Poll: Were You Or Your Children Breast-fed?

[prinsessa]

I was bf for about 2 years. My mom stopped because she was pregnant with my brother.

DD was bf for 2 months.

DS is over 3 years old and still bfs once every week or so. I thought he was weaned because he didn't ask to bf for weeks, but this past week he started asking again. He has a couple of bottles of formula when he was a baby, but he didn't like it (he didn't even want my milk if it was in a bottle).

[2boysmama]

I was breastfed until about six months (I think). I breastfed my first son for a year and didn't learn of his gluten sensitivity until about six months ago (he's 3 now). I'm currently breastfeeding our almost-seven month old son, and plan to continue until at least a year - maybe 18 months.

[confused]

I wasnt breastfeed as a kid. I did try with my first son, my milk didnt come in, with my second son was was born 6 weeks early, i tried for about 2 weeks, i even pumped and nothing came in, he became very jaundice, so i had to bottle feed, my first daughter, my milk never came and in and i tried again with my last daughter and again my milk never came in.

I am really thinking i have had wheat intolerance/celiac for a very long time

paula

[MrsYoung84]

I voted yes: 1-2 years.

Rosario was breastfed until she was 13 months.

I only stopped because she was having problems with her weight gain and the peds [and I] thought it was because she wasn't eating enough table food and relying on being nursed even if she didn't eat her meals.

I wonder now, even though she hasn't been diagnosed yet if she was getting gluten through my milk and that was causing problems. I guess I'll wait until the tests come back...

[dlp252]

I finally voted, lol. No I was not breast fed at all. My mom started me immediately on formula and when that gave me eczema, switched me to soy formula.

[amber]

We've been talking in another thread about breast feeding and celiac and many of us were wondering how many people with celiac were breast-fed and for how long. Here's a link to that topic:Open Original Shared Link

I breast fed my daughter for 18 months and she was diagnosed with celiac six months after I stopped feeding her.

[Kyalesyin]

This poll is interesting, given that my wife and I are planning to have children in a few years time. She was born severely premature, and so wasn't breast fed, because by the time she was de-tanked her mother's milk had all but dried up. She was always a sickly child- athsmatic tendencies, psoriasis, eczema, poor muslce tone, all of that. Cleared up the second we went gluten-free.

We've talked to her mother, who has never really had any of the celiac symptoms and although she tried going gluten-free nothing much changed, and we're wondering if my wife was simply born so premature that her gut wasn't strong enough to cope, since there seems to be very little in the way of genetic indicator.

I hope that made sense.

[Michi8]

This poll is interesting, given that my wife and I are planning to have children in a few years time. She was born severely premature, and so wasn't breast fed, because by the time she was de-tanked her mother's milk had all but dried up. She was always a sickly child- athsmatic tendencies, psoriasis, eczema, poor muslce tone, all of that. Cleared up the second we went gluten-free.

We've talked to her mother, who has never really had any of the celiac symptoms and although she tried going gluten-free nothing much changed, and we're wondering if my wife was simply born so premature that her gut wasn't strong enough to cope, since there seems to be very little in the way of genetic indicator.

I hope that made sense.

My understanding is that celiac is genetic, so perhaps she doesn't get the gene from her mother? Has your wife had genetic testing done? Otherwise, it seems that her trigger to activate celiac was when she was a baby...not surprising for a preemie...especially considering all infants are born with immature digestive tracts. Breastmilk, especially colostrum, is an important part of developing healthy intestinal flora.

Michelle

[Kyalesyin]

My understanding is that celiac is genetic, so perhaps she doesn't get the gene from her mother? Has your wife had genetic testing done? Otherwise, it seems that her trigger to activate celiac was when she was a baby...not surprising for a preemie...especially considering all infants are born with immature digestive tracts. Breastmilk, especially colostrum, is an important part of developing healthy intestinal flora.

Michelle

We haven't had genetic testing. We fought for three months just to get her a blood test done when a friend of mine who is still a med student said 'I know what these symptoms look like...' as it is, the health service has refused point blank to do any testing at all. According to our last doctor, you can't check for food intelorences with a blood test. She's a university student see, so the doctors just ask 'what have you taken, how much did you have to drink and who have you slept with?' and go deaf after that. In the end, we paid out for a private lab to do blood tests, but the health service doesn't recognise them as 'official enough.'

As it is, we went gluten free and haven't looked back, but even so.

We didn't even think of her father in this, simply because he's healthy as a horse. Nothing at all we could associate with celiacs. Her mother has always been a little sickly though, and osteoperosis runs in the family, but going gluten free didn't change much, if anything for her.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

My understanding is that celiac is genetic, so perhaps she doesn't get the gene from her mother? Has your wife had genetic testing done? Otherwise, it seems that her trigger to activate celiac was when she was a baby...not surprising for a preemie...especially considering all infants are born with immature digestive tracts. Breastmilk, especially colostrum, is an important part of developing healthy intestinal flora.

Michelle

All true; however, I am now convinced that, while there is definitely a genetic component to celiac, especially when it appears in an infant, gluten intolerance combined with continued gluten ingestion DOES lead to celiac (if you define celiac as changes to the villi).

And as an adult, you can be as "healthy as a horse" one day, and suddenly develop an autoimmune condition the next--look how many of us this has happened to!

[Michi8]

All true; however, I am now convinced that, while there is definitely a genetic component to celiac, especially when it appears in an infant, gluten intolerance combined with continued gluten ingestion DOES lead to celiac (if you define celiac as changes to the villi).

And as an adult, you can be as "healthy as a horse" one day, and suddenly develop an autoimmune condition the next--look how many of us this has happened to!

One certainly won't develop celiac if they never ingest gluten. That's the same with allergies...you cannot become allergic to something you aren't exposed to.

I don't know about autoimmune conditions coming on suddenly, though. I think it's a gradual process that isn't noticed until symptoms are impossible to ignore or brush off as "normal."

Michelle

[marlykarly]

I was not bf.. and have celiac

However My two celiac boys were both bf.. and one of them for over 2 years..

my shortest bf child.(2mo). does not have celiac

So i blow the stats

[sarah ruth]

I and both my kids were breastfed over two years. ..wish I had cut out wheat before my pregnancies and nursing because my inability to digest things certainly triggered reactions in my babies. I know breastfeeding is best, and support it 100%, but it's not a panacea for all whoes. My husband was the only child not breastfed of his siblings and is the healthiest by far (mind you, fed raw milk fresh from their cow!). It's interesting to read how babies are fed, and am curious how this relates to "averages".