What To Feed Infant?

[stolly]

My daughter is 2.5, celiac screen was positive and biopsy is next week. I also realize that even if the biopsy is negative, she might still have celiac. My son is 3 months, and while we're obviously not starting him on baby food yet, we probably will be starting cereal/fruits/veggies sometime in the next few months.

Just wondering...what should I feed my son once we start solids? I know everyone on this board knows so much about celiac, so I thought I'd ask here first, so I also know the right questions to ask our GI doc and nutritionist. Which foods should I avoid for him and for how long?

I've read a few things about celiac and breastfeeding, that it may help delay the onset of symptoms if you continue to breastfeed while introducing gluten. I am breastfeeding and plan to continue for about a year as I did for my daughter. I'm just wondering if there is benefit in avoiding gluten longer, or if it's best to introduce it while I'm still breastfeeding. Any info you have, or articles/websites you know regarding this would also be helpful.

Thanks!

[Fiddle-Faddle]

When I had infants, I did not yet know anything about celiac, but I NEVER gave my babies anything with wheat (like cheerios or Goldfish crackers), simply because it didn't make sense, nutritionally.

First finger foods for our babies were soft avocado cubes, tofu cubes, tiny cubes of canned peach, and flakes of plain, broiled salmon.

We always waited at least a couple of weeks before trying a new food so that we could tell if baby was reacting to anything.

First baby foods were sweet potatoes and baby oatmeal mixed with breast milk (remember, I had never heard of gluten at this point). We had tried rice cereal, and it gave our first two babies constipation. I thought wheat would be too high an allergy risk, so I never bothered with cream of wheat. If I were doing it again today, the only thing I'd change is that I'd look for brown rice baby cereal instead of the oatmeal, as oatmeal can cause a reaction in celiacs, either because of cross-contamination or because the protein, avenin, is molecularly similar to gluten.

Glad to hear that you are breastfeeding, and for at least a year--that is always best!

[dbmamaz]

They no longer make baby wheat cereal, since its a high allergy food.

I had allergies as a baby, so avoided all allergy foods early on - no milk or wheat until 11 mo (so they could have ice cream and cake lol). Peanuts and eggs are now being recomended to wait until 2, i think.

Early foods for me - first rice cereal mixed w breastmilk. Puree whatever fresh fruits or veggies you have readily available - sweet potatoes and winter squash, melon, apples, pears. I sometimes bought dried organic fruit and reconstituted and pureed.

Some people start with meat early - i actually would pre-chew chicken some times when they were little. Potatoes mashed with water or by themselves.

The big allergy foods I avoided would be milk, wheat (gluten), eggs, soy, peanuts, strawberries, chocolate