I’m really excited to share my first guest post on babywearing from an amazing woman whose opinion I value and trust… Amber Skye Morrisey (former Vancouver doula and babywearing educator who now lives and works on Prince Edward Island!)

Babywearing is a topic that I find overwhelming as a soon-to-be mom. Realizing I can’t be the only mom-to-be confused about all the choices available for babywearing I thought I’d ask Amber for her thoughts as it would help me immensely and benefit other mamas too! Amber didn’t disappoint. This is such an informative post and really, really helps me narrow down what we need! Happy reading…

Click on the photo below to see the 1st wrap we just bought ♥
Photo Credit: mobywrap.com

You find out you are pregnant, and are filled with emotions. As your pregnancy continues, you begin the beautiful stages of planning to bring this child from your womb into your arms, and navigating all the stuff a baby may (or may not) need. If you are like many women, you’ve signed up online for gestational growth updates and are also receiving emails about the best buys for the year, must haves and basic necessities. When I see these lists, I giggle because you don’t need most of what they are calling the bare minimums. You may have a gift registry started and/or family nagging you to fill it up.

Your child needs: nourishment (breasts), warmth (your skin, and okay maybe some clothing), a place to sleep (bed sharing and co-sleeping makes the most sense for the early months), something to catch the poop, but even that doesn’t have to be bought (elimination communication is how parents respond to elimination needs all over the world, sans diapers), and something to be transported in (a baby carrier).

More and more families are choosing to buy just the basics, in an effort to reduce costs, waste, and save on space. Buying products on an “as needed” basis instead of filling your entire home with products you may not use. It makes sense. Financially, environmentally and aesthetically.

Once you catch on to the idea of choosing a few great quality products to have, instead of many products of lesser quality, you may notice that your choices available are actually increased once you start digging. Specifically for baby carriers and cloth diapering supplies. The choices and styles seem nearly endless! Making sense of it all could be a full-time job.

Choosing a baby carrier:

More people are choosing to skip over buying a stroller for the early months all together, specially those living in urban areas who get around by bus or mostly by car, or have a small apartment where space is limited. I personally think a good quality carrier is ideal for every new parent, regardless if they have a travel system or not. When the fussy period starts at 8pm pushing a stroller around isn’t on your wants list. So, what kind of carrier is a good carrier?

As a babywearing educator, I have a love for loads of carries and lots of experience. Many are great for the first few months and some are better for older children. If I had to choose just one, it would be difficult – and since we all have different needs as parents, and people I’ll give you a few of my top favourites.

A woven wrap: A woven wrap is a non-stretchy woven piece of long fabric designed to carry your baby from birth all the way to totally walking independence. The quality is top and a carrier like this will last you through your entire babywearing journey with multiple children. You can do a huge range of holds, it is the most versatile carrier you can buy. It is also one of the most expensive. I suggest a Didymos for a woven carrier. They’ve been ahead of the game for infant/child and wearers safety and all their carriers are organic. The learning curve on this carrier is higher than some of the “click and go” styles, but I think the benefit of learning to use it out weights the curve of doing it. Easy to share between users.

A stretchy wrap: An alternative to a woven wrap is a stretchy wrap (like the Moby or Boba wrap). These are a soft, T-shirt like material which have a good amount of give to them. One thing about the stretchy wrap many new parents like, is the ability to tie the wrap on first, and get it just so, then stretch it out to put the baby inside. You can leave it on, and take the baby in and out as needed. One of the biggest drawbacks, is that their “shelf life” in a babywearers career is very limited due to the stretch – as baby gets heavier the fabric isn’t able to support the weight and the begins to sag further down your body making it uncomfortable regardless of the soft material. It isn’t nearly as supportive as a woven wrap, but the price point and availability is fantastic. The learning curve is similar to any wrap, but a bit easier for many as the stretch makes it a bit more forgiving – as long as it isn’t too loose. If you are able to borrow one, you’ll likely get lots of use out of this carrier for around 6 months. Easy to share between users.

A ring sling: An all time favourite with many babywearers, this was one of the first commercially marketed baby carriers. It too is made from a woven fabric (most are at least), but instead of wrapping the fabric around your body, it has been pre-strung through 2 weight tested metal rings. The learning curve is lower than a wrap, but so is the versatility as you can only wear it on one shoulder – making long term use more difficult on your body as your baby gets heavier. This is my “go to” carrier (Maya Wrap), and much loved. It’s easy to use, just put over one shoulder like the strap of a side bag, and put baby inside the pouch using the tail ends to adjust the hold. Adjusting the hold takes some getting used to, but once you know how it works, it makes it a very fast and easy way to put baby on, adjust and go. The price is moderate, and they are easy to find in great condition used. Easy to share between users.

A soft structured carrier: Traditionally a rectangle piece of fabric with straps from all 4 corners used to tie on the baby. Different areas around the world have their own styles of carrier (Mei-Tai and Podaegi for example) and here in North America a common “modern” carrier in this style is called a Soft Structure Carrier which takes the traditional and adds a number of modifications to make it suit the market, some modifications may include; padding, pockets, buckles, clips, toy holders, key rings, sleeping/sun/rain hoods, foot support, and additional supplies like fanny packs, change mats and more! These carriers are very popular among fathers and mothers alike, and seem to meet the desire for many to not have to tie knots, and rely on more of an outdoor backpack style. The price point is higher than a ring-sling, or stretchy wrap and comparable to a woven wrap (depending on which brand you buy, sales, and shipping). The benefit to many is the “click and go” aspect. You put on the waist band, put baby inside and put the straps over your shoulders like a backpack and adjust the straps by pulling on the tabs. They are pretty static, and the versatility is limited compared to a wrap. You can wear on your front, or your back, or your side, but the position of the straps/waist is unchanging. A benefit to many is the two-shoulder set up and balance between weight on your shoulders and hips. Most can be used from birth (some with an additional insert you need to buy) to toddlerhood making it a good buy for your money. I find it a great carrier to use when carrying multiple children at once, but that is another post! Easy to share between users – although strap extenders may need to be purchased as the standard size is pretty limited. Try a Boba or an Ergo.

A note on “crotch danglers”: There are a number of carriers available on the market that we may conjure up in our minds as “baby carriers”, they are most often forward facing, thin padded straps and the baby dangles by its body weight from the crotch region. Often sold at boutiques and big stores alike. I do not suggest these. They are ergonomically incorrect for baby, as they put enormous pressure on the lower spine and when toward facing, the entire spine. The weight should be evenly spread from the knee-pit to knee-pit in any carrier. Some name brands are Bjorn, Snuggly and Infantino. These brands are trying to catch up to the market as more and more literature comes out pointing out issues with hip and spine development – I suggest buying from a company that had safety and comfort as a first and foremost from the start.

Many carriers come with an instruction DVD and/or instructional booklet, plus online website instructions. I suggest reading it through twice before trying, and see if they have any support videos. If you run into trouble in the early days, try your baby on when settled, and ask an experienced baby wearer for support. Alternatively, look to see if their is an experienced baby wearer or babywearing educator in your community who teaches classes. I urge parents to avoid the temptation of YouTube, as an educator I see some very dangerous carrying videos, it can be hard to tell who is teaching safely, and who is sharing how they accidentally wear dangerously. (Note from Crystal: Check out the Marsupial Mamas babywearing group in Vancouver.)

I hope this brief run through of some of my most recommended styles of carriers for length of use, wearability between users, and cost is helpful to keeping the amount of stuff we buy down, and simplify our homes and lives with a new baby. All of the carriers above support heart to heart closeness (and skin-to-skin if you dress mama and baby down underneath) to regulate breathing, temperature, reduce crying, reduce stress hormones and promote easy access to the breast (although some people need a bit of time and practice to work out easily being able to breastfeed while babywearing). I wish you a beautiful journey through babywearing!

Amber Skye Morrisey is a Babywearing Educator, Doula, Childbirth Educator, Student Midwife, Reiki Practitioner and Placenta Encapsulator. She blogs on a number of natural living topics at www.birthroutes.com and tries to spread her love of caring for children safely, instinctively and with consciousness.

New to Babywearing? Did this post help you narrow down your choices?

Already Babywearing? What’s your favourite carrier?

What a GORGEOUS day we had in Vancouver yesterday for my 22 week pregnancy photos! Vairdy thought a heart or love theme was appropriate given that it’s February and I thought it was a cute idea!

I’m really excited that we captured a jumping picture! My husband Rich and I LOVE jumping pictures and take them all the time so naturally I wanted to see if I could still jump

Here they are…

**I’ve teamed up with the amazing Vairdy Andrew of Vairdy Photography in Vancouver to document my pregnancy with a mini online photo journal. Connect with me on Facebook for more frequent pregnancy updates!

Today marks our 120th day (after conception) which in some cultures and traditions comes along with a special celebration to welcome the soul! We’re taking a very conscious approach to preconception, pregnancy, birthing and parenting so I’m excited that I was introduced to this tradition through a beautiful ‘Welcoming The Soul’ celebration with dear friends a few months ago.

Pregnancy has lead me on an exploration of Kundalini Yoga which also speaks of the 120th Day Celebration. I just finished reading Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful which I highly recommend!! Here’s what the author, Gurmukh has to say about the 120th Day Celebration:

“In this very ancient tradition in which I live, we have a special celebration during pregnancy to honour the soul who arrives on the one hundred and twentieth day after conception, which corresponds to the fourth month of pregnancy, about a month into your second trimester. Before the end of the first trimester, the fetus that supports the soul hasn’t been completely fortified, and this is when the majority of miscarriages happen. Before that date, the entering soul is still unaffected by worldly influences, existing only in radiance.

It is one of our most beautiful celebrations, and one I encourage you to take on in whatever context is appropriate for your life and your beliefs.”

I also like this introduction to the 120th Day Celebration by Kundalini Women.org:

“Yogic tradition celebrates that woman becomes a mother one hundred-twenty days after conception. The Creative Force grants full incarnation of the soul into the body. Previously, the soul was subtly linked to the growing cells in the womb. The woman is now the vehicle for the soul to fully incarnate; now she is mother.

Before the 120th day, the incarnating soul is still unaffected by the limitations and influences of the earth. After the 120th day of pregnancy until the navel cord is separated from the mother, the subconscious mind of the child is formed. While the child is in the womb, the mother is the vibratory receptor for the child.”

I didn’t realize that today was our 120th day until I looked at my calendar this morning. It’s interesting that I’ve only felt baby move once so far but last night I felt like I was drifting in and out of a dream state and baby was moving around a lot, then I woke up when I felt a distinct rolling around movement. Perhaps it was our baby’s soul reaching out to say hello? Baby was definitely communicating to me through my dreams last night.

While we won’t be celebrating with a formal get together, Rich and I plan to do a private celebration to welcome our baby’s soul tonight. There’s a great couples meditation in the book for connecting with your baby and opening the heart chakra that we’ll do together, for the first time. I also LOVE the song “Long Time Sun” by Snatam Kaur that we sing at my Kundalini Yoga class so I’m going to see if I can convince Rich to sing it with me to our baby tonight!

Would you kindly share this post if the topic interests you?

Did you welcome your baby’s soul with a 120th Day Celebration or is this the first time you’re learning about it? I’d love to hear from you!

Photo Credit: Vancouver Maternity Photographer – Vairdy Photography

I’m having SO much fun with Vairdy, she’s such a great photographer. Truth be told, I don’t like having my picture taken! Vairdy makes me feel really comfortable and relaxed. We’re getting to know each other well before she photographs our birth which is awesome. I’m so grateful!

We were out taking photos when my husband dropped by unexpectedly after work. It was fun to get him in a few of the shots. I love that we’re just being us (how we dress, not wearing make-up etc.) It might be fun to do a more glamorous shoot in the future but for now just showing up as ME takes off a huge load of anxiety.

Here are a few of my favourites from our 18 Week photos. It was so hard to pick just one for the write-up!

**I’ve teamed up with the amazing Vairdy Andrew of Vairdy Photography in Vancouver to document my pregnancy with a mini online photo journal. Connect with me on Facebook for more frequent pregnancy updates!

I am SO excited to introduce this new series to you. I’ve teamed up with the amazing Vairdy Andrew of Vairdy Photography in Vancouver to document my pregnancy with a mini online photo journal! We’ve also hired Vairdy as our birth photographer (more on that later!)

The inspiration to do this came from Pacing the Panic Room‘s Maternity Series. I LOVED following their journey week by week and looked forward to documenting my own pregnancy one day!

Here’s our first pregnancy photo in the series…

Vairdy captured so many beautiful photos…

What a great way to celebrate and document my 1st pregnancy!

**I’ve teamed up with the amazing Vairdy Andrew of Vairdy Photography in Vancouver to document my pregnancy with a mini online photo journal. Connect with me on Facebook for more frequent pregnancy updates!

A big THANK YOU to Christine Cortes for allowing me to share her beautiful Hypnobabies birth story with you! I’ve read A LOT of birth stories and this is one of my favourites! I love how she transitioned from – WHY on earth would I want to give birth naturally when epidurals are available to take away the pain?! – to having a peaceful and COMFORTABLE waterbirth with Hypnobabies ❤

When I found out I was pregnant after a miscarriage, I couldn’t believe it. It had been 2 months since the loss and I was still devastated from it. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, so I was in denial and went about with my life like nothing was happening. I finally went to get an ultrasound and found out that I was 9 weeks pregnant. I was filled with joy as soon as I saw our tiny baby on the screen in front of me and thanked God with all my heart.

Now I had heard of women giving birth naturally in this day and age, but I thought it was crazy. Why would someone want to go through so much pain when we have wonderful things like epidurals? My husband wanted me to have a natural birth with our first and I thought he was crazy out of his mind. I thought he was so mean. why would he want me to go through so much pain?! No way was I going to ever try a natural birth. So I had the typical hospital/epidural birth with our daughter. Had no desire whatsoever in a natural birth. That was for the brave crazy women. Or so I thought.

Fast forward a year later. I met a group of moms that shared the same parenting beliefs as me. Babywearing, and cloth diapering were some of the things we had in common. Then I found out that they birthed their children at home or at a birth center with no drugs! I was amazed. This is when I started hearing about hypnobabies. A 6 week class that mentally prepares you for childbirth. Focuses only on the positive things about childbirth and encourages you to believe that you can birth your child in comfort and joy. A lot of these women had pain free natural births. I thought this was impossible! I was taught that childbirth is the most excruciating pain that a woman will ever have. Then my best friend took the hypnobabies class and had a beautiful natural birth. She said she felt no pain. Only pressure and stretching and pulling. I was amazed! This is when I decided I would take the class for my next pregnancy.

The class taught me to change my entire view of childbirth. I had to believe with all my heart soul and mind that I could have a comfortable pain free natural birth, and that I would enjoy it. I had to erase everything I had ever been taught about how painful and horrible childbirth is and replace it with only positive thoughts. I learned to erase any and all fears I had about childbirth. I used the techniques I learned during that class and soon enough, I truly believed that I would have an amazing birth and that I deserved to birth in comfort and joy.

Nov 21st 2011. 40 weeks pregnant. I had been having pressure waves all day, but I didn’t pay attention to them. I went for a walk and noticed that I had to stop walking during a pressure wave and that they were getting stronger. So I started timing them. At first they were 9-10 mins apart lasting a min to 90 secs long. My husband was at school so at around 9pm I realized that maybe I might be in my birthing time and I decided to ask him to come home. He brought home some sonic hot dogs and I sat on my birthing ball and listened to my hypnobabies tracks. The pressure waves kept getting wonderfully stronger and soon I had to vocalize through them. I kept saying OHHHHHH OHHHHHHH. They weren’t painful. Just strong. They were now 6-7 mins apart. I called my doula and gave her a heads up and also called the birth center. The midwife on call didn’t really take me seriously because I sounded too calm over the phone. Which is a common response to women who use hypnobabies. We are way too relaxed and are not taken seriously when we are in our birthing time! Then she asked me if I’m in pain and I said no. so even more reason for her not to take me seriously!

I went to lay down and during a pressure wave, my water broke! It was an amazing feeling! Like an explosion! This is when I knew I really am in my birthing time! A little part of me started getting scared but I chose to remain focused on my positive birth. We got in the car for the 45 min drive to the birth center and I listened to my hypnobabies tracks to help me stay focused. I only focused on the pressure wave I was experiencing and did not dare think about the next one until it came. One at a time! When we got to the birth center, my doula was there and so was my mother in law and my sister in law. They took our daughter who was fast asleep. Now I had to face one of the things I was dreading. A cervical check. When I got this done with my daughter in the hospital it was excruciatingly painful. But I used the techniques I learned in hypnobabies and just completely relaxed all my muscles and it wasn’t painful at all! I was so happy to learn that I was 5-6 cm dilated! I had asked for an epidural with my daughter at 3cm. I was so proud of myself that I had survived that car ride!

So they took me upstairs and I paused for a pressure wave at the top of the stairs. This is when I started feeling pushy. With each pressure wave my body was beginning to push and my noises started sounding like pushy grunts. The midwife told me it was too early to push and that I needed to resist that urge. But it felt so good to give in to it! She told me I could make my cervix swell. So I tried really hard not to give into that pushy urge. They filled up the tub and I got in. the water was soooo warm and inviting! I held on to a bar on the wall and relaxed with each pressure wave. I was so sleepy! I just wanted to sleep and I would try to between pressure waves. They were coming so close now and getting more and more stronger! They were not painful. The only way I can describe them is a very strong powerful force taking over your body. I focused on the fact that each pressure wave was bringing me closer and closer to our son. I embraced each one! I didn’t listen to any hypnobabies tracks in the tub. I didn’t want anyone to touch me or talk to me. I was in my own world, listening to my body. I couldn’t resist the urge to push anymore and I gave in. it really felt so good to just give in to that urge. Then I felt stretching! I reached down and felt the top of Raphael’s head and asked the midwife to check me!! She checked and I was 10cm! I was ready to push after only being there an hour! Hubby quickly got in the tub with me and held me as I gave over to my body. I just relaxed and my body did the work for me. I didn’t push my baby out. My body pushed him out. With the next pressure wave I relaxed and that powerful urge came over me and I remember feeling a lot of stretching. Not painful. His head was out. And I relaxed and waited for the next pressure wave. And with the next one, I felt a lot more stretching and his body came out. It was the most amazing thing I have ever experienced in my life! They took the cord off from around his neck and gave him to me! I couldn’t believe that I was holding my baby in my arms! I couldn’t believe that I had just had a natural pain free birth! I felt like I was dreaming! The first thing I said was “that is the easiest thing I have ever done!” I couldn’t believe how easy it was!! I wasn’t screaming or going crazy or crying like they show on tv. I was relaxed the whole time. My husband called for his mom as soon as Raphael was born and they came in with our daughter.

Raphael was born at 2:28am. Weighing 7lbs 4 oz and 19in long with no tears! They helped me out of the tub and I was surprised at how easy it was to just get up and walk like nothing happened! With my first, I felt like I had been ran over by a truck! My husband and daughter fell asleep in bed with us. The midwives left us alone for a few hours and we just got to enjoy our new bundle of joy. 8 hours later, we were ready to go home!

I am so glad I decided to have a waterbirth. The birth center was such a nice relaxing atmosphere. The midwives let me do what I wanted to do, and I was able to trust my body to birth my baby. Whenever we have another baby I am definitely doing another waterbirth! Hopefully we can have a homebirth next time! The thing that helped me the most was changing my mentality towards childbirth. Once that was changed, everything else fell into place and I was able to let go and trust my body to do what it was designed to do. Also, my faith as a Christian helped me a lot. I know my Creator designed me to give birth, and whatever I ask, He can give to me. So I told Him exactly how I wanted my birth to be, and he fulfilled it! I just had to have a little faith! So I am here to tell you that childbirth can be a fun, wonderful, comfortable, and relaxing experience! The whole time I felt like I had the power to choose what type of experience I wanted. The mind and what you speak into your life is a very powerful thing. I thoroughly enjoyed my birthing experience and can’t wait for the next time I get to do it again!

The most beautiful and amazing event of my life!

~ Christine Cortes

For more information about Hypnobabies or to find a class near you please visit www.Hypnobabies.com

For classes in Vancouver & West Vancouver please visit: www.cultivateyourhealth.com

We’re pregnant! What a magical day! Rich and I *knew* in our hearts that we were pregnant this month but we got confirmation this morning with a POSITIVE pregnancy test! Yippee! We are beyond excited and spent the day sharing our happy news with family and friends. Technically I’m almost 4 weeks pregnant but implantation actually occurred just over a week ago (but that’s a whole other blog post!) Our guess month is mid-late June but our baby will arrive whenever he or she is ready! Some of you reading this will be thinking that it’s WAY too early to be sharing pregnancy news but Rich and I have decided that we’re comfortable with sharing our journey publicly and if this baby isn’t meant to be with us then we’ll share that journey too.

Nothing like a positive pregnancy test to kick up some inspiration after not writing for almost 8 months(?!) While I initially thought I’d want to share our preconception and ‘trying to conceive’ journey as it was happening I quickly realized that it put a whole lot of unnecessary pressure on us and decided to take a break from blogging. It was also becoming a very spiritual journey and I was having a hard time finding the words to describe what was happening internally and externally as we consciously welcomed our spirit baby into our hearts and our lives. I will share that journey with you some day.

I feel inspired to share our pregnancy journey with you, the past month has been utterly magical.

At the beginning of September my Mom and 2 of my brothers moved to Vancouver from Ontario. Having not lived near any of our family for over 7 years it was a welcomed change. I think part of me really wanted to share the experience of being pregnant with my mother so it doesn’t come as a surprise to me that we got pregnant within a few weeks of her being here. It’s also the first month I relaxed and stopped temping/charting and let go of my attachment to becoming pregnant when *I* wanted to. We celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary on September 6, 2011 and enjoyed a relaxing 3-day weekend on Salt Spring Island.

I was heading to Sedona, Arizona for the first time on September 20th for Akashic Records training with Jennifer Longmore and the timing of my cycle worked out perfectly. I ovulated the day before I left which was awesome because I thought Sedona would be a pretty extraordinary place for fertilization and implantation to occur. For those of you that haven’t been to Sedona it’s a spiritual mecca with amazing healing energy. I was there for 5 days in total and everyday I spent time connecting with my Spirit Baby (phenomenal book!) and sending it lots of love and light.

The Akashic Records training was transformational and lots of deep healing occurred over the 3 days of training. On the 3rd day of training I was having my records read by one of my classmates and when she had me breathe in love & light from the top of my head down to my toes I felt a little twinge down by my uterus accompanied by this knowing sense that I was pregnant. It felt like my spirit baby was letting me know that she was there. It was such a powerful moment that I opened my eyes and shared it with the woman who was doing my reading. It was incredibly exciting! The next day I had some spotting and knew that implantation was occurring. As if that wasn’t enough as I walked out of the restaurant I was eating breakfast in that morning a young male made eye contact with me and said “Congratulations!”, I looked at him a bit perplexed and said “Pardon?” and he repeated, “Congratulations”, I then replied “For what?” and he said “Aren’t you pregnant?!” I instantly thought “That’s interesting” and told him that I could be but that I didn’t know yet. The poor guy looked SO confused, it was as if it was SO obvious that I was pregnant and he couldn’t understand why I wasn’t yet sure. He felt really bad and apologized profusely… I wish I could find him today so I could tell him that I am indeed pregnant! I don’t know if my belly was bloated from breakfast and I looked pregnant or if he was picking up on an energy that I was emitting but that’s the first time it’s happened to me! Pretty neat if you ask me

Upon returning from Sedona I learned that Rich had been reading Spirit Babies while I was gone and had been connecting with our Spirit Baby, truly making the conscious decision to become a father. I was almost in tears when he told me. It meant so much to me that he did that and without either of us realizing it we were communicating with our Spirit Baby at the same time even though we didn’t speak to eachother for a few days while I fully immersed myself in my training/healing. I love that we consciously welcomed our baby into our lives!

The last week, returning from Sedona until now has been filled with mixed emotions, most of them positive. On one hand I *knew* I was pregnant and I was sharing the story of the man in Sedona with many of my friends in case it ‘came true’. On the other hand I was afraid to get too excited because the disappointment of not being pregnant would have been heartbreaking. I did my best to stay in a neutral place, still communicating with my spirit baby on a daily basis and practicing patience until I could take a pregnancy test for confirmation.

Rich and I talked about testing and decided it was something we wanted to experience together. This morning I woke up, did the test and was about to leave it in the bathroom for a few minutes and we’d go back in together to see the results but curiosity got the best of me and I took a quick glance at it before leaving the washroom and there were TWO lines! POSITIVE! I exploded with tears of joy and happiness and went back into the bedroom to share the news with Rich. We embraced and shared our excitement with overflowing emotions.

We are going to be parents!

It was a special moment that I will treasure forever!

Stay tuned for our journey through conscious pregnancy and birth…

Shorter and more frequent updates can be found on my FB page: Prenatal Coach

Just over a month ago I worked up the courage to announce some big news… I’ve successfully been able to heal my body and re-introduce gluten into my diet! (This is a HUGE goal that I was set on achieving before starting a family.) If you haven’t read the intro to my story yet, that’s a great place to start as it contains some really important points that I won’t be repeating here. Within hours of hitting ‘publish’ I received an overwhelming amount of love and support. I feel very grateful to have such a strong community of people around me that believe deeply in the body’s ability to heal itself. Thank you for your encouragement, it has helped me find the strength to continue sharing my story despite the negative feedback I’ve received from those who are not yet ready to have their deeply held beliefs challenged.

Ironically, I can truly relate to these people because I used to be one of them. I distinctly remember having a conversation with one of my classmates at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition back in 2005. The topic of Celiac Disease came up and she very boldly stated that she didn’t believe that CD was incurable and that it was indeed possible for the body to heal itself. I remember getting really angry and felt my blood starting to boil. While I kept my cool externally, internally I was MAD. All I could think of was, “How dare she say that? Who does she think she is? Clearly she doesn’t understand how serious and real Celiac Disease is!” Today, I need to find and thank that woman because SHE had the courage to speak HER truth and it planted a seed in my mind that maybe Celiac Disease wasn’t forever. While I didn’t know it at the time, THAT was the start of my healing journey even though I hadn’t even received a diagnosis yet.

photo credit: woodleywonderworks

I’ve decided to break my journey up into segments, which will make it a lot easier for me to write, and hopefully a lot shorter for you to read! I’ve determined that the best place for me to start is at the very beginning… sharing what my life was like before being diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Since I’m still very passionate and knowledgeable about the topic despite the fact that I can now eat gluten it’s my hope that this information will spread far and wide to help increase the diagnosis rate of Celiac Disease. It’s still a very real and serious condition that is grossly under-diagnosed and it’s very necessary to eat 100% gluten-free for a period of time (for most that will be forever) in order to help your body heal and break the cycle of inflammation and damage to the villi on your small intestine. As I mentioned in my previous post this is not a case of simply removing gluten from my diet and after a period of time being able to re-introduce it without any ill effects and just ‘thinking’ I am healed. I went through a much deeper healing process and want to be very clear that I do not recommend that anyone who has been diagnosed with CD eat gluten (even if they don’t feel any noticeable effects, because you could still be damaging your small intestine.) This post also warrants a reminder to my readers that I am not claiming to have found the cure for Celiac Disease or gluten sensitivity; I am simply sharing my personal journey. Okay, enough with the disclaimers and onto my story…

My Childhood and Adolescent Years

I could easily write a book about my health challenges through this period in my life but for the purposes of this blog post, I’ll keep it short and sweet. Just enough to give you some background information but not enough to bore you I spent the majority of my childhood and adolescent years in pain (physically and emotionally) and was often sick and unwell. I can’t remember exactly when it started because I have no memories of feeling healthy but I’ve been told that things started to shift for me around the time that my parents got divorced when I was six years old. While I don’t consciously remember the experience my family told me that I was very upset and like a typical child thought it was me that had done something wrong and caused the break up. It’s clear to me that this has nothing to do with my parents and everything to do with how I responded to their divorce as a young child. The separation was in the best interest of everyone and I place no blame on any outside sources for any of my life experiences. As a child who was nicknamed a ‘worry wart’ and felt excessively stressed all the time, it is interesting to note that the anger, sadness and grief I felt after the divorce was internalized and held within my body… not surprisingly, shortly after that my frequent stomach aches began. The stomach aches progressively turned into excruciating stomach pains, which there was no apparent medical cause for and I eventually received a diagnosis of IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome since nothing else was found to be ‘wrong’ with me. (I’ve read that 1/3 of Celiac Disease patients have been previously diagnosed with IBS.)

Growing up in an Italian family, wheat and dairy was eaten at every meal. Cereal with milk for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and pasta with cheese for dinner. While I won’t be going into detail, I will simply say that mealtimes were the most stressful time of the day for me as a child. Knowing what I know now (and what my parents didn’t know at the time) Stress + Ingestion of Food = Poor Digestion. It makes perfect sense to me that I went on to develop an intolerance to both gluten and dairy. What started with frequent tummy aches, digestive problems and agonizing stomach pains as a child turned into bloating, fatigue, depression, brain fog, irritability and mood swings as a teenager and continued into my adult life. (85% of patients with Celiac Disease have a atypical, non-gastrointestinal symptom presentation.) At 15 I was diagnosed with clinical depression and given anti-depressants. They didn’t work for me and all came with a different set of horrible side effects. I decided they weren’t for me. Deep down inside I knew that it wasn’t normal for a 15 year old to be severely depressed. I then set out on a mission to read everything I could get my hands on that pertained to natural health, nutrition and alternative healing modalities. I was determined to find the cause of all my health complaints.

Testing and Diagnosis

When I learned about Celiac Disease and found that my symptoms fit the picture perfectly I went to my doctor and requested a blood test (TTG-IgA). When the test came back negative I was confused because I was sure this is what I had been suffering from. (Years later I discover that I have an IgA deficiency so this test is inconclusive, but not necessarily negative.) By this time I had already removed dairy from my diet but was still unwell. I decided a trial of the gluten-free diet was in order and removed it to the best of my ability. All of my gastrointestinal symptoms went away within days and I felt better than I had in years. I was convinced that I had figured out what was wrong with me. After a year of eating gluten-free and still suffering from depression and anxiety I became very confused and started to think that I had made a mistake and that gluten wasn’t the issue because my depression had not subsided on the gluten-free diet. I was living on my own at 16, working full-time and going to high school full-time while trying to manage a gluten and dairy-free diet on a small budget, in a small town where no one knew what gluten was. I re-introduced gluten and felt fine, my symptoms didn’t worsen or get better. I put the whole ‘gluten-free’ thing behind me and continued on with my life.

Fast forward to 2006. I’m nearing the end of my studies in holistic nutrition (which had a dual purpose, to learn more about how to heal my own health challenges and to start a career where I could help others with all the knowledge I had gained over the years) and we start learning more about Celiac Disease. A light bulb goes off in my head. Since re-introducing gluten into my diet when I was a teenager, slowly but surely all of my symptoms had returned over the course of the months and years that passed and I hadn’t noticed the connection. On top of that I was dealing with secondary issues from my body’s apparent lack of ability to absorb nutrients properly. Again, the profile of Celiac Disease seemed to fit, so I went to go see my doctor and requested the blood test (TTG-IgA). Weeks later when the test results were in, I was really disappointed to discover that it was negative because I was convinced that I had finally found the cause of all my symptoms after years of health challenges. (In North America, it takes an average of 10 years to receive a diagnosis of Celiac Disease from the first onset of typical symptoms.) This time I didn’t give up, I started to research Celiac Disease extensively and learned that if you have an IgA deficiency then the blood test will be inconclusive (ie. even if you have CD it will come back negative.) I went back to my doctor and requested a Total IgA blood test… not surprisingly it showed that I had an IgA deficiency! (Immunoglobulin A or IgA is 10 to 15 times more common in patients with CD than in healthy individuals.)

The next step to getting a Celiac diagnosis (in most circumstances) is to be referred to a gastroenterologist for a biopsy of the small intestine to assess whether or not there is any visible damage to the villi, the tiny, hair-like projections that line the small intestine allowing nutrients from food to be absorbed. When people with Celiac Disease consume gluten, the villi become damaged and a person becomes malnourished, no matter how much food they eat. While this is the ‘gold standard’ for diagnosis, it can also provide false negatives if the few portions they remove to observe under a microscope are not damaged but other parts of the intestine are. Unfortunately, getting diagnosed with Celiac Disease isn’t black and white, they are many shades of grey since false negatives (and false positives, when it comes to blood testing) is possible.

I was referred to a gastroenterologist and had to wait 3 months for my consultation appointment while continuing to poison myself by eating regular amounts of gluten. (If you stop consuming gluten your intestines will heal and the biopsy will be inconclusive.) After my consultation, I’d have to then wait for a surgery date. While I recommend that clients get the biopsy so they have ‘proof’ that they have Celiac Disease in order to adhere to a 100% gluten-free diet, I struggled with the decision for myself. For one I KNEW that I had Celiac Disease and by this point I was so sick and so depressed that I was afraid I might not make it another 3 months (yes, I was THAT depressed and they couldn’t schedule me in any earlier.) Second, it’s an invasive procedure, albeit with only small risks but I was still uncomfortable with it. The biopsy would prove to the DOCTOR that I had Celiac Disease, not to myself.

On February 14, 2007 I went completely gluten-free. This was months before I received my diagnosis because I was so ill that I couldn’t leave the house and I was unable to follow through with my Valentine’s Day plans. I had reached my breaking point; I decided on that day, that with or without a diagnosis, I was committed to following a gluten-free diet for life.

photo credit: Whatsername?

Within days of removing 100% of the gluten from my diet I noticed a huge improvement. Within weeks I felt better then I had in my life and within a few months I was nearly free of ALL my symptoms. I felt like a completely different person. I remained healthy and happy as long as I adhered to a 100% gluten-free diet. Any amount of cross-contamination (I’m talking a fraction of a bread crumb here) would cause a debilitating return of my symptoms and the effects would last up to 2 weeks. I finally understood why I didn’t experience relief from my depression the first time I went gluten-free for a year when I was a teenager. It’s because I was not 100% gluten-free! I was probably really close but that wasn’t enough. Being trained as a nutritionist and having studied Celiac Disease I was now able to look back and see that even though I was doing my absolute best, I was still getting very minute amounts of gluten in my diet and that was triggering me. When I learned this time around that even a tiny amount of gluten would cause symptoms for up to 2 weeks it made sense that I had struggled with depression almost non-stop that whole year I was gluten-free. This provided a huge amount of insight for me, because I had known years ago, that gluten was an issue but since testing couldn’t prove it, I questioned my intuition.

I returned to my doctor and shared with her how I felt on a 100% gluten-free diet and what would happen if I consumed a small amount. It truly felt like I had experienced a miraculous recovery. Since I was no longer a candidate for a biopsy as I was already gluten-free, I requested a gene test to determine whether or not I carried one or both of the two genes (HLA-DQ2 and/or HLA-DQ8) associated with Celiac Disease. This test is not affected by a gluten-free diet.

Here is some background information on gene testing from Dr. Alessio Fasano, who is the director of the Center for Celiac Research:

“Celiac disease (CD) is an immune-mediated disease of the intestines that is triggered by the ingestion of gluten in genetically susceptible individuals. Gluten is the major protein component of wheat, rye, and barley. Genetic predisposition plays a key role in CD and considerable progress has been made recently in identifying genes that are responsible for CD predisposition. It is well known that CD is strongly associated with specific HLA class II genes known as HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 located on chromosome 6p21. Approximately 95% of CD patients express HLA-DQ2, and the remaining patients are usually HLA-DQ8 positive. However, the HLA-DQ2 allele is common and is carried by approximately 30% of Caucasian individuals. Thus, HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8 is necessary for disease development but is not sufficient for disease development; its estimated risk effect is only 36-53%.”

I carry the HLA-DQ2 gene.

Let’s break this down even further, in plain English… Celiac Disease is genetic, meaning it runs in families. Approximately 30% of Caucasian individuals carry the HLA-DQ2 gene but not all of them will go on to develop CD therefore genetic testing alone cannot be used to diagnose Celiac. It can however, be used to rule it out. What is important to note is that an individual can carry this gene and NEVER go on to develop CD in their lifetime OR they will carry the gene and it becomes triggered at some point in their life (after surgery, pregnancy, childbirth, viral infection or severe emotional stress such as divorce, death of a loved one etc.) and they develop Celiac Disease at that point in their life. Of those that are diagnosed with Celiac Disease (presumably by a positive biopsy test) approximately 95% carry the HLA-DQ2 gene.

Sound confusing? The road to a clear diagnosis is for most people. That’s probably one of the reasons why the Canadian Celiac Association reports that the prevalence of Celiac Disease is approximately 1:100 in the North American population and approximately 97% of individuals with Celiac Disease are undiagnosed. With an incredibly low 3% diagnosis rate, CD is one of the most under diagnosed diseases in North American today. This has led to the metaphor that diagnosed Celiacs represent only the visible tip of a much larger undiagnosed iceberg.

My Diagnosis

My blood test for CD was inconclusive due to an IgA deficiency. A biopsy would have also been inconclusive because I had already removed gluten from my diet. The ‘gold standard’ for diagnosis was no longer possible.

Based on the fact that I carry the gene associated with Celiac Disease, my symptoms started after experiencing severe emotional stress as a child (increasing the probability of the gene being triggered), having typical and atypical signs and symptoms of CD which dramatically cleared up on a gluten-free diet and returned with a ‘gluten challenge’ my doctor diagnosed me with Celiac Disease and advised me to adhere to a gluten-free diet for life.

Why am I giving you so much background information?

Because the Canadian Celiac Association does not recognize my diagnosis as ‘official’ (even though my doctor gave it to me) so I want to lay all my cards on the table, face up so that there is no confusion or misrepresentation. I am fully aware that having a positive biopsy is the ‘gold standard’ for diagnosis but my doctor thought otherwise, based on MY individual case, which I greatly appreciated after years of being misdiagnosed.

At the same time I can appreciate how one could argue that maybe I never had Celiac Disease to begin with and that it was simply an allergy or sensitivity to gluten that I ‘grew out of.’ While I agree that I may never have had the intestinal damage to begin with (I’ll never know for sure), I disagree that it was simply an allergy that I grew out of. This is something that I had to work extremely hard at, which I’ll explain in further detail in another post. I will never be able to prove with 100% certainty (by medical standards) that I had intestinal damage that accompanied all my symptoms (and I don’t intend to allow it to come back just to prove my point.) It was clear to me and to my doctor that my body was suffering from malnutrition, likely from malabsorption and that I wasn’t suffering from a classic IgE mediated allergy. What cannot be argued is that for the 3 years I was 100% gluten-free, I would react very strongly to gluten (right up until I ate gluten one day with no ill effects). I have experienced a major breakthrough in my health!

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.” ~Henry Ford

I also understand and appreciate how one could believe that healing Celiac Disease and being able to eat gluten without intestinal damage is impossible because it’s an “incurable” disease, but I have to disagree. The field of science called epigenetics is teaching us that your DNA doesn’t predict your destiny. It’s showing us that genes can essentially be turned “off” just as the gene can be triggered to turn “on” (Remember I mentioned earlier in my post how you can carry the celiac gene and either never go on to develop CD or you can carry the gene and it becomes triggered at some point your life – after surgery, infection, severe emotional stress etc. and you develop CD.) Since your internal and external environment determines which of your genes will be expressed I always wondered if the Celiac gene can be triggered to turn on, why can’t it be triggered to turn off? (I highly recommend watching this video explanation of ONE component of epigenetics, the power of your thoughts and beliefs, by Dr. Bruce Lipton.) I believe that my Celiac gene is no longer expressing itself and THAT is why it’s possible for me to eat gluten again. In short, I believe that I have brought my body back into homeostasis, where illness and disease is no longer able to thrive and this new, healthy environment doesn’t allow the celiac gene to express itself anymore (which took me over 3 years to accomplish.) I am not however, claiming to have found the cure for Celiac Disease. I am simply sharing my experience, detailing what it took to bring MY body back into homeostasis so it’s full health potential could be expressed. This journey will be different for everyone. I can’t and won’t be creating a protocol that everyone can follow to achieve the same results! This is a HUGE topic and one I’m not going to delve into right now because I’ll cover it in future posts. In the meantime, if you’d like more information I highly recommend reading ‘The Biology of Belief’ by Dr. Bruce Lipton. That’s a great place to start if you want to learn about the science behind epigenetics. Having the opportunity to meet and listen to Dr. Lipton in 2009 literally changed my life.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for reading!

It has taken me over a month (since writing my last post) to work up the courage to continue sharing my story. The love and support you’ve shown me has been overwhelmingly positive and has encouraged me to continue sharing my journey, one post at a time. As you can imagine there is SO much more left to tell you! The rest of the story is coming soon, I promise!

Please leave your words of encouragement and support below.
I’d love to hear from you and it inspires me to keep writing!

2011 marks the start of my 4-month preconception period and I couldn’t be more excited. We are going to start trying for a baby in May!!

From a very young age, I knew without a doubt, that I wanted to be a mom. I’ve been dreaming about pregnancy for years and unlike the majority of women I meet, I’m really looking forward to giving birth! It is such an honour for me to be able to support women in labour as a birth doula and I feel so grateful, that I too will be able to experience this empowering event myself one day. Getting here, to a place where I feel confident that I can conceive and carry a healthy baby has been a long road but I’ve finally arrived! I gave you a sneak peak into that journey last week and I promise to share the rest of my story with you soon.

In the meantime I want to educate you about some important information regarding preconception health that your doctor likely won’t tell you. My husband and I recently went to see a new doctor (that didn’t know anything about our health history or that I’m a nutritionist.) Our doctor moved out of the province so we were meeting this doctor for the first time. I was curious what the general public is being told when they visit their doctor and tell them that they are going to start trying to conceive.

My doctor recommended 3 things:

1. Stop smoking and drinking (if we do)

2. Start taking folic acid (she handed me a sample of a prescription prenatal)

3. She told me that I needed to get the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, rubella) even though I was already vaccinated as a child. She was getting ready to walk out the door to go get it when I declined her offer and told her that I’d like to think about it and do my research before making a decision. Baffled by my reaction, she proceeded to try and instill fear in me about the dangers of contracting these illnesses during pregnancy to try and change my mind. I agreed to a blood test which will determine whether I still have immunity to these diseases from prior immunizations.

Needless to say I was very frustrated that the topic of nutrition (real food!) and the importance of reducing your exposure to toxins wasn’t brought up. The focus? Simply preventing birth defects through the intake of synthetic vitamins and minerals, not on optimizing health and your ability to conceive.

Here’s why I think preconception health care is so important:

I believe that the first opportunity you have to optimize your child’s health is in the preconception period. Paying special attention to this time can also help boost natural fertility, which could conceivably save you months or years of heartache when you are ready to have a baby. Unfortunately, medically unexplained infertility is on the rise and I think that our high stress lifestyles, nutritionally deficient diets and overwhelming amount of environmental toxins are to blame. By starting to make changes over the 6-12 month period before conception you can ensure that you are creating the best possible environment for a baby to grow and thrive.

Nourish the soil before you plant the seed

Farmers and gardeners understand the importance of preparing, tilling and fertilizing the soil long before they plant their crop. They understand that the nutrients contained within the soil provide nourishment for the plants whole life cycle, not just germination. This analogy is a great example of why preconception health is so important. It should be considered a component of preventative medicine, beginning up to 12 months prior to women consciously trying to become pregnant. Creating a safe and nourishing home for that little seedling to grow will help ensure its survival from germination to maturation and enable it to thrive.

Did you know that it takes over 3 months to mature the egg to be ready for ovulation and over 3 months for men to produce a new batch of sperm? During this time they are extremely sensitive to nutritional deficiencies and exposure to toxins – so much so that if the quality of the egg and sperm are low enough you may not be able to conceive! The good news is that better quality sperm and eggs lead to increased fertility, reduced risk of miscarriage and healthier babies.

Already pregnant and didn’t prepare in advance? Don’t fret. Applying these preconception tips during pregnancy will also have a positive effect on the health of your baby.

I recommend taking a minimum of 6-12 months to prepare your body for pregnancy. Why so long? Because we don’t live in the same world that our grandparents and parents grew up in… our diets now revolve around packaged and processed convenience foods that are severely devoid of nutrients and our homes and personal care products are filled with toxic chemicals. I feel a strong pull now, more than ever to follow the guidance of our ancestors and go back to traditionally prepared real food to create a healthier generation of children.

Where should you start? The first step is to create a positive mindset and intention for the changes you want to make. Focus on gradually creating a healthier lifestyle through small changes over a period of time and before you know it you’ve set up a great foundation for a healthy pregnancy! The more time you can give yourself to integrate these changes, the better! Remember that it takes approximately 120 days for our cells (eggs, sperm, red blood cells etc.) to change from dietary and lifestyle modifications. It’s definitely worth your time to take at least 4 months to prepare your body for pregnancy.

Here are 5 key tips to get you started:

• Stop taking hormonal birth control at least 6-12+ months before you want to conceive. They are known to deplete your body of the very same nutrients that you need for fertility and to nourish a growing fetus during the first trimester. It can also take months for your hormones to find their natural balance and for your body to start ovulating again, which is essential for conception.
• Detoxify your body 6-12+ months in advance. I recommend that you do this with the help of a qualified health care professional to ensure that it is the right approach for you. Look for a naturopathic doctor, acupuncturist or holistic nutritionist who specializes in preconception health care for support. (I do not recommend that you focus on extreme weight loss or intense cleansing in the 6 months leading up to conception or when you are breastfeeding because the toxins being released from your tissues can be damaging to the fetus.)
• Focus on building your nutrient reserves! This is even more important for subsequent pregnancies. Both pregnancy and breastfeeding require a lot of additional nutrients and if you are not getting them through your diet your baby will take them from your body (ie. if you are not getting enough calcium it will be taken from your bones.) This can leave a mom very deficient and struggling to conceive the next time around. Since many women experience nausea and lack of appetite during their first trimester it’s even more important to ensure you have adequate nutrient stores going into your pregnancy. The key to building your nutrient reserves is QUALITY. Choose nutrient dense foods (not low calorie foods!) such as: organic grass-fed meat and liver, eggs from pasture-raised chickens, nourishing bone broth, organic whole milk yogurt and cheese, wild fish and seafood, unrefined fats and oils such as butter, ghee, virgin coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, organic vegetables that are mostly raw or fermented, leafy greens, sprouted grains and soaked nuts/seeds.
• Reduce environmental toxins. Eat foods without labels. Buy certified organic meat and produce. Switch to natural skin and hair care products. Use only natural household cleaners. Can’t afford to buy all your fruits and vegetables organic? The Environmental Working Group has found that people can lower their pesticide exposure by almost 80 percent by avoiding the top twelve most contaminated fruits and vegetables (or buying them organic) and eating the least contaminated instead. They’ve also put a really great Cosmetic Safety Database where you can find safer alternatives for all your skin care products. Don’t forget to check out the 2010 Sunscreen Safety Guide as well.
• 3-4 months before conception… act as if you are already pregnant. What would you absolutely do or not do if you found out you were pregnant? Since stress is probably the number one fertility killer, looking at ways to reduce your levels of stress and incorporating relaxation techniques into your daily schedule can go a long way in helping you achieve your goal of conceiving a healthy baby!

Next week I’ll continue to share with you the specific steps I’ve taken to get to where I am today and what I plan to do during my 4-month preconception period. I look forward to sharing my journey with you!

Are you physically, emotionally or spiritually preparing for pregnancy?

I’d love to hear from you! Sometimes I feel like I’m all alone on this journey!

Wow, I can confidently say that 2010 was the most transformational year of my life! I’ve been taking some time over the past few weeks to reflect on the past year and set my intentions for 2011. I’m beyond excited to see what the next year has in store for us… especially since we are ready to start a family and hope to conceive in the spring.

Before I move into the next year I feel the need to bring closure to something major that occurred in 2010. It’s been an amazing journey, both personally and professionally and I’d like to share some of the highlights with you. Every time I sit down to write ‘my story’ I become overwhelmed by the magnitude of what I accomplished and find myself unable to write about it. I have experienced a massive breakthrough in my health and I’m {not so} ready to go public with my story, but it’s time. This is where I get stuck… WHERE do I begin? My story could easily translate into a book. Maybe some day it will.

photo credit: EraPhernalia Vintage

Here’s a quick summary:

3 years of hard work and dedication to improving my health in preparation for pregnancy has paid off and resulted in me being able to successfully re-introduce gluten and dairy into my diet (!!) For those of you that know me this is HUGE. I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease (gluten intolerance), which is a very serious, ‘incurable’ condition that requires strict adherence to a gluten-free diet for life. There is no cure and the only treatment is the firm avoidance of gluten, which is found in wheat, rye, barley, spelt and kamut. When someone with Celiac Disease consumes gluten it damages the villi on their small intestine, which interferes with their body’s ability to absorb nutrients. This can lead to many secondary diseases and disorders from the malnutrition and puts you at a higher risk for bowel cancers. As if that weren’t enough, if I did accidentally have even the smallest amount of gluten (contaminated knife, cutting board etc.) I would become severely ill for up to 2 weeks with symptoms ranging from excruciating stomach pains to severe depression, anxiety and brain fog. This is not a condition to be taken lightly and I want to be very clear… I am not recommending that anyone with Celiac Disease eat gluten. It’s also important to note that I was diagnosed without a biopsy so it’s possible that I never had the intestinal damage to begin with. My story is unique and what worked for me may not work for anyone else. Hence the reason I am not shouting from the rooftops that I have found the “cure” for Celiac Disease… I haven’t. In short, I believe that I have brought my body back into homeostasis, where illness and disease is no longer able to thrive and this new, healthy environment doesn’t allow the celiac gene to express itself anymore (which took me over 3 years to accomplish.) What did I do? Like I said… it’s a LONG story. I don’t know how to summarize it in a blog post just yet.

What I do know is that I’ve been eating gluten for the past 10 months with absolutely no ill effects. While I started with the worst types of gluten to ‘test’ my body (refined and processed flours eaten daily for a period of time) I now eat only small amounts of gluten containing grains that are either sprouted or fermented since I believe that gluten is still very hard to digest and shouldn’t be eaten on a daily basis. Once a week when we eat out at a restaurant or at a friends house I eat all the gluten my little heart desires. I’ve had follow-up testing with my doctor and all is well, as I expected it to be. This is the first time in my life that I truly look and feel healthy after spending the majority of my life being ill. The full story will follow sometime in 2011. I appreciate your patience as I work through the obstacle of putting my story into written words. I might need to shoot a video instead, I find talking to be so much easier than writing!

“You never know how far-reaching something you think, say or do today will affect the lives of millions tomorrow” ~B.J. Palmer

A special thank you to the family, friends and colleagues who have supported me on my journey this past year. I couldn’t have done this without your love and support! Thank you for BELIEVING IN ME when I told you that I was trying to accomplish something that was seemingly impossible.

(Side Note: Part of me is afraid to hit publish with so many ‘details’ missing from my story. I worry that I will be inundated with questions about how I healed my body – hello ego – I’d like to kindly request that you hold on to those types of questions until I’m ready to share the WHOLE story. There was no magic pill or wand. It’s a compilation of things that I did to heal my physical, mental, emotional and energetic body over a period of 3+ years so there is no easy way to answer the ‘how’ questions in just a few words. Thank you for your support!)

What was YOUR biggest accomplishment or breakthrough in 2010?
I’d love to hear from you!

NEW: How I Healed My Gluten Intolerance – Part 1