Written on 10/17
My feet remind me of the Good News of Christ and His sacrifice for us.
I have been struggling on and off for several weeks now. I have been fighting to capture every thought and make it obedient to Christ and it is not easy.
Last night I wanted to tell my DH all of the ways he could do things differently to make life better for me, which is totally backwards and wrong. I wanted to let him know that he offended me. To protect my marriage, I kept quiet. It was so hard to do. My body showed physical signs of upset at every turn. My breathing was labored as I tried to hold it all in and then I changed my thinking and calmed myself down. I relaxed and went to sleep without saying a word.
This morning, I noticed my feet while getting ready to hop into the shower. They are even younger looking than I ever remember them. The callouses are smaller and less painful than ever before. It is yet another small sign of healing. It is slow, but it is happening.
This path is very difficult at times and I sometimes feel frustrated and I want to give up (don't know where I would go), but every little improvement keeps me forging ahead.
Thank You, Lord, for a little reminder of the good things that are happening in our house. Thank You for Your Word, which is true in every way. Thank You for the power of Your Word in our lives. It is truly the Living Word. You are the Good News that we need every moment of every day.
My beautiful feet reminded me today how wonderful it is to know You because someone else took the time to bring me the Good News.
November 3, 2010
Diaper Talk
I'm waiting on some cloth diapers and inserts in varying sizes to arrive. I plan to put all of by bedwetters (4 of them) in cloth at night, since I am doing 1-2 loads of pee pee laundry a day anyway. The disposables don't hold, so even if the cloth leaks, it's no big deal with the bonus of never having to buy diapers and pull-ups again. (except for emergencies, like broken washing machines)
I may put the little one in cloth during the day, too.
I found these pocket trainers called Happy Heinys and they are comfy and cute and easy to use. I tried several others, but liked this one best. I can't wait for my order to arrive. Who ever would have guessed that I would get so excited over cloth diapers? I really am changing.
I may put the little one in cloth during the day, too.
I found these pocket trainers called Happy Heinys and they are comfy and cute and easy to use. I tried several others, but liked this one best. I can't wait for my order to arrive. Who ever would have guessed that I would get so excited over cloth diapers? I really am changing.
Potty Training Again
Celebration Time:
CKS, our 3yo, is finally potty training! Sadly, he has this horrible rash all over his body (cheeks, torso, and diaper area) and it is really irritated and red in the diaper area, so we put him in a big T-shirt only, or we let him run around naked. On day one he had several big wet accidents. On day two he had a few, but would stop it and finish in the potty AND he put poo in the potty! Today he only had one small accident AND he put poo in the potty TWICE!
This is SO great because he had started putting pee and poo in the potty just after his second birthday. I was very excited about this because this was earlier and easier than with any of the older three kids. He was practically training himself. Then he regressed and it all just stopped. I was swishing stinky, mushy, pooey training pants in the toilet too many times a day because he stopped putting anything in the potty. I gave up! 18 months later and we are back! Three great days! I pray it stays!
CKS, our 3yo, is finally potty training! Sadly, he has this horrible rash all over his body (cheeks, torso, and diaper area) and it is really irritated and red in the diaper area, so we put him in a big T-shirt only, or we let him run around naked. On day one he had several big wet accidents. On day two he had a few, but would stop it and finish in the potty AND he put poo in the potty! Today he only had one small accident AND he put poo in the potty TWICE!
This is SO great because he had started putting pee and poo in the potty just after his second birthday. I was very excited about this because this was earlier and easier than with any of the older three kids. He was practically training himself. Then he regressed and it all just stopped. I was swishing stinky, mushy, pooey training pants in the toilet too many times a day because he stopped putting anything in the potty. I gave up! 18 months later and we are back! Three great days! I pray it stays!
Poo Glorious Poo - Take Two
Time for the Poo Report:
Everyone is pooin' everyday. Yes, pretty nearly every day. I have not had to do any enemas for several months now. It's awesome!!!
The two little ones still have some undigested bits in their poo, but it has firmed up into a nice creamy consistency, sometimes sticky, and rarely watery.
The two who used to have orangy fall-apart poos with lots of undigested bits that looked like an explosion in the toilet several times a day are now having very nicely formed brown poos daily, most of the time.
The two of us who were chronically constipated, going for days between poos are pooin' nicely formed brown poos daily (almost, but at least every 36 hours - WooHoo!).
Everyone is pooin' everyday. Yes, pretty nearly every day. I have not had to do any enemas for several months now. It's awesome!!!
The two little ones still have some undigested bits in their poo, but it has firmed up into a nice creamy consistency, sometimes sticky, and rarely watery.
The two who used to have orangy fall-apart poos with lots of undigested bits that looked like an explosion in the toilet several times a day are now having very nicely formed brown poos daily, most of the time.
The two of us who were chronically constipated, going for days between poos are pooin' nicely formed brown poos daily (almost, but at least every 36 hours - WooHoo!).
October 27, 2010
It's a Roller Coaster Ride
Yep, it's a roller coaster ride. Up, down, up, down, but I don't care how I get there, so long as I get there. I'm talking about healing my children and giving them a chance at living a full, blessed, and abundant life. It is my hope that they will each come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior and that they would love Him and serve Him all the days of their lives.
I would opt for instant healing. I would love an immediate change, but I know that I would quickly forget and I would, we would, quickly fall back into old habits and routines and would probably take for granted the mighty work the Lord has done for us. This way of healing is changing so many things in all of us. I am grateful for the work that is being done. I am happy for who we are becoming. It is slow and arduous, but the changes will be lasting changes.
We are not there yet and we have some pretty ugly days here and there, but they are fewer and farther in between. These past few weeks (months?) have been difficult and trying at times, but there is much evidence of healing, too.
Evidence of healing:
Me - no more constipation (daily formed, normal brown poos); more energy; no more waking up sore and stiff (unless I overdo the salicylates); no more gas pains and tummy tenderness; feet look younger; acne gone; no more itchy skin; fungal infections on feet and on toenails gone; fingernails no longer split and peel; strange itchy circles on chest gone; gums no longer bleed when I floss; my drippy nose rarely drips anymore; no more headaches (I used to take Flonase or Nasacort nightly or I would get debilitating migraines); fewer panic attacks; depression only rarely rears it's ugly head but does not last for very long; I can eat egg yolks without getting asthma, hic-cups, or rage; I can eat nuts without getting asthma, itchy palms, or becoming overwhelmed and emotional (limited); I can eat berries without becoming overwhelmed and emotional (limited); I can eat berries without waking in the night frozen and in great pain; I am holding steady at a healthy weight (not too low despite the fact that I am nursing); I have been able to nurse my fifth baby on demand without experiencing the overabundant milk supply that caused frustrating issues and caused too much weight loss; I'm happier than I ever was; I am now capable of organizing and maintaining the house (cooking, cleaning, laundry); I can actually cook from scratch (before we started the Feingold diet 4-5 years ago, I could not boil water without burning it - ha ha); I can go hours between meals/snacks and still feel great; I'm sure there's more, but that sums it up pretty good. Challenges remaining - I still can not eat too many salicylates without getting rigid, irritable, and frustrated; I still can not tolerate more than a little bone broth, if that, without becoming angry; still working my probiotic dose up ever so slowly to a therapeutic dose; diet is still very limited (missing out on, garlic, spinach, broccoli, and cauliflower)
12yo - improved eye contact; improved memory; improved social skills; improved strength and coordination; sensory issues have become minimal (only bad when introducing new food, increasing probiotic, or when he's sick); eats with fork (less shoveling); less rigidity and fewer obsessive/addictive tendencies; fewer annoying habits (I will not list these); no more stinky behavior; handwriting is greatly improved; spelling is greatly improved; understanding of math concepts is greatly improved; ability to remember and utilize the basics is finally there (he was getting C's, D's, and F's in math and writing because of all the little mistakes that ultimately led to wrong answers, but now he is getting A's all around); he's now teachable; he learns new things quickly now (it used to take forever to teach him a new concept, even seemingly simple ones, and then they wouldn't always stick and I'd have to show him again and again; no longer oppositional or defiant; happy; good attitude; fewer stomach aches; fewer body aches; fewer trips to the bathroom (he used to live in the bathroom); daily formed, normal brown poos instead of 5-8 mushy messes with lots of undigested bits (glad you stayed for this bit of info?!?); headaches are now rare; actually likes school; he concentrates better; he can narrate what he's read soooooo much better now (he could not narrate before because he could not organize it and communicate it in a meaningful way; he plays well with his little brothers and is a great help with them; he can be trusted to make better decisions, better choices; understands things better; communicates better; does not repeat himself over and over and over anymore; does not ask the same questions over and over and over anymore because now he remembers that he asked and now he remembers the answer more often than not; no more croupy cough and constant clearing of throat; generally nicer to be around; no more meltdowns (rare); again, I'm sure there's more, but hey, if this was it, who could complain? Challenges remaining - still gets weak and feels generally bad in the mornings; gets headaches (but not as often as he used to get them); lately he has been dizzy and has been losing his balance (huh? GAPS related?); he has also started doing this weird eye thing where he looks surprised or scared, but at odd times. It can happen numerous times during a conversation. He is not aware that he is doing it; there are some other challenges, but I think I will move on. (update 11/7/10: not doing the weird eye thing anymore, short-lived during a period of die-off, whew!)
9yo - stopped flipping letters and numbers; stopped switching letters and numbers; started to read and now loves to read; tells me the letters don't jiggle and move off the page anymore; math became a breeze (subtraction and multiplication easy after struggling with simple addition for over a year before GAPS); happier; depression gone (used to wish she would die or had never been born); rages gone (still waiting on adding food that brought about some scary rages in the past); plays well with all of her siblings (used to absolutely hate her sister and used to just do mean things, liked making others scared of her); she is now an absolute dream child as she helps around the house, loves to do her schoolwork, and is so great at entertaining everyone and making everyone laugh; her artistic endeavors improve daily; constipation is gone and she poos daily at least once; eczema is gone; she can now eat fruit, nuts, and honey without itching (yeast, whole body general itchiness, and eczema); can eat eggs with yolks without rages; can tolerate some salicylate foods without reactions; fewer headaches; I'm sure there's more. Challenges remaining - bedwetting (but it's less since we added nuts); headaches (still too often).
6yo - rages stopped (only occasional when exposed to something like ink, paint, smells, chemicals); growing taller (she is super small, but has grown nearly 2 inches in the past year), gaining weight (33? Pounds to 40 pounds); does not hate the taste and smell of everything anymore (she actually loves to eat now); not as sensitive to textures anymore (example-she can eat the fat with her meat without gagging or throwing a fit, but still not her favorite); likes vegetables (used to hate all veggies); no longer whines; no longer cries about every little thing like it was the end of the world; happier for sure (smiles all the time); can actually eat some nut butter without getting too unbearably itchy (still a bit itchy, but we try not to push it past the point where she can't stand it); can now eat egg yolks with no reactions; learned to read with little effort on my part; math is coming super easy for her; learns things with little effort now (she used to give up before even trying); plays well with siblings; again, I'm sure there's more, but moving on. Challenges remaining - bedwetting (still soaked through every night); eczema, especially on forehead where she scratches until she bleeds; leg cramps still cause her lots of pain, particularly if we spend a lot of time outside (she will sometimes wake several times in the night crying. Thankfully, detox baths help a bit); diet is still limited for her and all of us.
3yo - he feels so much better overall and he is a happy boy most of the time; eye contact is much improved; language is developing normally (only slipping from time to time as we add food or increase a healing food or a probiotic; sometimes he is actually the most normal 3yo you will ever see and so intelligent, too; only rigid when adding or increasing foods or probiotics; only sensory seeking when adding or increasing foods or probiotics (loud, physical, bumping, ramming, squeezing, stomping, etc.); generally he is almost the happy, easy-going, independent little boy that he was before the vaccine injury; loves all of the food I make and serve (had previously tried to limit his diet to lemonade and cookies); coordination is back; can sometimes color beautifully in the lines (not bad for 3 1/2); knows most of his letters and all of his numbers through 12 (recognize, write, and sign); loves to read again; loves to do puzzles again; plays make believe games with his sisters; what appeared to be seizures is gone (virtually gone after 3weeks on a limited full GAPS and only resurfaced when we tried to introduce sulfur foods during the first year of the diet); no more grabbing at his eyes and crying in pain; no more odd stimming behaviors; poo is improving in texture and color with less undigested bits; whines less and uses good manners (responds well to do overs when he forgets to use good manners); more?!? Challenges remaining - still regresses a bit when adding/increasing healing foods and probiotics; still regresses when exposed to chemicals on skin or in the air (we have to be careful with him); still has undigested food in stool; still has skin rashes/eczema all over his body and really bad in his diaper area; still resists potty training and has yet to put poo in the potty since before the vaccine injury (he was training easily and on his own before he started to regress); still rigid about some things (example-he will only wear long jeans and a t-shirt no matter what the weather is like); still has days or weeks here and there where he just looks like he feels miserable and he doesn't want to go anywhere or do anything unless it is with mommy; that will do for listing challenges, but we have come a long way even with this long list of challenges.
18 month old - he is developing beautifully; he sleeps through the night; coordinated (can climb on anything and he does not fall); catches himself when he trips or stumbles over something and pretty much never hits his head on the floor; learning language right on track (I think); easy-going; happy; interactive and makes great eye-contact; loves to explore with other people who tell him what things are and show him how things work; plays nicely with his siblings and also plays well independently; he had food intolerances when he was born and I had to eliminate dairy and a few other things from my diet, but he seems to be tolerating all of the GAPS food well as it is introduced; his poos are beginning to form up more and more and there is less undigested food in his stool than earlier on. Challenges - none that I can think of. This child has not had any vaccinations to date.
Wow! That feels great to have put all of that down in writing! Knowing how far we have come and seeing that we are indeed healing is what keeps me going on the days where it all feels overwhelming and too much (which of course are the days when I am having a reaction to something). We really are healing! I have to shout out praise to my God who heard me when I called out to him in desperation. He heard my prayer and He answered me! He gives me what I need.
Like I said before, God has the power to heal in an instant, but I know my heart and the heart of my children and we wanted to be healed so that we could be like everyone else and live a life of comparative ease. I am grateful for all that we are learning on this journey. We are healing slowly. We are changing slowly. The changes in us are permanent and I am glad!
How do I wrap this up? I am so full of joy right now I don't want to stop! I pray that this is encouraging for others on a similar path of healing. May God bless all who have visited my blog and read any of my entries. Amen!
I would opt for instant healing. I would love an immediate change, but I know that I would quickly forget and I would, we would, quickly fall back into old habits and routines and would probably take for granted the mighty work the Lord has done for us. This way of healing is changing so many things in all of us. I am grateful for the work that is being done. I am happy for who we are becoming. It is slow and arduous, but the changes will be lasting changes.
We are not there yet and we have some pretty ugly days here and there, but they are fewer and farther in between. These past few weeks (months?) have been difficult and trying at times, but there is much evidence of healing, too.
Evidence of healing:
Me - no more constipation (daily formed, normal brown poos); more energy; no more waking up sore and stiff (unless I overdo the salicylates); no more gas pains and tummy tenderness; feet look younger; acne gone; no more itchy skin; fungal infections on feet and on toenails gone; fingernails no longer split and peel; strange itchy circles on chest gone; gums no longer bleed when I floss; my drippy nose rarely drips anymore; no more headaches (I used to take Flonase or Nasacort nightly or I would get debilitating migraines); fewer panic attacks; depression only rarely rears it's ugly head but does not last for very long; I can eat egg yolks without getting asthma, hic-cups, or rage; I can eat nuts without getting asthma, itchy palms, or becoming overwhelmed and emotional (limited); I can eat berries without becoming overwhelmed and emotional (limited); I can eat berries without waking in the night frozen and in great pain; I am holding steady at a healthy weight (not too low despite the fact that I am nursing); I have been able to nurse my fifth baby on demand without experiencing the overabundant milk supply that caused frustrating issues and caused too much weight loss; I'm happier than I ever was; I am now capable of organizing and maintaining the house (cooking, cleaning, laundry); I can actually cook from scratch (before we started the Feingold diet 4-5 years ago, I could not boil water without burning it - ha ha); I can go hours between meals/snacks and still feel great; I'm sure there's more, but that sums it up pretty good. Challenges remaining - I still can not eat too many salicylates without getting rigid, irritable, and frustrated; I still can not tolerate more than a little bone broth, if that, without becoming angry; still working my probiotic dose up ever so slowly to a therapeutic dose; diet is still very limited (missing out on, garlic, spinach, broccoli, and cauliflower)
12yo - improved eye contact; improved memory; improved social skills; improved strength and coordination; sensory issues have become minimal (only bad when introducing new food, increasing probiotic, or when he's sick); eats with fork (less shoveling); less rigidity and fewer obsessive/addictive tendencies; fewer annoying habits (I will not list these); no more stinky behavior; handwriting is greatly improved; spelling is greatly improved; understanding of math concepts is greatly improved; ability to remember and utilize the basics is finally there (he was getting C's, D's, and F's in math and writing because of all the little mistakes that ultimately led to wrong answers, but now he is getting A's all around); he's now teachable; he learns new things quickly now (it used to take forever to teach him a new concept, even seemingly simple ones, and then they wouldn't always stick and I'd have to show him again and again; no longer oppositional or defiant; happy; good attitude; fewer stomach aches; fewer body aches; fewer trips to the bathroom (he used to live in the bathroom); daily formed, normal brown poos instead of 5-8 mushy messes with lots of undigested bits (glad you stayed for this bit of info?!?); headaches are now rare; actually likes school; he concentrates better; he can narrate what he's read soooooo much better now (he could not narrate before because he could not organize it and communicate it in a meaningful way; he plays well with his little brothers and is a great help with them; he can be trusted to make better decisions, better choices; understands things better; communicates better; does not repeat himself over and over and over anymore; does not ask the same questions over and over and over anymore because now he remembers that he asked and now he remembers the answer more often than not; no more croupy cough and constant clearing of throat; generally nicer to be around; no more meltdowns (rare); again, I'm sure there's more, but hey, if this was it, who could complain? Challenges remaining - still gets weak and feels generally bad in the mornings; gets headaches (but not as often as he used to get them); lately he has been dizzy and has been losing his balance (huh? GAPS related?); he has also started doing this weird eye thing where he looks surprised or scared, but at odd times. It can happen numerous times during a conversation. He is not aware that he is doing it; there are some other challenges, but I think I will move on. (update 11/7/10: not doing the weird eye thing anymore, short-lived during a period of die-off, whew!)
9yo - stopped flipping letters and numbers; stopped switching letters and numbers; started to read and now loves to read; tells me the letters don't jiggle and move off the page anymore; math became a breeze (subtraction and multiplication easy after struggling with simple addition for over a year before GAPS); happier; depression gone (used to wish she would die or had never been born); rages gone (still waiting on adding food that brought about some scary rages in the past); plays well with all of her siblings (used to absolutely hate her sister and used to just do mean things, liked making others scared of her); she is now an absolute dream child as she helps around the house, loves to do her schoolwork, and is so great at entertaining everyone and making everyone laugh; her artistic endeavors improve daily; constipation is gone and she poos daily at least once; eczema is gone; she can now eat fruit, nuts, and honey without itching (yeast, whole body general itchiness, and eczema); can eat eggs with yolks without rages; can tolerate some salicylate foods without reactions; fewer headaches; I'm sure there's more. Challenges remaining - bedwetting (but it's less since we added nuts); headaches (still too often).
6yo - rages stopped (only occasional when exposed to something like ink, paint, smells, chemicals); growing taller (she is super small, but has grown nearly 2 inches in the past year), gaining weight (33? Pounds to 40 pounds); does not hate the taste and smell of everything anymore (she actually loves to eat now); not as sensitive to textures anymore (example-she can eat the fat with her meat without gagging or throwing a fit, but still not her favorite); likes vegetables (used to hate all veggies); no longer whines; no longer cries about every little thing like it was the end of the world; happier for sure (smiles all the time); can actually eat some nut butter without getting too unbearably itchy (still a bit itchy, but we try not to push it past the point where she can't stand it); can now eat egg yolks with no reactions; learned to read with little effort on my part; math is coming super easy for her; learns things with little effort now (she used to give up before even trying); plays well with siblings; again, I'm sure there's more, but moving on. Challenges remaining - bedwetting (still soaked through every night); eczema, especially on forehead where she scratches until she bleeds; leg cramps still cause her lots of pain, particularly if we spend a lot of time outside (she will sometimes wake several times in the night crying. Thankfully, detox baths help a bit); diet is still limited for her and all of us.
3yo - he feels so much better overall and he is a happy boy most of the time; eye contact is much improved; language is developing normally (only slipping from time to time as we add food or increase a healing food or a probiotic; sometimes he is actually the most normal 3yo you will ever see and so intelligent, too; only rigid when adding or increasing foods or probiotics; only sensory seeking when adding or increasing foods or probiotics (loud, physical, bumping, ramming, squeezing, stomping, etc.); generally he is almost the happy, easy-going, independent little boy that he was before the vaccine injury; loves all of the food I make and serve (had previously tried to limit his diet to lemonade and cookies); coordination is back; can sometimes color beautifully in the lines (not bad for 3 1/2); knows most of his letters and all of his numbers through 12 (recognize, write, and sign); loves to read again; loves to do puzzles again; plays make believe games with his sisters; what appeared to be seizures is gone (virtually gone after 3weeks on a limited full GAPS and only resurfaced when we tried to introduce sulfur foods during the first year of the diet); no more grabbing at his eyes and crying in pain; no more odd stimming behaviors; poo is improving in texture and color with less undigested bits; whines less and uses good manners (responds well to do overs when he forgets to use good manners); more?!? Challenges remaining - still regresses a bit when adding/increasing healing foods and probiotics; still regresses when exposed to chemicals on skin or in the air (we have to be careful with him); still has undigested food in stool; still has skin rashes/eczema all over his body and really bad in his diaper area; still resists potty training and has yet to put poo in the potty since before the vaccine injury (he was training easily and on his own before he started to regress); still rigid about some things (example-he will only wear long jeans and a t-shirt no matter what the weather is like); still has days or weeks here and there where he just looks like he feels miserable and he doesn't want to go anywhere or do anything unless it is with mommy; that will do for listing challenges, but we have come a long way even with this long list of challenges.
18 month old - he is developing beautifully; he sleeps through the night; coordinated (can climb on anything and he does not fall); catches himself when he trips or stumbles over something and pretty much never hits his head on the floor; learning language right on track (I think); easy-going; happy; interactive and makes great eye-contact; loves to explore with other people who tell him what things are and show him how things work; plays nicely with his siblings and also plays well independently; he had food intolerances when he was born and I had to eliminate dairy and a few other things from my diet, but he seems to be tolerating all of the GAPS food well as it is introduced; his poos are beginning to form up more and more and there is less undigested food in his stool than earlier on. Challenges - none that I can think of. This child has not had any vaccinations to date.
Wow! That feels great to have put all of that down in writing! Knowing how far we have come and seeing that we are indeed healing is what keeps me going on the days where it all feels overwhelming and too much (which of course are the days when I am having a reaction to something). We really are healing! I have to shout out praise to my God who heard me when I called out to him in desperation. He heard my prayer and He answered me! He gives me what I need.
Like I said before, God has the power to heal in an instant, but I know my heart and the heart of my children and we wanted to be healed so that we could be like everyone else and live a life of comparative ease. I am grateful for all that we are learning on this journey. We are healing slowly. We are changing slowly. The changes in us are permanent and I am glad!
How do I wrap this up? I am so full of joy right now I don't want to stop! I pray that this is encouraging for others on a similar path of healing. May God bless all who have visited my blog and read any of my entries. Amen!
October 16, 2010
What We Ate Today
It has been a while since I documented what we have been eating. It got pretty boring there for awhile and some might say it is still boring, but we are actually very satisfied for the time being. Thankfully, my children LOVE good healthy food now.
We start the day by drinking warm filtered water with sea salt added. We take our Bio-Kult, and then we juice carrots and a little celery. Everyone gets their fermented cod liver oil with their carrot juice. The two little ones like it mixed and we call it 'tuna salad in a cup'.
We usually have chicken and a veggie for lunch. I have to boil chicken every day to have enough broth for all six of us since we can not yet tolerate bone broth. I put the veggies on the plates and let them cool a bit before I add coconut oil and olive oil. We put some chicken on every plate and a bit of sauerkraut. Everyone drinks some lemon water with Natural Calm mixed in, about 4 tablespoons of sauerkraut juice, and half a mug of broth before they eat what is on their plates. Sometimes I serve some avocado, too. Oh, yes, and we mix about 2 teaspoons of egg yolk into each cup of broth for this meal only because I am limited in the amount of farm fresh eggs I have access to each week.
Today we had leftover chicken soup and leftover peas for lunch, instead of chicken and a veggie. It's pretty much the same food, only served in a different way and I didn't have to cook chicken or strain any broth today. Yay! We still had all of the oils and egg yolks and sauerkraut, too.
Snack was leftover pork and onions cooked in coconut oil and leftover squash fries and a spoonful of nut butter for my son who had a LEGO robotics meeting from 1-5. The rest of us had a tiny piece of GAPS bread, a small bit of butter, a spoonful of nut butter, and a small bit of scrambled eggs cooked in ghee. Yum!
Dinner today was leftovers, as well. It's nice to have one day a week with minimal food prep. We had some buffalo stew (stew meat, carrots, green beans, onions cooked in coconut oil, and sea salt). We had some leftover beef casserole. I cooked some of the leftover green beans with a little ghee and coconut oil. I put cold peas on the table and several blended veggies and soups. I blend lots of things for the little ones. It keeps the undigested bits at a minimum and they actually like it better this way. Our littlest one calls it squash and is always shoving his plate at me shouting, "Squash! Squash!"
So that's it, except for the fruit and nuts I ate after the kids went to bed. Shhh!
We start the day by drinking warm filtered water with sea salt added. We take our Bio-Kult, and then we juice carrots and a little celery. Everyone gets their fermented cod liver oil with their carrot juice. The two little ones like it mixed and we call it 'tuna salad in a cup'.
We usually have chicken and a veggie for lunch. I have to boil chicken every day to have enough broth for all six of us since we can not yet tolerate bone broth. I put the veggies on the plates and let them cool a bit before I add coconut oil and olive oil. We put some chicken on every plate and a bit of sauerkraut. Everyone drinks some lemon water with Natural Calm mixed in, about 4 tablespoons of sauerkraut juice, and half a mug of broth before they eat what is on their plates. Sometimes I serve some avocado, too. Oh, yes, and we mix about 2 teaspoons of egg yolk into each cup of broth for this meal only because I am limited in the amount of farm fresh eggs I have access to each week.
Today we had leftover chicken soup and leftover peas for lunch, instead of chicken and a veggie. It's pretty much the same food, only served in a different way and I didn't have to cook chicken or strain any broth today. Yay! We still had all of the oils and egg yolks and sauerkraut, too.
Snack was leftover pork and onions cooked in coconut oil and leftover squash fries and a spoonful of nut butter for my son who had a LEGO robotics meeting from 1-5. The rest of us had a tiny piece of GAPS bread, a small bit of butter, a spoonful of nut butter, and a small bit of scrambled eggs cooked in ghee. Yum!
Dinner today was leftovers, as well. It's nice to have one day a week with minimal food prep. We had some buffalo stew (stew meat, carrots, green beans, onions cooked in coconut oil, and sea salt). We had some leftover beef casserole. I cooked some of the leftover green beans with a little ghee and coconut oil. I put cold peas on the table and several blended veggies and soups. I blend lots of things for the little ones. It keeps the undigested bits at a minimum and they actually like it better this way. Our littlest one calls it squash and is always shoving his plate at me shouting, "Squash! Squash!"
So that's it, except for the fruit and nuts I ate after the kids went to bed. Shhh!
October 14, 2010
Happy Thoughts
We are fearfully and wonderfully made. One of the things that drives me and keeps me following this GAPS protocol, even when things seem so hard at times, is my faith in God. He made us. I don't want to put poisons or unnatural things into our bodies anymore. I want to do things His way.
God's Word tells us often to think happy thoughts. We are to love our enemies (an active love, not an emotional feeling). We are to show kindness to those who treat us in unkind ways. We are told to give up our anger, bitterness, and rage, and we are to be kind and compassionate to one another. We are to let go of our anxiety and PRAY about everything, with thanksgiving. We are to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. Then, the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.
During my fifth pregnancy, I experienced a lot of contractions, as is usual for me. I trusted in God that they were fine. (it's a long story made short) when I started having more and more, which I later tied to medicine I was using, I figured I should err on the side of caution and check everything out. We went to the midwives to be checked. They freaked out about the strength and number of contractions I was having. I tried to stay calm, but I eventually believed their worries could be for real and I became worried, too. Everything got worse and more painful because of my fear. I was only 28 weeks along. It felt like labor (5th baby, I know what labor feels like). Meds did not stop the contractions. I called my friend who prayed for me and believed that the contractions would stop. I rested in her faith and I again trusted in God to keep my baby safe until his due time. The contractions slowed down and I did not have to go back to the hospital. I spent the next month or so on bed rest. I used that time to study God's Word and practice trusting in Him. The contractions became less intense and less frequent the more I trusted in God. When I got up to serve my family, believing that serving my family is what God wanted me to do, I had beautiful fulfilling days with very few contractions. My baby was born at 38 weeks.
One thing that I learned while preparing for childbirth that has really stuck with me is that fear is the opposite of faith. It is true.
I did a little experiment this morning. I woke up feeling a bit better. My ring was only mildly tight. I thought happy thoughts and my ring slid off of my finger easily. I mused on negative thoughts and purposed to focus on my pain. My ring got tight and my body hurt. I purposed to think good thoughts and think about my body working the way it should, my heart pumping efficiently, my lungs drawing in enough air, my body utilizing everything the way it should. My ring slid off more easily and my body felt less swollen. I did this a number of times.
Thoughts and words are powerful! There is POWER in the Word of our God because His Word is true. I know this is true. I am going to explore this more and more. I am excited about what this day holds for us.
Thank You, God, for Your Word, which is true from beginning to end. Thank You, Lord, for Your guidance. Thank You for this life that You have granted us. Thank You for this day that You have made. I WILL rejoice and be glad in it!!!
God's Word tells us often to think happy thoughts. We are to love our enemies (an active love, not an emotional feeling). We are to show kindness to those who treat us in unkind ways. We are told to give up our anger, bitterness, and rage, and we are to be kind and compassionate to one another. We are to let go of our anxiety and PRAY about everything, with thanksgiving. We are to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. Then, the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.
During my fifth pregnancy, I experienced a lot of contractions, as is usual for me. I trusted in God that they were fine. (it's a long story made short) when I started having more and more, which I later tied to medicine I was using, I figured I should err on the side of caution and check everything out. We went to the midwives to be checked. They freaked out about the strength and number of contractions I was having. I tried to stay calm, but I eventually believed their worries could be for real and I became worried, too. Everything got worse and more painful because of my fear. I was only 28 weeks along. It felt like labor (5th baby, I know what labor feels like). Meds did not stop the contractions. I called my friend who prayed for me and believed that the contractions would stop. I rested in her faith and I again trusted in God to keep my baby safe until his due time. The contractions slowed down and I did not have to go back to the hospital. I spent the next month or so on bed rest. I used that time to study God's Word and practice trusting in Him. The contractions became less intense and less frequent the more I trusted in God. When I got up to serve my family, believing that serving my family is what God wanted me to do, I had beautiful fulfilling days with very few contractions. My baby was born at 38 weeks.
One thing that I learned while preparing for childbirth that has really stuck with me is that fear is the opposite of faith. It is true.
I did a little experiment this morning. I woke up feeling a bit better. My ring was only mildly tight. I thought happy thoughts and my ring slid off of my finger easily. I mused on negative thoughts and purposed to focus on my pain. My ring got tight and my body hurt. I purposed to think good thoughts and think about my body working the way it should, my heart pumping efficiently, my lungs drawing in enough air, my body utilizing everything the way it should. My ring slid off more easily and my body felt less swollen. I did this a number of times.
Thoughts and words are powerful! There is POWER in the Word of our God because His Word is true. I know this is true. I am going to explore this more and more. I am excited about what this day holds for us.
Thank You, God, for Your Word, which is true from beginning to end. Thank You, Lord, for Your guidance. Thank You for this life that You have granted us. Thank You for this day that You have made. I WILL rejoice and be glad in it!!!
October 13, 2010
Too Many Salicylates
I think my troubles are caused by too many salicylates. Why? Because we were all extremely sensitive to salicylates before GAPS and early on in GAPS.
How did salicylates affect us? Physical pain, body aches and pains, emotional upset, frustration, melt-downs, anger, rages.
What am I struggling with now? The same.
The first time we tried to add coconut oil was painful. It took three attempts to get it in and we had to go slow. Adding nuts was slow and painful. Berries gave me problems at first. I think we are having a little everyday and that is why we are all having troubles together and I have been eating more than the kids so I have been more affected.
I am going to back off of the nuts. I went a little crazy with the nuts. I am happy that they no longer cause any asthma or eczema, but I guess they still can affect me emotionally if I eat too many.
How did salicylates affect us? Physical pain, body aches and pains, emotional upset, frustration, melt-downs, anger, rages.
What am I struggling with now? The same.
The first time we tried to add coconut oil was painful. It took three attempts to get it in and we had to go slow. Adding nuts was slow and painful. Berries gave me problems at first. I think we are having a little everyday and that is why we are all having troubles together and I have been eating more than the kids so I have been more affected.
I am going to back off of the nuts. I went a little crazy with the nuts. I am happy that they no longer cause any asthma or eczema, but I guess they still can affect me emotionally if I eat too many.
A Good Day
Today was amazing! Maybe it was because I got more sleep, albeit a fitful sleep. Maybe it was because we did not add any bone broth to our broth today. Maybe it was because I did not snack on nuts last night and only had a small bit of nut butter and GAPS bread with my kids. Maybe it was just a good day.
We accomplished all of our cooking, laundry, schoolwork, cleaning, detox baths, prep for tomorrow, and even had friends over to play and played a few games before bedtime. Yay! Oh, if everyday could be like today.
We accomplished all of our cooking, laundry, schoolwork, cleaning, detox baths, prep for tomorrow, and even had friends over to play and played a few games before bedtime. Yay! Oh, if everyday could be like today.
More Sleep and Still Swollen
I took a little nap on the couch. Still fitful. I still feel every bit of my body. My hands, and it feels like my whole body, are even more swollen. Could it be that I use too much salt? I do use a LOT of salt? Hmm.
A Good Night's Sleep
I finally had a day where I got it all done and I went to bed at 9:30PM. It felt wonderful to go to bed so early. I even got eight hours of fitfull sleep.
Admittedly, I didn't really get it all done. We did absolutely NO schoolwork yesterday. I was fighting irritability all day. I couldn't read with and pray with my older children before bed because I just felt so very off and irritable, so my DH put them to bed.
Her I am, awake very early, and my body feels awful. I can feel every bit of myself. My fingers are swollen. I can tell because my ring is tight. It feels like the whole rest of my body is swollen, too. I feel that laying down horizontally for any length of time is not good for me. This is why I am not ever in a hurry to get to bed. I like the quiet of night and I hate the way I feel when I wake up for the day.
Something is wrong, but I don't know what. I am considering going to see a doctor to find out if I am particularly deficient in some important vitamin or mineral. I was extremely low in vitamin D a few years back and I am not sure if I ever got that resolved. Since then, I have been pregnant, I have been nursing, and I have been on GAPS for over a year. I used to take D vitamins and I am now taking fermented cod liver oil and am spending time out in the sun. My worst days have been these days where I am getting more sunshine. I am sure there is a connection.
I am glad to have this quiet time in the morning to think things through. Everyone will be up soon. I pray that I will have strength to keep it all together today. Lord, make it so.
Admittedly, I didn't really get it all done. We did absolutely NO schoolwork yesterday. I was fighting irritability all day. I couldn't read with and pray with my older children before bed because I just felt so very off and irritable, so my DH put them to bed.
Her I am, awake very early, and my body feels awful. I can feel every bit of myself. My fingers are swollen. I can tell because my ring is tight. It feels like the whole rest of my body is swollen, too. I feel that laying down horizontally for any length of time is not good for me. This is why I am not ever in a hurry to get to bed. I like the quiet of night and I hate the way I feel when I wake up for the day.
Something is wrong, but I don't know what. I am considering going to see a doctor to find out if I am particularly deficient in some important vitamin or mineral. I was extremely low in vitamin D a few years back and I am not sure if I ever got that resolved. Since then, I have been pregnant, I have been nursing, and I have been on GAPS for over a year. I used to take D vitamins and I am now taking fermented cod liver oil and am spending time out in the sun. My worst days have been these days where I am getting more sunshine. I am sure there is a connection.
I am glad to have this quiet time in the morning to think things through. Everyone will be up soon. I pray that I will have strength to keep it all together today. Lord, make it so.
October 12, 2010
Late To Bed and Up Twice
I am just putting our six year old back to bed for the third time tonight. Leg cramps! We played at the park today with Daddy who was off for Columbus Day. Lots of fun, but here we are again with the leg cramps. I really wish I knew what caused it and how to fix it. Lord, please help us.
Baths help, but not for long. She wakes up crying. Nothing works. We put her in the bath and she is better after a short bit. We put her back to bed. She goes to sleep, I think. Later she is crying again. We put her in the bath. She's fine again. Back to bed. Hopefully this will be the last time. I am glad I stayed up late tonight, but now I am falling asleep while typing. I had better go to bed soon.
Baths help, but not for long. She wakes up crying. Nothing works. We put her in the bath and she is better after a short bit. We put her back to bed. She goes to sleep, I think. Later she is crying again. We put her in the bath. She's fine again. Back to bed. Hopefully this will be the last time. I am glad I stayed up late tonight, but now I am falling asleep while typing. I had better go to bed soon.
Still Wetting the Bed
I still have four out of five kids wetting the bed at night, and we are not talking about a little bit of pee. We are talking about big-time heavy wetters. Everyone of them soaks through their pull-ups/diapers nearly every night!!! We do 1-3 loads of pee pee laundry a day plus 2 loads of regular laundry a day. My six and nine year olds sleep on crib mattresses on the floor because they are smaller than twin beds and so the bedding is less. They use blankets as pillows because we have ruined way to many blankets. So we have four crib mattresses in the house. (one crib, one toddler bed, two mattresses on the floor)
We spend a lot of money on disposable diapers, which I have always hated doing anyway, so we are looking into cloth diapers and trainers. I bought three and we have been trying them out. I found a youth cloth diaper for my oldest bed wetter, but it seems to be a bit too big. I bought a diaper called the Bum Genius, that I really thought I was going to love, but it is not working out. I am trying it on our littlest one tonight. I found training pants with a pocket for stuffing soakers and snaps on the sides for easy removal when wet or soiled. It is my favorite. I think they may have a size large enough for my older girls, too. I figure, even if they do leak, I am doing laundry anyway because the disposables aren't holding either so I may as well invest and wash the cloth diapers with the sheets and pee pads.
Something to be happy about is that since we added the nuts into the kids diets, two of them have had some dry nights and the others are wetting a little less, too. Go figure!
Which is worse, eczema or bedwetting? Here is where it gets tricky. What to do, what to do about those nuts!?!
We spend a lot of money on disposable diapers, which I have always hated doing anyway, so we are looking into cloth diapers and trainers. I bought three and we have been trying them out. I found a youth cloth diaper for my oldest bed wetter, but it seems to be a bit too big. I bought a diaper called the Bum Genius, that I really thought I was going to love, but it is not working out. I am trying it on our littlest one tonight. I found training pants with a pocket for stuffing soakers and snaps on the sides for easy removal when wet or soiled. It is my favorite. I think they may have a size large enough for my older girls, too. I figure, even if they do leak, I am doing laundry anyway because the disposables aren't holding either so I may as well invest and wash the cloth diapers with the sheets and pee pads.
Something to be happy about is that since we added the nuts into the kids diets, two of them have had some dry nights and the others are wetting a little less, too. Go figure!
Which is worse, eczema or bedwetting? Here is where it gets tricky. What to do, what to do about those nuts!?!
Playing Outside Leads to Leg Cramps
One thing I can pretty well count on is my daughter having leg cramps if we spend any significant amount of time outside in the sun. I used to get really bad leg cramps a few hours after going to bed, too. I wonder what causes this. This child has had leg cramps since she was at least 6 months old. She would wake up every few hours and just cry and grab at her leg. Nothing made her feel better. Laying her down and letting her cry it out was not an option, as she was obviously in pain. It was not just a habit to wake. Anyway, so sunshine brings on leg cramps. I want to know why!!!
It seems like everything that is good for us, everything that is supposed to be so healing, causes us grief. I guess it is because we are in need of so much healing.
It seems like everything that is good for us, everything that is supposed to be so healing, causes us grief. I guess it is because we are in need of so much healing.
Nuts Again
Oh, we are all just delighted to be eating nuts again, and nut butter pancakes, and now GAPS bread made from nuts and squash and eggs.
However, our six year old is getting eczema again and I think it may be from the nuts. (coincidentally, of course, we added nut butter right at the same time she finished taking the S. boulardi) It is very difficult to coordinate everything for six of us and keep it all straight. I am pretty sure it is the nuts, though. I am giving her smaller amounts and the itching is less. She scratches at her forehead until she gets scabs and she has fits of frustration because of the itching. It is sad to see. If it weren't for the fits, I would not worry about it too much, but we all have to get along and she can't do anything productive or have any fun in a day if she is having fits all day. CKS has itchy rashes on his bum and on both cheeks, but it does not cause him to have fits, although he has been a bit more clingy and needy these past few weeks.
I've been eating nut all along, so nuts are not new to me and are not the source of my mood swings. Hmm.
However, our six year old is getting eczema again and I think it may be from the nuts. (coincidentally, of course, we added nut butter right at the same time she finished taking the S. boulardi) It is very difficult to coordinate everything for six of us and keep it all straight. I am pretty sure it is the nuts, though. I am giving her smaller amounts and the itching is less. She scratches at her forehead until she gets scabs and she has fits of frustration because of the itching. It is sad to see. If it weren't for the fits, I would not worry about it too much, but we all have to get along and she can't do anything productive or have any fun in a day if she is having fits all day. CKS has itchy rashes on his bum and on both cheeks, but it does not cause him to have fits, although he has been a bit more clingy and needy these past few weeks.
I've been eating nut all along, so nuts are not new to me and are not the source of my mood swings. Hmm.
Reactions - to what???
I have everything in the world to be thankful for, so why do I feel sad, frustrated, irritable, and just plain blah? I know it's because I am a classic GAPS person. My feelings are totally NOT situational. My feelings are coming from the inside, not from outside circumstances.
Since I started all of this diet stuff, I have had days where everything went wrong, but I could handle it all and more. I have had days where things are really going quite well and I feel as if the world is falling apart around me.
Right now, my head knows that things are really going quite well, but I can only seem to focus on all of the little things that are not going right. When I say little things, I mean little things like kids getting distracted and forgetting to finish a task, or a bed sloppily made, or books put in the wrong place.
Oh, just this past week I had a friend over on Thursday and her baby was pulling at some notecards I have taped to the wall. I told my friend to please not let him pull the card off of the wall. I knew I would feel so irritated by it if it happened. The next day, she came to visit again and he did pull one off the wall and it didn't bother me a bit. I told her it was no big deal. I could just get a piece of tape and tape it back up. It is so ridiculous to me that something so simple as getting a piece of tape could seem like a huge inconvenience one day and no big deal the next day.
Some days, everything seems SOOOOOO HARD! Other days, I am on top of everything and it seems as if I can juggle a hundred things at once and it is even challenging and fun.
I had so many good days and now it is up and down for two to three weeks and I am not sure from day to day what to expect. I think it is the bone broth, but I am not sure. It could be that we are using a lot more coconut oil and ghee. We added nut bread this week, but this has been going on for longer than that. Eggs???
So what I don't know is whether or not I should stop the two small teaspoons of bone broth a day (this is total for the whole family) or push through on this one. After three weeks, I just don't know.
Oh, bother! It could be egg yolks. We were without eggs for a week and had to introduce them again. Maybe we introduced them too fast this time, but CKS is relatively OK, behaviorally and emotionally.
I think it could be that we suddenly started using lots of coconut oil when we started to make chicken and nut butter pancakes because they are "oh so good" when cooked with coconut oil.
Everyone is having symptoms of one kind or another these days and I think it may be the coconut oil because CKS has itchy rashes on his bum and on his cheeks that flare up at every meal. Maybe I should try to have one meal without coconut oil and see if his cheeks will NOT turn bright red. Hmm. I think I will try this tomorrow. No coconut oil for CKS.
If things do not settle out for me by the end of the week, I think we will quit the bone broth. I really, REALLY want to be able to make and serve bone broth. It is soooo healing. It has calcium. We need calcium.
OK. Enough rambling. Done!
Since I started all of this diet stuff, I have had days where everything went wrong, but I could handle it all and more. I have had days where things are really going quite well and I feel as if the world is falling apart around me.
Right now, my head knows that things are really going quite well, but I can only seem to focus on all of the little things that are not going right. When I say little things, I mean little things like kids getting distracted and forgetting to finish a task, or a bed sloppily made, or books put in the wrong place.
Oh, just this past week I had a friend over on Thursday and her baby was pulling at some notecards I have taped to the wall. I told my friend to please not let him pull the card off of the wall. I knew I would feel so irritated by it if it happened. The next day, she came to visit again and he did pull one off the wall and it didn't bother me a bit. I told her it was no big deal. I could just get a piece of tape and tape it back up. It is so ridiculous to me that something so simple as getting a piece of tape could seem like a huge inconvenience one day and no big deal the next day.
Some days, everything seems SOOOOOO HARD! Other days, I am on top of everything and it seems as if I can juggle a hundred things at once and it is even challenging and fun.
I had so many good days and now it is up and down for two to three weeks and I am not sure from day to day what to expect. I think it is the bone broth, but I am not sure. It could be that we are using a lot more coconut oil and ghee. We added nut bread this week, but this has been going on for longer than that. Eggs???
So what I don't know is whether or not I should stop the two small teaspoons of bone broth a day (this is total for the whole family) or push through on this one. After three weeks, I just don't know.
Oh, bother! It could be egg yolks. We were without eggs for a week and had to introduce them again. Maybe we introduced them too fast this time, but CKS is relatively OK, behaviorally and emotionally.
I think it could be that we suddenly started using lots of coconut oil when we started to make chicken and nut butter pancakes because they are "oh so good" when cooked with coconut oil.
Everyone is having symptoms of one kind or another these days and I think it may be the coconut oil because CKS has itchy rashes on his bum and on his cheeks that flare up at every meal. Maybe I should try to have one meal without coconut oil and see if his cheeks will NOT turn bright red. Hmm. I think I will try this tomorrow. No coconut oil for CKS.
If things do not settle out for me by the end of the week, I think we will quit the bone broth. I really, REALLY want to be able to make and serve bone broth. It is soooo healing. It has calcium. We need calcium.
OK. Enough rambling. Done!
October 10, 2010
Math Genius (times two)
CKS is a little math genius!
He's 3 1/2 years old and quite precocious.
He's been impressing everyone with his newfound math skills. He knows 1+1=2 & 2+2=4 & 1+2=3. Not impressed yet?!?
He knows 3+3=6 & 4+4=8 & 5+5=10 & 5+1=6 & 5+2=7.
He also likes to tell us that 1&1&1&1 is four. Sharp kid! What do you think?
KES, 6 years old, is also doing quite well in math. She just gets it and she is flying through her math book. She understands the concept of multiplication and can figure out basic multiplication problems in her head. (just like her older brother)
My older two are also doing great! Math is one of their favorite subjects, along with journal writing, history, geography, and science.
School is so much smoother and easier this year than ever before. I am so happy about this.
He's 3 1/2 years old and quite precocious.
He's been impressing everyone with his newfound math skills. He knows 1+1=2 & 2+2=4 & 1+2=3. Not impressed yet?!?
He knows 3+3=6 & 4+4=8 & 5+5=10 & 5+1=6 & 5+2=7.
He also likes to tell us that 1&1&1&1 is four. Sharp kid! What do you think?
KES, 6 years old, is also doing quite well in math. She just gets it and she is flying through her math book. She understands the concept of multiplication and can figure out basic multiplication problems in her head. (just like her older brother)
My older two are also doing great! Math is one of their favorite subjects, along with journal writing, history, geography, and science.
School is so much smoother and easier this year than ever before. I am so happy about this.
An Unusual Post - just tired? Or GAPS related?
It's been a little over two weeks since I posted anything. I have intended to write nearly every day, but I have been getting distracted and carried away by other things.
I can't sleep. I'm tired and I want to sleep, but I don't sleep well and I ache through the night, so I don't want to go to bed. I am easily irritated a lot lately and I really love the quiet in the house when everyone is sleeping. I miss feeling good and happy.
I am not unhappy or depressed. I am just feeling like I want to be alone, like I want to be left alone. I don't want to be bothered with all of the unexpected things that happen in a day. This is not right, because that's life. Life IS all of the unexpected things that happen day after day after day. Those unexpected things are what makes life interesting. It's what makes life challenging. It's what makes life fun! Right now I feel like I just want everything to be predictable.
Lately, I have been very contemplative. I have been watching home births on YouTube, not because I intend to have more children, but because I am in awe of the way our bodies work and the power of our thoughts and attitudes over the workings of our body. In labor, things happen and you are not in control, but you have control over how you deal with what is happening to your body. Fear brings pain and very likely complications. Faith, in God, in your body, in the process, brings peace and joy and very likely a quick, smooth, and easy birth. (Not always, I realize, but often.)
All of my children were born naturally without fear and with little pain. All were born in a hospital. Four were with midwives, although one was born just before the midwife arrived. I went through transition without realizing it because I was not afraid. I just dealt with each contraction as it came and suddenly my water broke and I felt the urge to push.
I have been reading other blogs, mostly stories of families dealing with the loss or impending loss of a child. I don't know why I am drawn to read these stories. I cry because, even though I could never really understand their loss, I remember how I felt when we lost our fourth baby, though it was early in our pregnancy. I remember how I grieved the "loss" of our fifth baby (CKS) when he regressed after that insidious vaccine. I remember how I grieved the "loss" of our third child (KES) to the same insidious vaccine given on the same day. I grieve the loss of our ability to be "normal". We are different! We don't fit in.
We would be somewhat normal if we would just eat normal food and go get labels for our children and enroll them in therapy sessions and plan our estate for their future care, but I will not do that. They are healing. Life is hard right now, but there is a great reward. We lost our children, but we have them back and they are getting better and better and better. This diet/protocol is working.
God is good all the time. He allows us to suffer the consequences of our own sin and even the sins of others, but He is there for us to help us through the difficult days. He is there to comfort us when we are hurting. He is there to teach us what we need to know. He uses all of this - everything - for our good, for His glory! We can trust Him in this. We can trust His Word which says that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and whom He has called according to His purposes. (I think I got that right.)
I could go on and on, but I think I will stop there. I need to rest a bit and come back later to write a GAPS progress report. I'm tired and falling apart, but there are some good things happening around here and of course more questions than answers. Go figure.
I can't sleep. I'm tired and I want to sleep, but I don't sleep well and I ache through the night, so I don't want to go to bed. I am easily irritated a lot lately and I really love the quiet in the house when everyone is sleeping. I miss feeling good and happy.
I am not unhappy or depressed. I am just feeling like I want to be alone, like I want to be left alone. I don't want to be bothered with all of the unexpected things that happen in a day. This is not right, because that's life. Life IS all of the unexpected things that happen day after day after day. Those unexpected things are what makes life interesting. It's what makes life challenging. It's what makes life fun! Right now I feel like I just want everything to be predictable.
Lately, I have been very contemplative. I have been watching home births on YouTube, not because I intend to have more children, but because I am in awe of the way our bodies work and the power of our thoughts and attitudes over the workings of our body. In labor, things happen and you are not in control, but you have control over how you deal with what is happening to your body. Fear brings pain and very likely complications. Faith, in God, in your body, in the process, brings peace and joy and very likely a quick, smooth, and easy birth. (Not always, I realize, but often.)
All of my children were born naturally without fear and with little pain. All were born in a hospital. Four were with midwives, although one was born just before the midwife arrived. I went through transition without realizing it because I was not afraid. I just dealt with each contraction as it came and suddenly my water broke and I felt the urge to push.
I have been reading other blogs, mostly stories of families dealing with the loss or impending loss of a child. I don't know why I am drawn to read these stories. I cry because, even though I could never really understand their loss, I remember how I felt when we lost our fourth baby, though it was early in our pregnancy. I remember how I grieved the "loss" of our fifth baby (CKS) when he regressed after that insidious vaccine. I remember how I grieved the "loss" of our third child (KES) to the same insidious vaccine given on the same day. I grieve the loss of our ability to be "normal". We are different! We don't fit in.
We would be somewhat normal if we would just eat normal food and go get labels for our children and enroll them in therapy sessions and plan our estate for their future care, but I will not do that. They are healing. Life is hard right now, but there is a great reward. We lost our children, but we have them back and they are getting better and better and better. This diet/protocol is working.
God is good all the time. He allows us to suffer the consequences of our own sin and even the sins of others, but He is there for us to help us through the difficult days. He is there to comfort us when we are hurting. He is there to teach us what we need to know. He uses all of this - everything - for our good, for His glory! We can trust Him in this. We can trust His Word which says that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and whom He has called according to His purposes. (I think I got that right.)
I could go on and on, but I think I will stop there. I need to rest a bit and come back later to write a GAPS progress report. I'm tired and falling apart, but there are some good things happening around here and of course more questions than answers. Go figure.
September 24, 2010
So It Goes
So I have been reporting all of these praises lately and it was bound to happen: these last two days have been so hard.
I increased to Bio-Kult twice this week by 1/5 of a capsule each time. Two days ago I increased it for the second time, so we are all up to 2 and 2/5 capsules per day. (the baby only takes one) I also added a tsp of bone broth to our daily broth about three days ago. I know, too many changes all at once. I also increased coconut oil and olive oil and ghee to previously tolerated amounts. Yes, yes, I know. Too many changes. Oh, and scrambled eggs, too. Just a little.
So, I have been irritable, angry, tired, depressed, and just plain hard to live with. The baby is a wee bit fussy, but could be cuing off of me or reacting to my detox through breast milk. CKS has been rigid and fussy. He freaks out over putting his spoon in the wrong place or baby brother touching anything that he considers his own. These things don't phase him much anymore, but I guess it was all a bit too much. KES, age six, can't yawn and she itches all over. Granted, it is nothing like it was before. She also woke up once in the night with really bad leg cramps. The older two are only having mild reactions, the worst of which are poor handwriting, misspelled words, flipped and switched letters. Schoolwork suffers, but their attitudes have been great!
I think we will just hold where we are at for a few days. Detox baths help a bunch and CKS is already doing better tonight. Yea! I think we will get through this soon.
I increased to Bio-Kult twice this week by 1/5 of a capsule each time. Two days ago I increased it for the second time, so we are all up to 2 and 2/5 capsules per day. (the baby only takes one) I also added a tsp of bone broth to our daily broth about three days ago. I know, too many changes all at once. I also increased coconut oil and olive oil and ghee to previously tolerated amounts. Yes, yes, I know. Too many changes. Oh, and scrambled eggs, too. Just a little.
So, I have been irritable, angry, tired, depressed, and just plain hard to live with. The baby is a wee bit fussy, but could be cuing off of me or reacting to my detox through breast milk. CKS has been rigid and fussy. He freaks out over putting his spoon in the wrong place or baby brother touching anything that he considers his own. These things don't phase him much anymore, but I guess it was all a bit too much. KES, age six, can't yawn and she itches all over. Granted, it is nothing like it was before. She also woke up once in the night with really bad leg cramps. The older two are only having mild reactions, the worst of which are poor handwriting, misspelled words, flipped and switched letters. Schoolwork suffers, but their attitudes have been great!
I think we will just hold where we are at for a few days. Detox baths help a bunch and CKS is already doing better tonight. Yea! I think we will get through this soon.
September 22, 2010
More Wonderful and Colorful Gains
It just gets better and better!
CKS continues to be the most normal three year old and he is just amazing us everyday. He LOVES to color! Even before his second birthday, he loved to sit in the booster seat at the table and color while we did school with the other kids. Then he reacted to the vaccine and got very sick and he quit coloring.
Recently, he started coloring again. All through the summer he would get color pages from the library and he would bring them home and finish them. We gave him his own "school box" filled with crayons and colored pencils and a small journal. This week he started to color nearly in the lines.
Today, he surprised us by coloring a picture of himself completely in the lines. Not only that, but he colored the clothes to match what he was wearing and he colored his skin orange, the closest color to his darker Asian skin tone. We were floored! He's three and a half.
Our twelve year old son could not color in the lines a year ago and his handwriting was unbelievably awful. I remember getting very excited around Christmas time because he colored a huge color book picture (that in and of itself is amazing) completely in the lines. He has never liked to color, but he actually colored the picture together with CKS, just for fun.
Well, MKS, our 12 year old, is now able to write fairly neatly and remember basic writing rules. I can read his math, which makes it sooooo much easier to grade. He is completing his schoolwork in record time. He says it's easy now. He's not trying, it's just happening. I am so excited!
Our toddler, 17 months, is developing so well. I scared myself by doing intro while he was so little. He had some bad days and he flapped his hands and wouldn't make eye-contact, but now he is right on track. He says so many words I can't even begin to put them all down. He makes beautiful eye-contact and communicates his thoughts and desires quite well. He's a good little boy. He listens well and obeys. He loves to help with chores. He wants to do everything the big kids do. Can we say, "NORMAL"? Oh, so normal. Oh, so wonderful.
These younger two boys have been so easy-going, with the exception of regression and die-off, and now my older kids are able to go with the flow, too. Thank you, God, for GAPS! Even with all of the cooking and laundry, life is so much easier now, so much more happy and manageable. Meltdowns, tantrums, uncontrolled anger, irritability, picky eating, and all of the other "stuff" just don't happen very often anymore.
My girls, 9 and 6, are really coming into their own. They are such good Helpers around the house. KRS, 9 years, is the Queen of the Kitchen in Training. Her apron says so. She is quite capable of doing nearly everything I do in the kitchen, with a few exceptions. She is second in command when it comes to getting food on the table. She's amazing! KES, 6 years, has really come a long way this year. You would be amazed at all of the chores she cheerfully submits to helping with, including looking after her baby brothers and playing with them a lot while the older kids and I do all of the things the younger ones can't help with yet. She's incredible! This is all possible because they are not filled with anger, bitterness, and rage anymore. A year ago, it was such a struggle, but now...ahh!
Did I do it? Did I mention everyone? Oh, me. I rarely get angry anymore either. I am becoming more laid back and easy-going, too. It's refreshing and nice. Ahh!
We all have our days, as I continue to increase the probiotic and add new foods, but it is going so much easier now than when we first started. We are all very forgiving of each other, since we all have our days and we all understand what it's like to lose control and feel sorry for having acted in such ways. What a blessing.
Such a long post. Congratulations if you made it through! I am just so full of happy thoughts and it's so nice to have a place to share them.
Heavenly Father, I thank You for all of these great and wonderful improvements, successes, signs of healing. I thank You that everyone loves to eat the food we cook now. It was so hard in the beginning. I am so appreciative of their pleasure in eating the food I have prepared. Thank you for the clear minds and for making learning fun and easy this year. We are all enjoying school like never before! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!
CKS continues to be the most normal three year old and he is just amazing us everyday. He LOVES to color! Even before his second birthday, he loved to sit in the booster seat at the table and color while we did school with the other kids. Then he reacted to the vaccine and got very sick and he quit coloring.
Recently, he started coloring again. All through the summer he would get color pages from the library and he would bring them home and finish them. We gave him his own "school box" filled with crayons and colored pencils and a small journal. This week he started to color nearly in the lines.
Today, he surprised us by coloring a picture of himself completely in the lines. Not only that, but he colored the clothes to match what he was wearing and he colored his skin orange, the closest color to his darker Asian skin tone. We were floored! He's three and a half.
Our twelve year old son could not color in the lines a year ago and his handwriting was unbelievably awful. I remember getting very excited around Christmas time because he colored a huge color book picture (that in and of itself is amazing) completely in the lines. He has never liked to color, but he actually colored the picture together with CKS, just for fun.
Well, MKS, our 12 year old, is now able to write fairly neatly and remember basic writing rules. I can read his math, which makes it sooooo much easier to grade. He is completing his schoolwork in record time. He says it's easy now. He's not trying, it's just happening. I am so excited!
Our toddler, 17 months, is developing so well. I scared myself by doing intro while he was so little. He had some bad days and he flapped his hands and wouldn't make eye-contact, but now he is right on track. He says so many words I can't even begin to put them all down. He makes beautiful eye-contact and communicates his thoughts and desires quite well. He's a good little boy. He listens well and obeys. He loves to help with chores. He wants to do everything the big kids do. Can we say, "NORMAL"? Oh, so normal. Oh, so wonderful.
These younger two boys have been so easy-going, with the exception of regression and die-off, and now my older kids are able to go with the flow, too. Thank you, God, for GAPS! Even with all of the cooking and laundry, life is so much easier now, so much more happy and manageable. Meltdowns, tantrums, uncontrolled anger, irritability, picky eating, and all of the other "stuff" just don't happen very often anymore.
My girls, 9 and 6, are really coming into their own. They are such good Helpers around the house. KRS, 9 years, is the Queen of the Kitchen in Training. Her apron says so. She is quite capable of doing nearly everything I do in the kitchen, with a few exceptions. She is second in command when it comes to getting food on the table. She's amazing! KES, 6 years, has really come a long way this year. You would be amazed at all of the chores she cheerfully submits to helping with, including looking after her baby brothers and playing with them a lot while the older kids and I do all of the things the younger ones can't help with yet. She's incredible! This is all possible because they are not filled with anger, bitterness, and rage anymore. A year ago, it was such a struggle, but now...ahh!
Did I do it? Did I mention everyone? Oh, me. I rarely get angry anymore either. I am becoming more laid back and easy-going, too. It's refreshing and nice. Ahh!
We all have our days, as I continue to increase the probiotic and add new foods, but it is going so much easier now than when we first started. We are all very forgiving of each other, since we all have our days and we all understand what it's like to lose control and feel sorry for having acted in such ways. What a blessing.
Such a long post. Congratulations if you made it through! I am just so full of happy thoughts and it's so nice to have a place to share them.
Heavenly Father, I thank You for all of these great and wonderful improvements, successes, signs of healing. I thank You that everyone loves to eat the food we cook now. It was so hard in the beginning. I am so appreciative of their pleasure in eating the food I have prepared. Thank you for the clear minds and for making learning fun and easy this year. We are all enjoying school like never before! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!
Found: A New Doctor
It's been over a year since any of us have seen a doctor for any reason. We haven't needed to go, since good, healthy food and detox baths seem to help in nearly all cases.
We do have a few areas where I am stumped about what to do, although I feel time and proceeding through the diet will fix all the issues, if I could only be patient (generally, not one of my strong points).
My older two kids have lots of headaches. Drinking more water has reduced the frequency and intensity of my oldest daughter's headaches, but she still gets them. My oldest son gets more headaches now than ever before. He has always inhaled water. Apple Cider Vinegar baths help them to go away, but they always come back. He's not been the most trustworthy kid as of late, so honestly, I don't know if they are for real or not.
Our youngest four pee excessively, soaking through pull-ups and diapers pretty nearly every night. Cutting back on the amount of meat they eat and increasing the veggies (carbs) has made for less pee and a few dryer nights, but without night-time diapers and pull-ups, I would still be washing bedding for four every day. Still a mystery. I think more onions equals more pee, too, but not sure.
The youngest three still have some eczema/yeast itchies from time to time, but I will say it is WAY better than even a few months ago. I think restarting with intro again has made a difference here, but can't say anything for sure.
All of these things are quite minor when compared with the gains we have made. God is so good and He is faithful. When we call out to Him and believe in Him, He answers. I am thankful for where we are. It has ALL been worth it!
Oh, yea, about the doctor. He's a natural doctor. He's a DAN (Defeat Autism Now) doctor. He's a nutritionist. He has his own Brain Healing Diet that is VERY similar to GAPS. Forgive me if I already covered this in another post.
I took CKS for an appointment. I read all of the info the doctor gave me about his diet. I read many of the newsletter articles on his website. He does not endorse GAPS, as there are other similar diets out there getting similar results, but in the course of our dialogue, I believe he will support us in what we are doing and help us to understand things, even if we don't choose to take all of his advice. This is very helpful.
After a year of flying solo, I am ready for a little help in understanding some things I haven't figured out yet. I am excited about this. I pray that we will understand each other and that it will be a good doctor/patient relationship.
We do have a few areas where I am stumped about what to do, although I feel time and proceeding through the diet will fix all the issues, if I could only be patient (generally, not one of my strong points).
My older two kids have lots of headaches. Drinking more water has reduced the frequency and intensity of my oldest daughter's headaches, but she still gets them. My oldest son gets more headaches now than ever before. He has always inhaled water. Apple Cider Vinegar baths help them to go away, but they always come back. He's not been the most trustworthy kid as of late, so honestly, I don't know if they are for real or not.
Our youngest four pee excessively, soaking through pull-ups and diapers pretty nearly every night. Cutting back on the amount of meat they eat and increasing the veggies (carbs) has made for less pee and a few dryer nights, but without night-time diapers and pull-ups, I would still be washing bedding for four every day. Still a mystery. I think more onions equals more pee, too, but not sure.
The youngest three still have some eczema/yeast itchies from time to time, but I will say it is WAY better than even a few months ago. I think restarting with intro again has made a difference here, but can't say anything for sure.
All of these things are quite minor when compared with the gains we have made. God is so good and He is faithful. When we call out to Him and believe in Him, He answers. I am thankful for where we are. It has ALL been worth it!
Oh, yea, about the doctor. He's a natural doctor. He's a DAN (Defeat Autism Now) doctor. He's a nutritionist. He has his own Brain Healing Diet that is VERY similar to GAPS. Forgive me if I already covered this in another post.
I took CKS for an appointment. I read all of the info the doctor gave me about his diet. I read many of the newsletter articles on his website. He does not endorse GAPS, as there are other similar diets out there getting similar results, but in the course of our dialogue, I believe he will support us in what we are doing and help us to understand things, even if we don't choose to take all of his advice. This is very helpful.
After a year of flying solo, I am ready for a little help in understanding some things I haven't figured out yet. I am excited about this. I pray that we will understand each other and that it will be a good doctor/patient relationship.
September 12, 2010
Oh, Nuts!
Can I just say that I'm nuts about nuts?
I'm nuts about nuts!!!
Since I was a child, nuts have given me asthma and itchy skin, especially the palms of my hands - oh, so annoying. I love nuts, but gave them up years ago because it just wasn't worth it. I would have them every now and again only to recall why I gave them up in the first place.
It is amazing to me to be eating nuts everyday without any of these symptoms. Without any symptoms. I am even eating the ones that gave me the worst asthma ever! (walnuts) I DO limit nuts, as they are not supposed to make up a large part of the diet and they are quite expensive.
I confess that I ate a whole jar (pint) full of nuts yesterday as I drove the half hour trip to WFM last night. That did not go over so well. I look 5 months pregnant. I am SO bloated! My fingers are swollen, too. My ring is actually tight, when it is normally falling off. I will not be doing that again! Back to just a little handful of nuts. I'm good with that.
My Lord, I thank You that I can eat nuts again.
I'm nuts about nuts!!!
Since I was a child, nuts have given me asthma and itchy skin, especially the palms of my hands - oh, so annoying. I love nuts, but gave them up years ago because it just wasn't worth it. I would have them every now and again only to recall why I gave them up in the first place.
It is amazing to me to be eating nuts everyday without any of these symptoms. Without any symptoms. I am even eating the ones that gave me the worst asthma ever! (walnuts) I DO limit nuts, as they are not supposed to make up a large part of the diet and they are quite expensive.
I confess that I ate a whole jar (pint) full of nuts yesterday as I drove the half hour trip to WFM last night. That did not go over so well. I look 5 months pregnant. I am SO bloated! My fingers are swollen, too. My ring is actually tight, when it is normally falling off. I will not be doing that again! Back to just a little handful of nuts. I'm good with that.
My Lord, I thank You that I can eat nuts again.
* I'm So Happy I Could Fly
Our little 3 year old (CKS) is just so normal! I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. Two weeks now of pure normalness!
OK, I exaggerate a little. We have been upping the Bio-Kult and he has been very tactile and whiny and a bit rigid...but all kids do have their crazy days. Most people say, "I just don't know what got into him. He's so wound up." Well, I just happen to know what's got into him. I can tell you ahead of time what is going to happen. I add or increase a certain food or probiotic. Regression. But then, the best part is that he will get sick, or break out in a rash, or regress, or all of the above and we will hold at the same amount and in a few days he's back and even better than before.
It's controlled and mild. He's developing and he's healing. He's getting jokes and telling jokes. He's compassionate (except when he's reacting to a healing food and is crazy off the wall and rigid and miserable).
Oh,oh,oh!!! His oldest sister made the joke that she does not like horses anymore. When she had everyone giving her puzzled looks over this incongruent statement, she said she LOVES horses. Sooooo...today, CKS said he didn't like rats (we have pet rats). Then, when everyone was trying to figure out why he didn't like rats anymore (Did he get bit?) he said he LOVES rats. Wow!!!
Oh,oh,oh!!! The other day when his sister didn't want to read to him (he loves to read again) because she wasn't feeling well, CKS said, "My make you feel better, like this: *BING* There! You all better now."
I LOVE IT!!!
Thank You, Jesus, for this precious child! Thank You for giving him back to us! Thank You for answering me when I call on You! You are our Healer! You are God! Nothing is impossible with You! All glory to You, oh Lord, for what You are doing with this family. Praise Your Holy Name! Amen!
OK, I exaggerate a little. We have been upping the Bio-Kult and he has been very tactile and whiny and a bit rigid...but all kids do have their crazy days. Most people say, "I just don't know what got into him. He's so wound up." Well, I just happen to know what's got into him. I can tell you ahead of time what is going to happen. I add or increase a certain food or probiotic. Regression. But then, the best part is that he will get sick, or break out in a rash, or regress, or all of the above and we will hold at the same amount and in a few days he's back and even better than before.
It's controlled and mild. He's developing and he's healing. He's getting jokes and telling jokes. He's compassionate (except when he's reacting to a healing food and is crazy off the wall and rigid and miserable).
Oh,oh,oh!!! His oldest sister made the joke that she does not like horses anymore. When she had everyone giving her puzzled looks over this incongruent statement, she said she LOVES horses. Sooooo...today, CKS said he didn't like rats (we have pet rats). Then, when everyone was trying to figure out why he didn't like rats anymore (Did he get bit?) he said he LOVES rats. Wow!!!
Oh,oh,oh!!! The other day when his sister didn't want to read to him (he loves to read again) because she wasn't feeling well, CKS said, "My make you feel better, like this: *BING* There! You all better now."
I LOVE IT!!!
Thank You, Jesus, for this precious child! Thank You for giving him back to us! Thank You for answering me when I call on You! You are our Healer! You are God! Nothing is impossible with You! All glory to You, oh Lord, for what You are doing with this family. Praise Your Holy Name! Amen!
August 30, 2010
Beautiful Healthy Nails, No Pimples, and Happy Feet
I have noticed recently that my nails are strong and beautiful and healthy
looking. They used to peel in thin layers and would frequently break.
I have had acne forever. Even though my mother assured me that my horrible acne
would get better as I moved out of adolescence, I continued to have pimples into
my thirties. This year...one or two here or there. Mostly none!
My feet look younger, too, even though I am on them more now than ever. Hmm.
looking. They used to peel in thin layers and would frequently break.
I have had acne forever. Even though my mother assured me that my horrible acne
would get better as I moved out of adolescence, I continued to have pimples into
my thirties. This year...one or two here or there. Mostly none!
My feet look younger, too, even though I am on them more now than ever. Hmm.
Eczema Gone
My 9yo has had no eczema for many months now. She can eat a little fruit
without any eczema or yeast symptoms.
Our 6yo still has eczema and itching (down there) whenever she eats fruit,
honey, or sweet veggies. It IS better than it was. We are about to start a
third round or S Boulardi for her and we are going to try the S Boulardi for our
two little ones, too. They have diaper rashes and fine rashes on their torsos
whenever they eat fruit, honey, or sweet veggies or when we increase probiotics.
I, too, no longer itch anywhere. No eczema. No yeast symptoms. No fungal
symptoms. I had athlete's foot for over a year and a few nasty looking toe
nails. No treatments cleared it completely. GAPS alone made it all go away.
Our 12yo never had any problems with itching. Whew!
without any eczema or yeast symptoms.
Our 6yo still has eczema and itching (down there) whenever she eats fruit,
honey, or sweet veggies. It IS better than it was. We are about to start a
third round or S Boulardi for her and we are going to try the S Boulardi for our
two little ones, too. They have diaper rashes and fine rashes on their torsos
whenever they eat fruit, honey, or sweet veggies or when we increase probiotics.
I, too, no longer itch anywhere. No eczema. No yeast symptoms. No fungal
symptoms. I had athlete's foot for over a year and a few nasty looking toe
nails. No treatments cleared it completely. GAPS alone made it all go away.
Our 12yo never had any problems with itching. Whew!
Growing Taller and Gaining Weight
One of my children is oh so very petite. She was a very picky eater. She was
five years old and weighed 31 pounds. She now weighs 38 pounds. I don't know
how tall she was when we started GAPS, but in the last six months she has grown
1 1/2 inches and is now 41 1/2 inches tall. She is still very petite.
Our 3yo now weighs 38 pounds and is 38 inches tall. He's not fat, but he is a
hefty little fellow.
Our 9 year old, also smaller than all of her friends, has also grown a full inch
in six months.
I don't know about my oldest or the baby (16 months).
five years old and weighed 31 pounds. She now weighs 38 pounds. I don't know
how tall she was when we started GAPS, but in the last six months she has grown
1 1/2 inches and is now 41 1/2 inches tall. She is still very petite.
Our 3yo now weighs 38 pounds and is 38 inches tall. He's not fat, but he is a
hefty little fellow.
Our 9 year old, also smaller than all of her friends, has also grown a full inch
in six months.
I don't know about my oldest or the baby (16 months).
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
Last year when I put my whole family on GAPS to heal food allergies, behavior
issues, mental issues, vaccine damage (two children reacted to vaccines given to
them on the same day, same vaccine), etc., my goal was to do the intro diet and
try to increase the number of foods we can tolerate. We went too fast for us
and ended up pulling many foods over and over as we realized that they were
causing a problem. After starting intro, we were more limited in what we could
eat than before we started GAPS. I wanted to scream! I think I did on
occasion.
This year when I put my kids back on intro, my goal is to heal their digestion
and increase their probiotics (and to go real slow) so that we will be able to
add in lots of new food.
Lots of healing has taken place. That is evident. We are not there yet, but I
do not believe we will get there if we do not focus on healing their digestion
and adding/increasing probiotics to repopulate their gut over trying to make the
diet palatable and interesting.
It was not a wasted year by any means. It took me a year to learn how to cook,
to find my resources, to convince myself and everyone else that this is for
real, and in the meantime I got my two kids back who had changed/regressed after
those stupid vaccines. My 9 year old can suddenly read chapter books because
the letters don't wiggle and move on the page. Dyslexia? My 12 year old can
complete his schoolwork in a timely fashion and organize his thoughts better.
His handwriting has improved and he can remember things like capital letters and
spelling and indentions and spacing, etc. ADHD? My baby is developing
beautifully now after a scary start and a period of hand-flapping and loss of
eye contact when I did intro while nursing. Not recommended. It was a
profitable year, to say the least.
I can't wait to report the day when we can eat what others eat from time to time
without all of the suffering we have lived with for all of these past years.
issues, mental issues, vaccine damage (two children reacted to vaccines given to
them on the same day, same vaccine), etc., my goal was to do the intro diet and
try to increase the number of foods we can tolerate. We went too fast for us
and ended up pulling many foods over and over as we realized that they were
causing a problem. After starting intro, we were more limited in what we could
eat than before we started GAPS. I wanted to scream! I think I did on
occasion.
This year when I put my kids back on intro, my goal is to heal their digestion
and increase their probiotics (and to go real slow) so that we will be able to
add in lots of new food.
Lots of healing has taken place. That is evident. We are not there yet, but I
do not believe we will get there if we do not focus on healing their digestion
and adding/increasing probiotics to repopulate their gut over trying to make the
diet palatable and interesting.
It was not a wasted year by any means. It took me a year to learn how to cook,
to find my resources, to convince myself and everyone else that this is for
real, and in the meantime I got my two kids back who had changed/regressed after
those stupid vaccines. My 9 year old can suddenly read chapter books because
the letters don't wiggle and move on the page. Dyslexia? My 12 year old can
complete his schoolwork in a timely fashion and organize his thoughts better.
His handwriting has improved and he can remember things like capital letters and
spelling and indentions and spacing, etc. ADHD? My baby is developing
beautifully now after a scary start and a period of hand-flapping and loss of
eye contact when I did intro while nursing. Not recommended. It was a
profitable year, to say the least.
I can't wait to report the day when we can eat what others eat from time to time
without all of the suffering we have lived with for all of these past years.
Sauerkraut Juice Makes All the Difference
We have discovered that when we increased the sauerkraut juice to 4 tbs per
person/per meal that everyone finally started to digest their food and they
finally started to go more regularly. All six of us!
It is hard work to make that much sauerkraut to serve six of us on GAPS ( it
comes to 72 tbs of sauerkraut juice per day) and it is sometimes hard to find
enough organic cabbages to keep up. Sure enough, on 3-4 occasions we have run
short on sauerkraut juice and all the poopies (I have little ones) fell apart
and were filled with undigested food. Every time we increase it back to 4 tbs,
the poops are brown and formed and at least once a day (no enemas!) Yay!
person/per meal that everyone finally started to digest their food and they
finally started to go more regularly. All six of us!
It is hard work to make that much sauerkraut to serve six of us on GAPS ( it
comes to 72 tbs of sauerkraut juice per day) and it is sometimes hard to find
enough organic cabbages to keep up. Sure enough, on 3-4 occasions we have run
short on sauerkraut juice and all the poopies (I have little ones) fell apart
and were filled with undigested food. Every time we increase it back to 4 tbs,
the poops are brown and formed and at least once a day (no enemas!) Yay!
August 29, 2010
A Normal Three Year Old
I am flying high these days. Our little three year old has been the most perfect little three year old that anyone could ask for these past few days.
He listens and follows directions, even fairly complicated ones like, " Put the book on the shelf. The middle shelf. Next to the blue book."
He plays independently and happily with his siblings and neighbors.
He plays make believe! Lots of make believe.
He put together a 30 piece puzzle with a little help. He knew immediately which way to turn the pieces to make them fit.
He "reads" books out loud to himself by looking at the pictures and telling the story in his own words.
He has been using his utensils at the table and has used his nice manners with clear words like, "May I have some salt on my chicken please?"
He talks constantly, but it is conversational and not repetitive.
He laughs and smiles.
What is truly amazing about this is that he has been sick with a cold, runny nose, croupy cough, congestion. Although I have noticed that he always seems to do better during and after an illness. I really am beginning to believe that such symptoms are what we see when his body is detoxifying itself or fighting off some bad bugs.
We added and increased egg yolks a few weeks ago. That is when he first showed any signs of congestion. Then it went away. We added scrambled eggs a few days ago. No regressions in him and no anger/rage in me or anyone else. Last year when we tried to introduce yolks, he regressed and my older daughter and I became angry. We tried several times with the same results. Oh, to be able to eat whole eggs again. It's a dream!
When I say our son regressed, I mean that he went downhill in all areas and even began grabbing at his eyes again and losing his balance. I feared seizures and backed off. I believe they were seizures. They looked like some of the absence seizures I found on YouTube, also known as petit mal seizures. I am thankful that they have gone away and we are not seeing this with the addition of yolks this time around. WooHoo!!!
Praise God with me! Dance with me! Celebrate! I couldn't be happier than I am right now.
Thank You, Father, for guiding us, for giving us the knowledge that we needed. Thank You for giving us the strength and the resources to do what we are doing. Thank You for the healing we are seeing in all of the children and in myself. Thank You!
He listens and follows directions, even fairly complicated ones like, " Put the book on the shelf. The middle shelf. Next to the blue book."
He plays independently and happily with his siblings and neighbors.
He plays make believe! Lots of make believe.
He put together a 30 piece puzzle with a little help. He knew immediately which way to turn the pieces to make them fit.
He "reads" books out loud to himself by looking at the pictures and telling the story in his own words.
He has been using his utensils at the table and has used his nice manners with clear words like, "May I have some salt on my chicken please?"
He talks constantly, but it is conversational and not repetitive.
He laughs and smiles.
What is truly amazing about this is that he has been sick with a cold, runny nose, croupy cough, congestion. Although I have noticed that he always seems to do better during and after an illness. I really am beginning to believe that such symptoms are what we see when his body is detoxifying itself or fighting off some bad bugs.
We added and increased egg yolks a few weeks ago. That is when he first showed any signs of congestion. Then it went away. We added scrambled eggs a few days ago. No regressions in him and no anger/rage in me or anyone else. Last year when we tried to introduce yolks, he regressed and my older daughter and I became angry. We tried several times with the same results. Oh, to be able to eat whole eggs again. It's a dream!
When I say our son regressed, I mean that he went downhill in all areas and even began grabbing at his eyes again and losing his balance. I feared seizures and backed off. I believe they were seizures. They looked like some of the absence seizures I found on YouTube, also known as petit mal seizures. I am thankful that they have gone away and we are not seeing this with the addition of yolks this time around. WooHoo!!!
Praise God with me! Dance with me! Celebrate! I couldn't be happier than I am right now.
Thank You, Father, for guiding us, for giving us the knowledge that we needed. Thank You for giving us the strength and the resources to do what we are doing. Thank You for the healing we are seeing in all of the children and in myself. Thank You!
August 28, 2010
Looking for a Doctor to help us on This Journey
I have questions that can't be answered satisfactorily on a yahoo group. I need a doctor, a nutritionist, someone who is knowledgeable about these things to work with, to learn from.
I have questions like:
"What causes the severe leg cramps in my daughter when she eats certain foods and when she gets more sun than usual?
"What causes all of the nighttime accidents?" & "Is there a test to confirm what could be causing it?" & "Could we do a test?" & "Is it a problem? Do we need to do something about it?"
"Are we getting enough vitamins? Do we need any additional supplements?" & "Is there a test for that?"
"Why do egg yolks cause regressions when CKS has more than a little?"
I think I may have found the one to help me. I hope so. I prayed that God would make it obvious to me about whether this doctor is the right one to help us or not. He has his own Brain Healing Diet that is VERY similar to the GAPS diet. He is familiar with the GAPS diet. He is supportive of us continuing on GAPS because it is working. He suggested some testing and several supplements that are probably needed. He will work with me and with what I need for my son (family). Now that CKS is a patient, I can e-mail him with questions. Maybe I will finally get some answers. I hope so.
I won't post his name until I know for sure and only with his permission, so if you are wondering who, you will have to wait.
I have questions like:
"What causes the severe leg cramps in my daughter when she eats certain foods and when she gets more sun than usual?
"What causes all of the nighttime accidents?" & "Is there a test to confirm what could be causing it?" & "Could we do a test?" & "Is it a problem? Do we need to do something about it?"
"Are we getting enough vitamins? Do we need any additional supplements?" & "Is there a test for that?"
"Why do egg yolks cause regressions when CKS has more than a little?"
I think I may have found the one to help me. I hope so. I prayed that God would make it obvious to me about whether this doctor is the right one to help us or not. He has his own Brain Healing Diet that is VERY similar to the GAPS diet. He is familiar with the GAPS diet. He is supportive of us continuing on GAPS because it is working. He suggested some testing and several supplements that are probably needed. He will work with me and with what I need for my son (family). Now that CKS is a patient, I can e-mail him with questions. Maybe I will finally get some answers. I hope so.
I won't post his name until I know for sure and only with his permission, so if you are wondering who, you will have to wait.
August 27, 2010
Thank You, my God, for many good things
Hi All,
I am so happy about many things.
My period has returned after 16 months and I didn't even see it coming. No PMS symptoms! WooHoo!
I used to have bad PMS symptoms. I had lots of hormonal ups and downs while nursing, but not this time. I usually have the worst PMS and the longest, most painful cycle when my menstruation resumes after having a baby. I always had overabundant milk supply and had to be careful not to nurse too often, but not this time. I can nurse on demand. Too, cool. Letdown used to be obvious and painful, but not since GAPS.
I read on WebMD "Even common disorders like thyroid disease can cause abnormalities in the nail beds, producing dry, brittle nails that crack and split easily."
I was in the process of testing for thyroid problems when I became pregnant this last time. My nails used to be dry and brittle and they split easily. No more!!!
All itchy places on my body are gone now for months. I keep waiting for a return, but nothing.
I think I may have found a doctor to help us on this journey. He's 30-40 minutes away. He's familiar with GAPS and he came up with his own Brain Healing Diet on his own before the GAPS book came out and it is very, very similar. He was familiar and knowledgable about everything I discussed with him. He agreed that we should not change what is working.
CKS is a perfect 3 year old today!!! Perfect!!! Eye contact. Clear words. Makes sense, as much as any 3 year old does. No tantrums. No rigidity. No repeating phrases over and over and over ad nauseum. No sloppy eating. Perfect! A delight!
O happy day!!!
Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Praise Him all creatures here below! Praise Him above ye heavenly host! Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! AMEN!!!!!
I am so happy about many things.
My period has returned after 16 months and I didn't even see it coming. No PMS symptoms! WooHoo!
I used to have bad PMS symptoms. I had lots of hormonal ups and downs while nursing, but not this time. I usually have the worst PMS and the longest, most painful cycle when my menstruation resumes after having a baby. I always had overabundant milk supply and had to be careful not to nurse too often, but not this time. I can nurse on demand. Too, cool. Letdown used to be obvious and painful, but not since GAPS.
I read on WebMD "Even common disorders like thyroid disease can cause abnormalities in the nail beds, producing dry, brittle nails that crack and split easily."
I was in the process of testing for thyroid problems when I became pregnant this last time. My nails used to be dry and brittle and they split easily. No more!!!
All itchy places on my body are gone now for months. I keep waiting for a return, but nothing.
I think I may have found a doctor to help us on this journey. He's 30-40 minutes away. He's familiar with GAPS and he came up with his own Brain Healing Diet on his own before the GAPS book came out and it is very, very similar. He was familiar and knowledgable about everything I discussed with him. He agreed that we should not change what is working.
CKS is a perfect 3 year old today!!! Perfect!!! Eye contact. Clear words. Makes sense, as much as any 3 year old does. No tantrums. No rigidity. No repeating phrases over and over and over ad nauseum. No sloppy eating. Perfect! A delight!
O happy day!!!
Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Praise Him all creatures here below! Praise Him above ye heavenly host! Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! AMEN!!!!!
August 2, 2010
A Puzzle - Putting the Pieces Together
So we are having some major die-off issues after a week on Intro (2nd time through). We are stage two, as in soups with a little egg yolk in their broth once a day. The sauerkraut juice is a new batch every 5 days or so, as we use it up so fast. Everyone is up to a sixth of a capsule of Bio-Kult.
Baby and three year old are sleeping fitfully. Older kids are going to bed late: can't fall asleep. Six year old itches. Youngest two have diaper rashes. Three year old is regressing, but not too much. He is also coughing and looking fatigued and ill. Six year old can't yawn. Eleven year old is achey, tired and has a headache. He has taken 3-4 baths a day for several days now. Three year old is rigid. His eye contact is poor. He is messy. Language is beginning to slur a bit. Six year old is easily upset. Nine year old seems to be doing fine.
The question is...coughing, hiccups, and the inability to yawn (can't get enough air), are these symptoms that mean they have an intolerance for this food (eggs?) and it should be taken out and tried again later? OR is this a healing reaction? Will they adjust if we hold at this level for a bit?
What about regressions? Egg yolks made our little three year old regress before. He is regressing again, but only a little so far. Is it a healing reaction or is it bad? I just don't know for sure.
In Dr. NCMs book, she does say that during die-off or when eating a healing food (salicylates/phenols) the person will have symptoms typical for him or her until the body clears it out. My thinking is that the BK and the SKJ and the eggs are all healing foods and the body is detoxing, which is why we are seeing these symptoms. I think we should keep everything at the same level to see if it all evens out.
Lord, please guide us. Please keep us on track and help me to remember the things I need to know. Lead me to the things I need to know. Thank You for healing us. Thank You for bringing peace to this home. Thank You for all of these beautiful children. May they all choose You as their own personal Lord and Savior and serve You all the days of their lives. Draw all of us closer to You, my King, my All in All, my Everything. AMEN
Baby and three year old are sleeping fitfully. Older kids are going to bed late: can't fall asleep. Six year old itches. Youngest two have diaper rashes. Three year old is regressing, but not too much. He is also coughing and looking fatigued and ill. Six year old can't yawn. Eleven year old is achey, tired and has a headache. He has taken 3-4 baths a day for several days now. Three year old is rigid. His eye contact is poor. He is messy. Language is beginning to slur a bit. Six year old is easily upset. Nine year old seems to be doing fine.
The question is...coughing, hiccups, and the inability to yawn (can't get enough air), are these symptoms that mean they have an intolerance for this food (eggs?) and it should be taken out and tried again later? OR is this a healing reaction? Will they adjust if we hold at this level for a bit?
What about regressions? Egg yolks made our little three year old regress before. He is regressing again, but only a little so far. Is it a healing reaction or is it bad? I just don't know for sure.
In Dr. NCMs book, she does say that during die-off or when eating a healing food (salicylates/phenols) the person will have symptoms typical for him or her until the body clears it out. My thinking is that the BK and the SKJ and the eggs are all healing foods and the body is detoxing, which is why we are seeing these symptoms. I think we should keep everything at the same level to see if it all evens out.
Lord, please guide us. Please keep us on track and help me to remember the things I need to know. Lead me to the things I need to know. Thank You for healing us. Thank You for bringing peace to this home. Thank You for all of these beautiful children. May they all choose You as their own personal Lord and Savior and serve You all the days of their lives. Draw all of us closer to You, my King, my All in All, my Everything. AMEN
The Funny Things That Kids Say
Not necessarily GAPS related, but funny.
Our six year old was in hysterics and was throwing a big tantrum because she couldn't yawn. She complained, "I can't yawn! I need to yawn, but it won't come out." We finally figured out that she was having trouble catching her breath. It may be asthma related from the egg yolks because this was always my reaction to yolks and it was the reason we took them out several years ago, before we ever heard of GAPS.
Our three year old saw his shadow on the ground while he was swinging and said, "Look, Mommy. There's a picture of me on the grass." Love it!!! Only it sounded more like this: "Hook, Mommy. 'ere's a picture of me on du gass."
He can't say "L" and he always says "my" instead of "I".
Everyday he says, "My hove you."
He likes to sing "Maywee had a hittle ham, hittle ham, hittle ham. Maywee had a hittle ham. Its fweece was white as snow."
Our six year old was in hysterics and was throwing a big tantrum because she couldn't yawn. She complained, "I can't yawn! I need to yawn, but it won't come out." We finally figured out that she was having trouble catching her breath. It may be asthma related from the egg yolks because this was always my reaction to yolks and it was the reason we took them out several years ago, before we ever heard of GAPS.
Our three year old saw his shadow on the ground while he was swinging and said, "Look, Mommy. There's a picture of me on the grass." Love it!!! Only it sounded more like this: "Hook, Mommy. 'ere's a picture of me on du gass."
He can't say "L" and he always says "my" instead of "I".
Everyday he says, "My hove you."
He likes to sing "Maywee had a hittle ham, hittle ham, hittle ham. Maywee had a hittle ham. Its fweece was white as snow."
August 1, 2010
Bio-Kult and Egg Yolks
I was afraid to try the Bio-Kult because of the additives and because of hearing how powerful it can be, but we are now introducing it. We started stage one of intro 8 days ago and started everyone on 1/12 of a capsule. I have since increased it to 1/6 of a capsule.
I started the week without the Baby Biotic/Gut-Pro, but increased it to half and then back to their previous dose, as I saw very little die-off. I don't want to go slower than we need to go.
We also added a very small amount of egg yolk to everyone's broth at dinner time. I dip a table spoon into some egg yolk twice and stir it into their broth mug. Our little 3 year old, the one who regressed every time we have tried to intro egg yolks, only gets one dip.
So we have been two days at the 1/6 of a capsule of Bio-Kult and we are seeing some die-off now. This morning I was mad at the world, or I was bawling and feeling very overwhelmed. I know I am not in a right state of mind when I feel angry at my dear husband. I took an Epsom salt bath and have been absolutely fine the rest of the day. (Note: I was dripping with sweat during my bath. This always happens when I really need to detox.)
Our oldest boy (12 next month) took a bath first thing after breakfast this morning. He reported dripping in sweat during his bath, too. He was weepy off and on all day. He took a total of three baths (baking soda, Epsom salt, and Raw Apple Cider Vinegar). He took his third bath after bedtime and was still up after 11PM.
Our 9 year old girl seemed fine for the most part, but I did put her in the bath after an incident with her younger sister, just to be on the safe side. I asked her about the incident after the bath and it seems the issue was really that her little sister was having a die-off reaction. She had a hard time falling asleep and was up until after 1030PM.
Our 6 year old girl, who reacted to a vaccine a little over a year ago and became angry and hateful and who began throwing hateful temper tantrums whenever things did not go her way, was rather irritable today, to say the least. She over reacted to many things throughout the morning. She cried. She yelled. She made excuses for naughty behavior. She did better after a bath. Daddy says she was still moody, but not as bad. She could not fall asleep and was up until after 11PM.
Our little three year old has some regression: eye contact is different, will look at you in his peripheral vision if you are close, eyes seem off, more tactile, more clumsy, falling, spilling, dropping things, repeats things, talks in a loud and whiney voice, droopy shoulders, coughing a little here and there. No difference noted after his bath. He went to bed right away and that went well. The boy does like to sleep. He always was a good sleeper before the vaccine and then he woke up screaming every night. Now, on GAPS, he sleeps better. He wakes up, but not every night and not screaming inconsolably. He is having periodic bouts of diaper rash.
Our little baby boy (16 months) is more fussy than normal, but still. A pretty easy little guy. He doesn't want to go down for naps or bedtime, but once I walk out he sleeps and he sleeps well. Actually, this morning he cried around 6, which is unusual, but he went back to sleep and woke at his normal time. He is having periodic bouts of diaper rash. He has cradle cap again and a prickly rash all over his face, worse after meals.
They are all having undigested food in their stools. I pray this will improve as we get more probiotic in them. Our six year old had the first perfect poo tonight, brown and formed. WooHoo! I know everyone wanted to know that. All poos are looking better since we started intro again. Yay!
Thank You, My God, for leading us to GAPS, for giving my kids an opportunity to live happy and fruitful lives. Thank You for the improvements that we can see that encourage us to keep moving forward. Thank You for knowledge. Thank You for all of the resources that You have provided. Thank You for the means to do this for all six of us. Thank You for the support You have provided. Please keep me on the right track. Amen.
I started the week without the Baby Biotic/Gut-Pro, but increased it to half and then back to their previous dose, as I saw very little die-off. I don't want to go slower than we need to go.
We also added a very small amount of egg yolk to everyone's broth at dinner time. I dip a table spoon into some egg yolk twice and stir it into their broth mug. Our little 3 year old, the one who regressed every time we have tried to intro egg yolks, only gets one dip.
So we have been two days at the 1/6 of a capsule of Bio-Kult and we are seeing some die-off now. This morning I was mad at the world, or I was bawling and feeling very overwhelmed. I know I am not in a right state of mind when I feel angry at my dear husband. I took an Epsom salt bath and have been absolutely fine the rest of the day. (Note: I was dripping with sweat during my bath. This always happens when I really need to detox.)
Our oldest boy (12 next month) took a bath first thing after breakfast this morning. He reported dripping in sweat during his bath, too. He was weepy off and on all day. He took a total of three baths (baking soda, Epsom salt, and Raw Apple Cider Vinegar). He took his third bath after bedtime and was still up after 11PM.
Our 9 year old girl seemed fine for the most part, but I did put her in the bath after an incident with her younger sister, just to be on the safe side. I asked her about the incident after the bath and it seems the issue was really that her little sister was having a die-off reaction. She had a hard time falling asleep and was up until after 1030PM.
Our 6 year old girl, who reacted to a vaccine a little over a year ago and became angry and hateful and who began throwing hateful temper tantrums whenever things did not go her way, was rather irritable today, to say the least. She over reacted to many things throughout the morning. She cried. She yelled. She made excuses for naughty behavior. She did better after a bath. Daddy says she was still moody, but not as bad. She could not fall asleep and was up until after 11PM.
Our little three year old has some regression: eye contact is different, will look at you in his peripheral vision if you are close, eyes seem off, more tactile, more clumsy, falling, spilling, dropping things, repeats things, talks in a loud and whiney voice, droopy shoulders, coughing a little here and there. No difference noted after his bath. He went to bed right away and that went well. The boy does like to sleep. He always was a good sleeper before the vaccine and then he woke up screaming every night. Now, on GAPS, he sleeps better. He wakes up, but not every night and not screaming inconsolably. He is having periodic bouts of diaper rash.
Our little baby boy (16 months) is more fussy than normal, but still. A pretty easy little guy. He doesn't want to go down for naps or bedtime, but once I walk out he sleeps and he sleeps well. Actually, this morning he cried around 6, which is unusual, but he went back to sleep and woke at his normal time. He is having periodic bouts of diaper rash. He has cradle cap again and a prickly rash all over his face, worse after meals.
They are all having undigested food in their stools. I pray this will improve as we get more probiotic in them. Our six year old had the first perfect poo tonight, brown and formed. WooHoo! I know everyone wanted to know that. All poos are looking better since we started intro again. Yay!
Thank You, My God, for leading us to GAPS, for giving my kids an opportunity to live happy and fruitful lives. Thank You for the improvements that we can see that encourage us to keep moving forward. Thank You for knowledge. Thank You for all of the resources that You have provided. Thank You for the means to do this for all six of us. Thank You for the support You have provided. Please keep me on the right track. Amen.
July 30, 2010
Blessed by Our Three Year Old
Everyday I praise God for the miracle of having our little boy back. He is developing on schedule and amazes me every day with something new.
A few months ago I was delighted when he drew a self portrait. It was a big sloppy circle with some dots and lines scattered about inside. I was so impressed that I wrote his name and the date in the corner and posted it in the kitchen. The day we started intro again, he drew a self portrait with a small circle for the head, which contained two properly placed eyes and one properly placed mouth. It had a straight horizontal line under the circle (the arms), and two vertical lines under that (the legs), and each leg had a foot. When prompted, he added a nose and some fingers. He is 3 yrs and 4 mos. He then drew pictures of his brothers and sisters and me, including noses and fingers. Wow!
You can tell that he doesn't feel well, but even past the drooped shoulders, whiney voice, repetitive questions and statements, and the rigidity resulting in tantrums, he is the sweetest, most loving, tenderhearted little boy. He loves hugs and kisses and melts at the sound of the Barney "I Love You?" song. He loves to sing "Row Row...", "Twinkle Twinkle...", "I'm a Little Teapot", and many more. His lip syncs are the best!!!
Oh, there's so much more! This will do for now. I am so glad that he is healing. He is smart and sweet and wonderful. I hope and pray that God will do mighty things with this little one.
Thank You, God, for giving us our little boy back. Thank You!
A few months ago I was delighted when he drew a self portrait. It was a big sloppy circle with some dots and lines scattered about inside. I was so impressed that I wrote his name and the date in the corner and posted it in the kitchen. The day we started intro again, he drew a self portrait with a small circle for the head, which contained two properly placed eyes and one properly placed mouth. It had a straight horizontal line under the circle (the arms), and two vertical lines under that (the legs), and each leg had a foot. When prompted, he added a nose and some fingers. He is 3 yrs and 4 mos. He then drew pictures of his brothers and sisters and me, including noses and fingers. Wow!
You can tell that he doesn't feel well, but even past the drooped shoulders, whiney voice, repetitive questions and statements, and the rigidity resulting in tantrums, he is the sweetest, most loving, tenderhearted little boy. He loves hugs and kisses and melts at the sound of the Barney "I Love You?" song. He loves to sing "Row Row...", "Twinkle Twinkle...", "I'm a Little Teapot", and many more. His lip syncs are the best!!!
Oh, there's so much more! This will do for now. I am so glad that he is healing. He is smart and sweet and wonderful. I hope and pray that God will do mighty things with this little one.
Thank You, God, for giving us our little boy back. Thank You!
Die-off Tales
One week on intro, second time 'round, and we have not had too many reactions. A little tired, a little achey, a headache, but not much else, so I have been increasing the probiotic and I introduced a small bit of egg yolk.
All is well overall, but yesterday, when I increased the probiotic, the two that had reacted to their vaccines had die-off reactions.
Our six year old threw several tantrums, got mad at her sister, cried like the end of the world when it was time for our neighbor to go home, cried at bath time, and cried at bedtime because she wanted Mommy, not Daddy, to put her to bed.
Our three year old became very tactile, lost eye-contact, talked in a whiney voice, spilled things and dropped things, cried at bedtime, woke once in the night and was up for the day in a grouchy mood at 630 in the morning. His little fingers are always by his face, scratching his nose, eye, or ear. He repeats questions over and over and over. He also woke up with a croupy cough, which seems to happen with die-off. It was gone by the time everyone else got up for the day. He seems generally off today, but not too bad.
Baths help and we will hold at the same level of probiotic and the same amount of egg yolk for these two little ones until things settle out for them. This is about the pace I am comfortable with. It has been and can get much worse. I don't want to go there. I will continue to increase and add things for the others.
Oh, yeah. The baby is a bit crankier than usual. He says no a lot and cries at nap and bedtime. Could be die-off or the fact that he is cutting six teeth. Hmmm.
Thank You, Lord, for the healing that You are bringing to our family. Thank You for giving my kids an opportunity to live healthy and happy lives. May they give You honor and glory all the days of their lives. May they live for You in all they say and do. May they be mighty warriors in You Kingdom. Amen!
All is well overall, but yesterday, when I increased the probiotic, the two that had reacted to their vaccines had die-off reactions.
Our six year old threw several tantrums, got mad at her sister, cried like the end of the world when it was time for our neighbor to go home, cried at bath time, and cried at bedtime because she wanted Mommy, not Daddy, to put her to bed.
Our three year old became very tactile, lost eye-contact, talked in a whiney voice, spilled things and dropped things, cried at bedtime, woke once in the night and was up for the day in a grouchy mood at 630 in the morning. His little fingers are always by his face, scratching his nose, eye, or ear. He repeats questions over and over and over. He also woke up with a croupy cough, which seems to happen with die-off. It was gone by the time everyone else got up for the day. He seems generally off today, but not too bad.
Baths help and we will hold at the same level of probiotic and the same amount of egg yolk for these two little ones until things settle out for them. This is about the pace I am comfortable with. It has been and can get much worse. I don't want to go there. I will continue to increase and add things for the others.
Oh, yeah. The baby is a bit crankier than usual. He says no a lot and cries at nap and bedtime. Could be die-off or the fact that he is cutting six teeth. Hmmm.
Thank You, Lord, for the healing that You are bringing to our family. Thank You for giving my kids an opportunity to live healthy and happy lives. May they give You honor and glory all the days of their lives. May they live for You in all they say and do. May they be mighty warriors in You Kingdom. Amen!
July 28, 2010
Poo, Glorious Poo!
How interesting to be so excited about poo. Today, the three youngest kiddos had lovely brown formed poo, the first time in forever. WooHoo! Yay, for intro!
Recently, they have had watery, mushy, orangey poo with bits of undigested food in it and it made their bottoms itch or burn. I couldn't be happier to see such normal poo. They have never had normal poo.
I used to try to always be prepared for the "20 wipe poo" when we went anywhere. One travel wipes box might not do it if one of the kids had one of "those" poos. Our fourth child had occasional sandy poos. We never figured that one out. Recently, it has been suggested that it may have something to do with oxylates. Fall apart poos that are creamy and watery with undigested bits have been the norm around here OR hard black pebbles, like rabbit pellets.
Normal poo wipes up with one wipe. I love it! I always wondered how people ever survived before the advent of disposable diapers because my kids' poos were the worst, but now I get it.
Recently, they have had watery, mushy, orangey poo with bits of undigested food in it and it made their bottoms itch or burn. I couldn't be happier to see such normal poo. They have never had normal poo.
I used to try to always be prepared for the "20 wipe poo" when we went anywhere. One travel wipes box might not do it if one of the kids had one of "those" poos. Our fourth child had occasional sandy poos. We never figured that one out. Recently, it has been suggested that it may have something to do with oxylates. Fall apart poos that are creamy and watery with undigested bits have been the norm around here OR hard black pebbles, like rabbit pellets.
Normal poo wipes up with one wipe. I love it! I always wondered how people ever survived before the advent of disposable diapers because my kids' poos were the worst, but now I get it.
July 27, 2010
Why Intro Is (and is going to be) Better This Time Around
This time around, I know what I am doing.
I know what die-off looks like and how to manage it.
I know how to cook GAPS food and what the kids and I like and don't like.
I am not grossed out by bones and soft tissues anymore and we even love the way the soft stuff all blended up adds so much flavor to the soups and stews.
None of the children are picky eaters anymore.
We are not dealing with the extreme behavioral and emotional issues we were working so hard to recover from the first time around.
[Praise God, our Father in Heaven, who led us to GAPS, because He is recovering our children who had reacted so severely to their vaccines. He is healing all of us through this protocol, but we are extremely grateful that the tantrums and screaming fits are rare these days. We have happy, healthy kids again! (We are getting there.)]
We have all of the necessary supplies to make it easier this time around. We have lots of pots and pans, including four large stock pots. We have a juicer and a food processor and a Vitamix. We have a hand held blender and a Magic Bullet. We have lots of canning jars in various sizes. We have stoneware for baking and lots of cooking and serving utensils. We even have enough plates and bowls and silverware to go around, plus a few extra.
We have excellent resources for good food: grass-fed beef, free-range chicken eggs, ruminant pigs, salt, fish, nuts, oils, probiotics, etc.
We know how to make ferments, like sauerkraut, yogurt, kefir, pickles.
We have a good idea of what foods we will be able to add back in fairly quickly without any trouble.
We know that detox is part of the protocol and we understand that we are going to have to have symptoms and feel yuck sometimes. We just need to manage it by going slow.
We have figured out systems and routines for getting all of everything done, and it works most of the time.
Our baby is a year older and he sleeps through the night. The older three kids can, and do, help look after him and our three year old. This is huge!!!
The side of beef that we bought from Farmer Brown is the best tasting grass-fed beef we have had yet. Yum! That helps.
Everyone is drinking more water.
Our 11yo ds (almost 12yo) helps our 3yo ds get up and dressed in the morning, even getting him out of wet pajamas, helping him put pee in the potty, and getting a dry diaper on. This is a miracle and a blessing.
Our girls, ages 6 and 9, often get the baby in the morning while I am running around getting done the things that have to get done. They change him, dress him, and play with him.
All of the older kids are willing participants of GAPS.
We have seen great success over the past year and have much motivation to continue.
So far everyone has done well with a teensy dose of Biokult, even me.
Everyone is finally drinking Ginger tea!!!
We eat three meals a day, no snacks, and no one is hungry! Three days in for the boys and no one is ravenously hungry. We all ate non-stop the first time, we were so hungry.
I have figured out a good way to keep track of food proportions and what has been tried and what to try next.
I am not afraid to do (shhh) enemas, if needed. No big deal.
No need to justify what we are doing to anyone.
No more cravings.
The list goes on. GAPS is good.
I know what die-off looks like and how to manage it.
I know how to cook GAPS food and what the kids and I like and don't like.
I am not grossed out by bones and soft tissues anymore and we even love the way the soft stuff all blended up adds so much flavor to the soups and stews.
None of the children are picky eaters anymore.
We are not dealing with the extreme behavioral and emotional issues we were working so hard to recover from the first time around.
[Praise God, our Father in Heaven, who led us to GAPS, because He is recovering our children who had reacted so severely to their vaccines. He is healing all of us through this protocol, but we are extremely grateful that the tantrums and screaming fits are rare these days. We have happy, healthy kids again! (We are getting there.)]
We have all of the necessary supplies to make it easier this time around. We have lots of pots and pans, including four large stock pots. We have a juicer and a food processor and a Vitamix. We have a hand held blender and a Magic Bullet. We have lots of canning jars in various sizes. We have stoneware for baking and lots of cooking and serving utensils. We even have enough plates and bowls and silverware to go around, plus a few extra.
We have excellent resources for good food: grass-fed beef, free-range chicken eggs, ruminant pigs, salt, fish, nuts, oils, probiotics, etc.
We know how to make ferments, like sauerkraut, yogurt, kefir, pickles.
We have a good idea of what foods we will be able to add back in fairly quickly without any trouble.
We know that detox is part of the protocol and we understand that we are going to have to have symptoms and feel yuck sometimes. We just need to manage it by going slow.
We have figured out systems and routines for getting all of everything done, and it works most of the time.
Our baby is a year older and he sleeps through the night. The older three kids can, and do, help look after him and our three year old. This is huge!!!
The side of beef that we bought from Farmer Brown is the best tasting grass-fed beef we have had yet. Yum! That helps.
Everyone is drinking more water.
Our 11yo ds (almost 12yo) helps our 3yo ds get up and dressed in the morning, even getting him out of wet pajamas, helping him put pee in the potty, and getting a dry diaper on. This is a miracle and a blessing.
Our girls, ages 6 and 9, often get the baby in the morning while I am running around getting done the things that have to get done. They change him, dress him, and play with him.
All of the older kids are willing participants of GAPS.
We have seen great success over the past year and have much motivation to continue.
So far everyone has done well with a teensy dose of Biokult, even me.
Everyone is finally drinking Ginger tea!!!
We eat three meals a day, no snacks, and no one is hungry! Three days in for the boys and no one is ravenously hungry. We all ate non-stop the first time, we were so hungry.
I have figured out a good way to keep track of food proportions and what has been tried and what to try next.
I am not afraid to do (shhh) enemas, if needed. No big deal.
No need to justify what we are doing to anyone.
No more cravings.
The list goes on. GAPS is good.
intro Again
It has been eleven months since we started GAPS. We have seen some wonderful progress in terms of cognitive development and behavioral improvements. Yay!
We still have not been able to add a lot of new foods and are still very limited in what we eat, so we are going back to intro to try to heal and seal the gut so we can add more food in sooner. That is our hope.
I am not going to revisit intro, as I am still nursing and it did seem to have a negative effect on the little one the first time around. I couldn't do that to him again. He's doing so well.
Good news: the boys have been on stage one for three days, with a bit of Biokult, and are doing well with no major flu-like die-off symptoms. The girls started today and are doing quite well. I moved two of the boys on to stage two, introducing a bit of egg yolk into their broth. So far, so good. Our 3yo ds is still on stage one due to diarrhea. Maybe tomorrow? I think that the girls will start stage two tomorrow, too. yay!
I am very hopeful that they will all be able to tolerate eggs this time around. We will go very slow and carefully with the eggs since they caused major regressions eight to eleven months ago. I have been chicken to try them again, but now the time is right.
By God's grace, I pray that enough healing has taken place over the past eleven months and that we will all be able to add more and more foods and expand our diets quite a bit. By God's grace, I would be happy if we could add eggs and ghee and butter!
I just know it is going to go well this time around.
Please, Lord, let it be so. Amen!
We still have not been able to add a lot of new foods and are still very limited in what we eat, so we are going back to intro to try to heal and seal the gut so we can add more food in sooner. That is our hope.
I am not going to revisit intro, as I am still nursing and it did seem to have a negative effect on the little one the first time around. I couldn't do that to him again. He's doing so well.
Good news: the boys have been on stage one for three days, with a bit of Biokult, and are doing well with no major flu-like die-off symptoms. The girls started today and are doing quite well. I moved two of the boys on to stage two, introducing a bit of egg yolk into their broth. So far, so good. Our 3yo ds is still on stage one due to diarrhea. Maybe tomorrow? I think that the girls will start stage two tomorrow, too. yay!
I am very hopeful that they will all be able to tolerate eggs this time around. We will go very slow and carefully with the eggs since they caused major regressions eight to eleven months ago. I have been chicken to try them again, but now the time is right.
By God's grace, I pray that enough healing has taken place over the past eleven months and that we will all be able to add more and more foods and expand our diets quite a bit. By God's grace, I would be happy if we could add eggs and ghee and butter!
I just know it is going to go well this time around.
Please, Lord, let it be so. Amen!
June 18, 2010
Back in the Saddle Again -Update
Here we are again. Since my girls have gotten horse crazy recently, I have had a lot of help in the kitchen and around the house. They are working hard because they want horseback riding lessons. It is amazing what a 9 year old is capable of doing in the kitchen. Other than regular headaches, she has been doing great! (Only one recent anger episode in months)
Since I mentioned the 9 year old, I will tell about her first. Her eczema is gone. She can eat fruit without getting itchy "down there", or anywhere for that matter. She can eat nut butter. She can now eat berries. Yay!
Our 11 year old son is doing great, too. I took him to be evaluated for sensory processing and auditory issues and although he still has some issues, I don't think it will be enough to warrant any therapy. I am still waiting for results to come back. But...I do want help. He still has much trouble remembering things and hearing things and understanding them correctly. He still has trouble with basic writing skills, like capital letters, spelling, spacing, indentions, margins, etc. (very basic stuff). At the beginning of the diet, I remember that all of his issues seemed to melt away, but they came back.
Our 6 year old is eating better. She has good days and bad days, mostly good days. Some days she likes the food. Some days, not so much. She always eats it though and we have very few tantrums anymore. She still itches very bad if you give her fruit. She pretty much always itches. (carrots? Winter squash? Peas?). I refuse to limit her diet any more as we are already so limited. She also gets leg cramps occasionally if we eat lots of onions. She had tantrums every weekend after our Friday homeschool co-op. We finally realized, after co-op was over, that she was reacting to the hand sanitizer that her department required upon entry and before snack. Co-op is over. No more tantrums every weekend. It could be why she is not doing as well as her older siblings. Healing seems slower for her.
Our 3 year old is amazing! He is talking non-stop. On good days, he speaks clearly and talks about all kinds of different things. On bad days, he talks very loud, repeats things over and over, and has a whiny sing song lilt to everything he says. On good days, he is cheerful, easy going, and helpful. On bad days, he is grumpy, rigid, and demanding. On good days, he eats well using a fork and a spoon and keeps it all on the plate or in his mouth. On bad days, he eats with his fingers or shovels it in with his fork and ends up wearing a good bit of it in his hair and on his clothes.
Today was good and bad for our 3year old. He pretended to be a cat a lot today (good). He was constantly meowing and rubbing and rolling on everyone (mostly me) all day (nice, but too much). He whined everything he said, but would change it to nice words when prompted. He had to have a bandaid put on his cut, but would pull it off within minutes, and then he would ask for another bandaid (over and over and over). He needed to be held and carried right when I needed to be preparing dinner. Language was pretty clear. Yay!
The baby is doing fine!
Gotta go to bed! G'night.
Since I mentioned the 9 year old, I will tell about her first. Her eczema is gone. She can eat fruit without getting itchy "down there", or anywhere for that matter. She can eat nut butter. She can now eat berries. Yay!
Our 11 year old son is doing great, too. I took him to be evaluated for sensory processing and auditory issues and although he still has some issues, I don't think it will be enough to warrant any therapy. I am still waiting for results to come back. But...I do want help. He still has much trouble remembering things and hearing things and understanding them correctly. He still has trouble with basic writing skills, like capital letters, spelling, spacing, indentions, margins, etc. (very basic stuff). At the beginning of the diet, I remember that all of his issues seemed to melt away, but they came back.
Our 6 year old is eating better. She has good days and bad days, mostly good days. Some days she likes the food. Some days, not so much. She always eats it though and we have very few tantrums anymore. She still itches very bad if you give her fruit. She pretty much always itches. (carrots? Winter squash? Peas?). I refuse to limit her diet any more as we are already so limited. She also gets leg cramps occasionally if we eat lots of onions. She had tantrums every weekend after our Friday homeschool co-op. We finally realized, after co-op was over, that she was reacting to the hand sanitizer that her department required upon entry and before snack. Co-op is over. No more tantrums every weekend. It could be why she is not doing as well as her older siblings. Healing seems slower for her.
Our 3 year old is amazing! He is talking non-stop. On good days, he speaks clearly and talks about all kinds of different things. On bad days, he talks very loud, repeats things over and over, and has a whiny sing song lilt to everything he says. On good days, he is cheerful, easy going, and helpful. On bad days, he is grumpy, rigid, and demanding. On good days, he eats well using a fork and a spoon and keeps it all on the plate or in his mouth. On bad days, he eats with his fingers or shovels it in with his fork and ends up wearing a good bit of it in his hair and on his clothes.
Today was good and bad for our 3year old. He pretended to be a cat a lot today (good). He was constantly meowing and rubbing and rolling on everyone (mostly me) all day (nice, but too much). He whined everything he said, but would change it to nice words when prompted. He had to have a bandaid put on his cut, but would pull it off within minutes, and then he would ask for another bandaid (over and over and over). He needed to be held and carried right when I needed to be preparing dinner. Language was pretty clear. Yay!
The baby is doing fine!
Gotta go to bed! G'night.
April 2, 2010
A Snapshot of Day four Without Daddy
Four days without Daddy, my rock. He has been away and I miss him, but we are managing fine this week. We are doing OK because together we prepared A LOT of food over the weekend to get us through the week. I think we will even have some leftovers when he gets back.
I picked up some more milk from Irene for only $5 a gallon. That just seems like a great price for fresh grass-fed, raw milk in glass jars. I know that God is blessing us and taking care of us.
Farmer Brown stopped by again today and dropped off 6 dozen eggs. They are totally free-range eggs, I believe. It only cost me $12 and two jars of homemade sauerkraut. Again, not a bad price. The organic, free-range eggs at the grocery store cost $4+ and they are not as rich and thick as Farmer Brown's eggs. It is amazing. You can really see the difference.
I finally, successfully, used the anchor hocking glass jar I bought at the beginning of our GAPS journey to make some sauerkraut. Actually, I haven't tasted it yet, but it smells and looks great.
We have had 3 teeth fall out in the last 7 days. Today, our almost 6 year old lost her 3rd tooth. She really has a whole new look. Our older two have multiple loose teeth, too. Our 3 year old is pretending to wiggle his "loose teeth" and the baby, of course, is oblivious.
Our littlest one is getting really close to walking. He will be one year old on Monday. His first year just flew by with all that we have been doing this year.
I just made the most perfect pancakes and pan puffs (gaps bread) from cashews that were dehydrated in my new Excaliber Dehydrator. I added butternut squash, coconut oil, eggs, and sea salt. I spooned the batter onto two Pampered Chef pizza stones to make pan puffs and baked at 350F for 25 minutes. The leftover batter, after my pizza stones were full, was fried in ghee. Yummy! I am enjoying experimenting with food and creating some really wonderful new recipes for our family to enjoy.
I made chicken pancakes last weekend and they were delicious. Everyone loved them except for one child who insists that they make her tummy hurt after a few bites. I am going to experiment with this and see if I can make chicken puffs. It would be nice to have something to grab-n-go. We shall see if it works.
Thank You, Heavenly Father, for what You are doing in our family and what You are doing with our lives. Help me to be more and more like You each and every day. Help me to let go of/heal from all frustration, bitterness, anger, and rage. You are the Great Physician. Heal me, O Lord. Thank You!
I picked up some more milk from Irene for only $5 a gallon. That just seems like a great price for fresh grass-fed, raw milk in glass jars. I know that God is blessing us and taking care of us.
Farmer Brown stopped by again today and dropped off 6 dozen eggs. They are totally free-range eggs, I believe. It only cost me $12 and two jars of homemade sauerkraut. Again, not a bad price. The organic, free-range eggs at the grocery store cost $4+ and they are not as rich and thick as Farmer Brown's eggs. It is amazing. You can really see the difference.
I finally, successfully, used the anchor hocking glass jar I bought at the beginning of our GAPS journey to make some sauerkraut. Actually, I haven't tasted it yet, but it smells and looks great.
We have had 3 teeth fall out in the last 7 days. Today, our almost 6 year old lost her 3rd tooth. She really has a whole new look. Our older two have multiple loose teeth, too. Our 3 year old is pretending to wiggle his "loose teeth" and the baby, of course, is oblivious.
Our littlest one is getting really close to walking. He will be one year old on Monday. His first year just flew by with all that we have been doing this year.
I just made the most perfect pancakes and pan puffs (gaps bread) from cashews that were dehydrated in my new Excaliber Dehydrator. I added butternut squash, coconut oil, eggs, and sea salt. I spooned the batter onto two Pampered Chef pizza stones to make pan puffs and baked at 350F for 25 minutes. The leftover batter, after my pizza stones were full, was fried in ghee. Yummy! I am enjoying experimenting with food and creating some really wonderful new recipes for our family to enjoy.
I made chicken pancakes last weekend and they were delicious. Everyone loved them except for one child who insists that they make her tummy hurt after a few bites. I am going to experiment with this and see if I can make chicken puffs. It would be nice to have something to grab-n-go. We shall see if it works.
Thank You, Heavenly Father, for what You are doing in our family and what You are doing with our lives. Help me to be more and more like You each and every day. Help me to let go of/heal from all frustration, bitterness, anger, and rage. You are the Great Physician. Heal me, O Lord. Thank You!
March 30, 2010
* Therapy?
There are some who say we should look into tharapy for our 3 year old. When they see him on an off day, they see a child who is very rigid about routines and is easily upset by little things.
He looks like he needs some training and discipline, I admit, but on a good day he is easygoing and flexible. He plays nice with others and shares well. He understands about taking turns. He is polite and empathetic. He says, "please," "thank you," and "sorry."
My thinking is this. If he can do these things, even sometimes, than the training is there. He knows what to do and what to say. He knows how he should behave, but on an off day, he is overwhelmed and can't make himself do what he knows is right. He doesn't need training. He needs intervention.
Detox baths work wonders!
I don't have much more to say about this.
He looks like he needs some training and discipline, I admit, but on a good day he is easygoing and flexible. He plays nice with others and shares well. He understands about taking turns. He is polite and empathetic. He says, "please," "thank you," and "sorry."
My thinking is this. If he can do these things, even sometimes, than the training is there. He knows what to do and what to say. He knows how he should behave, but on an off day, he is overwhelmed and can't make himself do what he knows is right. He doesn't need training. He needs intervention.
Detox baths work wonders!
I don't have much more to say about this.
Happy 3rd Birthday to Our 4th Child!
Today (March 29) is our 4th child's birthday. He is 3! He is the reason we jumped into the GAPS diet with both feet before I was quite ready.
Long story short (in case you have not read previous posts), he reacted to a vaccine last May and severely regressed. The neurologist had expected to meet a severely autistic little boy based on my written description of all that happened to my precious child, but because he had been on GAPS for three weeks he was almost his old self again. We at least had language and eye contact back.
When I was putting him down for the night, I realized that he is showing signs of regression. I have been noting them all week: clumsy, spills things more, falls down more, gets hurt more, louder and more agressive than usual, very tactile, always touching something, scattering toys about, stepping on things, rigid and easily upset, language slurred, lots of statements that sound like questions, repeats things over and over, his eyes are off (not tracking the same), eye contact is short in duration, close up he was looking at me out of the sides of his eyes when I asked him to look at me. This, too, was short in duration, like it is uncomfortable to do it.
I don't know what to make of it. At the same time, he is playing make believe. Just this week, he has been playing with a pretend rat that he calls Rattetoui after the movie we watched a few weeks ago. He hands me invisible cards, and cars, and food and he eats invisible monsters when they invade the house (I think our 9 year old started that one). He talks constantly, naming everything and asking questions about things or telling us about things.
He seems very smart. When he tells us these things, we just have to listen carefully to decifer what he is saying. Sometimes I have to get my other kids to help me figure it out. He's unbelievably patient about this. He just keeps repeating his words over and over and over until we get it. Several weeks ago he could say "finger". Today it comes out "hinga". He says, "Ma hinga hoit." for "My finger hurts." or maybe it was "My finger got hurt."
So his language is growing and blossoming, but it comes and goes. I think this is die-off. I think the regression will be temporary and that we should press on with adding more and more of the healing foods that are part of this GAPS protocol. I think it is because we added Cod Liver Oil and have been having more coconut oil and ghee. We added yoghurt, too. Well, anyway, there are some things to think about.
He looked forward to his Birthday Party all last week. He would say, "I'm 2. On my birthday, I be 3, right?" He loved the streamers. The kids wake up to streamers decorating the living room on their birthdays and he knows this, so when he woke up grumpy and his older sister told him about the streamers, he jumped up and ran out to see. When I woke up, the two were sitting together looking at books. Precious!
He hardly cracked a smile throughout his whole party, but I know he loved it. He just didn't look like he felt well. His cheeks were red and his face looked sweaty even though it was not hot. He had everyone else open his presents for him. That's different after the way he tore into the presents at Christmastime.
He is definitely going through a period of regression, but nothing too awful. I pray that this is as bad as it gets. Lord, let's not get any worse with this. 'K?
He loves the Thomas trains and the puzzles that he got for his birthday. He especially likes the tiger puzzle. He does that one over and over. He got puzzles because when he goes to the library he has to do every puzzle they have. The boy loves puzzles!
Thank You, My Father in Heaven, for this precious little boy. Thank You for the gift that he is, for all that he brings to this family, for the joy he brings. Thank You for giving him back to us! He was lost to us for a short while, but he is back. I do not fear losing him again. You led us to the GAPS diet in an answer to my prayers for help. If he steps away again for a bit, I have confidence that he will be back again and again with great gains. He is a sharp little boy. He is a joy! Thank You for the gift of this son. Amen!
Long story short (in case you have not read previous posts), he reacted to a vaccine last May and severely regressed. The neurologist had expected to meet a severely autistic little boy based on my written description of all that happened to my precious child, but because he had been on GAPS for three weeks he was almost his old self again. We at least had language and eye contact back.
When I was putting him down for the night, I realized that he is showing signs of regression. I have been noting them all week: clumsy, spills things more, falls down more, gets hurt more, louder and more agressive than usual, very tactile, always touching something, scattering toys about, stepping on things, rigid and easily upset, language slurred, lots of statements that sound like questions, repeats things over and over, his eyes are off (not tracking the same), eye contact is short in duration, close up he was looking at me out of the sides of his eyes when I asked him to look at me. This, too, was short in duration, like it is uncomfortable to do it.
I don't know what to make of it. At the same time, he is playing make believe. Just this week, he has been playing with a pretend rat that he calls Rattetoui after the movie we watched a few weeks ago. He hands me invisible cards, and cars, and food and he eats invisible monsters when they invade the house (I think our 9 year old started that one). He talks constantly, naming everything and asking questions about things or telling us about things.
He seems very smart. When he tells us these things, we just have to listen carefully to decifer what he is saying. Sometimes I have to get my other kids to help me figure it out. He's unbelievably patient about this. He just keeps repeating his words over and over and over until we get it. Several weeks ago he could say "finger". Today it comes out "hinga". He says, "Ma hinga hoit." for "My finger hurts." or maybe it was "My finger got hurt."
So his language is growing and blossoming, but it comes and goes. I think this is die-off. I think the regression will be temporary and that we should press on with adding more and more of the healing foods that are part of this GAPS protocol. I think it is because we added Cod Liver Oil and have been having more coconut oil and ghee. We added yoghurt, too. Well, anyway, there are some things to think about.
He looked forward to his Birthday Party all last week. He would say, "I'm 2. On my birthday, I be 3, right?" He loved the streamers. The kids wake up to streamers decorating the living room on their birthdays and he knows this, so when he woke up grumpy and his older sister told him about the streamers, he jumped up and ran out to see. When I woke up, the two were sitting together looking at books. Precious!
He hardly cracked a smile throughout his whole party, but I know he loved it. He just didn't look like he felt well. His cheeks were red and his face looked sweaty even though it was not hot. He had everyone else open his presents for him. That's different after the way he tore into the presents at Christmastime.
He is definitely going through a period of regression, but nothing too awful. I pray that this is as bad as it gets. Lord, let's not get any worse with this. 'K?
He loves the Thomas trains and the puzzles that he got for his birthday. He especially likes the tiger puzzle. He does that one over and over. He got puzzles because when he goes to the library he has to do every puzzle they have. The boy loves puzzles!
Thank You, My Father in Heaven, for this precious little boy. Thank You for the gift that he is, for all that he brings to this family, for the joy he brings. Thank You for giving him back to us! He was lost to us for a short while, but he is back. I do not fear losing him again. You led us to the GAPS diet in an answer to my prayers for help. If he steps away again for a bit, I have confidence that he will be back again and again with great gains. He is a sharp little boy. He is a joy! Thank You for the gift of this son. Amen!
March 29, 2010
Doing it Without Dad
Daddy is gone for the week. When we work together on getting it all done we are up late as it is. Without my partner in crime, I imagine being up all day and night without any sleep. Cooking for such a large family without convenience foods takes a lot of time, not to mention clean up, but I can't imagine doing anything differently. I am learning all of this from books and internet sources. It is a lot to learn while going about the business of daily life.
Today was a pretty good day, all in all. My hubby and I had a marathon weekend of food prep and the refrigerator, freezer, and cabinets are full. I am praising God for this! We are severely lacking in sleep, but it was worth it. Hopefully my sweetheart will get some much needed sleep while he is away. I hope to get some extra sleep, too, if I don't squander my time away on the computer. (I'm taking a detox bath right now - TMI, I know...but it's a great time and place to have a little private time to do what I enjoy. I like to write!)
Sad to say that I got a bit grumpy at the end of the day. It was such a beautiful day outside that I couldn't bear to call the kids in to help me, but I need help. It's a lot to do alone and as a result, dinner was served at 8PM. Bedtimes didn't start until 9PM. All children were finally asleep by 1030PM. Not ideal!
The kitchen didn't get cleaned up. The playroom didn't get cleaned up. The living room is a mess. Schoolwork has yet to be graded. I really need that extra time at the end of the day to wrap things up. Now it's late and I am tired and achey, hence the bath. I am debating whether to rush around and clean up and prepare for tomorrow or go to bed after this and tackle it all in the morning. I need my sleep, but I have never done well to wake up to a messy house. Hmmm. Difficult choice. Opinions? Anyone?
Lord, I thank You for being with me and for helping me through this day on such a little amount of sleep. Help me to have a good attitude. Help me to trust in You to take care of the big stuff. Help me to make good and responsible choices. Thank You, Lord, for hearing my prayer. You are a good and a Great God! Amen!
Today was a pretty good day, all in all. My hubby and I had a marathon weekend of food prep and the refrigerator, freezer, and cabinets are full. I am praising God for this! We are severely lacking in sleep, but it was worth it. Hopefully my sweetheart will get some much needed sleep while he is away. I hope to get some extra sleep, too, if I don't squander my time away on the computer. (I'm taking a detox bath right now - TMI, I know...but it's a great time and place to have a little private time to do what I enjoy. I like to write!)
Sad to say that I got a bit grumpy at the end of the day. It was such a beautiful day outside that I couldn't bear to call the kids in to help me, but I need help. It's a lot to do alone and as a result, dinner was served at 8PM. Bedtimes didn't start until 9PM. All children were finally asleep by 1030PM. Not ideal!
The kitchen didn't get cleaned up. The playroom didn't get cleaned up. The living room is a mess. Schoolwork has yet to be graded. I really need that extra time at the end of the day to wrap things up. Now it's late and I am tired and achey, hence the bath. I am debating whether to rush around and clean up and prepare for tomorrow or go to bed after this and tackle it all in the morning. I need my sleep, but I have never done well to wake up to a messy house. Hmmm. Difficult choice. Opinions? Anyone?
Lord, I thank You for being with me and for helping me through this day on such a little amount of sleep. Help me to have a good attitude. Help me to trust in You to take care of the big stuff. Help me to make good and responsible choices. Thank You, Lord, for hearing my prayer. You are a good and a Great God! Amen!
March 19, 2010
The Carrot Mustache
We have our mornings worked out like clockwork now. I wash, cut, and juice carrots and celery, while the kids help to set the table, put on broth and veggies, divide chicken, and pour water, kraut juice and lemon water. The baby is on my back or is watched by one of the older children.
Everyone gets a large cup of juice in the morning as soon as we can get it together, but first they must swallow a spoonful of codliver oil. This is going well. The toddler takes his codliver oil in his juice. We say it is like tuna salad in a cup. This works for him.
Then, we all take our probiotic. We use GUT-Pro. It tastes like candy to us. So we say that we get candy for breakfast everyday. :O)
After about 20 minutes or so, we sit down to eat chicken, veggies, and broth for breakfast. Everyone starts with some sauerkraut juice and a little lemon water to help with digestion. Even the baby gets sauerkraut juice with his pureed food and little bits of meat.
So I look at my kids in the mornings and they have orange mustaches. Too, cute!
Everyone gets a large cup of juice in the morning as soon as we can get it together, but first they must swallow a spoonful of codliver oil. This is going well. The toddler takes his codliver oil in his juice. We say it is like tuna salad in a cup. This works for him.
Then, we all take our probiotic. We use GUT-Pro. It tastes like candy to us. So we say that we get candy for breakfast everyday. :O)
After about 20 minutes or so, we sit down to eat chicken, veggies, and broth for breakfast. Everyone starts with some sauerkraut juice and a little lemon water to help with digestion. Even the baby gets sauerkraut juice with his pureed food and little bits of meat.
So I look at my kids in the mornings and they have orange mustaches. Too, cute!
A Dairy Farm and Farmer Brown
Oh, I wish I could find (make) the time to write everyday, but life is so very full and busy these days, which of course is why I have so much to say. So on with it...
It is Spring Break for all of the school kids around here (and the cousins), so we decided to take a break, too. The cousins are in town, so there is fun to be had all around.
Today, we went to visit the dairy farm where we buy our raw milk so we could see how the cows are milked. Very interesting! They have 6 milking cows, one expectant cow, several calves, a couple of bulls, and 15 other cows for breeding and selling. They milk the cows twice a day. We went this evening around seven. All 7 children seemed to enjoy the experience. The girls want to go back and it made quite an impression on our toddler. Grandpa is now working on getting our baby to say, "Moo!" (to add to "uh-oh", "mama", and "woof!") I came home with 4 half gallon containers of milk, each from a different cow. They are labeled with the name of the cow, the date, and the time. The milk costs us only $5 a gallon, which is the best price I have found yet for grass-fed raw milk.
Yesterday we had another visit from Farmer Brown. She brought me 6 dozen eggs from pastured chickens for only $3 a dozen. They are the best eggs I have ever eaten. So far we are only eating the whites. I am still working up the courage to try yolks again and now that I have the best eggs I can find, I can hardly wait to get started. The yolks are almost orange. The whites are thick. They look and feel so rich. Farmer Brown also sells beef. She gave me a few cuts of beef to sample. It is very yummy! I need to find out the details about her beef. I am not sure if it is entirely grass-fed or not. I imagine it is, but I don't know.
Both our dairy farmer and Farmer Brown have commented that many of their customers as of late are dealing with autism. Well, with the official number being 1 in 91 now, I guess that is not so surprising.
It's late. I am going to go catch a few winks before the sun comes up again. But wait!
Heavenly Father, I thank you for the beautiful weather that we have enjoyed these past few days. I thank you for blessing us with new friends and resources for the good food we are now eating. I thank you that my children are healing and that they actually like the GAPS protocol. I thank you for the experiences that we have all enjoyed together. I thank you that our little toddler (almost 3) is growing and developing so very well. Thank you, my Lord, for ALL of our many blessings. Amen.
It is Spring Break for all of the school kids around here (and the cousins), so we decided to take a break, too. The cousins are in town, so there is fun to be had all around.
Today, we went to visit the dairy farm where we buy our raw milk so we could see how the cows are milked. Very interesting! They have 6 milking cows, one expectant cow, several calves, a couple of bulls, and 15 other cows for breeding and selling. They milk the cows twice a day. We went this evening around seven. All 7 children seemed to enjoy the experience. The girls want to go back and it made quite an impression on our toddler. Grandpa is now working on getting our baby to say, "Moo!" (to add to "uh-oh", "mama", and "woof!") I came home with 4 half gallon containers of milk, each from a different cow. They are labeled with the name of the cow, the date, and the time. The milk costs us only $5 a gallon, which is the best price I have found yet for grass-fed raw milk.
Yesterday we had another visit from Farmer Brown. She brought me 6 dozen eggs from pastured chickens for only $3 a dozen. They are the best eggs I have ever eaten. So far we are only eating the whites. I am still working up the courage to try yolks again and now that I have the best eggs I can find, I can hardly wait to get started. The yolks are almost orange. The whites are thick. They look and feel so rich. Farmer Brown also sells beef. She gave me a few cuts of beef to sample. It is very yummy! I need to find out the details about her beef. I am not sure if it is entirely grass-fed or not. I imagine it is, but I don't know.
Both our dairy farmer and Farmer Brown have commented that many of their customers as of late are dealing with autism. Well, with the official number being 1 in 91 now, I guess that is not so surprising.
It's late. I am going to go catch a few winks before the sun comes up again. But wait!
Heavenly Father, I thank you for the beautiful weather that we have enjoyed these past few days. I thank you for blessing us with new friends and resources for the good food we are now eating. I thank you that my children are healing and that they actually like the GAPS protocol. I thank you for the experiences that we have all enjoyed together. I thank you that our little toddler (almost 3) is growing and developing so very well. Thank you, my Lord, for ALL of our many blessings. Amen.
March 3, 2010
He Holds Me Up - Another Day in the Life of a GAPSfamily
What a rollercoaster ride. Up and down and up and down. It's 2 AM. I am off to bed after this, but I just had to say something about our day.
Overall it was a good day. Everyone was fed and all are well. I packed up a bunch of stuff to give away while most of the kids were at the library with Grandpa. (Have I ever mentioned how blessed we are to have my dad to help out nearly every day?) It felt great to get rid of so much clutter. When I react to foods, I get very overwhelmed by all of the clutter!!!
We had some spinach last night. It is a sulpher food. We just had a little, but it was enough to cause night waking and regression in our 2 year old (almost 3). He was picking at his scabs and bleeding all over. He was repeating every word I said when I told him things or read to him. He was very tactile and clumsy. He was rigid and easily upset, but not as bad as it could be.
Our 9 year old spent some time away by herself crying and praying. Our 11 year old was on the verge of tears because his sister didn't want to go to the library and he didn't want to have to carry her books that were due back to the library. He said there were too many books in the bag and they were poking him, but he never thought to set the bag down and only carry it to the car and to the library. He stood there holding it for the entire time we were changing diapers and putting on shoes and jackets and all. It blows me away, but this is a normal reaction to food for him. Our 5 year old woke in the night and had some rough moments throughout the day and was very gassy, tooting and burping a lot. I have done very well today (whew)!
All of the kids had detox baths in time for bedtime, but I still got everyone to bed late. My hubby had to work tonight, so I had to do it all on my own. The two year old went down fine. Then, I put the 5 year old to bed, but her tummy hurt and she was constantly burping. I put the baby to bed and cleaned up in the kitchen, then went to play a few games with the older two. The 9 year old didn't feel well and had been constipated, so we had to do some detox with her and I finally got her to bed after midnight. Then, the 5 year old woke up about that time and had actually pooed in her pull-up (this is unusual) and sat sleepily on the potty to clear out the rest. She was very distressed and could not go back to sleep, so my husband lay down with her and fell asleep on the floor in her room. Then, the baby woke up and needed to be changed, fed, and put back to bed. After all of this, I had to have a snack and indulge myself by getting it all out on paper (OK, it's a blog, not paper, but that's how I think of it).
Still, life is way better than the mayhem that we lived with before Feingold/GAPS. I have wings like the eagles. I can run and not grow faint! God gives me the strength to do what has to be done. He holds me up. Otherwise, there is now way I would be standing. To God be the Glory!
I think I can go to bed now. I think I should go to bed now. Good Night!
Overall it was a good day. Everyone was fed and all are well. I packed up a bunch of stuff to give away while most of the kids were at the library with Grandpa. (Have I ever mentioned how blessed we are to have my dad to help out nearly every day?) It felt great to get rid of so much clutter. When I react to foods, I get very overwhelmed by all of the clutter!!!
We had some spinach last night. It is a sulpher food. We just had a little, but it was enough to cause night waking and regression in our 2 year old (almost 3). He was picking at his scabs and bleeding all over. He was repeating every word I said when I told him things or read to him. He was very tactile and clumsy. He was rigid and easily upset, but not as bad as it could be.
Our 9 year old spent some time away by herself crying and praying. Our 11 year old was on the verge of tears because his sister didn't want to go to the library and he didn't want to have to carry her books that were due back to the library. He said there were too many books in the bag and they were poking him, but he never thought to set the bag down and only carry it to the car and to the library. He stood there holding it for the entire time we were changing diapers and putting on shoes and jackets and all. It blows me away, but this is a normal reaction to food for him. Our 5 year old woke in the night and had some rough moments throughout the day and was very gassy, tooting and burping a lot. I have done very well today (whew)!
All of the kids had detox baths in time for bedtime, but I still got everyone to bed late. My hubby had to work tonight, so I had to do it all on my own. The two year old went down fine. Then, I put the 5 year old to bed, but her tummy hurt and she was constantly burping. I put the baby to bed and cleaned up in the kitchen, then went to play a few games with the older two. The 9 year old didn't feel well and had been constipated, so we had to do some detox with her and I finally got her to bed after midnight. Then, the 5 year old woke up about that time and had actually pooed in her pull-up (this is unusual) and sat sleepily on the potty to clear out the rest. She was very distressed and could not go back to sleep, so my husband lay down with her and fell asleep on the floor in her room. Then, the baby woke up and needed to be changed, fed, and put back to bed. After all of this, I had to have a snack and indulge myself by getting it all out on paper (OK, it's a blog, not paper, but that's how I think of it).
Still, life is way better than the mayhem that we lived with before Feingold/GAPS. I have wings like the eagles. I can run and not grow faint! God gives me the strength to do what has to be done. He holds me up. Otherwise, there is now way I would be standing. To God be the Glory!
I think I can go to bed now. I think I should go to bed now. Good Night!
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