New Here.......help, 9 Month Old

[nursingmommie]

Hello, I am new to this site! I'm so glad I found it. I am finally starting to put two and two together and think that the issues I've been having with my son are because of a gluten intolerance. The thing that really got me thinking gluten is because the day after I gave him oatmeal for the first time he got really rumbly intestines with lots of gas and explosive BM's as well as blood in his stool (about 5 or 6 times). This has been going on for a little over a month now. Except I know it's really been going on a lot longer now that I look back. I think it's just peaked since trying to get him to eat solids which he absolutely has no interest in. I am still breastfeeding him and last night I finally figured out that when I eat a high gluten diet he is pretty bad off. He was in a lot of pain last night. I'm sure I am intolerant as well just not to his level. Maybe my body is dumping it in my breastmilk and he's getting more than would be normal. I want to cut out all gluten from my diet but I feel overwhelmed because it seems to be in everything. And I'm also reading that maybe I should cut out dairy too. I haven't had time yet to really read over this site. Can someone point me to the crucial information that I need right away, like what to not eat, etc? Also, is there a difference in being gluten intolerant vs. Celiac? I did take my son to the pediatrician but they didn't test him for it; they tested him for parasites and pathogens which came back normal. She said he probably is sensitive to it but didn't call it Celiac and to not give him any gluten for 3-4 months but didn't say anything about me avoiding it which I know I need to. The foods I had yesterday which I think really affected him were soy sauce and cornstarch. My hubby made a really yummy chicken and bok choy stir fry but I don't think I'll be able to eat that again. Other things I'm wondering about are plain yogurt and corn chips and maltodextrin. I just started giving him some probiotics which have maltodextrin in it and I know that that can be wheat derived. I still have to call the company to find out. I really appreciate any help you all can give me! Thank you so much!

Nicole

[tarnalberry]

The foods I had yesterday which I think really affected him were soy sauce and cornstarch. My hubby made a really yummy chicken and bok choy stir fry but I don't think I'll be able to eat that again. Other things I'm wondering about are plain yogurt and corn chips. I really appreciate any help you all can give me! Thank you so much!

Welcome. Real quick, to address the points at the end - corn starch is gluten free (pure corn starch), and you can have stir fry, but you'll want to get a gluten free soy sauce (I use SanJ's wheat free tamari). Most plain yogurts are gluten-free (but I can't have dairy, so wait for someone to confirm - I believe Dannon and Yoplait are, I always preferred a different kind when I had yogurt myself), and many corn chips are, but you have to check the ingredients (plain mission chips are gluten-free).

[AndreaB]

First off, the forbidden and safe foods lists on celiac.com is here. I don't know if you stay at home or work. The easiest thing to do is stick with basic things you make yourself. Meats, veggies, fruits, nuts. The more prepackaged foods you eat the more carreful you need to be. As you learn the ropes it would probably be best to keep food simple. As far as testing you can see if your doctor can run a celiac blood panel although there are frequent false negatives for it for young children. I would highly encourage enterolab if you have the funds. Click Open Original Shared Link for more info. I had allergy tests done on myself to pinpoint what my infant son could be reacting to. Turned out to be soy and gluten. I also had enterolab testing done on my family (except for infant son since he wasn't on solids yet). Three of us came back with active gluten intolerance despite not having symptoms. My oldest son has/had mild malabsorption. We also tested dairy/soy/egg and yeast which enterolab also does. If you do all the panels they offer and if they are still offering the dairy in with the full gluten panel then the cost for all tests per person would be $568. The celiac panel is $369 and the soy/egg/yeast panel is $199. The dairy would be an extra $99 if they aren't including it in with the gluten panel anymore. We found that my husband and I are also soy intolerant but that no one else has any other intolerances.

The gluten you eat will definately pass through to the breastmilk to your son. I'm surprised your doctor didn't tell you about that. Leave off all gluten first and see if there are any improvements. The next things to eliminate would be dairy and soy. Those three tend to be more problematic for most people. Feel free to pm me it you want to "talk". My infant son is almost 8 months old...I haven't started him on oatmeal yet since I just started solids recently.

[TCA]

I too am a nursing mom. I went gluten-free for my daughter about 10 mos. ago. I started out with just basic foods like fruits, veggies, and meat, then broadened what I could eat. With my daughter I have to be 100% gluten free, or she gets ill. Below is a thread I started on how to get started. Hope that helps!

Open Original Shared Link

[AndreaB]

As far as I know there is not a whole lot of difference between gluten intolerance and celiac. With gluten intolerance you generally have less damage but not always. Both are gluten free for life.

[nursingmommie]

Thank you Tiffany! I think my corn starch is pure but I have to check. I just bought some wheat free soy sauce today. The yogurt I use is Stonyfield Farm. I called the company of the probiotic I use and the maltodextrin is rice or corn starch derived so hopefully that should be ok. Thanks so much for your post!

Nicole

First off, the forbidden and safe foods lists on celiac.com is here. I don't know if you stay at home or work. The easiest thing to do is stick with basic things you make yourself. Meats, veggies, fruits, nuts. The more prepackaged foods you eat the more carreful you need to be. As you learn the ropes it would probably be best to keep food simple.

Perfect! Thanks for the links I will check them out. I am a stay at home mommy. I try to avoid processed foods for the most part but there is room for improvement. Are all nuts ok? I just bought some raw organic sunflower seeds and almonds today. I also bought some rice pasta, bread and crackers. I have always been a huge bread fanatic!

[AndreaB]

You didn't do anything wrong. It posts everything together unless someone is posting in between when you do.

[nursingmommie]

I too am a nursing mom. I went gluten-free for my daughter about 10 mos. ago. I started out with just basic foods like fruits, veggies, and meat, then broadened what I could eat. With my daughter I have to be 100% gluten free, or she gets ill. Below is a thread I started on how to get started. Hope that helps!

Open Original Shared Link

Wow, thank you so much for that thread!

Nicole