To Be, or Not To Be...Gluten Free!

We took our beautiful baby boy home from the hospital on Wednesday, May 30th and we were so happy to be home.  It might not have been our home, since we are still living at my parent's, but it was home none the less.  Almost right away we noticed that Ian never "slept like a baby".  He would cry out in his sleep, never seemed comfortable and was extremely gassy.  He would scream every time we changed his diaper and at first we just contributed it to his circumcision, but as it continued I really became distressed.

I kept telling Andy and my mom that something was just not right.  I guess it was my motherly instinct kicking in.  I did some research and all signs pointed to cutting dairy out of my diet.  Andy told me to try it and being that it was "ice cream season" I was hesitant to do that if he didn't in fact have a dairy allergy.  I hemmed and hawed but then decided to take him to see a friend of mine who is a naturopath.  It was right away, after doing some muscle testing, that she discovered he in fact had a gluten sensitivity.  Though not severe as an allergy she said it was definitely negatively effecting him.  Not only was it gluten, but oats, cane sugar, almonds and bananas as well.  My poor baby, I thought! I had been eating oatmeal for breakfast every morning since coming home from the hospital as well as a banana and kind bar with almonds each day.  I must have been completely overloading his system. 

I went home that day, changed my diet immediately and within 2 days he was a completely different baby.  Not only did he cry less and rest more comfortably, but his baby acne went away on his face as well as his diaper rash.  I couldn't believe it!  I was so proud of myself for trusting my instinct and not just accepting that fact that he was a little "colicky" as some might have labeled him. I wasn't going to accept that label, I had to get to the bottom of it. 

Changing my diet has been quite an adjustment and I have my little kid moments when all I want to do is kick and scream and raid the cabinet, but then I look at that sweet face and know what I am doing is completely changing his life for the better, plus heck, it sure has helped me loose the baby weight as well!  It has also changed my life for the better.  I no longer just eat for the sake of eating, actually read more labels, and pay attention to the food I am putting in my body (I know what a novel concept!).  I make overall healthier decisions about my eating and feel so much healthier because of it, so to Ian, all I can say is THANK YOU!