Journey to Healthy: GAPS so far

So as many of you know, we have been on a quest that I have labeled: Journey to Healthy with my family. You can read the beginning of our journey here:
Journey to Healthy: Starting GAPS
Journey to Healthy: How Will I Have Time for GAPS?

As you have read in my previous posts, our journey has been 5 long years of praying and waiting upon the Lord for answers. Through our journey I have cried and prayed over other children and families that have similar stories too. So... you are wondering... how are things going?

FANTASTIC!
AMAZING!
INCREDIBLE!
Our family has been TRANSFORMED!

GAPS so far

L being silly with Aunt Abby!

So... let's start with my 5 year old daughter. The process has been slow with her. We eat soup once a day with homemade meat broth from antibiotic free and/or grass fed meats. She initially hated having soup that much, but she has grown accustomed to it. She was such a picky eater so that took some getting used to. It really helped that our family was doing most of the diet together. I don't cook separate meals so she doesn't feel left out most of the time and when she does... she knows that Mimi and Mommy can't have it either! She has lost 2 lbs. over all and she lost it right away. I am guessing it was literally die off from the bacteria because she hasn't lost any since that first two weeks.

Currently her allergist, pediatrician and GI specialist are all on board and excited about the results! She has been great with her tummy and we did discover that her reactions to processed sugars, especially high fructose corn syrup, have a DIRECT IMPACT on her behavior. We had to give her Benadryl about a month into the diet for several doses and it took about 4-5 days to get her back to a normal kid state. We are guessing there is an intolerance to red dyes as well, but she still reacts to the dye-free Benadryl.

September Family vacation to the beach

I was totally on board doing the diet with my daughter, but boy was I in for a surprise as to how much this diet would change my life! I have dropped 35-40 lbs since Aug 1!! That's about 4 months and most of that weight came off in the first 12 weeks! My body feels sooo good! I had NO IDEA how much my diet was playing into my energy level, mood, weight and chronic back pain. I thought that maybe my back was just enjoying the weight loss, but just last week I cheated on some gluten-free pretzels and a gluten-free cake for my youngest son's birthday. BAM! TERRIBLE PAIN in my back! (Thankfully I had some Deep Blue to help... more on that later!) I had a week of waiting out the pain and it slowly went away. So... no cheating for me.

You know one of my hesitations in doing the GAPS diet, and probably one of your reasons too, is the time it takes to prepare everything. Well... now 4 months in... it is pretty easy. I have been in a little bit of a rut now that I am also working (I KNOW... I'M CRAZY! More on that later too!) but it really becomes second nature. When I am in doubt I steam some veggies and grill some steak! Mmmm. And if I need a treat... smoothies are the ticket or some almond flour chocolate chip cookies. YUM!

I have also seen this turn around without adding any probiotic capsules and a limited amount of natural probiotics in my diet. I am just too afraid of the die-off going into my milk while nursing. Many people do, but with having a sensitive baby already... I am taking my time with it for sure.

So as you know I have made my own homemade laundry soap, baby wipes, cleaners... and now this journey to healthy with GAPS... it has given me a passion to share with all of you... everyone I talk to! So many of us are suffering physically and just don't know where to turn. I started a Facebook group called LUNK with my girlfriend Rebecca! It is LUNK: REAL LIVING without the JUNK! Follow us as we share all kinds of natural solutions for health and home.

So... have you read the book yet?
Have you been wondering if you need to try it?
I'd love to hear your stories or answer any questions!
Feel free to find us on Facebook or ask here in the comments!



**I have also found some great support for our family's health through doTERRA essential oils... but that is another post coming soon! This is where the Deep Blue came into our update.

**Read about our health prior to GAPS:
Our Unhealthy Past
My Journey to 80

SOOO BIG!

In mid January, Leona was evaluated by a team of therapists at Memorial's Mo's Diner.  It was pretty encouraging.  They watched her eat & play.  They said that she was right on target!  So no need for Occupational Therapy.  YAY!  They did suggest looking into food allergies b/c of her inconstant vomitting schedule.

How big is Leona? SOOOO BIG!

This past week Leona went to her pediatrician for a check-up & to discuss what's going to happen next.  She was 19# 9oz. right before Christmas.  Monday, she was 21# 5oz.  We were so pumped.  She hadn't eaten very well over Christmas in Ohio or for the first few weeks of being back home, but had finally picked up the last 2 weeks before the appt.  The big difference is that she hadn't vomitted, but 1 time.  Before Christmas she had vomitted every night for about 10 days in a row.  HUGE DIFFERENCE!

Leona is still having tummy pains that wake her up at night on occasion, so we are going through the process of getting her into a GI dr. at Riley's Childrens Hospital in Indianapolis.  This will take a few months, so it should be around April.  If she continues to not throw up or have tummy pains, we will cancel...we're hoping to not make the trip :)  If so, we'll have to hit the zoo down there when we go!

Leona is growing in other ways too.  She loves saying "Abby", "Daddy", "Elmo" & "Nite-Nite".  She says them with such clarity!  It is really amazing to see her grow-up into a toddler.  She runs all over & gets into lots of mischeif.  She gets several time outs a day for touching the remote or being stubborn.  It seems to really get the point across.  She doesn't scream or cry to go in to her crib.  She just waits it out & signs "All Done" when she is ready to come out.

She loves riding on her cars!  I just wish we had more room in our house for them.  It gets kind of crowded!

She loves to "give kisses".  She clicks her tongue from far away or close up.  No slobbering kisses in this house :)  You gotta see it!  It's adorable!

She went in the snow for the first time a few weeks agon when we got over 10".  She HATED it!  I think Daddy was disappointed!

As you can see, it was very traumatic!

Lately she has been watching more TV & movies b/c of my back.  She loves watching Elmo, Super Why?, Go-Go-Go (as she calls it; The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot about That), and Wheel of Fortune....Yes, the Wheel of Fortune.  She loves calling out her favorite letters "D", "O", "I", "E"...& then she claps when they do!  SOOOO ADORABLE!

Riley's Children's Hospital with Leona

We were at another doctor's appointment today, only the 6 hour round trip in the car made it all the more interesting! Leona actually enjoyed the whole trip! She barely fussed, which is not normal for such a long time in 1 day.

We met with Dr. Stanley. She spent 2 HOURS with us! We really felt listened too! She confirmed that Leona's regular pediatrician, Dr. Wendy, was doing everything right! We guessed this all along, but it was great to hear that out loud from a pediatric developmental specialist.

Dr. Stanley's first step will be to look at how she intakes food. She has ordered a Feed Study. This is basically when the doctor's x-ray her while she eats & drinks. She also wants to have a pediatric specialist review her recent MRI. All in all, she feels there is definite concern to watch her growth carefully! Her length to weight ratio is not well balanced. Due to this concern we met with the dietician for ways to beef up her calories. We will be changing her to a Pediasure equivalent only with Soy.

We are praying that we will be able to do the Feed Study here in South Bend, but the dr. only approves of 1 dr. up here to do it. Otherwise, we will be traveling the trip twice in the next 2-3 months!!

The ups & downs of 2009 have continued into 2010, but we are so thankful for God's faithfulness in our lives! We are truly thankful for His peace & provision. Not only are all of Leona's medical bills taken care of, but He has provided a tutoring job equalling over $300 the past 2 weeks, several Leona's Lovely Bows orders, an on-call pay check for Ben, a free gift card for our anniversary meal on Friday & some free cash from Ben winning the Biggest Loser contest at work---losing 20 lbs. in 6 weeks! Need I say more?