soup so delicious and satisfying.
I made some other soup, but I think I may stick with chicken soup for at least another day or two.
The surprising thing was that I was able to serve a large variety of other foods to my children without being tempted by any of it. Hmm. I wonder what tomorrow will be like?
How much probiotic should I start with? How fast will I be able to increase it? So many questions.
Gotta go to bed.
So easy! Only me. I ate only chicken soup all day. It was so yummy and so satisfying. I added a little sauerkraut juice to my last bowl of soup this evening. I plan to eat soup all day tomorrow. I might add an egg yolk to a bowl of soup, if all goes well. Sounds delicious.
Boy have I changed. All of this was so disgusting to me only 18 months ago and now I love it! Chicken pate (blended skins and soft tissues) really do make they soup so delicious and satisfying.
I made some other soup, but I think I may stick with chicken soup for at least another day or two.
The surprising thing was that I was able to serve a large variety of other foods to my children without being tempted by any of it. Hmm. I wonder what tomorrow will be like?
How much probiotic should I start with? How fast will I be able to increase it? So many questions.
Gotta go to bed.
April 3, 2011
Happy Fourth Birthday!!!
We celebrated CKS' birthday last Tuesday. It was one of the most delightful birthdays ever.
He woke up to find a birthday card by his bed. It was a fire truck birthday card. He enjoyed hearing all of the special messages written on the balloons. We had to add a few more messages, dictated by the birthday boy, of course.
He was so excited that his birthday had finally arrived. He went out into the living room to find it decorated with streamers and balloons. Also, there were party hats hanging from the ceiling on white streamers in the kitchen.
We had to cut one balloon free from the bunch so that he could carry it around with him all day. We clipped it to the back of his chair at mealtimes.
His special friend and his friend's baby brother came to spend the morning with us. They found the party blow outs. You know the ones: they look like frog tongues stretching out to catch a fly. They were black and white checked with a Cars picture attached. What fun we all had tagging each other with these simple toys. Even SSS (almost 2) eventually figured out how to make them work. We played with them until they all broke.
We had some regular balloons to bat around, too.
In the evening, the grandparents came over. We sang Happy Birthday, blew out candles, and ate cupcakes (made from nut butter, eggs, and butternut squash). Then, CKS opened presents. Such great fun. So many smiles. Such bright eyes and so full of life.
Ever since we had CKS treated for his food allergies/sensitivities, his eyes just sparkle. He's doing great! He can have honey and fruit (still) without any reactions. He's loving it!!! It is so good to see him so well.
We praise God for every step forward. I am thankful for God's leading. I hope and pray for continued healing, for complete healing. Thank You, Lord, for bringing so much healing to my little boy. Amen.
He woke up to find a birthday card by his bed. It was a fire truck birthday card. He enjoyed hearing all of the special messages written on the balloons. We had to add a few more messages, dictated by the birthday boy, of course.
He was so excited that his birthday had finally arrived. He went out into the living room to find it decorated with streamers and balloons. Also, there were party hats hanging from the ceiling on white streamers in the kitchen.
We had to cut one balloon free from the bunch so that he could carry it around with him all day. We clipped it to the back of his chair at mealtimes.
His special friend and his friend's baby brother came to spend the morning with us. They found the party blow outs. You know the ones: they look like frog tongues stretching out to catch a fly. They were black and white checked with a Cars picture attached. What fun we all had tagging each other with these simple toys. Even SSS (almost 2) eventually figured out how to make them work. We played with them until they all broke.
We had some regular balloons to bat around, too.
In the evening, the grandparents came over. We sang Happy Birthday, blew out candles, and ate cupcakes (made from nut butter, eggs, and butternut squash). Then, CKS opened presents. Such great fun. So many smiles. Such bright eyes and so full of life.
Ever since we had CKS treated for his food allergies/sensitivities, his eyes just sparkle. He's doing great! He can have honey and fruit (still) without any reactions. He's loving it!!! It is so good to see him so well.
We praise God for every step forward. I am thankful for God's leading. I hope and pray for continued healing, for complete healing. Thank You, Lord, for bringing so much healing to my little boy. Amen.
March 27, 2011
Update on the Update
Let's see if I can get this all down before my battery dies.
So I have been taking detox baths and I have been sleeping better. Yay!
We had CKS (almost 4) treated and he is doing amazing. He has had a bit of honey everyday. He has eaten spinach, cucumber, tomato, black pepper, fresh apple juice, and cauliflower. Also, finally, the Pro-EFA fish oil. No reactions. Cheeks are clearing up. Urination less frequent and less urgent. Eye-contact is unbelievable! His eyes sparkle with life. Praise God!!! Thank you, Jesus!
Our two older kids have had a rough week after getting sealants from the dentist. I will have to think twice about that the next time. Weak. Tired. Achey. Sick to stomach. Headaches. Emotional and behavioral issues. They are not themselves this week. It has been five days. It is a bit better, but not yet back to our new normal. Ack!
KES (almost 5) is up late with leg cramps. Not sure where that came from.
KRS (10) has had a rough day. Emotional upset. Generally negative and unhappy. Headache. And more. We quit giving her fruit and honey as of yesterday because of eczema and signs of yeast. She may be having a bit of die-off. Eczema is better and is healing so I think we may be on to something.
SSS (almost 2) is throwing a lot of tantrums (itty bitty tantrums) these days. He's two (almost), but I think he may be responding to everything and everyone around him. I have noticed that his worst days are always on my worst days.
So, I am thinking that it might be beneficial to have everyone's food sensitivities treated and then repeat intro one more time. We could actually progress through the intro diet and get to full GAPS and therapeutic doses of probiotics, as well as FCLO, Pro-EFA, seed and nut oils, kefir and other ferments. Then we would really be on our way to complete healing.
God is also working in our lives to break us free of strongholds that have kept us in bondage for too long. Praise God, for He is working in us and He is going to bring healing to our family: mind, body, and soul! He is able! He is willing! I have only to trust and obey.
Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey!
Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33)
Read God's Word. Pray and talk to Him about it. Ask Him to give you wisdom. Ask Him to show you what it all means. I do not remember the reference at this moment, but His Word says that he will show you unsearchable things that you have never before known. He does! His Word IS living. It is amazing what He can do! Seek Him and you WILL find Him! I am finding Him to be more beautiful than I ever imagined He could be!
Jesus, thank You for revealing yourself to me in such a personal way. Thank You for the peace that comes from the readiness of the gospel. Thank you for teaching me to put on the full armor of God and to take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Thank You for teaching me to pray at all times about all kinds of things. (Ephesians 6:10-18)
You, Lord, are faithful through all generations. You will complete the good work you started in me. It is you, God, who works in me to will and to act according to Your good purpose (Philippians 2:13). Thank You for keeping me in Your arms and for carrying my children close to Your heart and for leading me gently (Isaiah 40:11). Amen.
So I have been taking detox baths and I have been sleeping better. Yay!
We had CKS (almost 4) treated and he is doing amazing. He has had a bit of honey everyday. He has eaten spinach, cucumber, tomato, black pepper, fresh apple juice, and cauliflower. Also, finally, the Pro-EFA fish oil. No reactions. Cheeks are clearing up. Urination less frequent and less urgent. Eye-contact is unbelievable! His eyes sparkle with life. Praise God!!! Thank you, Jesus!
Our two older kids have had a rough week after getting sealants from the dentist. I will have to think twice about that the next time. Weak. Tired. Achey. Sick to stomach. Headaches. Emotional and behavioral issues. They are not themselves this week. It has been five days. It is a bit better, but not yet back to our new normal. Ack!
KES (almost 5) is up late with leg cramps. Not sure where that came from.
KRS (10) has had a rough day. Emotional upset. Generally negative and unhappy. Headache. And more. We quit giving her fruit and honey as of yesterday because of eczema and signs of yeast. She may be having a bit of die-off. Eczema is better and is healing so I think we may be on to something.
SSS (almost 2) is throwing a lot of tantrums (itty bitty tantrums) these days. He's two (almost), but I think he may be responding to everything and everyone around him. I have noticed that his worst days are always on my worst days.
So, I am thinking that it might be beneficial to have everyone's food sensitivities treated and then repeat intro one more time. We could actually progress through the intro diet and get to full GAPS and therapeutic doses of probiotics, as well as FCLO, Pro-EFA, seed and nut oils, kefir and other ferments. Then we would really be on our way to complete healing.
God is also working in our lives to break us free of strongholds that have kept us in bondage for too long. Praise God, for He is working in us and He is going to bring healing to our family: mind, body, and soul! He is able! He is willing! I have only to trust and obey.
Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey!
Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33)
Read God's Word. Pray and talk to Him about it. Ask Him to give you wisdom. Ask Him to show you what it all means. I do not remember the reference at this moment, but His Word says that he will show you unsearchable things that you have never before known. He does! His Word IS living. It is amazing what He can do! Seek Him and you WILL find Him! I am finding Him to be more beautiful than I ever imagined He could be!
Jesus, thank You for revealing yourself to me in such a personal way. Thank You for the peace that comes from the readiness of the gospel. Thank you for teaching me to put on the full armor of God and to take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Thank You for teaching me to pray at all times about all kinds of things. (Ephesians 6:10-18)
You, Lord, are faithful through all generations. You will complete the good work you started in me. It is you, God, who works in me to will and to act according to Your good purpose (Philippians 2:13). Thank You for keeping me in Your arms and for carrying my children close to Your heart and for leading me gently (Isaiah 40:11). Amen.
March 23, 2011
Update
I have been taking a break from all of the overwhelming information that is out there on the Internet. I dropped all yahoo groups for a while and quit writing in my blog. I just needed a mental break and it has been good. The Lord is really doing a good work in my life right now. Things are changing and I am very happy and excited about all of this. Change is good.
So, we are still following the GAPS diet. Everyone is up to a therapeutic dose of Bio-Kult for several months now. I am still 1-3 capsules short of therapeutic, but close enough for now. I may increase it again soon. It is rough going when I go through die-off and I needed a break!
I went to a doctor who treats allergies and I have been able to eat a wide variety of food that I could not tolerate before. I can eat broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, tomatoes, cucumber, berries, nuts, spinach, butter, ghee, apples, and so much more. It has been great. At first, there seemed to be no reaction at all. Now I am not sleeping well and I had some major emotional upset during my cycle. Frustrating. I think it may be detox, but I am not sure. I did stop taking detox baths because I was doing so well. I started taking baths again a few days ago and I think it is making a difference. I will need to give it a few more days to really know for sure.
We are going to go ahead and have our little CKS treated tomorrow. He is the one with the most issues. He is going to be four years old next week. WooHoo! He is doing great developmentally and socially. He eats well. He talks well. He is learning. His imagination and creativity are exploding into some very cool scenarios. He has this weird thing about sharing (invisible) chocolate with me. He has not had chocolate for nearly two years now. What's up with that?!! We fish with imaginary fishing rods and catch all kinds of interesting things. He's a fun kid. He's still very reactive to the world we live in. He has rough red skin on his cheeks, hands, and bottom. It gets better and worse and sometimes almost goes away, but then it comes back. No clue what it is from. Sundays are still difficult days. I suspect he is reacting to people's perfumes or something like that. Anyway, he's doing well overall. I am anxious to see how treating him for food allergies will effect him. I wonder if the rash will go away. I wonder if it will decrease the urgency and frequency of his urination. I wonder if he will really be able to eat a bit of honey without becoming a sensory seeking wild child. We shall see!
The baby is going to be two in two weeks. He is doing great! He has never had a vaccine. He has been on GAPS for his entire life. He can eat everything I can eat. He is still nursing and is doing well with everything I eat. He poos regularly. He is a happy kid. He eats well. He is coordinated and is developing normally. I think he may be a bit behind in language development, but I am just watching and waiting. He has a lot of words. They are hard to understand. He is not stringing any words together yet, but he does get his point across quite well. Every word he says sounds like a question, going up at the end. A little odd and very cute. He is a sweety.
KES is going to be seven in May. She still can not eat any fruit or honey. She still gets leg cramps if she runs around in the sun for any length of time. She still gets eczema on her forehead and breaks out in rashes and hives from time to time. She still reacts to the world around her, however she is growing and learning and developing into a lovely young lady. She is more and more capable and is doing more around the house to help the family with all that we do. It is nice to see. She is still very tiny. She and her (almost) four year old brother both weigh 40 pounds. She is a bit taller than him. He's stalky. People often ask if they are twins, but they are three years apart.
Our oldest, MKS, is growing into a fine young man. We have kept him GF/CF and Feingold stage one and on GAPS. He is a totally normal twelve year old, except for the fact that he is likely more responsible, reliable, kind, considerate, and caring than most twelve year old boys. I am excited to see how he is growing and developing. He is finally ready for some real challenges. He can now do things with ease that were a struggle even a few months ago. His memory is good. He can figure things out on his own. He can coordinate and accomplish complicated sets of tasks. Yay!!!
KRS is doing well, too. She is a horse-crazy, art lovin', wanna-be farmer. She is reading chapter books now. She reads and studies and creates informational books about horses. Two years ago, she could hardly read or write. I have been giving her a bit more fruit and honey lately and her eczema is coming back a bit. There are signs of yeast. She has had some headaches again as of late. She has been feeling angry with her sister and with people in general a little bit here and there.
I am thinking of taking us all back to a modified intro again after we finish celebrating all of these birthdays we have coming up. I know it would be good for all. It has always brought a greater degree of healing through it.
Praise God who has given us all that we need. His grace is sufficient for me. I am thankful for all of the healing that has taken place in our family and I look forward to more and more and more. I am letting go of my timeline and I am going to watch and wait and just marvel and praise God for every step toward wholeness. He is our Great Physician. He is our Healer. He is good all the time. He knows the plans He has for us and they are good plans. They are plans to prosper us. They are plans to give us hope and a future.
Thank You, Lord Jesus! Amen!!!
So, we are still following the GAPS diet. Everyone is up to a therapeutic dose of Bio-Kult for several months now. I am still 1-3 capsules short of therapeutic, but close enough for now. I may increase it again soon. It is rough going when I go through die-off and I needed a break!
I went to a doctor who treats allergies and I have been able to eat a wide variety of food that I could not tolerate before. I can eat broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, tomatoes, cucumber, berries, nuts, spinach, butter, ghee, apples, and so much more. It has been great. At first, there seemed to be no reaction at all. Now I am not sleeping well and I had some major emotional upset during my cycle. Frustrating. I think it may be detox, but I am not sure. I did stop taking detox baths because I was doing so well. I started taking baths again a few days ago and I think it is making a difference. I will need to give it a few more days to really know for sure.
We are going to go ahead and have our little CKS treated tomorrow. He is the one with the most issues. He is going to be four years old next week. WooHoo! He is doing great developmentally and socially. He eats well. He talks well. He is learning. His imagination and creativity are exploding into some very cool scenarios. He has this weird thing about sharing (invisible) chocolate with me. He has not had chocolate for nearly two years now. What's up with that?!! We fish with imaginary fishing rods and catch all kinds of interesting things. He's a fun kid. He's still very reactive to the world we live in. He has rough red skin on his cheeks, hands, and bottom. It gets better and worse and sometimes almost goes away, but then it comes back. No clue what it is from. Sundays are still difficult days. I suspect he is reacting to people's perfumes or something like that. Anyway, he's doing well overall. I am anxious to see how treating him for food allergies will effect him. I wonder if the rash will go away. I wonder if it will decrease the urgency and frequency of his urination. I wonder if he will really be able to eat a bit of honey without becoming a sensory seeking wild child. We shall see!
The baby is going to be two in two weeks. He is doing great! He has never had a vaccine. He has been on GAPS for his entire life. He can eat everything I can eat. He is still nursing and is doing well with everything I eat. He poos regularly. He is a happy kid. He eats well. He is coordinated and is developing normally. I think he may be a bit behind in language development, but I am just watching and waiting. He has a lot of words. They are hard to understand. He is not stringing any words together yet, but he does get his point across quite well. Every word he says sounds like a question, going up at the end. A little odd and very cute. He is a sweety.
KES is going to be seven in May. She still can not eat any fruit or honey. She still gets leg cramps if she runs around in the sun for any length of time. She still gets eczema on her forehead and breaks out in rashes and hives from time to time. She still reacts to the world around her, however she is growing and learning and developing into a lovely young lady. She is more and more capable and is doing more around the house to help the family with all that we do. It is nice to see. She is still very tiny. She and her (almost) four year old brother both weigh 40 pounds. She is a bit taller than him. He's stalky. People often ask if they are twins, but they are three years apart.
Our oldest, MKS, is growing into a fine young man. We have kept him GF/CF and Feingold stage one and on GAPS. He is a totally normal twelve year old, except for the fact that he is likely more responsible, reliable, kind, considerate, and caring than most twelve year old boys. I am excited to see how he is growing and developing. He is finally ready for some real challenges. He can now do things with ease that were a struggle even a few months ago. His memory is good. He can figure things out on his own. He can coordinate and accomplish complicated sets of tasks. Yay!!!
KRS is doing well, too. She is a horse-crazy, art lovin', wanna-be farmer. She is reading chapter books now. She reads and studies and creates informational books about horses. Two years ago, she could hardly read or write. I have been giving her a bit more fruit and honey lately and her eczema is coming back a bit. There are signs of yeast. She has had some headaches again as of late. She has been feeling angry with her sister and with people in general a little bit here and there.
I am thinking of taking us all back to a modified intro again after we finish celebrating all of these birthdays we have coming up. I know it would be good for all. It has always brought a greater degree of healing through it.
Praise God who has given us all that we need. His grace is sufficient for me. I am thankful for all of the healing that has taken place in our family and I look forward to more and more and more. I am letting go of my timeline and I am going to watch and wait and just marvel and praise God for every step toward wholeness. He is our Great Physician. He is our Healer. He is good all the time. He knows the plans He has for us and they are good plans. They are plans to prosper us. They are plans to give us hope and a future.
Thank You, Lord Jesus! Amen!!!
February 7, 2011
Still Recovering
CKS is still recovering from his regression a few days back. His cheeks are bright red and rough. They look painful. He has a few spots that look like pimples. This is new. His hands are rough and red and he says they sting. Sometimes he will just cry that his hands hurt. He wants to hang out with me and be with me because he does not feel well. He has a hard time catching his breath at times. His cognitive and social skills are a little better than yesterday. Whew! Oh, the constant urgent trips to the potty are back in full swing and he took hours to fall asleep last night and tonight, as well.
I plan to keep our diet simple and hope that it all settles out again in a day or two. I just hate to see him sick like this. It is sad. BUT...I have to remind myself that he is in a much better place than he was in 21-24 months ago. Yes! He is indeed doing very well.
On a positive note: He and our little ballerina (age 6) put on a dance show for me tonight. It was precious. CKS danced to a song called Rock Monster. You can only imagine. He was throwing himself all over the place and having a great time!
Oh, yeah! I almost forgot! CKS sat on my lap during most of the church service today looking very limp and moaning a very little bit, but he DID go to Children's Church with his older sisters towards the end of the service and they tell me that he participated and was very interactive. When we questioned him about the lesson, he asked his sisters what the lesson was, but when they wouldn't tell him, he said, "Well, maybe Jesus died. And maybe they put him in a cave. Maybe he rose again. Maybe."
Tonight he asked, "Did God die?"
He knows that Jesus is God. He's trying to understand.
How cool is that?
I plan to keep our diet simple and hope that it all settles out again in a day or two. I just hate to see him sick like this. It is sad. BUT...I have to remind myself that he is in a much better place than he was in 21-24 months ago. Yes! He is indeed doing very well.
On a positive note: He and our little ballerina (age 6) put on a dance show for me tonight. It was precious. CKS danced to a song called Rock Monster. You can only imagine. He was throwing himself all over the place and having a great time!
Oh, yeah! I almost forgot! CKS sat on my lap during most of the church service today looking very limp and moaning a very little bit, but he DID go to Children's Church with his older sisters towards the end of the service and they tell me that he participated and was very interactive. When we questioned him about the lesson, he asked his sisters what the lesson was, but when they wouldn't tell him, he said, "Well, maybe Jesus died. And maybe they put him in a cave. Maybe he rose again. Maybe."
Tonight he asked, "Did God die?"
He knows that Jesus is God. He's trying to understand.
How cool is that?
February 5, 2011
Pest Control
We had two days of "normal". Ahh! It was so nice. And then...
Yesterday, all was peaceful in the morning. In fact, when I went to get the kids up my oldest daughter was excited to show me how wonderful her little brother CKS was doing. He woke up cheerful. He did not have to rush to the bathroom. He was talking and talking and talking and he was telling her about his dreams. He told her four dreams and they were creative and imaginative stories.
One "dream" was that he bought a chicken and four baby chickens. Chickens are farm pets so they would need a barn. He went to the barn store and bought a barn. It was heavy. He had someone help him carry it home in the box. The chickens were hungry so he went to the chicken food store and bought some food for the chickens. And on it went...
The morning went very well and we got everything done in record time. We had a little time before lunch so we went outside to check out the ice and icicles all over the cars and trashcans and rooflines. We live in Houston and are not used to the cold weather, so we did not stay too long.
We went back in the house to get lunch on the table and CKS was clingy and irritable. He was very rigid and had to have things just so. He had his hands in his mouth and was complaining about everything. We were all saying, "What happened to CKS?!?"
It was such an immediate change. We couldn't figure out what happened. We had not eaten anything yet. Maybe he was just hungry, we thought.
He continued to have problems all the rest of the day even after he ate. His daddy came home from his retreat and CKS was still not doing well. He clung to me and didn't want to be away from me. He told me at bedtime that he didn't feel well and that he was having trouble catching his breath. He took hours to fall asleep.
We were puzzled over what had caused this regression. Just before my husband and I went to bed, my husband mentioned that he saw the receipt from the quarterly pest control and asked if that could be it. The bug guy had come the day before. Maybe CKS had gotten his hands in a place that had been sprayed and then put his hands in his mouth. Possible. I follow the bug guy around and make sure he only sprays behind bookshelves and heavy furniture and such, but he sometimes gets a few places I would prefer he didn't, so it is possible that this is what happened.
However, this morning I was thinking about when CKS began to regress and I remembered that the bug guy came the day before and that it was cold outside. Instead of spraying around the perimeter of the house and yard, he sprinkled granules around the house. Ack! We had never done that before! We won't be doing that again! CKS regressed before lunch and after we went outside to check out the icicles. The kids walked on the granules. CKS took his own shoes off and put them away when we came inside. I think it is a reasonable conclusion that it was the bug poison that caused his regression.
Some of the rest of us had troubles, too. I was so frustrated and upset until I figured this out because I had taken out the bone broths and had gotten things back to good again and I had changed nothing in the diet to cause any regressions. I thought, "What more can I do?"
Today has been better, but not great. Maybe by tomorrow things will settle out again.
Yesterday, all was peaceful in the morning. In fact, when I went to get the kids up my oldest daughter was excited to show me how wonderful her little brother CKS was doing. He woke up cheerful. He did not have to rush to the bathroom. He was talking and talking and talking and he was telling her about his dreams. He told her four dreams and they were creative and imaginative stories.
One "dream" was that he bought a chicken and four baby chickens. Chickens are farm pets so they would need a barn. He went to the barn store and bought a barn. It was heavy. He had someone help him carry it home in the box. The chickens were hungry so he went to the chicken food store and bought some food for the chickens. And on it went...
The morning went very well and we got everything done in record time. We had a little time before lunch so we went outside to check out the ice and icicles all over the cars and trashcans and rooflines. We live in Houston and are not used to the cold weather, so we did not stay too long.
We went back in the house to get lunch on the table and CKS was clingy and irritable. He was very rigid and had to have things just so. He had his hands in his mouth and was complaining about everything. We were all saying, "What happened to CKS?!?"
It was such an immediate change. We couldn't figure out what happened. We had not eaten anything yet. Maybe he was just hungry, we thought.
He continued to have problems all the rest of the day even after he ate. His daddy came home from his retreat and CKS was still not doing well. He clung to me and didn't want to be away from me. He told me at bedtime that he didn't feel well and that he was having trouble catching his breath. He took hours to fall asleep.
We were puzzled over what had caused this regression. Just before my husband and I went to bed, my husband mentioned that he saw the receipt from the quarterly pest control and asked if that could be it. The bug guy had come the day before. Maybe CKS had gotten his hands in a place that had been sprayed and then put his hands in his mouth. Possible. I follow the bug guy around and make sure he only sprays behind bookshelves and heavy furniture and such, but he sometimes gets a few places I would prefer he didn't, so it is possible that this is what happened.
However, this morning I was thinking about when CKS began to regress and I remembered that the bug guy came the day before and that it was cold outside. Instead of spraying around the perimeter of the house and yard, he sprinkled granules around the house. Ack! We had never done that before! We won't be doing that again! CKS regressed before lunch and after we went outside to check out the icicles. The kids walked on the granules. CKS took his own shoes off and put them away when we came inside. I think it is a reasonable conclusion that it was the bug poison that caused his regression.
Some of the rest of us had troubles, too. I was so frustrated and upset until I figured this out because I had taken out the bone broths and had gotten things back to good again and I had changed nothing in the diet to cause any regressions. I thought, "What more can I do?"
Today has been better, but not great. Maybe by tomorrow things will settle out again.
February 2, 2011
Ahhh...Finally a Little Bit of Normal Again
Today was a good day. We stopped the bone broths and the long cooked meats and broths (crockpot) and quit the bone patè last week. I think we finished the leftovers 4-5 days ago.
Finally, CKS' cheeks are smooth and soft again (almost).
Finally, KES has stopped scratching scabs into her forehead from eczema.
Finally, CKS' urgent trips to the bathroom every 15-20 minutes has ceased.
Finally, the beds are not uttery soaked through in the mornings. They are wet, but not soaked. We even had one completely dry pull-up.
Finally, CKS plays on his own again and sits and reads books to himself instead of clinging to my leg and following me around all day.
Finally, SSS' poos are forming up again instead of being orange (carrot juice) and wet and full of undigested food. Lovely. I know.
Finally, CKS is happy and easy-going again.
Finally, the rash on the back of CKS' hands is beginning to clear up.
Finally, we went to church on Sunday and had NO reactions.
Finally, we went to the library today and had NO reactions.
Finally, CKS is not gasping for air anymore. He was always yawning and gasping for air recently (I think since the holidays when we added all of the broths and patès). It would get really bad and a little worrisome when we visited someone's house, had guests, wore hand-me downs, went to church, or went to the library. I am so relieved not to be seeing this anymore. I will have to try the hand-me downs again and see if he can handle it.
Finally, CKS woke up and 'told' me he had to go to the bathroom, for the first time in what seems like forever, instead of waking up and crying out in a loud panic that he has to go to the bathroom. Just now!!! 12:30am. I hope he does as well in the morning. We shall see.
Finally everyone seems to be fairly happy and cooperative. Yay!!!
And all of this is just in time, as my husband will be gone for business for the next three days. Whew! We will NOT be adding anything new for the next few days. We will NOT have any bone broth or patè for awhile. This is the break I needed. Whew!
I am so relieved. We are still eating nuts and we just added eggs with yolks back in (now that Farmer Brown's chickens are laying again), so I know now with certainty that these two foods are finally OK for us. These were two foods that we could not eat before we started on GAPS. I am so happy that we can eat these.
Finally, CKS' cheeks are smooth and soft again (almost).
Finally, KES has stopped scratching scabs into her forehead from eczema.
Finally, CKS' urgent trips to the bathroom every 15-20 minutes has ceased.
Finally, the beds are not uttery soaked through in the mornings. They are wet, but not soaked. We even had one completely dry pull-up.
Finally, CKS plays on his own again and sits and reads books to himself instead of clinging to my leg and following me around all day.
Finally, SSS' poos are forming up again instead of being orange (carrot juice) and wet and full of undigested food. Lovely. I know.
Finally, CKS is happy and easy-going again.
Finally, the rash on the back of CKS' hands is beginning to clear up.
Finally, we went to church on Sunday and had NO reactions.
Finally, we went to the library today and had NO reactions.
Finally, CKS is not gasping for air anymore. He was always yawning and gasping for air recently (I think since the holidays when we added all of the broths and patès). It would get really bad and a little worrisome when we visited someone's house, had guests, wore hand-me downs, went to church, or went to the library. I am so relieved not to be seeing this anymore. I will have to try the hand-me downs again and see if he can handle it.
Finally, CKS woke up and 'told' me he had to go to the bathroom, for the first time in what seems like forever, instead of waking up and crying out in a loud panic that he has to go to the bathroom. Just now!!! 12:30am. I hope he does as well in the morning. We shall see.
Finally everyone seems to be fairly happy and cooperative. Yay!!!
And all of this is just in time, as my husband will be gone for business for the next three days. Whew! We will NOT be adding anything new for the next few days. We will NOT have any bone broth or patè for awhile. This is the break I needed. Whew!
I am so relieved. We are still eating nuts and we just added eggs with yolks back in (now that Farmer Brown's chickens are laying again), so I know now with certainty that these two foods are finally OK for us. These were two foods that we could not eat before we started on GAPS. I am so happy that we can eat these.
January 31, 2011
Just a Few Thoughts
I have not posted in a while. That's because I have been increasing my Bio-Kult and it feels like my world is falling apart. Well, sometimes it feels like my world is falling apart and sometimes all is well, but I spend the all is well times picking up the pieces from the my world is falling apart times.
You know...I used to have PMS and be really moody for 1-2 weeks out of every month and then I would spend the other two weeks pulling myself back together and fixing all of the problems I created during my moody times. I'm so glad I don't have to deal with that anymore.
I fell apart the other day at a memorial service for a dear friend who had passed away that morning. I guess that seems normal when I write it down like that, but I let it slip that I am not as involved in things as much as I had been and I was very emotional and explained that it was because of our current circumstances. Of course I would like to be more involved, but we just really can't be as involved as we were. That's OK. It's not forever. Things are changing all of the time, sometimes better and sometimes worse. It's always changing.
I've been thinking...Is it better to be home and happy and feeling good most of the time OR is it better to get out there in the real world and tough it out, but always feeling bad and unhappy? Although I struggle with the desire to get out there and do more and be a little more mainstream, I know from experience that we are all happier if we don't push it too much.
So I have also been thinking...Have we made ourselves more sensitive to the environment by taking so many things away so that when we come into contact with it out in public, we really react to it? I think this is probably true, and yet...before we took it all away we were sick and unhappy a lot of the time. This is the reason we stick to it. We do what we do because for the first time in our lives, we feel really good and we only feel bad when we are exposed to the things that we do not tolerate, which happen to be out there "in the real world" in abundance.
Sometimes I just want to quit!!! What would I do instead?
If I quit suddenly, or even gradually, I would get so depressed that I would be completely non-functional. I would ache all over. I would not be able to sleep at night. I would feel tired and foggy all of the time. I would be overwhelmed by all of the chaos in the house.
If I quit suddenly, my oldest would be oppositional and would go back to doing mean things to his siblings. He would forget how to see things from other people's point of view. He would constantly be hurting himself and others with his klutziness because he used to be so unaware of his surroundings. He would be constantly annoyed at everyone and everything because he would be rigid and need for things to be a certain way in order to feel OK in his world. He would be in physical pain and always rushing to the bathroom. His clothes and shoes would bother him. All of his Asperger's characteristics would return, including his anxiety. He will stop sleeping well. He will complain constantly. We have been there. I don't want to go back to that. Just adding ghee and butter brought a lot of these issues back. The only time my son has ever been totally clear minded, and happy, and caring towards others has been during the three times on GAPS when we also dairy-free. I look at him now and I marvel at the young man that he is becoming. How could I ever think of taking that away from him. At some point, he will be in control of what he eats, and yet even now he is in control and he chooses to stick to GAPS. I can't take that away from him.
Then, of course, there are the girls and the two little boys. Our little three year old regressed and he really looked as if he were going to continue to regress. I was concerned that every time he jerked and fell over or grabbed at his eyes or woke up in the night screaming he was slipping away a little more. I thought they might be seizures. I still think that they probably were. We were losing him. He was sick and miserable and he was in so much physical and mental pain. The GAPS diet brought him back to us, praise God who gave us the knowledge we needed to know when we needed to know it! I had prayed for help for my older children and I and God answered my prayer. I was so grateful that when our two children reacted to the vaccines I was already in the process of implementing the diet for the rest of us. We got our little boy back and our little girl, too.
They are all such a delight to me. I am so thankful for each and every one of them. They are amazing and wonderful little people.
In conclusion, I think it is better to be home and happy and feeling good most of the time and I think that we are more sensitive to the environment because we have removed the toxins from our daily living, but I also realize that we only experience all of the bad stuff we used to deal with daily when we are exposed to toxins a little here and there.
We DO get out. We do go to church every Sunday, even though it is sometimes extremely difficult to get there if anyone is reacting to something from the weekend and even though we know that our little guy is going to react to people's perfumes. We can't shield him from everything, but I would not want him to be miserable everyday. Then, there is the church girl's choir, art class, youth group, homeschool classes taught by other homeschool moms (like the writing class my son is about to start next week), play dates, library once a week, the preschool class at the library, field trips (like the very cool Real Pirates exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural History), LEGO club once a month, the LEGO robotics competition, the park, shopping trips, the science class that our oldest will be starting soon, weekly trips to visit the horses and horse lessons here and there whenever enough money is saved to pay for them, and the Science Fair through our homeschool co-op. We DO get out.
I DO have to remind myself that we may not be able to do as much as we have done in the past, but we are not isolated. I only feel that way when I am reacting because all I can see is the negative side of everything, which is why I do not want to go back to that place. With the exception of food reactions, which happen from time to time, I feel better and happier than I have ever felt in my whole life. Who in their right mind would want to give that up? Not me. I like being able to be the kind of person that God has called us to be. I like being kind and compassionate and gentle and patient. I have to do what I have to do, because it works.
My husband is so amazing. He is so easy-going about all of this. He often says, "It is what it is." or "If it has to get done, it has to be done." I get overwhelmed and I panic. He just sets to work and gets it done. I want to be more like that.
Enough of this. I have things to do!
You know...I used to have PMS and be really moody for 1-2 weeks out of every month and then I would spend the other two weeks pulling myself back together and fixing all of the problems I created during my moody times. I'm so glad I don't have to deal with that anymore.
I fell apart the other day at a memorial service for a dear friend who had passed away that morning. I guess that seems normal when I write it down like that, but I let it slip that I am not as involved in things as much as I had been and I was very emotional and explained that it was because of our current circumstances. Of course I would like to be more involved, but we just really can't be as involved as we were. That's OK. It's not forever. Things are changing all of the time, sometimes better and sometimes worse. It's always changing.
I've been thinking...Is it better to be home and happy and feeling good most of the time OR is it better to get out there in the real world and tough it out, but always feeling bad and unhappy? Although I struggle with the desire to get out there and do more and be a little more mainstream, I know from experience that we are all happier if we don't push it too much.
So I have also been thinking...Have we made ourselves more sensitive to the environment by taking so many things away so that when we come into contact with it out in public, we really react to it? I think this is probably true, and yet...before we took it all away we were sick and unhappy a lot of the time. This is the reason we stick to it. We do what we do because for the first time in our lives, we feel really good and we only feel bad when we are exposed to the things that we do not tolerate, which happen to be out there "in the real world" in abundance.
Sometimes I just want to quit!!! What would I do instead?
If I quit suddenly, or even gradually, I would get so depressed that I would be completely non-functional. I would ache all over. I would not be able to sleep at night. I would feel tired and foggy all of the time. I would be overwhelmed by all of the chaos in the house.
If I quit suddenly, my oldest would be oppositional and would go back to doing mean things to his siblings. He would forget how to see things from other people's point of view. He would constantly be hurting himself and others with his klutziness because he used to be so unaware of his surroundings. He would be constantly annoyed at everyone and everything because he would be rigid and need for things to be a certain way in order to feel OK in his world. He would be in physical pain and always rushing to the bathroom. His clothes and shoes would bother him. All of his Asperger's characteristics would return, including his anxiety. He will stop sleeping well. He will complain constantly. We have been there. I don't want to go back to that. Just adding ghee and butter brought a lot of these issues back. The only time my son has ever been totally clear minded, and happy, and caring towards others has been during the three times on GAPS when we also dairy-free. I look at him now and I marvel at the young man that he is becoming. How could I ever think of taking that away from him. At some point, he will be in control of what he eats, and yet even now he is in control and he chooses to stick to GAPS. I can't take that away from him.
Then, of course, there are the girls and the two little boys. Our little three year old regressed and he really looked as if he were going to continue to regress. I was concerned that every time he jerked and fell over or grabbed at his eyes or woke up in the night screaming he was slipping away a little more. I thought they might be seizures. I still think that they probably were. We were losing him. He was sick and miserable and he was in so much physical and mental pain. The GAPS diet brought him back to us, praise God who gave us the knowledge we needed to know when we needed to know it! I had prayed for help for my older children and I and God answered my prayer. I was so grateful that when our two children reacted to the vaccines I was already in the process of implementing the diet for the rest of us. We got our little boy back and our little girl, too.
They are all such a delight to me. I am so thankful for each and every one of them. They are amazing and wonderful little people.
In conclusion, I think it is better to be home and happy and feeling good most of the time and I think that we are more sensitive to the environment because we have removed the toxins from our daily living, but I also realize that we only experience all of the bad stuff we used to deal with daily when we are exposed to toxins a little here and there.
We DO get out. We do go to church every Sunday, even though it is sometimes extremely difficult to get there if anyone is reacting to something from the weekend and even though we know that our little guy is going to react to people's perfumes. We can't shield him from everything, but I would not want him to be miserable everyday. Then, there is the church girl's choir, art class, youth group, homeschool classes taught by other homeschool moms (like the writing class my son is about to start next week), play dates, library once a week, the preschool class at the library, field trips (like the very cool Real Pirates exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural History), LEGO club once a month, the LEGO robotics competition, the park, shopping trips, the science class that our oldest will be starting soon, weekly trips to visit the horses and horse lessons here and there whenever enough money is saved to pay for them, and the Science Fair through our homeschool co-op. We DO get out.
I DO have to remind myself that we may not be able to do as much as we have done in the past, but we are not isolated. I only feel that way when I am reacting because all I can see is the negative side of everything, which is why I do not want to go back to that place. With the exception of food reactions, which happen from time to time, I feel better and happier than I have ever felt in my whole life. Who in their right mind would want to give that up? Not me. I like being able to be the kind of person that God has called us to be. I like being kind and compassionate and gentle and patient. I have to do what I have to do, because it works.
My husband is so amazing. He is so easy-going about all of this. He often says, "It is what it is." or "If it has to get done, it has to be done." I get overwhelmed and I panic. He just sets to work and gets it done. I want to be more like that.
Enough of this. I have things to do!
January 18, 2011
Die-Off and You Would Think I Would Learn
We made a big push to increase the probiotics to therapeutic doses over the holidays. The youngest ones were already there. My twelve year old got up to 6 Bio-Kult just before Christmas (we started the Bio-Kult in July, I think). I got up from six to seven in about 8 days last week and it was rough!!! I have been unable to think. I have been irritable. Everything overwhelms me!!! I have had to just go and hide in the bedroom and let my dear husband feed the kids and put them to bed because I just couldn't carry on. I really don't like being in this state. I do have to say that I am VERY thankful that God gave me my wonderful husband who is so very patient and kind towards all of us as we go through these difficult days. Thank You, Lord.
So I should know by now to introduce things slowly and watch for reactions, but whenever I am going through die-off it seems that my brain dies off, too. I keep doing things I know I should not do and then I regret it, I feel guilty, I want to hide. We drank a lot of bone broth (Turkey) over the holidays and didn't have as severe a reaction as we used to get, although we were all definitely having issues. Healing crisis?!? Food intolerance!?! Who can tell? I still have not figured this out, but I suspect it is healing. Sooooooo, I get the bright idea that we should go ahead and make bone broth from our organic chicken bones and start adding it to our chicken broth in small amounts. Let's keep the goodness going. So I make a huge pot of bone broth and I start adding a pint of bone broth to our broth daily. This is more than just a little bit, but I figure, we can handle it.
Now I am guessing I was wrong. Well, I suppose all of the reactions could be healing reactions as in a healing crisis, but I am going to lose my mind. We have strange rashes and tantrums and loud voices and irritability and other stuff. I can't even keep up because of my die-off (or am I reacting to the bone broth?).
Anyway, I need a little peace, a little break from the insanity, so I am going to remove the bone broth once again and try again next week, but in smaller quantities.
On the bright side, the broth I made will last longer and I will not need to make more anytime soon. There's always a bright side and I am learning to always look for it. It is especially helpful to look on the bright side when going through die-off and all I can see (unless I make myself think differently) is the negative side of everything. I used to be a glass-is-half-empty kind of a girl, but changing my diet and removing all of the foods that I am sensitive to has made me a glass-is-half-full kind of girl.
I really rather enjoy looking on the bright side of things. This is another thing I am thankful for. Thank You, God, for changing my heart so that I can be a happy, joyful person and not the grumpy lump I used to be. Thank You for drawing me out of misery. I love You, My Savior! You ARE my all in all!
So I should know by now to introduce things slowly and watch for reactions, but whenever I am going through die-off it seems that my brain dies off, too. I keep doing things I know I should not do and then I regret it, I feel guilty, I want to hide. We drank a lot of bone broth (Turkey) over the holidays and didn't have as severe a reaction as we used to get, although we were all definitely having issues. Healing crisis?!? Food intolerance!?! Who can tell? I still have not figured this out, but I suspect it is healing. Sooooooo, I get the bright idea that we should go ahead and make bone broth from our organic chicken bones and start adding it to our chicken broth in small amounts. Let's keep the goodness going. So I make a huge pot of bone broth and I start adding a pint of bone broth to our broth daily. This is more than just a little bit, but I figure, we can handle it.
Now I am guessing I was wrong. Well, I suppose all of the reactions could be healing reactions as in a healing crisis, but I am going to lose my mind. We have strange rashes and tantrums and loud voices and irritability and other stuff. I can't even keep up because of my die-off (or am I reacting to the bone broth?).
Anyway, I need a little peace, a little break from the insanity, so I am going to remove the bone broth once again and try again next week, but in smaller quantities.
On the bright side, the broth I made will last longer and I will not need to make more anytime soon. There's always a bright side and I am learning to always look for it. It is especially helpful to look on the bright side when going through die-off and all I can see (unless I make myself think differently) is the negative side of everything. I used to be a glass-is-half-empty kind of a girl, but changing my diet and removing all of the foods that I am sensitive to has made me a glass-is-half-full kind of girl.
I really rather enjoy looking on the bright side of things. This is another thing I am thankful for. Thank You, God, for changing my heart so that I can be a happy, joyful person and not the grumpy lump I used to be. Thank You for drawing me out of misery. I love You, My Savior! You ARE my all in all!
January 2, 2011
The Best Christmas Ever (and no candy)
We had a beautiful Christmas this year.
We celebrated early with my family because my sister had to get back to her husband who had to work through the holidays (restaurant business). We exchanged gifts and talked and played.
We even had dinner at my folk's house. We took all of our own GAPS food, mostly prepared in advance. The rest of my family had all purchased and processed foods.
It was quite funny to be setting out plates of home cooked food for my family while my mother bragged about how she didn't have to do any cooking this year. She laid out perfectly cut slices of Honeybaked Ham on a nice platter, dumped potato salad out of a plastic carton into a nice bowl, dumped a bag of salad into a salad bowl and set out the prepared salad dressing. The list goes on. We had ham that had been smoked in a smoker in our back yard the day before. We had long green beans cooked in coconut oil and we had avocado, sauerkraut juice, sauerkraut, and broth. We were full and content. No one even balked when the rest of the family had packaged pie and coffee with flavored creamer right in front of us and I realized that I had forgotten to bring any dessert. I think we were too full to care.
On Christmas Eve, we put the little ones to bed after dinner and watched The Nativity with our older three children and talked about the real meaning of Christmas.
In the morning, we snacked and opened stockings one at a time. It just happened this way. The older kids helped with and enjoyed their younger sibling's surprise and joy as they discovered what treasures were hiding in their socks. Then they enjoyed each other as they each explored the depths of their own stockings. I think it went from the youngest to the oldest. No candy. No snacks of any kind. No junk either. Their stockings were not as full as they have been in previous years, but everything was enjoyed and appreciated. It was wonderful.
We ate and then opened presents, one at a time. This was child led. Everyone enjoyed each other and no one was impatient. This is how I remember it. It was just our family of seven and it was beautiful. Everyone was delighted with their gifts and Mommy and Daddy were delighted with their children. Then everyone played all the rest of the day, except for cooking and necessary chores.
No candy, true...but there was no crying either (well, maybe a little. After all, two of the seven of us are under four).
Truly, I think it was our best Christmas EVER!!!
***************
I almost forgot this! We had a lovely Christmas dinner with all of the grandparents at our house complete with turkey, stuffing (made with GAPS bread from scratch), green beans with sautéed mushrooms and onions (instead of green bean casserole), and pie!!!
I broke down in the middle of the day and gave all of the kids a bit of honey and two pecans. That was their Christmas treat! Next year I will skip it if we are not in a better place (but we will be) because the next day was really rough after the nut binge and the bit of honey. Live and learn, but Christmas Day could not have been any better.
We celebrated early with my family because my sister had to get back to her husband who had to work through the holidays (restaurant business). We exchanged gifts and talked and played.
We even had dinner at my folk's house. We took all of our own GAPS food, mostly prepared in advance. The rest of my family had all purchased and processed foods.
It was quite funny to be setting out plates of home cooked food for my family while my mother bragged about how she didn't have to do any cooking this year. She laid out perfectly cut slices of Honeybaked Ham on a nice platter, dumped potato salad out of a plastic carton into a nice bowl, dumped a bag of salad into a salad bowl and set out the prepared salad dressing. The list goes on. We had ham that had been smoked in a smoker in our back yard the day before. We had long green beans cooked in coconut oil and we had avocado, sauerkraut juice, sauerkraut, and broth. We were full and content. No one even balked when the rest of the family had packaged pie and coffee with flavored creamer right in front of us and I realized that I had forgotten to bring any dessert. I think we were too full to care.
On Christmas Eve, we put the little ones to bed after dinner and watched The Nativity with our older three children and talked about the real meaning of Christmas.
In the morning, we snacked and opened stockings one at a time. It just happened this way. The older kids helped with and enjoyed their younger sibling's surprise and joy as they discovered what treasures were hiding in their socks. Then they enjoyed each other as they each explored the depths of their own stockings. I think it went from the youngest to the oldest. No candy. No snacks of any kind. No junk either. Their stockings were not as full as they have been in previous years, but everything was enjoyed and appreciated. It was wonderful.
We ate and then opened presents, one at a time. This was child led. Everyone enjoyed each other and no one was impatient. This is how I remember it. It was just our family of seven and it was beautiful. Everyone was delighted with their gifts and Mommy and Daddy were delighted with their children. Then everyone played all the rest of the day, except for cooking and necessary chores.
No candy, true...but there was no crying either (well, maybe a little. After all, two of the seven of us are under four).
Truly, I think it was our best Christmas EVER!!!
***************
I almost forgot this! We had a lovely Christmas dinner with all of the grandparents at our house complete with turkey, stuffing (made with GAPS bread from scratch), green beans with sautéed mushrooms and onions (instead of green bean casserole), and pie!!!
I broke down in the middle of the day and gave all of the kids a bit of honey and two pecans. That was their Christmas treat! Next year I will skip it if we are not in a better place (but we will be) because the next day was really rough after the nut binge and the bit of honey. Live and learn, but Christmas Day could not have been any better.
December 16, 2010
No Dairy Today and All is Well
Could it be my imagination? I think not! My older kids see it, too. The rough red cheeks on my little boy (3yo ds) are a little less rough and a little less red than they were yesterday. He talks more like a normal 3 year old, too. There is less repeating and more conversational speaking. It's not perfect like it was a few months back before we added the dairy, but it is definitely better than last week or even a few days ago. I'm convinced! Yet again!
Trips to the bathroom were easier. He listened a little better and stayed focused on what he was doing, so less mess to clean up, except for this morning when he had to go so very bad and could not get there fast enough and left a trail from the vanity room door to the potty about 8 feet long with puddles here and there along the way. Man, that boy can pee! He sure did his best to get there, but he really needed help and no one could drag themselves out of bed to help him. I was out of bed in a flash, though, when I heard all of the piddling in my vanity/bathroom. Looking back, it's quite funny. Ha ha! I digress. This has nothing at all to do with dairy sensitivity. Hmm.
Trips to the bathroom were easier. He listened a little better and stayed focused on what he was doing, so less mess to clean up, except for this morning when he had to go so very bad and could not get there fast enough and left a trail from the vanity room door to the potty about 8 feet long with puddles here and there along the way. Man, that boy can pee! He sure did his best to get there, but he really needed help and no one could drag themselves out of bed to help him. I was out of bed in a flash, though, when I heard all of the piddling in my vanity/bathroom. Looking back, it's quite funny. Ha ha! I digress. This has nothing at all to do with dairy sensitivity. Hmm.
It's a Bug
Something is going around. It looks like we got what everyone and their dog seems to be coming down with these days. I know it's a contagious bug because it is going from one person to the next to the next. They are falling like flies. I'm fine for now. I pray I will stay well so I can keep things going. I have been drinking lots of broth and eating lots of soup. I increased the FCLO and added and increased vitamin C for everyone.
My father says it lasts for 11 days. My hubby says he read something about an 11 day flu bug. We will see. I suspect we will all be well much sooner than that. I hope so. Christmas is not that far off. I hope everyone is well by then. Whatever. We will deal with it, wherever it takes us.
KES' eczema is slowly getting better. She still itches, but not as bad and her scabs are healing a bit. She is not as achey in the arms and legs and she was much more cheerful and agreeable today. Yay!
My father says it lasts for 11 days. My hubby says he read something about an 11 day flu bug. We will see. I suspect we will all be well much sooner than that. I hope so. Christmas is not that far off. I hope everyone is well by then. Whatever. We will deal with it, wherever it takes us.
KES' eczema is slowly getting better. She still itches, but not as bad and her scabs are healing a bit. She is not as achey in the arms and legs and she was much more cheerful and agreeable today. Yay!
Soup/Casserole Recipes for Intro and Beyond
I wrote these out for a friend and thought I would post them here as they may be helpful for others. My kids LOVE these recipes now that they are not addicted to sugar and refined carbohydrates.
We like Hamburger Soup: I never measure or write things down. I am learning to just throw things together, so here goes... Let's take 2 pounds of ground beef, 2 pounds of carrots peeled and cut into chunks, one onion chopped, 1 pound of frozen green beans, beef broth or filtered water to cover, 1-3 Tbs beef pâté (made from the marrow and soft tissues blended up), 1-2 Tbs of Celtic sea salt. You can also season with fresh whole peppercorns, garlic, or any other fresh herb you like. Only use fresh herbs in the beginning. Bring to a boil and cook until carrots are soft. If you like a thick soup, you can blend some of the soup and add back to thicken (no flour needed). Further along in full GAPS you can sauté the onions and brown the meat in your favorite fat before putting them in the pot. Yum!
Chicken Soup is a weekly soup at our house: I boil chicken almost daily to make meat broth. We eat some and use the rest to add to soups or make pancakes/panpuffs, or whatever we can think of to make. We blend the skins to make a chicken pâté to add back to soups for flavor and thickening. We save the bones in the freezer and use them to make bone broth. Now that all of that is out of the way...let's take 2 pounds of carrots, 2 pounds of yellow squash and/or zucchini, 1 pound frozen green beans, 1 onion, 8-12 oz of sliced mushrooms, 1-3Tbs chicken pâté, 1 Tbs Celtic sea salt (or more to taste), chicken broth or filtered water to cover. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and cook until the veggies are done. Add cold cooked chicken to cool and serve. You can cook chicken in the soup, too. I like to add it at the end. You can also season with peppercorns from the beginning and/or parsley added near the end. Further along in full GAPS you can sauté onions and mushrooms in ghee or coconut oil for more flavor and fat. Serve with sauerkraut and/or mashed avocado. Yum!
Ground Turkey Soup: My older daughter and I thought this one up together... Take 2 pounds of ground turkey thigh meat, 1 onion chopped, 2-3 celery sticks for flavor (too fibrous to eat early on), Celtic sea salt to taste. Cover with chicken broth or filtered water, bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cook until all meat is done and celery is tender. Season with fresh parsley. Further along in full GAPS you can sauté the onions in ghee or coconut oil for more flavor and fat. You can also brown the meat first. Later, skip the soup and just eat the sautéed onions and browned turkey as is and served with sauerkraut and avocado, and lettuce, too. Be sure to drink sauerkraut juice and broth with meals. It is delicious this way.
Beef Soup is pretty easy, too: I cook a large roast in the crockpot with several soup bones to make meat broth. We eat the meat with veggies on the side for one meal and use the rest of the meat to make casserole or soup. Reserve whatever meat is left over to add to the soup once the veggies are cooked, 2 pounds carrots and 1 pound zucchini peeled and cut into large chunks, 1 pound frozen green beans, 8-12 oz sliced mushrooms, 1 onion chopped, 1-3 Tbs beef pâté made from the marrow and soft tissues/fat from the bones and roast, Celtic sea salt to taste. Cover with beef broth or filtered water, bring to a boil, simmer until veggies are cooked. Add meat back to the soup and serve. You can add some garlic, pepper corns or other fresh herbs for more flavor. Further along on full GAPS you can sauté the onions and mushrooms in ghee or coconut oil for more flavor and fat. To thicken, remove some of the veggies, before adding the meat back in, blend, and return to the soup.
You can turn any of the soups into casseroles by separating the broth from the meat and veggies with a strainer or a slotted spoon. If you use a strainer, you can drink the soup broth as a beverage. It is warm, delicious, soothing and healing. Put the meat and veggies in a casserole dish. Blend some of the veggies to pour over the top, drizzle with any fat, sprinkle with course sea salt, and bake for 30 minutes. You can cook cauliflower for your blended top layer. Later, you can drizzle with ghee and/or coconut oil. Use any veggies you like. We are rather limited in our choice of veggies, but you get the idea.
We like Hamburger Soup: I never measure or write things down. I am learning to just throw things together, so here goes... Let's take 2 pounds of ground beef, 2 pounds of carrots peeled and cut into chunks, one onion chopped, 1 pound of frozen green beans, beef broth or filtered water to cover, 1-3 Tbs beef pâté (made from the marrow and soft tissues blended up), 1-2 Tbs of Celtic sea salt. You can also season with fresh whole peppercorns, garlic, or any other fresh herb you like. Only use fresh herbs in the beginning. Bring to a boil and cook until carrots are soft. If you like a thick soup, you can blend some of the soup and add back to thicken (no flour needed). Further along in full GAPS you can sauté the onions and brown the meat in your favorite fat before putting them in the pot. Yum!
Chicken Soup is a weekly soup at our house: I boil chicken almost daily to make meat broth. We eat some and use the rest to add to soups or make pancakes/panpuffs, or whatever we can think of to make. We blend the skins to make a chicken pâté to add back to soups for flavor and thickening. We save the bones in the freezer and use them to make bone broth. Now that all of that is out of the way...let's take 2 pounds of carrots, 2 pounds of yellow squash and/or zucchini, 1 pound frozen green beans, 1 onion, 8-12 oz of sliced mushrooms, 1-3Tbs chicken pâté, 1 Tbs Celtic sea salt (or more to taste), chicken broth or filtered water to cover. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and cook until the veggies are done. Add cold cooked chicken to cool and serve. You can cook chicken in the soup, too. I like to add it at the end. You can also season with peppercorns from the beginning and/or parsley added near the end. Further along in full GAPS you can sauté onions and mushrooms in ghee or coconut oil for more flavor and fat. Serve with sauerkraut and/or mashed avocado. Yum!
Ground Turkey Soup: My older daughter and I thought this one up together... Take 2 pounds of ground turkey thigh meat, 1 onion chopped, 2-3 celery sticks for flavor (too fibrous to eat early on), Celtic sea salt to taste. Cover with chicken broth or filtered water, bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cook until all meat is done and celery is tender. Season with fresh parsley. Further along in full GAPS you can sauté the onions in ghee or coconut oil for more flavor and fat. You can also brown the meat first. Later, skip the soup and just eat the sautéed onions and browned turkey as is and served with sauerkraut and avocado, and lettuce, too. Be sure to drink sauerkraut juice and broth with meals. It is delicious this way.
Beef Soup is pretty easy, too: I cook a large roast in the crockpot with several soup bones to make meat broth. We eat the meat with veggies on the side for one meal and use the rest of the meat to make casserole or soup. Reserve whatever meat is left over to add to the soup once the veggies are cooked, 2 pounds carrots and 1 pound zucchini peeled and cut into large chunks, 1 pound frozen green beans, 8-12 oz sliced mushrooms, 1 onion chopped, 1-3 Tbs beef pâté made from the marrow and soft tissues/fat from the bones and roast, Celtic sea salt to taste. Cover with beef broth or filtered water, bring to a boil, simmer until veggies are cooked. Add meat back to the soup and serve. You can add some garlic, pepper corns or other fresh herbs for more flavor. Further along on full GAPS you can sauté the onions and mushrooms in ghee or coconut oil for more flavor and fat. To thicken, remove some of the veggies, before adding the meat back in, blend, and return to the soup.
You can turn any of the soups into casseroles by separating the broth from the meat and veggies with a strainer or a slotted spoon. If you use a strainer, you can drink the soup broth as a beverage. It is warm, delicious, soothing and healing. Put the meat and veggies in a casserole dish. Blend some of the veggies to pour over the top, drizzle with any fat, sprinkle with course sea salt, and bake for 30 minutes. You can cook cauliflower for your blended top layer. Later, you can drizzle with ghee and/or coconut oil. Use any veggies you like. We are rather limited in our choice of veggies, but you get the idea.
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