Organic Mama: April 2013

Here we are, 4 months and 1 week post gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free diet. When we first started this diet, I expected to see immediate results. Little did I know that cutting out those foods would cause Claire to be even worse! At first! Looking back, it seems like it was just yesterday that I was trying to persuade Claire to eat her peas and she screamed at me for bread and cheese or cheerios. Lots of tears and prayers happened those first few weeks, but here we are, four months later, and wow! What a turnaround my sweet baby Claire has made!!!!!

First, it's been well over 3 months since she's had a horrible temper tantrum breakdown like the ones she was having daily pre-diet. She knows when she's doing something wrong now and often responds like a normal toddler would when being told no (with a look to see if mama or daddy are looking to see if the coast is clear to do it again anyways). She will sometimes squeal or yell to show her anger at being thwarted, but quickly goes on to play with something else. This is a HUGE deal for Claire because before, it was like she had no control over emotions and would scream before I even attempted to explain to her why she wasn't allowed to do what she was doing.

Okay, next!!! (and be prepared because this list is a long one!!! Thank you God!!!)

Claire's noise sensitivity has improved SOOOO much that we are actually taking a road trip to visit my sister-in-law in San Antonio to meet our new baby niece! In November, we were supposed to make the drive there to have dinner with our family for Thanksgiving but cancelled because of Claire's horrible tantrums and noise sensitivity to Ethan's cries. I honestly thought we would never be able to leave our house again with both kids in the car because of how badly Claire would freak out and hit herself in the face. Now, if he starts fussing in the car, she will quietly play with her books occasionally glancing over at him and sometimes even handing him a toy to hopefully quiet him down. Praise God for this!!!!! We are also flying out to California in June for a family reunion and this also is something I never imagined doing with Claire 5 months ago.

Next, Claire rarely EVER wakes up in the middle of the night anymore. A few weeks ago, she did get a hold of some sugar and/or chocolate by accident at a family gathering and woke up that night with what we can only describe as a night terror. She was crying and screaming and did this for 45 minutes. But in light of this disastrous night, I realized that this diet is definitely working for Claire and that I know I'm doing the right thing by eliminating those foods. People often say things like " aww, but she's missing out on snacks and candies and can't she just have one or two pieces of this or that?" My answer is NO she can't. It physically HURTS her to have this stuff!!!!! That night was my proof and if I would have been able to, I would have gotten it on camera just to show people what it does to her.

Anyway, back on the topic of sleep. Claire sleeps a good 10-12 hours straight through at night now. She wakes up happy and plays with her toys as soon as she wakes up. Before this diet, she would cry when she woke up for me to get her out of bed because she was scared. But not anymore!!!

Okay, this one is a big update! Claire will now give me and Dietrich both hugs without us making her! She likes showing affection to us and will also give me a hug after me only asking her to! She runs to me and hugs me for as long as I want. SHe used to push away from me hugging her and didn't like anyone showing her affection. Now, she lets just about anyone hug on her. She also let my mom play with her and hug and throw her up in the air. Claire has also made a friend with my friend Katelynd's daughter Brynleigh! They play together, share toys, share snacks, and watch cartoons together. Claire laughs at her and I even find her just staring at her and just being fascinated with her. She's becoming social and making friends!!!! She even plays with Ethan and I often see her giving him a toy :)

Our next step in this journey is to start the GAPS diet. We found a wonderful GAPS specialist in Mineola who owns and runs her own organic farm. This woman is amazing and gave us the GAPS book and workbook and is teaching us so many things that will help Claire and us become even healthier! I will definitely post updates once we start the GAPS diet along with some of the new foods we are going to try. Pray for us as we start this new diet. I know it will be tough at first, but it's going to be so good for Claire!!!!

Here's a video of her laughing and playing with her friend Brynleigh:

Here are some pictures of her