SCD - Day 5

Lord have mercy. . . I am so tired of this already :P This is REALLY tough. I am adding foods in probably a bit quicker than I should but I can hardly take it. The kids are probably managing better than me. . .

Yesterday was a really good day when we ate muffins. Today not so good. I am tired and uninspired to cook which is not good when you can only eat very well cooked foods. I did tell the kids that I'd make muffins again today (they LOVED the muffins made with almond meal). And I realized how high maintenance our food issues are -- a recipe is "easy" if I only have to change 2 items (substitute for butter, substitute for eggs). Of course, I knew how high maintenance we are but it really reminds me. And I LOVE using nut meals instead of Gluten Free flour - cheaper, yummier AND more nutritious :)

On a positive note, dd1's tummy is doing really well.

On a not so positive note, ds has rings under his eyes - he may be tired - he needs SO much sleep. . . and has been short on sleep this week.

We are still in stage 1 but will be entering stage 2 tomorrow - we just can't wait anymore and moving quickly through the stages is better for us than giving up entirely. Funny thing, the kids are more determined to stick to the diet than me :(

If this post is disjointed it's because I am EXHAUSTED.

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Edited to add: I just had a family meeting to see if the kids want to quit - I do - no takers. Tempted to offer Taco Bell as insentive but . . . I am going to keep at it.

SCD - Day 3 (Stage 1)

We are making it. We have moved beyond the intro into stage 1.

We have added - pears, apples, extra ripe banana, pepper (ground) and green beans to our diets. Pears and apples must be deseeded and peeled so I made a huge thing of applesauce and also made baked apples. Green beans must be cooked well and french style.

Today was a pretty good day.

Last night, for the first time ever when checking dd1's stomach like I was taught while ds was on chemo, she didn't flinch or complain about pain - this is actually hugely monumental. I am palpitating it checking to make sure she isn't constipated. It was also VERY soft and EMPTY! WOW. Of course, tonight, we had a step back. Very hungry form our restrictions, she overate and got a gut ache. . . we will have to watch that. BUT it's two steps forward, one step back. Her pain has been minimal compared to before. She rated it a 2 or 3 on a scale of 10. Her old pain she reported as a 7. She was having "7's" at least 1 to 2 times a day. The only pain she's had over the 3 days has been either hunger or overeating.

Ds and dd2 are doing surprisingly well considering how picky they are (and how young dd2 is). I am monitoring carefully dd2's intake to ensure she's eating enough. Both are doing great so far. I am very impressed!

Tomorrow we hold - 4 days in stage 1 for us due to our toxicity level and our constipation (vs diarrhea). Can't wait for SATURDAY - Stage 2.

SCD - Day 2

We made it. . . with a few bumps in the road but we made it! YAY!

It was easier than I thought it would be. We had some minor melt downs over food, the littlest snuck food, and I had headaches. I definitely have to clean out the van because when we went to Outpost for 25# of carrots, the littlest found chocolate chips in a bag. . . which is her favorite snack. I do have the cupboards and refrigerator locked. DS cried a bit when he couldn't have a bean burrito for bedtime snack, and he cried at lunch because he wanted something besides soup. We ate a lot more than I realized so I am picking up the pace in how much food I make/serve.

Today we are stopping for lunch at the park w/some friends between two doctor appointments. I hope I have enough food. I packed 2 quarts of chicken soup, a huge amount of chicken and a lot of carrots.

We all spent a significant time in the bathroom and I was hopping on one foot trying not to wet my pants at one point LOL. We even had some wet pants. It was like you got the urge and you better stop and go or it's too late.

The fresh grape juice went over really well - the kids love to juice. They can't wait for carrot juice today because "we haven't had that in awhile".

Tomorrow we get to eat applesauce! YAY! Once we make it through the first week, I think it will become easier because we will have more options!

Mentally, I am doing a lot better about all of this. I actually tried to convince dd that this wasn't our best option, that we should just keep doing our current supplements that I had just started, etc. BUT she stuck to her guns and really wanted to try it. . . so here we are. And now that we started, I am becoming considerably more hopeful! The good news is that we will know it's NOT working within a few months. . . we re-evaluate every month. If dd1's symptoms aren't ALL gone within the first few months, this is not the answer for us!!!

Day 1 - SCD diet

Background and why I am doing this blog. . . . I have spent over 2 years attempting to help my children manage food issues. Our eldest has had chronic long term stomach pain that with the help of a friend, I realized could have been from birth (colic). Last May, we began the arduous journey to discover her food issues. We were already dairy free and rice free. We gave up gluten first and it helped a bit, eggs second and it helped a bit more, and oranges third and it helped a bit more. BUT she still suffered with chronic pain every night! And we are talking pain that ended in crying.

By end of summer, we were about at the end of our ropes and got IgE and IgG (Elisa) testing for her. It revealed over 20 foods that she is allergic to.

In the meantime, we have discovered that the children and I ALL can't have gluten and that our son (ds) can't have yeast which is one of our eldest daughter's (dd1) food allergies. Our youngest daughter (dd2) has been intolerant to rice since birth. So we set out on our journey. MANY said "You won't be able to be gluten free w/o rice" . . . little did they know that saying such a thing to someone like me means I am about to attempt to prove that wrong.

We have done pretty well with the current diet; however, every time dd1 gets a food that she shouldn't, she is back in the cycle of weeks (sometimes almost 2 months) of stomach pain. Unfortunately, this summer, that means she has been in pain almost constantly. First from a gluten exposure and second from accidently eating a bite of her sisters peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

About 2 weeks ago, she said "I'd do anything to make my tummy better!" and I responded "anything? The only thing I know of is something that requires we eat broth and carrots and meat for a long time adding in one food at a time very slowly" and she said "let's do it"

SO I have been researching, praying and getting ready for the past 2 weeks. As it got closer, I got more nervous and today we are here!

I hope and pray this blog shows the journey of successful elimination of at least some of her food allergies and all of her pain. I pray that we at least can learn how to eat after a major food reaction so that it's only a few days of a reaction instead of weeks on end.

Day 1 -- we can eat the following

*fresh (not frozen or canned or in plastic containers) apple cider and grape juice

*carrots (cooked until mushy)

*bone broths

*meat (broiled only)

*jello made with above juices

*ginger tea

*fresh juice upon waking - either apple, grape or carrot made with juicer

Note: ginger tea is NOT in the SCD diet but in GAPS - that and the fresh juice are the ONLY ways I am changing the Intro diet from SCD. My reasons are two fold. IN the SCD diet they talk about fresh juice helping constipation which is a chronic issue for us. AND since we can't use melatonin at night, I plan on giving the kids ginger tea before bed so that they can sleep. One other issue my children have is stomach pain keeping them up at night!

After 2 days, we can add in one food at a time - starting with cooked, peeled deseeded apples.

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So now that the background is here. . . my thoughts for the day. . .

I got up at 5:15 and ran to the store before my dear husband (dh) left for work - found fresh apple cider, peeled carrots (I feel lazy), ginger and french green beans (for end of the week food).

I made apple cider jello, and began steaming carrots to get them to the point of mush ;-) That means either 4 hours boiled or over an hour steamed. I got the chicken soup ready for breakfast.

I also tossed all our garden tomatoes in a big pot to make safe ketchup.

If you want to learn more about SCD and what it involves, go to This website.

And if you could say some prayers for us. The younger kids found out what we are doing and apparently want to try if it means the chance they can have papa murphy's or subway some day in the future ;-)

I also am going to encourage the children to blog here so that we all can share how this is going.

I named this SCD to be free because our food allergies are often like a chain around our necks. Ever since I thought of the name, I have been singing Phillips Craig and Dean's "this is how it feels to be free". A reminder that we ARE free - free from the curse of death -- that is all that matters really. BUT as a mom, I never want to look back on this time in my children's life and wish I had at least tried this diet. . . so here we go.

Just heard the timer. My carrots might be ready - I hope I made enough food for the day since everything has to be cooked and prepared!!!!!!!!!!!!!