Need Help Please

[Fourmonkeysjumping]

Well, we did not have our entire house go gluten-free when my husband and first child were diagnosed (oldest was diagnosed at age 5), however, the rule in our house was that we all ate gluten-free whenever they were home.  1. so we didn't have to worry about touching anything and 2. so my 5 year old didn't have to watch his brothers and sister eat foods he couldn't have (he had to see enough of that with classmates, I didn't want him to have to deal with that at home!)  When my second was diagnosed, we went whole house gluten-free.  She is one grade above her brothers (diagnosed age 4, they are 20 months younger, but all are in preschool due to date cutoffs).  Since they are all home together, it's just simply not fair.  So, we are now all gluten-free.  That was the easiest way to deal with it for us.  So, sandwiches just don't happen in our house.  No one eats the foods she used to love when she is home, because this life sucks enough as it is, there's no reason for her to see it, IMO.  It is SO overwhelming at first.  SO overwhelming.  We've been buying gluten-free for nine years, though, and things have gotten so much easier!  You'll find there is almost nothing you can't make gluten-free now.  I can't help with the other products, because we only use natural/organic hair and body products in our house, but I can tell you I like Dr. Bronner soaps and use a variety of shampoos, etc.  I don't use lotion, I just use coconut oil, but if we need lotion during the winter for chapped hands, we LOVE Borage lotion.  It's seriously "da bomb".  Seriously. Check out the EWG for ingredients.  Their main focus is telling you which ingredients cause cancer in rats in California , but they pretty much have the ingredient list for every body, hair, beauty product out there.  Open Original Shared Link

 

Anyway, you will be totallyfine.  It's so seriously insanely overwhelming at first, but then it just becomes second nature.  The funny thing is, we actually spend LESS now with our whole house gluten free (six of us!) because we aren't buying double of everything.  You may find the same is true for you.

[Fourmonkeysjumping]

Oh, and before we went fully gluten-free in our house, any gluten food had to be eaten at the table and hands had to be washed immediately after.  Truthfully, the kids preferred eating gluten-free, because they got sick of washing their hands constantly.

[weluvgators]

It sounds like you are doing very well making the transition. As for shared facilities, toasters, cutting boards, colanders, slotted spoons and spatulas are items that we make sure are truly dedicated. We are also careful with knives and keep dedicated ones for shared facilities.

Our family is gluten free at home, and there are many naturally gluten free foods. When we lived in the States we bought a lot of foods in bulk including rice, beans and sweet potatoes.

Whenever we run into something new or out of routine, I like to search this site to find what others have already said. If I still have questions, people are fantastic here about offering more ideas and suggestions. My daughter went on a sleepover last night, so I searched "sleepover" on this site to refresh my memory on what others have shared before. It worked out great, and my daughter had a great and safe time.

Play doh may be one that you need to address with school, and there are some good threads on that here. Endurance is important with celiac, so make sure you take care of yourself during this time! Caregiving for children with medical conditions, and sometimes complications, can be exhausting. There are many people here who can relate to those struggles and share support when needed.

[mommy2krj]

Hugs Mama! It can be so overwhelming and confusing and after a while I got angry too.

Please read the links everyone has provided. They are extremely helpful. My 6 year old was just diagnosed in July so I'm just getting (barely!) past the overwhelming part. There have been several instances of tears and frustration in the grocery store. :/

Load her up on fruits and veggies. Replacing for a little while does help. We use gluten free noodles and some of the gluten free crackers but I am working very hard on learning to bake some of these things myself as a lot of them pre-made do not taste all that great.

 

Feel free to keep asking questions. We have all been there. Hopefully your dietician has some good info for you. Mine gave me a binder that was full of the information that I had already found here....but was helpful since it was more handy than searching for some things again. I've had to completely change the stores I shop at. There is hardly anything I am comfortable buying at the grocery store closest to us....and they are soooo much more expensive! I'm talking dollars more expensive. It's insane. I can buy a loaf of gluten free bread at the store closest to me for $6.99 or I can go to the one furthest from me and buy it for $3.99 that's insane to me. The stores in between vary on prices as well....and it's all for the exact same thing from the exact same brand!

We are gluten free at home as a household. I'm simply not organized enough to try to keep everything separate. We've all been tested but we've found some intolerances from going gluten-free....so that's actually a good thing. My oldest though has a loaf of regular bread that is kept hidden on a high shelf away from the other food. She's just not willing to give that up and she seems to be the least affected by it, so I make that concession for her.

 

I would worry less about non food items right now and more about getting good healthy items in her diet. 

 

Hugs again mama!

[MommyOfTwinkies<3]

Thank you all so much for your replies! I am going through & reading all of this great information that you all have provided for me! It is greatly appreciated!  Finally I can post again.. So I do have a couple more questions. So I did go & got tape to put on all of her stuff ( even though it's in separate tubs on a separate shelf) But you cant be to safe! She picked out hello kitty of course.  So as I have read I did go out & buy her new pots n pans, silverware, cookware (potato masher, slotted/unslotted spoons, ladle, ect..), strainer, cutting board, toaster, plastic tubs to store "leftovers in/lunch items". & I also have all of the silverware & cookware in a new plastic tub with a lid so it wont get mixed up, Is that safe? My other questions is I read somewhere on here that you cant use wooden spoons? Is that true?? even though they are new? I separated all her foods in to plastic containers & put them on a separate shelf. We have made her feel "special" to kind of help her though this saying stuff like " awe you get new pans & plates" "your so lucky she loves it lol Is this all ok?

 

 

 

I did go out & buy wet wipes for her to put in her backpack to keep at school! I was telling her that she needs to wash her hands before & after lunch! & 2 keep her lunch on her napkin & 2 not share food with anyone/ only eat what I give her for now.! Anything else?

[MommyOfTwinkies<3]

Oh & is it ok that her separate fridge stuff (butter,mayo,jelly,ect..) lunch meat, cheese is marked & in a separate tub in the fridge on her own shelf? does the tub need a lid or is it ok just in a tub?

 

We had baked porkchops, with mac n cheese & corn for dinner ( gluten free) & it was a success with both of my kids

 

Does anyone know any seasonings that I can use that are gluten free besides salt & pepper?

[IrishHeart]

You're doing great. You can use new wooden spoons, just do not use it for say gluteny pasta, then use it for hers.

 

Mom,

Please try and relax a bit about all this. You know full well that kiddos pick up on what we say and do, so if you calmly make this the 

"new normal". she will be cool with all of this.

 

I tell little girls I have met  with celiac that  they are like me---a warrior princess--and they are special and brave!.

And for what it;s worth--so are you, MOM!!

 

It's all good now. 

 

and you posted before I could even get this one up  so ....McCormick's plain herbs and spices are gluten-free.

[IrishHeart]

Oh & is it ok that her separate fridge stuff (butter,mayo,jelly,ect..) lunch meat, cheese is marked & in a separate tub in the fridge on her own shelf? does the tub need a lid or is it ok just in a tub?

 

 

it's fine.!

[MommyOfTwinkies<3]

Thank you!! & I am trying, it is overwhelming at times especially since she isn't happy about not being able to have fast-food right now. She is complaining saying she wants "good food" even though she is eating the same fruits, veggies & meat she was before. Me & my son had the same dinner she did, but she is still mad. Thanks I will have to find some of those seasonings! Do they say gluten free on them? & is canned veggies such as corn, green beans & beans gluten free? Is ketchup ok?

[MommyOfTwinkies<3]

DOES ANYONE KNOW IF KRAFT VELVETTA IS GLUTTEN FREE?? She doesn't like the annies rice mac n cheese. I did buy some plain gluten free noodles so I am hoping its gluten free so I can mac her some homemade mac n cheese which is one of her favorites!

[psawyer]

DOES ANYONE KNOW IF KRAFT VELVETTA IS GLUTTEN FREE??

Kraft will clearly disclose any gluten source in the ingredients list. The most recent information I have is that Velveeta is gluten-free in the US and in Canada. Read the label--any gluten grain will be mentioned by common name, i.e., wheat, rye, barley or oats.

[MommyOfTwinkies<3]

When I called Kraft that just told me to read the label :/ I will try again with the package in hand. Thanks!

[kareng]

When I called Kraft that just told me to read the label :/ I will try again with the package in hand. Thanks!

Once again....slow down. Peter just told you Kraft products are very good about labeling gluten in a clear manner. So their advice - "to read the label" is good.

[mommida]

You are doing great! Like so many have said calm done and relax.  Start trying to enjoy your food preparations so it's not an ordeal or stressfull.  It is still family time.  

 

Now I do have to share that Ban Sweet Surrender deodorant made me sick.  (Didn't believe it was possible.  I assure you I do not like armpits.  Noticed it had barley as an ingredient after I started feeling sick for 2 1/2 weeks and went through all products in the house.  Got rid of the deodorant, felt better shortly after.  Could have been a coincidence.  Had lived in a gluten free household for at least 5 years at he time.)

 

My strong suggestion, find a gluten free option for all of your hygeine products.  Better to be safe than sorry.

[mommy2krj]

Hugs again!

You are posting in a way that reminds me of how I felt right after we got the diagnosis. Shortly thereafter I was standing in the grocery store crying. I was overwhelmed and frustrated and angry and just sad for my little guy.

 

Then it dawned on me that he adores fruits and veggies. He already was used to being kind of restricted though as we were more natural/whole foods but it is still frustrating to him at times. You can see some of my frustration in some of my earlier posts as I had to plan my oldest daughter's graduation party and the sheer happiness over the amazing teenagers my daughter counts as her friends.

There have been occasions when the frustration rears it's ugly head again but they are getting further apart. We just accomplished our first little kid birthday party at Stevie B's where they allowed him to bring in his own pizza and some brownies so he could still hang out with his little buddies. THAT stressed me out! I have to figure out what to bring in place of the ice cream cake my SIL is getting my nephew for his birthday (since she's already moved the venue from her house two years in a row so that my kid can attend as he's ridiculously allergic to their cats and dog!) so that is going to stress me out for a while.

 

But it is doable. You can do...just slow down a little bit. Take notes, they help. Make a cheat sheet of the things you need to look out for until you can remember them. It will get easier and you will stress about it a little less but I know it's scary.

Deep breaths mama, deep breaths. You got this!

[mommida]

Avoid oats right now.  You should only get certified gluten free oats, but sometime the protein chain is too close to gluten.

 

Give your little one options which gluten free option would you like?  Pack a emergency stash at school of "party treat" and snacks for the teacher to keep at school.

[Fourmonkeysjumping]

Do you mean the velveeta stick or the squeezy cheese that comes in a non gluten-free Mac n cheese? The stick is gluten-free, the other I wouldn't trust. Try the Annie's Mac n cheese with the squeezy cheese, it tastes the best,IMO. Also, the trader joes is really good. My kids have never have fast food, so they don't know to miss it, but my husband will sometimes get a chocolate ice cream thing from Wendy's (forget what it's called). Honestly, with all of the work you are doing, it would honestly be cheaper and easier for you to all just go gluten-free. I'm actually shocked at how much our food bill dropped once we all stopped eating gluten. No buying double of everything.

[Fourmonkeysjumping]

Oh and another thing I'm sure you already know, since you have already replaced so much, but make sure you don't run them all together in the dishwasher. Theoretically, it should be fine, since it is all being washed, but it's not worth the cross contamination risk.

[IrishHeart]

Oh and another thing I'm sure you already know, since you have already replaced so much, but make sure you don't run them all together in the dishwasher. Theoretically, it should be fine, since it is all being washed, but it's not worth the cross contamination risk.

 

Actually, there are many people on here who live with WEs who will tell you there is no problem with washing dishes, glasses and silverware together in a dishwasher. Rinse off before loading and they should be fine.   I  have no concern using dishes at my non-celiac friend's homes--as long as they are clean.

[kareng]

Oh and another thing I'm sure you already know, since you have already replaced so much, but make sure you don't run them all together in the dishwasher. Theoretically, it should be fine, since it is all being washed, but it's not worth the cross contamination risk.

 

 

I have no issues with the dish washer.  We share the same plates and silverware and glasses, too.

[GF Lover]

I have a shared kitchen.  No problems running dishes together in the dishwasher.  Obviously if a plate comes out with food stuck on it then clean again, but if you rinse them before you run them then there is no problem.  Try to place the gluten-free foods on selves, either in pantry or fridge, above the other food to prevents spills.  In a shared kitchen, check drawers more often for spilled crumbs and such.  For shared items like oils, sprays, milk jugs, etc., give them a wipe before using in case another person had crumbs on their hands when they used them.  Wipe out the microwave if something cooked previously has splattered and keep clean.  Use paper towels rather than dish rags and sponges.  Try to keep all family members at the table to eat.  Crumbs will get in the cracks of furniture.  Same goes for snacks in the car.  If you have pets, make sure the pet food is gluten free too. 

 

Colleen

[Fourmonkeysjumping]

I have a shared kitchen.  No problems running dishes together in the dishwasher.  Obviously if a plate comes out with food stuck on it then clean again, but if you rinse them before you run them then there is no problem.  Try to place the gluten-free foods on selves, either in pantry or fridge, above the other food to prevents spills.  In a shared kitchen, check drawers more often for spilled crumbs and such.  For shared items like oils, sprays, milk jugs, etc., give them a wipe before using in case another person had crumbs on their hands when they used them.  Wipe out the microwave if something cooked previously has splattered and keep clean.  Use paper towels rather than dish rags and sponges.  Try to keep all family members at the table to eat.  Crumbs will get in the cracks of furniture.  Same goes for snacks in the car.  If you have pets, make sure the pet food is gluten free too. 

 

Colleen

Truth be told, I've never ACTUALLY run my dishes separately, and everyone has been fine, but this mom seems particularly stressed out, so I was trying to alleviate her stress by suggesting it.

[GF Lover]

Truth be told, I've never ACTUALLY run my dishes separately, and everyone has been fine, but this mom seems particularly stressed out, so I was trying to alleviate her stress by suggesting it.

Gottcha

[kareng]

Truth be told, I've never ACTUALLY run my dishes separately, and everyone has been fine, but this mom seems particularly stressed out, so I was trying to alleviate her stress by suggesting it.

 

 

Suggesting stuff like this just gives her more needless things to worry about. 

[MommyOfTwinkies<3]

Hugs again!

You are posting in a way that reminds me of how I felt right after we got the diagnosis. Shortly thereafter I was standing in the grocery store crying. I was overwhelmed and frustrated and angry and just sad for my little guy.

 

Then it dawned on me that he adores fruits and veggies. He already was used to being kind of restricted though as we were more natural/whole foods but it is still frustrating to him at times. You can see some of my frustration in some of my earlier posts as I had to plan my oldest daughter's graduation party and the sheer happiness over the amazing teenagers my daughter counts as her friends.

There have been occasions when the frustration rears it's ugly head again but they are getting further apart. We just accomplished our first little kid birthday party at Stevie B's where they allowed him to bring in his own pizza and some brownies so he could still hang out with his little buddies. THAT stressed me out! I have to figure out what to bring in place of the ice cream cake my SIL is getting my nephew for his birthday (since she's already moved the venue from her house two years in a row so that my kid can attend as he's ridiculously allergic to their cats and dog!) so that is going to stress me out for a while.

 

But it is doable. You can do...just slow down a little bit. Take notes, they help. Make a cheat sheet of the things you need to look out for until you can remember them. It will get easier and you will stress about it a little less but I know it's scary.

Deep breaths mama, deep breaths. You got this!

Thank You! I will defiantly get a cheat sheet started. That's one thing that terrifies me, since I know there are more words than just wheat to look for! I worried since I am new to all of this & reading labels if I buy something that doesn't actually say gluten free on the package it might have gluten in it! I know this will come easier with time but I am a naturally "over worrier" anyways! Thanks again for all of the help