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Monday, July 8, 2013

Bla, Bla, Blogs

As I said in my first blog entry, "I didn't pay any attention to blogs and thought it all sounded a bit, umm, stupid and trendy". And then I had my daughter, Charli (I'll be sharing her story in a later post). Charli was diagnosed with Kabuki Syndrome at 10 months. That's when I discovered the value of blogs. 

In my quest to learn all I could about this diagnosis I joined a Kabuki support group on Facebook. Within that group someone stood out to me that seemed brilliant and knowledgeable - someone that just "got it". When I started considering dietary interventions and posed the question to the group this person, again, stood out and stated that she was following the GAPS diet with her daughter. She had a blog that shared her story of her daughter, Juliana, Healthy Hope. I felt like a bit of a stalker, but I really felt connected with Liz. Even crazier, her daughter Juliana looks just like Charli (not sure if you think the same Liz) only she's about 6 months older. But her blog was and continues to be so helpful and inspiring for me.


Juliana (Funny part is at first glance Hippie
Husband thought this was Charli) 
Charli (I really wanted to find pictures that
showed just how much they look alike
but I didn't seem to have any - maybe it's
all in my head)

























From there I continued to "stalk" Liz and joined the GAPS Kids group on Facebook. WHAT AN AMAZING GROUP!! When diving into the world of GAPS it is nearly impossible to not feel overwhelmed. By all means, if you are considering the GAPS diet for your child, you are probably already overwhelmed just by life with a GAPS kid. Then the diet just seems confusing, challenging, and outright intimidating when starting out. There are TONS of resources, mainly in the form of blogs, but many have conflicting information not to mention everything is so foreign it's hard to feel confident in what you're doing. Essentially, purchasing and reading the GAPS book is required. This is a bit of an investment for a book when you're not sure it's what you want to do. I feel like somewhat of a seasoned veteran in the Facebook group now, but I remember what it was like starting down this path and thinking Charli was just a mild case and all I really wanted to do was cure her constipation. Everyone in this group was supportive and kindly answered my questions gently guiding me to acceptance that I just needed to start implementing the intro diet. I understand now that GAPS truly is a commitment and an all or nothing deal. But my fear held me back in the beginning. But all of the amazing stories pushed me along and eventually made me comfortable in the decision to do GAPS. 


The most impactful story came from Nichole Sawatzky. Her daughter Ellie was diagnosed with FPIES (Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome). Ellie Belly, from beginning to end and it changed the entire way I viewed food and the medical community. This story alone was enough to convince me that GAPS was safe (the main question that kept cropping up for me). Nichole started the GAPS Kids Facebook group and also had created a website, GAPS and Kids, which shared many similar stories. I was entranced by stories like Carter's FPIES Maze, and Home Food Heals. These brave mommas gave me the strength and confidence I needed to move forward with the GAPS Diet. 
Basically she was allergic to food. That's right, FOOD. Ellie was on the brink of death when Nichole made the leap to GAPS. I read her entire blog,


I hope I didn't offend anyone by saying that I thought blogs were "stupid and trendy". I just wasn't aware of such a positive use for this type of forum. Now that my life has been so positively influenced I hope my blog can help someone else gain the confidence to follow their instincts. I'll also say that blogs are darn fun! I love blogs that give great recipes and share fun DIY projects or provide awesome resources (my friend Tiffany has a blog that covers all of these, A Touch of Grace). I'm still digging around in We Can Do All Things to find tools for Charli's development (thanks for this one Liz). And since Ellie is now well on her way to healing, Nichole has started up a new blog more focused on hope, healing, and real food, Hopecentric. She is also a contributor for GNOWFGLINS (God's natural, organic, whole foods, grown locally, in season). For a good laugh I highly recommend Parenting. Illustrated With Crappy Pictures. And I follow a few local blogs for inside info on all the good deals. I've also been meaning to check out a blog that my friend follows, 100 Days of Real Food.  So please forgive my ignorance and accept my apologies. It's official and undeniable: I LOVE BLOGS!

Do you have any blogs that you think I should be following??



1 comment:

  1. Oh I will be sending you my favorites don't you worry :) So glad you have been inspired by blogs and they are helping you on your GAPS journey!

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