I had done some research, as I was taught by my father who researches EVERYTHING thoroughly, and found the GAPS Diet. In my reading, I learned that many families had found that this particular healing diet was beneficial for food allergies, including FPIES! The basis of the GAPS Diet is founded on healing foods like short cooked meat broth, ferments and probiotic foods, raw (yes, raw) egg yolks, boiled veggies, fresh pressed juices (like, at home and immediately consumed), and the absence of starches and sugars. There were some mamas on the most helpful resource I’ve found (The Facebook group “FPIES (Food Protein Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome) Support”) who were boasting about this diet. Some had found it had healed their child of FPIES symptoms. After ordering the GAPS book months ago, I’d read through it and decided we had nothing to lose.
I chose chicken as Jett’s first food trial, homemade chicken broth, actually. I went to every local grocery store to find THE BEST chicken I could. Turns out, Trader Joe’s carries a free range organic chicken! Following the GAPS Diet, I boiled the whole chicken for about an hour and a half and slowwwwwlyyyyy introduced the broth from this to Jett. We started with about half an ounce for a few days. Nothing horrible happened!! He didn’t love it, and I don’t really blame him, plain chicken broth isn’t too delicious, especially compared to breastmilk! After slowly increasing his broth, which I was syringing into his mouth at this point.. we tried some of the chicken meat from the broth making progress. He’d eat a bite or two, reluctantly.. but still, no symptoms! Jett had his first safe food, and right before his first birthday.
Jett and I spent about 14 months on the GAPS diet before we slowly were able to add a few non GAPS foods like potatoes, sweet potatoes (let me tell you, the first time I had a sweet potato, which I didn’t even like before this, I cried!), maple syrup, and quinoa. We follow a predominantly paleo diet. Recipes I share will always be dairy, soy, grains, and corn free as Jett still is unable to have these foods, and so am I as he’s still nursing (barely).
This incredibly labor intensive diet becomes a way of life for most people and families. It causes you to consider where your food comes from, what you’re putting in and on your body, and how food makes you feel. It started opening my eyes to the importance of our diet and skin care products. This diet encouraged me to find healthy alternatives for things I had come accustomed to using and eating.
Note: The introduction posts are merely to give a brief overview of why we live the way we do. I will, later, do in depth posts on topics such as FPIES, infant feeding disorders, tongue and lip ties, finding a knowledgable GI or allergist, the GAPS diet, low breastmilk supply, etc.
