Day Three

Well, I'm eating my words from yesterday!! This morning started out rough, with one of the kids puking, and several feeling really crummy. After a bit of surfing, and finding great pages like this one, and this one, and this one, and spending lots of time reading the Q & A section on the GAPS website, I concluded the kids (who are much more stubborn than I thought) were probably struggling with low blood sugar from not eating enough carbs (from the carrots we added to the soups yesterday) and probably were struggling at least a little with dehydration.

The recommended treatment was carrot juice, and since we had an industrial size bag, I made lots. It was not warmly received by everyone, but our littlest guy quickly had four (littlest guy sized) servings. Within a short amount of time, those who willingly partook were feeling much better. Trying to decide if I was dealing with die-off or just low blood sugar, I decided to add an egg to each serving of soup, in addition to broccoli and cauliflower. This time, my four year old daughter enthusiastically consumed her soup, and asked for seconds, twice. Guess that worked well.

While I knew our two youngest were going to have issues with the diet, I was really not prepared for the amount of difficulty our next two would have?! They are both really struggling today. As I think about it, though, it makes sense. Of all our kids, these two are the worst at the "spacey" behavior commonly described in the reading I've done. Our daughter with dyslexia is really struggling; body aches, headache, and very VERY whiny. A bath with bath salts and lavender really seemed to help, as did finally deciding to eat what was set before her, and having some of the fresh yogurt I made, rich with probiotics. 

Notice the two ovens!! The stove top pulls out like a drawer.

Chicken and beef bones are going in two different crock pots, more yogurt is culturing in my small over (I have the coolest oven, ever - a   Frigidaire Flair), and nobody is throwing up.

Over all, we're doing fairly well, considering. And my healthy portion of humble pie hasn't been too bitter. 

Day 2

Well, the second day has definitely been more difficult than the first one. First of all, my little ones have HATED the bone broth. Even the chicken broth, with some onions and garlic, was very unpopular. So, kids are getting hungry, which makes them very grumpy, clingy, and they cry MUCH easier. Our four year old, with anxiety issues, tends to have more melt downs when she is hungry, so guess how I spent most of my morning...

But, other than the little ones being extra grumpy, and the rest of us being a bit tired, we haven't had too tough a time, yet. I'm honestly quite surprised. We'll see what happens tomorrow, but with things going so well, we are quickly progressing to cooked veggies. Perhaps we'll try carrot juice and egg yokes next. I still need to make yogurt, and getting on top of all the supplements (the fish oil, probiotics, the enzymes, etc) is keeping me on my toes, but we are doing this on a grand scale; anything you do with this many kids is on a grand scale, lol.

Can't say I feel a whole lot different at this point, or that I'm noticing a dramatic improvement in my children, but I'm still committed to this journey. And, honestly, our situation wasn't nearly as bad as many people I've read about who started GAPS. We definitely had kids who showed signs of the gut and psychology syndrome Dr. Campbell-McBride describes, but we hadn't progressed to genuine food issues yet. And, we've kept most processed foods out of our diet already, which is why, at least in part, we're not experiencing significant die-off or other reactions at this point. 

Now, I may eat my words, and come back for a huge slice of humble pie with my next post, but at this point (by God's grace) we're actually fairing pretty well. My four year old did spend part of the day yesterday screaming "I WANT CANDY!!" and our twelve year old (who I didn't expect to have any difficulty) has been in tears more than once, but over all we're fairing very well.

Day One

This is my personal journey with the Gut and Psychology Syndrome diet. This diet, also known as the GAPS diet, was developed by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, to treat her son's Autism. You can check out her website here.

You can order a copy of her book here or on Amazon. I didn't find a copy at my local library, or through any of the discount book sellers, but if you decide you want to buy a copy, check all your favorite book shops.

The reason I started this diet, with my family, is kind of a long story. If you want to learn more about my personal adventure and how I got here, check out my other blog and our challenges over the last two years. Briefly, my youngest son was born in March 2011, and for reasons that were not immediately apparent, he cried, constantly, almost from birth. Eventually, he was diagnosed with reflux, swallowing difficulties, developmental delays, and ultimately "static encephalopathy" Cerebral Palsy. 

 
Because of the Cerebral Palsy, my son has low muscle tone and hemiparesis, or right-sided weakness. He also struggles with Sensory Processing Disorder, has had multiple upper respiratory infections (with fourteen different rounds of antibiotics - before he was two!), pneumonia twice (once requiring hospitalization), had a significant speech delay (both receptive and expressive), and major issues with separation anxiety. His big sister, though a much easier baby, also struggles with anxiety (she has a diagnosed anxiety disorder), a speech delay (initially it was an expressive delay, but she also had major issues with intelligibility), and Sensory Processing Disorder. 


 
 Of our eight children, five of them are struggling with some sort of "psychological" issue, including dyslexia and Autism, in addition to the diagnoses above. Not only was life overwhelming, but we were desperate for answers and help.

After reading about the dramatic improvement parents were seeing with the Gluten-free/Casein-free diets, we were gearing up for that when someone mentioned Dr. Campbell-McBride's book. I devoured it, quickly. But, the GAPS diet is pretty intense (you can look over the outline here, here, and here). It took a few months to get ready to actually take that step. This page has been very helpful.

Today, we took the plunge. Last week, we bought several pounds of all natural beef bones from a local butcher; I dropped several into a crock pot yesterday, to begin the process of cooking. I also bought a whole chicken, and will be picking up some fish carcasses from our local public market when it opens on Thursday. I bought some commercial yogurt, for the cultures, so I could make my own at home, with raw milk, for probiotics, and put teaspoons of sauerkraut juice in our bowls of soup tonight. A friend (who started the GAPS diet over a year ago) gave me kefir grains, so making some fresh kefir is on the list of things to do, too.

My kids do not like this diet, to put it mildly. Our four year old (mentioned above) was screaming "I want C.A.N.D.Y.!!" very loudly earlier, and sobbed over eating the bone broth. My two year old, who is still nursing because of his swallowing issues, has been much "hungrier" for Mama today. Honestly, it was a bit of a challenge to drink the bone broth for breakfast this morning. And I won't lie; this isn't something I'd choose just for fun.

But, it has been, surprisingly, very filling. The little ones enjoyed their well-cooked bones (with lots of healing connective tissue) at dinner, and no one is struggling (too badly) with withdrawls, yet. I have a feeling that is coming. But, we have boxed up almost everything that will be a temptation, so we should make it through. I'll let you know how I'm feeling tomorrow.

We are NOT doing this diet to lose weight, though a few of us can definitely stand to lose a few pounds. The reasons for embarking on this quest...journey...thing...is for the health and well-being of our children, and our sanity. If you don't know anything about the GAPS diet, definitely check out the links above; do your own research. And, if you are thinking about embarking on your own journey but aren't quite sure you can do it on your own, contact me. I'd love to share the journey with you!! I have certainly appreciated the people who have shared mine with me.