2 Mos. Old Breastfeeding Question?

[teacherwheart]

My 21 old has celiac, I am in the process off getting tested. My 2 month old is extremly gassy and does not poop I have had to give him 3 suppositories to make him go in the last 3 weeks. Should I try to stay away from gluten for him just in case even if I dont have celiac or not? He is exclusively breast fed.

[April in KC]

I had very good results nursing my 9-month-old when I stopped eating gluten. I got my blood tests before I dropped gluten...but the day I got the blood tests done, I stopped that same day. It might mess with your endoscopy results later if you're planning to get an endoscopy done. But for me, a positive blood result was all I needed. Once I stopped gluten, I had such great results for myself that I would never start again.

Even if you come back negative, with one Celiac in the family and an infant with GI difficulties, I would defintely pull gluten to see if it helps. You really have to pull ALL of it, though...not just gluten lite. Otherwise you'll never know the answer.

So I guess my opinion is yes! Try it! But make sure you stay on gluten long enough to get your own blood antibodies drawn.

For my 9-month-old, it cured his eczema (which had started at 4 months) and helped his diapers quite a bit. (We had the added clue that he vomited cereals after starting them at 6 months.)

[crunchy-mama]

I would be cutting the gluten out myself. The first step when your wee one has digestive problems and is ebf'd is usually an elimination diet. Since you have a family history of celiac I woud look to that first and then to milk since they're often related, soy as well. If you want to be tested w/ mainstream methods I would be getting on it quickly so you can get on the diet.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

If you are having enough issues that the doctor feels the need to test you, AND you have a son with already-diagnosed celiac, I would assume that you do have celiac.

Normally, I'd think testing a good idea--but your 2-month-old is having issues NOW. I think getting his (or her) issues resolved ASAP takes priority over your official diagnosis. If your issues resolve on the gluten-free diet, then you have a solid diagnosis right there, and don't need any other tests.

Besides, if you have celiac, you almost certainly would have malabsorption problems--which would make producing milk more of a strain on your body. I'm not saying to stop nursing (I NEVER advise that, I don't even advise supplementing except in very extreme circumstances); I just think it's another reason to take action by going off of gluten (and possibly dairy, as suggested by above poster).