Duh, Mommy!

Ellie has been peeing like a crazy child for months now. I have continued to beg for ideas on how to get through four hours at night without having to change her bed, or keep her in cloth diapers without having a mess. ONE round of pee will fill ONE Huggies overnight diaper, and Pampers can not even hold that much. I just assumed it was because she is on a liquid diet. And then I read about how the body will produce more urine when it is healing and cleaning up the body. I just kept plugging forward and cringing at the thought of spending money on more diapering options. Her kidneys were clearly doing their job! Right?

We recently found an Osteopath Doctor who is also a GAPS doctor. She is two hours away, so we did the medical history portion of Ellie's appointment on the phone. She asked me how I made the bone broth, and two things came up. First, that I was not using a vinegar of any kind to extract extra minerals from the bones. Distilled vinegar is made from corn, and the other alternative is apple cider vinegar, but Ellie has failed apples. So I am on the hunt for a 'vinegar' we can use.

The second thing she asked was why I was not putting any sea salt in her broth. Why? I could not seem to put it into words. Well, it never came up in any of my email communications with Dr. Natasha to include it, and for some reason I thought it would not be a good idea. Why would she need that extra salt? We get more than enough salt and wouldn't it be bad to add too much?

Except I seemed to forget that she is getting NO salt. And as the doctor said 'Well if you give her salt she will probably pee less and be able to start retaining fluids easier, and regulate her electrolytes more...' I thought...'OH MAN! DUH!'

So that low sodium on her blood work? Yeah. That would be my fault.

We started with one teaspoon of sea salt in about 6 quarts of broth, and we noticed a difference right away. We now are putting in two teaspoons for the 6 quarts, and the night time troubles are already easing.

What can I say? Big time, oops. I bet the broth tastes better, too!