There is a LOT about wheat out there. A lot. I personally love wheat, and am dismayed that it seems to be wreaking havoc in my family. Sigh. We were eating wheat about once per week. Granted I have NOT been preparing my wheat products by soaking/sprouting. I know that this can lessen wheat's impact on our systems.
You may be thinking that babies shouldn't be eating wheat. Of course! But I am finding, for us, there is a direct link to me eating wheat and Merida's ability to sleep soundly (she is exclusively breastfeeding). So what ever bad things wheat has been doing for me (foggy brain, and lots of stiffness and aches/pains), it is getting through my milk to her and causing problems for her.
Merida has been a wonderful sleeper from day one. No joke. Don't hate me :-) Seriously, from day one she slept 5 to 6 hours nightly. As the weeks went on that went up to 8 to 10 hours nightly. She just turned 4 months old a few days ago. I recently taught her to fall asleep on her own for naps. She would sleep 1 to 3 hours each nap. She was a wonderful sleeper up until the past few weeks.
At first I thought she was going through a growth spurt. I expected a day or two of her not sleeping well. But that one to two days has been 3 solid weeks! Each week being worse than the week before. She was not sleeping more than 10 minutes at a time for naps, and waking every 1 to 2 hours each night. On top of that she was crying when I put her down for her naps. She had only done some minimal crying the first few days of sleep training. What was going on?!?
I also started noticing that I was stiff and sore when I woke up each day, and that stiffness/soreness stated lasting longer and longer each day. Then the light bulb moment....I felt that way before we had gone on GAPS and taken out all wheat.
I found myself in a catch 22. I was sore, tired and fatigued due to the wheat, but that meant the thought of cooking wheat free was overwhelming since cooking in such a way takes a lot more energy and time! But now I not only had my own symptoms, but I was also dealing with not being able to get anything done due to a non-sleeping baby, who herself was starting to act miserable due to lack of sleep. Oy!
I had no other alternative except to JUST DO IT. I started yesterday. It is hard to believe I would see a change so soon, but I am. Yesterday Merida slept for at least 45 minutes for each nap. Her fussiness was about cut in half when I put her down for her naps. Her night time waking stayed about the same, but no waking was less than 2 hours apart.
Today? She has gone down for each of her naps without any fuss! NONE! Just wiggles a bit to get comfortable and is asleep within 3 minutes, no joke! She has slept from 1 to 2 hours for each of her naps so far. This is only day two, but I KNOW this isn't a coincidence. Merida has been happy all day as well, smiling and babbling to us.
I know there are a myriad of ways to address this wheat issue, and I am working on what I can. I am attempting to heal my gut with the means that I have right now. I feel that I need to avoid it currently as it definitely not only effects me, but my baby.
I've had babies that were clearly effected by what I ate, but it usually presented itself with digestive issues. I never made a correlation with my diet and their sleep. Has anyone else seen this correlation to what they eat and their baby's sleep?
Sweet dreams!
Shared with the Homestead Barn Hop
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