It works! Jamie Oliver's instant strawberry ice-cream - just frozen strawberries, gaps/scd yoghurt and a drizzle of honey. Divine!! #gaps

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Going through an awful lot of ice-pops in this weather! Refilling every night! #GAPS

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I even met the cows! #GAPS

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Just back from the milk run! 6 litres of raw organic milk direct from the farmer! Can't wait to try the yogurt that this milk makes!! #GAPS

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Just got my delivery from The Little Milk Company. Three beautiful organic cheddars, 2 made from raw milk. Only ordered them yesterday! #GAPS

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What a Day!!!

I'm just home from the Tipperary GAPS Seminar and I feel elated!! I met so many wonderful inspiring and motivated people today and yesterday. What a weekend. Natasha Campbell-McBride was charming and gracious, and so generous with her time. She spoke to so many people individually after she was finished her presentation. She is incredibly knowledgeable and had something to say on many many different illnesses and chronic diseases. Even though I've read her first book many times, I still learned a lot and came away with some serious food for thought! Ballykisteen Hotel and The Horse & Jockey Hotel really pulled out all the stops in the food they served us, which was all GAPS/SCD friendly.

It was great to hear other parents' stories. We heard from parents of children with Down Syndrome and autism who have had huge success with the GAPS protocol. We even heard about the diet helping a lady who has had narcolepsy for 20 years, her family's story was amazing! I spoke myself at both events and it was a very fulfilling experience, other than my hand shaking uncontrollably and the microphone deciding it didn't like me!!

Thank you so much to everyone who approached me afterwards and thanked me for my own presentation. I was so glad to meet you all and hope we can stay in touch. Thanks so much to all the other speakers, especially Eleanor, who moved us all to tears. And of course, thank you so so much to Anne Maher for organising the whole event. Hopefully it will be the first of many!!

Two Years Later

It has been over two years since we started the GAPS/SCD adventure and it has been quite an adventure. I use the word adventure a lot, I admit, but it seems appropriate for what we've been doing. We went down this road without having any guarantees that it would work. I knew nobody else who had tried this particular diet, other than strangers on an online help forum. I had few places to turn to when the going got tough. And it was tough at times. But sometimes you have to take a leap of faith. You have to trust your "gut".  You have to decide to have an adventure! And somehow, when I read the GAPS book, I believed it was worth the risk.

There have been ups and downs. There were times when I wondered had the progress stopped. There were times when I was exhausted and worn out from the extra work load. There were times when I wanted to throw the yoghurt maker out the window! There were times when I would have given my left elbow for a Dominos pizza.

And then there were the ups. The first time he asked "why". The hugs and kisses. The looking me straight in the eye and saying "I love you Mummy". The "guys, guys, guys!!" to his brother and sister. The constant talk about his new best friend Charlie. The playing in the school yard. The birthday parties where he was so excited to see each and every one of his school pals arrive. The incredible eye contact. The insanely stunning photos of him really looking AT me. The huge improvement in his general health. The positive test results. The lack of vomiting bugs. The end of nappies. The lack of worry. The freedom. The happiness.

Take a leap. It is SO worth it.