Could Use A Bit Of Encouragement

[WendyG]

I don't know why this is hitting me so hard? I am a celiac and had my three children tested just to be safe and sure enough one is positive.

Can I get some advice and tips for making this transition easier for her.

Lunches, school, friends homes,

help!!!

thanks,

Wendy

[missy'smom]

For the past 2 years DS hasn't been 100% gluten-free but in the way of encouragement to you, we found MANY gluten-free snacks that he was quite happy with. I don't buy gluten containing snacks. I'm confident you will find many gluten-free snacks that your kiddo likes.

99% of Ds's lunches have been completely gluten-free for over a year now and he takes a homemade lunch to school 5-6 days a week. Look on my profile for a link to photos of what we do for lunch. If you have any questions about the names of products we use or other questions, PM me or leave a comment on the photo. I make a note in the comments under the photo if an ingredient/product is not gluten-free, so if you don't see anything then it's gluten-free. Mine doesn't care for any of the gluten-free bread but doen't mind the pasta and is quite happy with rice so we stick to those.

[Rondar2001]

My 7 year old daughter was diagnosed last month. She has been great, I think it was much harder on me. She now helps me with the cooking and is always checking the ingredient lists on everything she eats.

She actually managed to have dinner at a friend's house on Saturday, the mom just stuck with basic meat, potatoes, and veggies and even read me the salad dressing ingredients over the phone to make sure. For lunches, we pretty much stick to the gluten free bread sandwiches and some premade snacks like brownies and frut.

The best thing is her mood swings have improved dramatically and she sees that she is trying alot of good food that we wouldn't have tried before she was diagnosed.

[CeliacMom2008]

My then 8.5 year old was diagnosed in Dec. He is the first in our family to be diagnosed, so we had no idea what our life would become. He has transitioned wonderfully and has done so well both physically and mentally with his new lifestyle.

In the way of "tips" for making it easier:

I was shocked to find out how much candy and treats he was getting at school. Just little things like a pkg of smarties or piece of bubble gum for rewards. I'm still not thrilled with that, but we're tackling one thing at a time. I gave his teacher a bag of gluten-free goodies ranging from jolly ranchers, gum, individual Reese's PB cups, to bags of popcorn, pudding cups, etc. to keep on hand for anytime a gluten or possibly gluten containing treat was offered to the other kids. This actually worked really well, because his treat bag was filled with his favorites. So while other kids might "have" to have this or that, he got to pick from what he liked.

I also got a list of all the birthdays in his class and would send in a treat (fresh baked choc. chip cookies being his favorite - I make a full batch at a time, but I freeze the dough in balls and keep in freezer for when I need them).

Bday parties are probably the worst. I usually send a food comparable to what the meal is (gluten-free indvidual pizza before we nixed pizza from our diet, sandwich, whatever) and a piece of gluten-free cake (I make a cake, decorate it with his design ideas (Legos being really easy to make) and then freeze individual pieces so you can just pull them out as needed). Despite this, I still hate parties. It's a stinky time to be a Celiac kid in my opinion, but he does much better at it than I do.

Lastly, the trade - our school participates in Pizza Huts reading program (Book It). Each month if they read their quota they get a coupon for an individual pizza from Pizza Hut. The kids also get coupons to McDonald's and other food type items occassionally. I buy up toys my son likes (usually Legos on sale) and keep them on hand. When he brings home one of those coupons I offer to trade him a Lego (or matchbox car or whatever) for the coupon. I know he would still do the required work with or without the incentive, but I still feel he deserves it.

Oh, and this may not pertain to you because as a Celiac you may already know how to go out to eat, but we haven't figured that part out yet and have only been out to eat 2 times in 6 months. So we do fun eating things around the house - my son's favorite is picnic movie night. We don't eat in front of the TV or even have the TV on during meals, so this one is a real treat. We eat around the coffee table while watching a movie. We also do picnics in the backyard, dinner on the porch, have family over a lot for meals, breakfast for supper, etc.

Hang in there during this difficult "acceptance" period. Once you're through it life is much better. But that first month was tough emotionally for my husband and me. My son was all gungho to get started on the new diet and has done fantastic!!

[Amyleigh0007]

My 8 year old son was dx in March. It was a huge shock at first but each day gets easier. My shopping trips are no longer 2 hour events. The first week after his dx I actually broke down and cried at Walmart because I was so overwhelmed. I had no idea what my poor child would be able to eat. Now I know what brands are "safe" and what ingredients to watch for. My son doesn't like gluten free bread so school lunches are hard. He likes turkey deli meat, string cheese, and gluten free crackers by Glutino. He also likes the "Oreo" cookies by Kinnikinik. When he gets tired of that we do a small thermos with leftovers from the night before like mac and cheese (gluten free pasta & Velveeta) or a hot dog. He also likes Stax chips. I like them too because they clearly say on the label "This product is naturally free of gluten." and I can find them at any regular store. We have 7 cans of them right now! He has had a few B-day parties since his dx but he was never a big cake eater so that hasn't been a big deal. Once when the kids had pizza at a bowling alley party I bought him a hamburger patty instead and he was fine with that. When there are parties at school I send Hershey bars for him. He would rather have a Hershey bar then donuts or cupcakes anyway.

[Mickide]

Hugs to you! This is my fear for my kids.. I have no advice, Hang in there!

[Darn210]

I don't know why this is hitting me so hard? I am a celiac and had my three children tested just to be safe and sure enough one is positive.

Can I get some advice and tips for making this transition easier for her.

Lunches, school, friends homes,

help!!!

thanks,

Wendy

We pack a lunch everyday for school. We have an "emergency snack sack" at school for when a surprise snack appears. I get notices from my daughter's teacher or school nurse for when something is actually planned and bring something in that is similar.

As far as friends/playdates go, it depends on who it is. If it's someone that she doesn't see too often, or I get a feeling the mom is worried (or clueless), then I send a snack for everyone to share or send a lunch. If it's someone's house that she frequents (and the mom is trustworty), then I have a conversation on what are safe snacks that most people have in their homes anyway . . . this is usually microwave popcorn, string cheese, tortilla chips or something like that. I do verify brands.

We have a standing rule for when we are caught by surprise that she will get something "special" later . . . and believe me, her memory is like an elephant, she never forgets.