The details (GAPS continued...)

Why the whole family?

There was a lot behind that decision. My main reason was because I knew from reading the book, that the bacteria that Luke had was from me. Whatever bacteria I had I was passing onto my kids. I also struggled with anxiety, fatigue and dealing with postpartum depression from Lanie. I knew I could benefit from it. 

Lucy struggled with gross motor delays as a baby and vestibular integration issues. Lucy was also still dealing with sensory issues when getting overwhelmed. She would benefit from the diet.

Lanie was breastfeeding and already showing signs of gross motor delays.

Jeremy was dealing with fatigue, not sleeping well, stomach pains, acid reflux and frequent migraines. He was the wild card. I wasn't sure how he would feel about changing his diet. He is typically not a fan of diets. However, I knew that I couldn't do it without him and his support.

Then there is just the obvious, it was easier. I didn't want to be making separate meals for people. I didn't want any non-GAPS legal food in the house to tempt me either. It was either all or none.

Why 8 weeks?

We chose to do the full GAPS diet for 8 weeks and then slowly transition into paleo. This was a person choice. Having been told that our gut lining adds a new layer every two weeks, we knew that we wanted to make sure we had some healthy layers stacking up. We also knew that we were focused on Luke. Luke is two years old, and it wouldn't take as long to help undo the damage to his gut as it would for someone who was older.

We also knew that we couldn't afford that kind of eating for a prolonged time. We chose that because it was enough time to change our habits and our life-styles.