January 13

This week we got 33 hours!!

Sarah had a Reiki session a week ago when I was at work and this was K.'s report:
"Sarah was demanding to interact with me - gooo Sarah-rise! She wanted to put together a puzzle, was insistent in asking for help when i would pause interacting with her, was making jokes to make me laugh, asked multiple times for play dough and, when i refused gently, she decided it was snack time. I was blown away by forty minutes of undivided play and interaction with no frogging and limited stimming.   you are obviously supporting her in a way that is working!" -k.

J. noticed a big increase in the amount and clarity of Sarah's language, and an increase in imaginative play compared to when she saw Sarah in October.

Sarah's ability to repeat things she hears sometimes cracks me up, even when I am the one to suggest that she say a certain thing. Twice this week when she has started to whine/yell I have suggested an alternate communication such as "hey, mom..." or "no, mom..." Both times she has said the first two words, at which point the sentence stops because I am laughing and whooping and cheering for her, surprised and delighted by her response. It is the sort of thing I have been suggesting for a long time and it is only now that she has the ability to begin to do it.

Yesterday while Carl was fixing our rowing machine, Sarah was playing on part of it and saying "row row" so I sang "row, row, row your boat" and then paused. Sarah then sang "genty down ri-ver." As Carl pointed out, that is perhaps more exciting than if she had said "stream" because it shows that she understands the concept, beyond just memorizing words.

Yesterday when Sarah was eating an egg she told us she was an "egg eat-er."

Today Sarah sang the strongest ABCs I've ever heard her sing.

She assembled a train track more independently and easily than I have recently witnessed. We've been practicing with a big jigsaw puzzle in the SR room and she is quite attentive even though she still struggles with orienting the pieces sometimes.

GAPS had seemed so intimidating (and parts of it still can seem so), but now that I've been doing some of the full GAPS things for the family, it is not seeming so hard or strange anymore. Not strange to get up and make fresh juice. Not strange to cook eggs and veggies every morning. Not so bad to always have so many dishes to do or cooking to do. Not so strange to go to the grocery store and buy 3 dozen eggs, tons of fruit and veggies, and lots of meat and very little else. I am personally feeling healthier and less tired, even when I haven't gotten much sleep. I have noticed that when I eat really processed food (eg peppermint patties or goldfish) then within about 15 minutes I feel sluggish and tired and also want more. Hmm. That is super exciting to notice and slightly disappointing too. I think in the past I had such things so often, in theory thinking it was helping me make it through the day, that I didn't clear my body enough to notice how I reacted. So the very thing I thought was helping me was hindering me. We are still having some grains, sugar, and milk, but less and less every day. I'm also still using the microwave a bit. But I have now made my own yogurt (very mild). We have carrots fermenting in the cabinet. We have dehydrated apples and zucchini. Sarah is eating seemingly all the time. She is eating a wider variety of foods and her weight is steady. Both girls love raw sprouted pumpkin seeds. They love chicken soup. Sarah asks for stock. She asks for homemade juice. It is so helpful to have Sonia here to facilitate this whole process. The multitasking I can accomplish as two people is incredible. I'm in awe of the parents I know who are doing Son-Rise and GAPS (or other related food journeys) and don't have full-time help. I am also once again aware of the deep blessings that Sarah has facilitated. Without her condition I wouldn't be totally changing the way we eat. Yes, I view this as temporary in how restricted it will be, but I hope that I can maintain a lot of the healthy aspects of making most things myself and of eating more fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, meat, and eggs. We are also having dinner as a family now almost every night which is deeply fantastic.  We often have breakfast together too, which is also new. We love it. So, yes, this is a lot of work, but so far it is very worth it. I'm feeling like a power mama.