Am I Right To Go Gluten Free With My 11 Month Old?

[mommymatheny]

Olivia was a healthy happy baby until we introduced solids between 4 and 5 months. Stupidly, and being a health food/whole grain maven, I gave her baby oatmeal before even giving rice cereal. Violent vomiting. Switched to rice cereal and she did great. Tried baby oatmeal a month later, violent vomiting again. Decided not to give her oats anymore. Around 5 months Livy started getting sick a lot, always seemed to have a cold, sinus infection, ear infection, and/or stomach flu. Accidently gave her oats via YoBaby yogurt at 8 months. Violent vomiting. Tried cheerios at about 10 months. Violent vomiting.

She just had her tenth bout with the stomach flu and is 11 months today. I would estimate she has vomited over 200 times in her life, whereas my 3 yr. old has only thrown up maybe three times total. Olivia had to be hospitalized for dehydration last weekend due to the amount of vomiting and diarrhea from the flu. I fed her macaroni and cheese the day before the vomiting started. I know it was a virus,though, because we all got it, but hers was far more severe.

She had tests for celiac, geardia (sp?), and rotovirus, all came back negative. I know how imperfect the testing is for kids her age and the amount of gluten she does not consume is very relevant to her negative test.

Besides always being sick, she is small for her age and seems to always look tired and like she has bags under eyes. She is generally happy and developmentally ahead. She has normal bowel movements generally, but seems to have chronic vomiting that only started after the intro of solids. She is breastfed and still nurses seven times a day, and would nurse more if I let her.

We've been gluten free for a few days, and her eyes already look a little better to me.

My husband wants to wait to see the pediatrician at her one year before we see a ped. gastro specialist. We are definitely steering clear of the gluten until then.

Any thoughts, recommendations, etc? Should we try to get her diagnosed anyway or just stick to what we are doing and monitor the results ourselves? Any similar situations out there?

Any feedback would be great. Thank you everyone!

[ShayFL]

It is HARD when they are so little and not well. Sorry to hear this.

If it were me, I would avoid gluten for now and all grains that have gluten in them. You can always try again at another time when she is older.

You could also have genetic testing to see if she even has the genes. You guys could get tested too. If Doc. wont do it, try Enterolab.

Hope she feels better soon.

[Lockheed]

My 1 year old is gluten free. He eats what I eat. I introduced wheat at 4-6 months as per the European recommendation as indicated in some research that this early introduction was correlated (not causal) with either a delayed onset of celiac or no celiac at all. However, after the first time of feeding him cream of wheat he vomited two hours later. For a while he was eating the gerber puffs and had bad constipation (I'm the same way.. not the leaky gut syndrome in our house). I sent cream of wheat with him to daycare a few times and every time they called two hours after feeding him (you could time it) saying that he had vomitted. He also broke out with diaper rash (but it looked more like eczema to me rather then a red bumpy rash I associate with diaper rash) and an eczema patch on his neck. I took him off all gluten items at 8 months and in two weeks the eczema cleared up along with the diaper rash and he hasn't vomited since. DH gave him some cake at a wedding when he was 13 months old and of course he broke out in eczema again. I figure we'll try introducing every six months or so until he is about 7 years old. The immune system changes so much before that age, but I do think we're headed down a celiac path.

[Lockheed]

"Compared with infants who were exposed to gluten at 4 to 6 months (the referent group representing when the introduction of cereals is generally recommended), and after adjusting for HLA-DR3 genotype, children initially exposed to gluten in the first 3 months of life had a 5-fold increased risk of CDA, whereas those who were not exposed to gluten until age 7 months or older had a marginally increased risk. When the analysis was confined to the 25 children who had biopsy evidence of celiac disease, children exposed to gluten early had a 23-fold increased risk of CDA, while children exposed after the seventh month had a 4-fold increased risk. Early exposure to oats or rice was not associated with CDA. Interestingly, the authors did not observe the protective effect of breastfeeding reported in previous case-control studies. They concluded that early introduction of gluten is associated with the appearance of CDA in children at increased risk for the disease."

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That article is a summary of another article regarding the introduction of gluten into an infants diet. I'm still looking for the original article. The short version is, the US says don't give children anything they might be allergic to until they are five years old. European recommendation is to introduce it at 4-7 months to reduce the risk. US standards indicate not to introduce any solid foods until at least 6 months. So the research is in conflict and we with babies are stuck in the middle. But I would think you are not harming your child with a gluten free diet assuming that you monitor that all the nutrient requirements that typically would come from grains are met through other sources, namely veggies.

[MarsupialMama]

I think you are doing exactly the right thing by keeping her off of gluten. Yes, it is not always an easy road in this gluten-filled world we live in, but having been a sick child my ENTIRE LIFE (now 25) and just now finding out about the celiac thing, I can tell you this: It is not a fun road to always have allergies, indigestion, pain, bad health, dark circles under eyes, and be made fun of by other people for being too skinny, or too sick, or everything else. I've been sick my entire LIFE. It is not a fun road to be to doctor after doctor only to hear "We don't know what's wrong with you."

We have just begun the gluten-free path with our daughter, and knowing this at the beginning will make her life a lot easier and happier.

With the responses you've gotten from your daughter in regards to gluten foods, I would not doubt that she is intolerant.

Hang in there!

[Amyleigh0007]

Poor baby. I hope Olivia is better soon. My 11 month old daughter is gluten free. She has never had gluten. We had started rice cereal and were getting ready to start the other cereals when my son was dx. Since my son was dx in March I have made our house gluten free. I know many people say I should keep her on gluten to test her later in life but I just can't do it. I can't risk her getting ill just so she can be tested. I don't want her to go through the same thing her brother did.

[mommymatheny]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I am also wondering that since I am breastfeeding, should I also go gluten free? Is this kind of extreme given no diagnosis? Is everyone going to think I am crazy???

Also, if I do go gluten free, is it okay for me to eat oats still, even though she clearly has an intolerance? That would be the hardest thing for me to give up!

Thanks,

Sarah

[gfpaperdoll]

Yes, you should be gluten free also, there are threads on here about how the gluten goes thru the breast milk. that includes no oats, no wheat, no rye, no barley & no barley malt & no spelt.

try grits or cooked white rice with sugar & cinnamon. Baked apples are also good for breakfast.

[krisb]

There is no reason why your baby would need gluten. Gluten is bad for everyone even if you don't have celiac. I have been reading so much about it and how we really aren't meant to eat it. My 17 month old has never had gluten and I don't plan on giving it to him. He is actually my healthiest child. The ped agrees that there is no reason for him to have gluten. All my boys are gluten free and feel so much better. My 8 year old had all the same symptoms as your baby. He had the worst sinus infections and chest congestion and all the belly bugs too. They put him on so many steroids and removed his adenoids. They were starting to think he had cystic fibrosis because he had all that congestion. I put him on the diet after my older son was diagnosed and all his illnesses went away. He is doing so good and hasn't had any more sinus infections. It won't hurt to eliminate gluten. I know my family responded great to the diet. My sister is on the diet and she takes her son to a holistic Dr. He put my nephew on the diet without doing any tests for celiac. He feels it's very unhealthy to be eating it anyway. You can always wait until your daughter is older and can make the choice to go back on gluten and possibly get testing done then.

[Amyleigh0007]

There is no reason why your baby would need gluten. Gluten is bad for everyone even if you don't have celiac. I have been reading so much about it and how we really aren't meant to eat it. My 17 month old has never had gluten and I don't plan on giving it to him. He is actually my healthiest child. The ped agrees that there is no reason for him to have gluten. All my boys are gluten free and feel so much better. My 8 year old had all the same symptoms as your baby. He had the worst sinus infections and chest congestion and all the belly bugs too. They put him on so many steroids and removed his adenoids. They were starting to think he had cystic fibrosis because he had all that congestion. I put him on the diet after my older son was diagnosed and all his illnesses went away. He is doing so good and hasn't had any more sinus infections. It won't hurt to eliminate gluten. I know my family responded great to the diet. My sister is on the diet and she takes her son to a holistic Dr. He put my nephew on the diet without doing any tests for celiac. He feels it's very unhealthy to be eating it anyway. You can always wait until your daughter is older and can make the choice to go back on gluten and possibly get testing done then.

We think exactly alike! I don't plan on ever giving my 11 month old gluten. She has never been sick. By the time my son was her age he was on his 5th ear infection. Gluten is nasty, nasty stuff.

[April in KC]

My youngest was nursing and was 8 or 9 months when I took him gluten free. He also vomited oatmeal, starting about the second time I gave it to him at 6 months. I initially thought it was oat allergy, because IgE-type food allergies were (then) the only thing we knew about in our family. However, he was negative on a skin-prick test and RAST, the most common tests for IgE allergies. Still, we dropped cereals from his diet (wouldn't you?) and just nursed and introduced fruits and veggies slowly.

A few months later, I was getting very sick, with mouth sores, rashes...losing weight, feeling tired and confused...and all three of my sons also seemed ill. I finally read about Celiac Disease and asked to be tested. I and my oldest son tested clearly positive for Celiac/gluten sensitivity, but my youngest two did not. But I have heard that negatives are very common in young kids. [Oh...for the record...we eventually found out that both i and my husband have Celiac...a bizarre coincidence, but it explains why we seem to make such gluten-sensitive kids..]

For the youngest, who tested negative, when I removed gluten from my diet, and his health improved tremendously. Keep in mind, at this point his only dietary source of gluten for several months had been breastmilk...that alone was causing him problems. His bleeding eczema cleared up over the course of a few weeks. His dipes were better. We have not looked back and are happy to remain gluten free. He does have some other food sensitivities - and we ultimately put him on a special formula to give him extra nutrients while both he and I healed.

If your child has gluten sensitivity, it is possible that you or DH may, also...and an adult would be more likely to have the antibodies. Finding a relative with Celiac would strengthen your resolve, and your commitment and understanding of the gluten-free diet. Consider testing...?

[mommymatheny]

My youngest was nursing and was 8 or 9 months when I took him gluten free. He also vomited oatmeal, starting about the second time I gave it to him at 6 months. I initially thought it was oat allergy, because IgE-type food allergies were (then) the only thing we knew about in our family. However, he was negative on a skin-prick test and RAST, the most common tests for IgE allergies. Still, we dropped cereals from his diet (wouldn't you?) and just nursed and introduced fruits and veggies slowly.

A few months later, I was getting very sick, with mouth sores, rashes...losing weight, feeling tired and confused...and all three of my sons also seemed ill. I finally read about Celiac Disease and asked to be tested. I and my oldest son tested clearly positive for Celiac/gluten sensitivity, but my youngest two did not. But I have heard that negatives are very common in young kids. [Oh...for the record...we eventually found out that both i and my husband have Celiac...a bizarre coincidence, but it explains why we seem to make such gluten-sensitive kids..]

For the youngest, who tested negative, when I removed gluten from my diet, and his health improved tremendously. Keep in mind, at this point his only dietary source of gluten for several months had been breastmilk...that alone was causing him problems. His bleeding eczema cleared up over the course of a few weeks. His dipes were better. We have not looked back and are happy to remain gluten free. He does have some other food sensitivities - and we ultimately put him on a special formula to give him extra nutrients while both he and I healed.

If your child has gluten sensitivity, it is possible that you or DH may, also...and an adult would be more likely to have the antibodies. Finding a relative with Celiac would strengthen your resolve, and your commitment and understanding of the gluten-free diet. Consider testing...?

I have thought, as well, that I might be the "carrier" for our family. Like you, I have been losing weight, tired, low moods etc., but then again having two sick kiddos could do that to a mom. I am actually meeting with a nutritionist next week who is a Celiac expert and I'm going to have her help me set up a gluten free diet for myself and my youngest, at least, and we'll see if we can convert the other two as well. If Olivia and I start feeling better gluten-free, that's the only "test" I need. I generally eat low carb and stay away from most bread products/pasta, so I'm not even sure that I would produce enough antibodies for a blood test anyway.

I'm curious, does your youngest tolerate gluten free oats? And if it were truly just an oat allergy wouldn't the gluten free oats cause vomiting as well? I'm not so gung ho about giving her oats in any shape or form, but if she kept them down, wouldn't this likely mean that it is the gluten that's causing the problem???

[dadoffiveboys]

I have thought, as well, that I might be the "carrier" for our family. Like you, I have been losing weight, tired, low moods etc., but then again having two sick kiddos could do that to a mom. I am actually meeting with a nutritionist next week who is a Celiac expert and I'm going to have her help me set up a gluten free diet for myself and my youngest, at least, and we'll see if we can convert the other two as well. If Olivia and I start feeling better gluten-free, that's the only "test" I need. I generally eat low carb and stay away from most bread products/pasta, so I'm not even sure that I would produce enough antibodies for a blood test anyway.

I'm curious, does your youngest tolerate gluten free oats? And if it were truly just an oat allergy wouldn't the gluten free oats cause vomiting as well? I'm not so gung ho about giving her oats in any shape or form, but if she kept them down, wouldn't this likely mean that it is the gluten that's causing the problem???

We use gluten-free oats.. and are using it along with rice as a 'first grain' to introduce to our newest baby. He seems to have no effect from it.. nor my other boys who can't have gluten or casein w/o breaking out IMMEDIATELY. We buy it from the Wyoming glutenfreeoats place. We do have to process it in the food processor and make it smaller though first because they are still a little too thick in texture for the 9 month old.

[April in KC]

I'm curious, does your youngest tolerate gluten free oats? And if it were truly just an oat allergy wouldn't the gluten free oats cause vomiting as well? I'm not so gung ho about giving her oats in any shape or form, but if she kept them down, wouldn't this likely mean that it is the gluten that's causing the problem???

I would think so. But some Celiacs do not tolerate even gluten-free oats.

Initially, I took my youngest completely grain free -- no corn or rice even - and that was at least 6 months. I was just paying attention to symptoms. Corn was causing him some problems, and he had started rejecting rice cereal after he vomited oatmeal cereal (a quick call to the manufacturer confirmed that they thought cross contamination was possible). I figured delaying all grains wouldn't hurt him. His first starches were potatos cooked in a weekly pot roast.

Eventually we reintroduced rice and tapioca, and some other grains like quinoa.

A fun way to use sweet potato is to microwave one and then mash it up with either turkey or tuna (a bit more meat than potato), season and form into small patties...fry in olive oil. Similar result as crab cakes. Tasty, has carbs, kids like them.

We have tried gluten-free oats as an occasional treat, in gluten-free oatmeal cookies. We used Bob's Red Mill. Some Celiacs do not tolerate even gluten-free oats. My kids did okay on the cookies. We don't eat them daily or even weekly - just as something different to have.

Consider buying pre-rinsed quinoa and making a nice quinoa pudding. Be sure it's pre-rinsed or has been rinsed properly - otherwise it has a bad taste and will cause a bit of stomach rebellion.

Injured digestive systems need to take it easy for a while, so just watch and see what she tolerates.

I'm glad to hear that you're going gluten-free. If you have Celiac, you will probably notice a pick-up in energy. However, if you really do have Celiac and you go gluten-free, you will also probably notice a pick-up in sensitivity within 2-3 weeks. So...it would not be unusual for you to have a temporary lift, followed by confusing symptoms a few weeks later as your sensitivity increases. That's when you realize that you really do need to buy a new toaster, scrub your kitchen, call manufacturers, replace your colander, etc. :)

[mommymatheny]

Met with the nutritionist yesterday, and made an appointment with the ped. gastro. specialist for the end of September. The specialists receptionist couldn't tell me to have Olivia be gluten-free or not, but the nutritionist said that she definitely would.

No one would give me a definitive answer about me, though, since I'm breastfeeding. I know the consensus on this board is that it definitely is a necessity, but no medical professional has told me yay or nay.

I'm doing gluten-free for Olivia by the book, no cross contamination, items processed in facilities containing wheat, even if labelled gluten free. As for myself, I'm steering clear of all items with wheat flour, oats, etc. and where the main ingredients contain gluten, but for now not being so meticulous (using family toaster, few items with malt vinegar). I am going to totally screw up our trial with Olivia as gluten-free by doing this?

[betsyabailey]

Hi! My son is 20 months now and is totally gluten-free. If you are still breastfeeding you need to be also. My ped gastro told me that the antibodies pass through in the breastmilk. It's hard to know what to do when you know that for a definate diag you need to get your baby sick. Our doc was awsome! he listened to me and diagnosed him with NO TESTS! I was worried about doing a gluten challange since my sons been gluten-free except for 1 week of his life. He said that he likes to "do no harm". If gluten hurts your baby just don't give it to them. Good luck, it's hard but it gets easier.

Betsy

[Rya]

Met with the nutritionist yesterday, and made an appointment with the ped. gastro. specialist for the end of September. The specialists receptionist couldn't tell me to have Olivia be gluten-free or not, but the nutritionist said that she definitely would.

No one would give me a definitive answer about me, though, since I'm breastfeeding. I know the consensus on this board is that it definitely is a necessity, but no medical professional has told me yay or nay.

I'm doing gluten-free for Olivia by the book, no cross contamination, items processed in facilities containing wheat, even if labelled gluten free. As for myself, I'm steering clear of all items with wheat flour, oats, etc. and where the main ingredients contain gluten, but for now not being so meticulous (using family toaster, few items with malt vinegar). I am going to totally screw up our trial with Olivia as gluten-free by doing this?

I have read multiple times on this forum that gluten can pass through breastmilk. This has been bothering me for quite a few days now, as I just couldn't understand how. I combed through 15 studies today and 3 textbooks (2004 or more recent).

My Advanced Nutrition in Human Metabolism textbook says (paraphrased): The human body has a dramatically decreased affinity for absorbing peptides (amino acid chains) greater than 3 amino acids. Even if peptides greater than 3 amino acids are absorbed, once inside the enterocyte (the small intestine cell) the peptides are hydrolyzed to free amino acids before they reach the bloodstream to fulfill their duties in the human body.

The gliadin fraction of gluten that Celiacs react to is a string (peptide) of 19 amino acids.

My conclusion is that it is extraordinarily improbable for gluten to be present in breastmilk. Multiple studies dating back from 1992 to current published studies cite breastfeeding as protective against Celiac regardless of mom's diet.

Practically - especially since your daughter has had no reaction to your breastmilk previously, I would not worry about the content of your diet from the breastmilk standpoint. However, the risks of cross contamination are real, more so as your little one consumes more solid foods, and the family may want to consider having a gluten-free household for those reasons.

[Rya]

Additionally, you may want to insure that your body soaps and lotions that come into contact with your breast/nipple area are gluten-free, as your daughter's can directly ingest the residue.

[Rya]

This article cites that mom's antibodies in breast milk - specifically AGA-IgA gliadin-specific - are protective against Celiac disease for baby. Not to say I understand how or why that is, but here you have it.

Open Original Shared Link

[mommymatheny]

Wow...thanks for doing your homework (literally!). I am still avoiding the big ticket gluten items myself, and I'm actually feeling really good, so I guess it can't hurt, right? I go back to the nutritionist on Thursday and she is contacting a friend/associate who is one of the foremost experts nationally on Celiac. I will post her response to this issue when I get it.

[shayesmom]

My conclusion is that it is extraordinarily improbable for gluten to be present in breastmilk. Multiple studies dating back from 1992 to current published studies cite breastfeeding as protective against Celiac regardless of mom's diet.

Gluten is not usually present in breastmilk. However, it has been well-established that gliadin is. And although breastfeeding can provide wonderful benefits and may help prevent celiac disease in infants to an extent, it is not a good idea for a mother to continue eating gluten while breastfeeding an already celiac infant. (If celiac disease is already present, the mom needs to also be gluten-free for the health of the child).

This topic is covered extensively on this site and the specific studies have also been posted. Hopefully someone will have saved this information and can re-post here.

[Mango04]

Her symptoms really sound dairy-related to me. You might want to consider trying her on a dairy-free diet (you would have to be DF as well, if you're breastfeeding).

[mommymatheny]

Her symptoms really sound dairy-related to me. You might want to consider trying her on a dairy-free diet (you would have to be DF as well, if you're breastfeeding).

Really? What tips you off to the dairy thing? She seems to do okay with yogurt and cheese. The only real projectile vomiting has been from the oats without a drop of dairy in sight!

[Mango04]

Really? What tips you off to the dairy thing? She seems to do okay with yogurt and cheese. The only real projectile vomiting has been from the oats without a drop of dairy in sight!

It's the projectile vomiting symptom. With casein the reaction isn't usually instantaneous. You can't really know she's okay with yogurt and cheese until she's totally symptom-free, and still eating those things. I could be wrong of course, but it can't hurt to test it out.

[esthesio-vivi]

This is a great string to stumble on, both my husband and I are Celiacs and we've just decided to try to get pregnant. The issue of whether or not to expose your baby to gluten has been something I've been wondering about and definitely take seriously. After all we've been through thanks to gluten I wouldn't want to wish it on my worst enemy. Our chances of having Celiac babies is ridiculous, so thanks to everyone on their insight it's been very helpful!

The research has been done on gluten proteins passing into breastmilk. Open Original Shared Link

"Conclusions: Very high levels of gliadin were detected in milk samples from healthy mothers on an unrestricted diet. Gliadin levels were higher than those reported for dietary antigens in other studies. Breast milk contained non-degraded gliadins and gliadin/anti-gliadin IgA immune complexes."

Also if the mother has celiac disease and is exposed to gluten the antibodies are also being passed on to the child through her breast milk. A good reason to get tested yourself.

Which is disccussed here: https://www.celiac.com/articles/297/1/Breas...ease/Page1.html