Babies And Celiac Disease

[Emma's Mom]

I am still fairly new to this forum and have been reading through numerous posts tonight in an attempt to find an answer to my question.

At what point do you think it's possible to suspect celiac disease and what signs would you be looking for? Are there some sort of warning signs that you now see in retrospect?

My maternal grandmother is a confirmed celiac. My 3 year old and I have had our blood tested for celiac, but both came back negative. I now have a 6 week old little girl that I am exclusively breastfeeding. Today she had a very strange bowel movement. It was characteristic yellow color but it seemed very oily (I use cloth diapers and wash them out before tossing in the wash) and there was some mucous in them. I've also noticed that the last day or so she's had a bit of a red anus and has been throwing up after some of her feeds. She doesn't seem to be in any pain at all but definitely works hard to get her bowel movements out. The only thing that I've eaten recently that normally isn't in my diet was barley which is why I suspect she might be sensitive to gluten.

I know there is some debate on whether or not gluten can pass through breastmilk. I'm wondering if I should remove gluten from my diet at this point or not and see if anything changes in her. Any thoughts? Thanks!

[MySuicidalTurtle]

Yes, gluten can be passed through breast milk. So, removing gluten from your diet would make your diet gluten-free as well. My brother and I both showed symptoms of Celiac Disease from infancy but our symptoms were very different from each others. Just experiment with your diet and see how she reacts. Good luck, Emma's Mom.

[chrissy]

there are so many things that could cause a funky looking diaper in a 6 week old. i don't think i'd worry about celiac disease just yet.

[mama2five]

I am still fairly new to this forum and have been reading through numerous posts tonight in an attempt to find an answer to my question.

At what point do you think it's possible to suspect celiac disease and what signs would you be looking for? Are there some sort of warning signs that you now see in retrospect?

My maternal grandmother is a confirmed celiac. My 3 year old and I have had our blood tested for celiac, but both came back negative. I now have a 6 week old little girl that I am exclusively breastfeeding. Today she had a very strange bowel movement. It was characteristic yellow color but it seemed very oily (I use cloth diapers and wash them out before tossing in the wash) and there was some mucous in them. I've also noticed that the last day or so she's had a bit of a red anus and has been throwing up after some of her feeds. She doesn't seem to be in any pain at all but definitely works hard to get her bowel movements out. The only thing that I've eaten recently that normally isn't in my diet was barley which is why I suspect she might be sensitive to gluten.

I know there is some debate on whether or not gluten can pass through breastmilk. I'm wondering if I should remove gluten from my diet at this point or not and see if anything changes in her. Any thoughts? Thanks!

My second dd had the same symptoms from 2 weeks old. Unfortunately it took us 2.5 yrs to figure out that she had celiacs.

My son started having symptoms at 10 mos. After 2 weeks of both of us being gluten free his symptoms have disapeared.

I would try the gluten free diet for 2 weeks and see if there is a difference.

[EmmaQ]

I had a son reacting at birth who was not dx until age 3. With my next at the first signs I went gluten-free and problem resolved.

It hurts nothing to try it.

I would eliminate dairy first though as that is more common cause of poo irregularity.

[Dianne W.]

I know from my personal experience that my son reacts when exposed to gluten through my diet (I'm breastfeeding).

I also know that he has milk intolerance (actually MSPI). If you choose to try eliminating milk from your diet, make sure to look for the "hidden dairy" (just like looking for the hidden gluten, you have to read labels!). There are good lists of "hidden" versions of the top 8 allergens on the following site but you have to scroll down a bit to get to the lists (Open Original Shared Link)

HTH. Hang in there! And congrats on your new little one!

[Ed-G]

I am still fairly new to this forum and have been reading through numerous posts tonight in an attempt to find an answer to my question.

At what point do you think it's possible to suspect celiac disease and what signs would you be looking for? Are there some sort of warning signs that you now see in retrospect?

My maternal grandmother is a confirmed celiac. My 3 year old and I have had our blood tested for celiac, but both came back negative. I now have a 6 week old little girl that I am exclusively breastfeeding. Today she had a very strange bowel movement. It was characteristic yellow color but it seemed very oily (I use cloth diapers and wash them out before tossing in the wash) and there was some mucous in them. I've also noticed that the last day or so she's had a bit of a red anus and has been throwing up after some of her feeds. She doesn't seem to be in any pain at all but definitely works hard to get her bowel movements out. The only thing that I've eaten recently that normally isn't in my diet was barley which is why I suspect she might be sensitive to gluten.

I know there is some debate on whether or not gluten can pass through breastmilk. I'm wondering if I should remove gluten from my diet at this point or not and see if anything changes in her. Any thoughts? Thanks!

I started showing symptoms right after I was weaned. I lost a lot of weight so much that I had a distended stomach, and I was terribly stunted in growth. Does your daughter have either symptom?

Ed in MD

[Adelle]

I know DH's 1st symptoms were from 1 day old. He would violently vomit after breastmilk, then several types of formula. Finally he was just fed goats milk. His mom never bothered to figure out what's wrong. He continued to vomit occasionally and have SEVERE stomach pains, diarrea, and other gross stuff. Finally when I went gluten-free I made him (hey I make all the food, I decide what is cooked!) do it too. His symptoms cleared up within weeks.

Gluten goes thru breast milk. I would cut out gluten and just see if that makes a difference. Awwww babies!

[sjust]

We are struggling with the same issue. In the beginning going gluten free fixed the problem but now it is back and we are on our way to Stanford University to figure out what is going on. I agree, start with milk, cut all types out including whey and casein. Any irritation to the intestine will cause the slime consistancy and it could be something else besides gluten. If milk doesn't work cut wheat out before all gluten, and maybe try eggs.

Good luck. It is so hard with the little ones and it takes time (about a week minimum to usually see a difference.)

Sarah

[Emma's Mom]

Thanks for all the advice!

It's been 2 weeks and she's still having mucous in her bowel movements. I find that there are days when she starts to sound a bit congested, will throw up a bit, pass a lot of gas and there will be a fair amount of mucous in her stool. I'm certain she must be reacting to something I'm eating. We are off to see the family doctor later this week, so I'll see what he has to say.

Does anyone know if IgG testing would work on a baby this young...or would it be a waste of money? Am I better of going gluten-free and seeing how her body reacts? How long would it take to see results in her?

Thanks so much again!