Monday, October 12, 2009

Our gfcf journey!


Looking back I realize that Ellie has always been sensitive to gluten and casein. I tried breastfeeding for Ellie's first few days of life. Neither of of could get the hang of it so I gave up and decided to give her formula, thinking it was almost as good. Her chronic constipation started at only one week old. Following our pediatricians advice, I started putting Karo syrup in her formula to loosen her stools. That it did, but I didn't know that it would also cause candida to flourish in her gut. Another disconcerting fact about high-fructose corn syrup; half of the samples tested recently contained mercury.
By the time Ellie was around 18 months, she started eliminating foods from her diet. I was told it was just a normal toddler phase, that all kids are picky eaters at this age. It got so bad that by the time I decided to try a gluten and casein free diet, she would go days consuming nothing but milk. Ellie would only eat if my husband got pizza from Little Caesar's.
The first couple months on the diet Ellie still wouldn't eat. Pedisure was out so I made my own gfcf version. I mixed an allergen free mutivitamin powder and organic hemp protein and fiber powder in her rice milk. The third month she started eating one or two things all the time. Six months in is when things really began to change! Ellie started expanding her diet, her eye contact improved, the constipation was less severe, she was engaging in pretend play more often and her speech improved.
Watching Ellie grow and learn these past seven months has given me hope that she will eventually recover. I am enjoying every milestone along the way!

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