6 weeks...

Don't they say that when you do something for 6 weeks, it becomes a habit? That's certainly been the case for us. Today marks 6 weeks of gluten free, baby!! Oh, it was a good reminder to go back and read my post from gluten-free, day 1 and praise God for how far I've come since then! 6 weeks later, GLUTEN-free is a piece of cake! ('though you can't HAVE a piece of cake... cake? what's cake?) :) However... the no soy & dairy part? Not quite so much yet... but we'll get there. (and now, to top it off, we're gonna get rid of eggs for a couple of weeks & see if that helps... I know- we must be crazy by this point.) :)

This morning we took Caroline to a pediatrician in town that is an MD but is also well-known and beloved for being more wholistic and seeing the BIG picture in health. She was fabulous. It's like she knew our child even before she met her!?! (she had obviously studied over Caroline's entire chart of medical records closely because we hardly even had to explain a THING!) She took all of our findings from this doctor and that doctor, and she was able to help put the pieces of the puzzle together for us and give us confidence that we are on the right track. She knew ALOT about the immune system, and how all of Caroline's issues-- the hairloss, the eczema, the gastro stuff, and her bloodwork findings related together.

Without going into too much detail & risk boring or confusing you guys, it seems like this is probably not full-blown celiac, but an overall immune system that has been attacked and needs healing and repairing. I've done so much reading on the immune system, & I NEVER knew the kinds of stuff I know now! But to keep things simple, no doctor until today told me that Caroline's iron had shown itself on the low side (Megan, does that surprise you? he he) and no doctor until today seemed to have the time or ability to look at her body as a whole and help figure out what steps will help. So PRAISE GOD for directing us and guiding us to her!

After meeting with this doctor, I'm thankful we were already on the right path with the gluten, dairy, & soy free diet. (though she said we're just now in the beginning stages of this diet and the healing process so we'll check back with her in 3 more weeks to see how things are looking.) And hopefully as her intestines heal over the next several months, we'll start to see other changes as well in her skin & hair. (fingers crossed!)

So I think after today we feel more optimistic and hopeful for the long-term! Praise Jesus! We know we've probably got a long road ahead of us in the upcoming months, but at least today we're more committed than ever to stick with this crazy, sacrificial, expensive, restrictive, pizza-lacking diet. :)

And as I watched my sweet girl gobble up EVERY LAST LITTLE BIT of fresh zucchini, squash, & red peppers tonight, I couldn't help but feel my heart swelling with love.