Regression and a minor setback

In my last post, I had only good things to say about Claire Bear and our first family trip.  After getting back, Claire seemed to adjust very well and we went back into our routine without any problems whatsoever.  Now, with this GAPS diet, we were expecting episodes of regression, but we never know when.

A couple of weeks ago, Claire started waking up in the middle of the night talking in gibberish and staying awake for 4-6 hours in the middle of the night.   She also starting doing some of her weird stimming things that she hadn't been doing in awhile.  BUT! This only lasted about a week.  She had about 6 bowel movements in one day.  That one day was rough.  She was screaming a lot when ethan would get upset (something she hasn't done in awhile), and was also obsessed with her blankets and pacifier.   But she also had 6 pretty nasty poops and also was passing a lot of gas.  That night, she slept all night.  The next morning, she was back to her normal bright eyed self.  She was willing to go through her flash cards with me and she was even snuggling with her baby brother on her princess couch.  That's when I began to see how much of a change this diet has done for her.  I now know the regression is necessary for her to get better!!!   Though that week was tough for us all, Claire came out of it even better and more focused than she was before! She started saying "Please" in the sweetest voice for everything hahahhaha.  I found it almost irresistible.  Her eye contact was better than before also and she was noticing and acknowledging when someone would walk into the house or room and saying hello or hi.  She also started saying "Bye Bye" and waving when she was ready to leave (without me having to ask her to say it).  She pretends to feed her baby doll water from her sippy cup and also gives us drinks and feeds us too (she thinks its hilarious).

Well, Dietrich's work was having a potluck and he asked me to make my chocolate chip cookies.  So I made 3 dozen and had a few extra left out on the counter for Dietrich to eat.  During Ethan's bath, Claire took it upon herself to grab a cookie off of the counter top and took a couple of bites before finding dietrich and handing him the cookie (to share).  That night, it took her almost 3 hours to go to sleep.   But that's not the worst part.  The next day, she woke up with a pretty bad rash on her face.  It looked like a bunch of insect bites, but it wasn't.  It was a rash that covered her entire face.  She also was exhibiting signs of regression again, but this time it was much worse.  Since it had been 8 months since she has had anything containing sugar, gluten, or dairy, all of her pre-diet change symptoms had come back full force.  She wasn't making eye contact, she wasn't speaking words (only gibberish), and she was flapping her hands again.  She also was very constipated (and she hasn't had any trouble with constipation since December of last year).  After 3 very bad days and a lot of strange symptoms (scratching her face, legs, and arms, extreme clumsiness, restlessness), she pooped.  and a lot of it.  It was the worst smelling stuff I have ever smelled.  So here we are, 6 days later, and she slept 12 hours straight.  She still seems a little fuzzy when we go over her alphabet, but she is definitely better than she was than the day after she ate the cookie.

While trying as this time was, I can't help but thank God that it did happen because it only reaffirms that what we are doing here with Claire is working.  So, for this minor setback, I am truly grateful.  :) That's all for now!