Day 22

CLO/EPO/Probiotics (gave 1 whole capsule)

We decided to make the Weston A. Price liver formula for him...we just tweaked the recipe a little...no lactose and no whey. He drank about 1.5 oz. Most of it we syringe fed him.

he had a rough day...SO much itching and no naps except for in my arms here and there. He rubbed his legs together so much he made them bleed.

Day 21

No CLO/EPO but yes on Probiotics.

Micah has had rough day. His face is very red and itchy all over. He just had another donor mom's milk last night and today. Is that the reason? He's cried a lot today and lay in our arms.

Tried giving him buffalo stew and bananas with avocado. No go. Drank 9 oz. of chicken stock today.

I think I don't want to get my hopes up anymore. My head hurts from crying and my tummy hurts from bad Mexican food yesterday....not a good combination. I just want him to get better and stay better. Only one smile from him the whole day...I pray and long for the day when will hear laughing and see smiles all day long.

Micah went to bed at 9 PM and woke up once at 10.

Day 20

CLO/EPO/Probiotics

Micah did well last night. To bed at 10 PM. Woke at 11 PM, drank 2 oz. and back to bed. Woke at 3:30 AM for a moment and then up at 6 AM. I'll take it!

This morning he drank 8 oz. slowly over an hour. He is still pretty lethargic. Down for nap at 8 AM. Napped 2 hours. No more napping for rest of day except on our walk to Pearl St. To sleep at 10 PM.

More coughing/sneezing today. Definitely not the result of a cold b/c he isn't stuffy or runny.

No puking today!

Drank 9 oz. chix stock today. Refused buffalo stew puree and lentils....come on little dude!!

Day 19

Shane and I joked that we're the only ones who would say that he looks better but truly this is better

Wow almost 3 weeks on the GAPS diet!!

Micah threw up again this morning...just a small amount but still worrisome. I wonder if it's one his donor's milk that is bothering him??? He's also very sleepy today and is not eating well. Refused meat puree this AM. Had big smelly poops today. Not very itchy. All the parents on the GAPS yahoo forum say that this is die-off. I hope so...we'll monitor him closely.

I should explain....die-off is when yeast and other nasty toxins in your gut are being sloughed off. The body releases them in many different ways...vomiting, coughing, diarrhea, nasal secretions (snot!). Often people i the die-off phase feel awful, tired, achy, grumpy. It's the old principle of "it gets worse before it gets better."

He was very calm last night and he slept SO well last night. To bed at 10:45 PM, woke at 3:30 AM for a few minutes, drank 2 oz and slept until 8 AM!!!

Through out the day Micah has been coughing (small ones but that's very unusual for him) and having sneezing fits (they usually come in sets of threes-achoo achoo achoo)...more die-off hopefully!

His skin still looks better...hooray!!!! And he is pretty calm today.

Tonight:

He had a big throw-up around 8 PM....probably threw up the 8 or so oz. he had recently drunk. Dang it! If this is detox I'm thrilled but also very worried because he doesn't have any weight to spare. He only weighs 15 lbs when he should weigh 20+ lbs. especially considering that he was 10.5 lbs at birth.

Before bed he drank 4 oz of milk/chicken stock plus a little coconut water

His skin looks great! The sores are shrinking and they are all light colored. Amazing to see this right before our eyes. We are cautiously optimistic.

He slept very well this evening. Napped for 2.5 hours and I finally woke him b/c I wanted him to eat more. He went to bed at 10 PM. I just checked on him and he's sleeping soundly.

Day 18

CLO/EPO/Probiotics

Micah slept from 9:30-5:30 PM last night. Yes there was waking up at 11:30 & 3:30 but it was brief. Not much napping today but ce la vie.

Threw up tonight twice. I think it was because I gave him probiotics on an empty tummy.

Had 9 oz. chicken stock. Ate about 2 tsp. buffalo stew (buffalo, onions, carrots, celery) and seemed to enjoy it. Tired carrot juice today but didn't like..we'll keep on trying.

As Shane and I lubed him up tonight and put fresh clothes on him (the nightly ritual) we both agreed that he looks better. Now weeping, smaller patches (seem to have shrunk) and everything seems less red.

Day 17

No supplements today...went to bed early and skipped them.

Kind of a rough day

8 oz. chicken stock

A little bit of chicken puree and some lentils (he loves those!)

I started pumping more today and got hospital pump again.

Started using Mari's Magic on his face (contains shea butter, olive oil, emu oil, chamomile and lavender). A mom here in Boulder created it for her baby with eczema.

Day 16

CLO/EPO/probiotics (today I gave probiotics between meals and straight on his tongue instead of in a bottle)

Had 8.5 oz. of chicken stock. So basically by the end of the day for every 3 oz. of milk I put into his bottle, I put 1 oz. of stock.

Ate 1 tsp. pureed chicken at 12:45 PM and liked it. I tried again at 5:30 but no dice.

He napped this morning in Shane's arms and this afternoon on his own (hooray) and took a little nap (20 min) around 6:30 PM.

Only had one poopy today. Hopefully that's a good thing. I've been doing some googling on "failure to thrive" and many sites mentioned that kids with milk allergy often have diarrhea (yep that's Micah 4-5 liquidy poops/day) and they lose too many calories/nutrients that way.

Day 15

first chicken all over his chin

CLO/EPO/Probiotics

Reading GAPS book and realized that Micah should be taking flax oil and digestive enzymes. Guess we'll be starting those this week too.

Napping stunk today. Spotty nap on walk this morning, 1 restless nap in my arms at 1PM and 15 minute nap around 6 PM.

Micah tried chicken today and seemed to like it! I just blended roasted chicken in food processor along with some chicken stock. He had about 1 tsp. but much of it ended up on chin as he still has a tongue thrust.

Snuck chicken stock into his bottles again. Today we got 4.5 oz in him! We decided to increase it in increments of 0.5 oz each day.

Earlier today Sage tried our first batch of 24-hour yogurt (GAPS diet recommended--homemade yogurt that sits at 110 degrees for 24 hours...that way most of the lactose in it is digested by bacteria and it doesn't cause allergic reaction for people sensitive to dairy). She asked to give Micah a few bites and I let her. He had about 1/2 tsp. in all and really seemed to enjoy it. Only problem was after about 5 minutes his lips got very red and swollen; he started scratching them like crazy. Wow, that was a fast reaction...guess he really is allergic to milk!!!

Day 14

CLO/EPO/Probiotics

Today we mixed chicken stock in with milk and he has had 4 oz. of stock today that way...yahoo!

Last night he slept pretty well. To bed at 11 PM, woke up several times at night but only for a minute or two and woke up at 6:15 AM.

But he is miserable today and his skin looks awful. His back is fire engine red and raised welts that have wept all day. So discouraging. I've cried a lot today because I just don't know what to do for him...I want to make it better but so far I have not. Sometimes I don't think I can do this for even one minute longer....but of course I know I can do this but soemtimes I just don't want to. Why can't Micah just have a normal life? He can't even enjoy playing. He is like a 4 month old, just in our arms resting most of the day. I worry about is development. I worry about how scrawny he is...just barely 15 pounds. I wonder when this will be better. I wonder why the Lord is testing us this way. I wonder when he will be better.

I feel like Heavenly Father gave us the reprieve of the past couple days (a few hours together alone just Shane and I and some more rest at night) so we could have energy to do this again for the next long while.

We are tired. Tired of fighting him constanty to keep him from itching, tired of screaming and crying, tired of minimal sleep and tired of not knowing how to fix this.

Day 13

CLO/EPO/Probiotics

Slept well again last night. Woke up at 8:15.

Napped beautifully all day. Sometimes I begin to think he's getting better. The skin on his back looks better.

Hated carrots and broth today