Can A Breast And Formula Fed Baby Be Gluten Sensitive?

[msosa]

My baby is 3 months old now and has had constant problems with her digestive system since she was two weeks old. (The pediatrician is very unhelpful and just says to grin and bear it.) She gets bloated and gassy and screams in pain periodically. I have been both breast and bottle feeding her, so in response I changed her formula to a soy formula and changed my diet to avoid all those "colic causing foods". Nothing helped for very long. Temporary relief followed by a resurgence of the symptoms.

I used probiotics and switched her formula to a "gentle" formula, as well as offering catnip and fennel teas. This seemed to help some... but symptoms keep returning. My inlaws spoke to someone who suggested that the baby was gluten intolerant and told them we should get rid of the baby formula and give her goats milk instead. She also said I should switch to a gluten free diet to help my breastmilk be less caustic. I cannot believe that goats milk is nutritionally complete enough to replace formula and I can't convince my inlaws of this fact at all! They have already told me they are itching to give her solid food because they had all of their kids on solid food by the time they were 3 WEEKS old and they thought my baby must be starving! I told them what all the pediatricians say about waiting til a child is at the very minimum 4 months old... and they think that is very wrong. Besides, if my child has stomach problems she may not be ready to introduce solids. (She is growing wonderfully by the way!)

Anyway, now I'm wondering if the glutens I eat could be affecting the baby through my breastmilk or not... We don't have any family history of Celiac disease that I know of.

[Mango04]

I don't claim to be an expert but a good option might be to stick to a gluten, dairy and soy-free diet yourself, and breast feed her.

[ShayFL]

2 things caused my daughter pain when I was BF. Garlic and Salsa. So I didnt eat them and all went well.

If you have already eliminated all the gassy (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, peppers, garlic, onions, beans) and hot/spicy (any red pepper, chili pepper, jalepenos, etc) and that has not worked then a gluten-free diet for you and strict BF would be my choice for now.

Goats milk IS NOT ideal for a human infant. It IS for baby goats. And besides ALL of the goats milk you can buy legally is pasteurized (i.e. dead and without enzymes). Back in the day they did use Goat's milk as a sub for breast. But it was RAW goat's milk which is as close to human as it gets. But the dead stuff is crap. In Florida I get raw goat's milk from a local dairy but they have to mark it "for pet consumption only" for it to be legal. We drink raw goat's milk keifer.

And SOLID food is a BAD idea at her age. My g-d!!! IMO that will wreck her. Babies arent developed enough for solid food until somewhere after 4 months and if you can BF for 6 and then introduce foods that is best. Back in the day at around 6 months, Mom's would "chew" their own food and give the baby a little bit of this pre-chewed food. Mom's saliva and enzymes would start the digestion process for the baby because at 6 months babies dont have all of the enzymes to digest fully. This is how nature intended it. Not a jar of gerber.

We are so far from what really makes for healthy human beings. We just keep going against nature.

Please do not let your inlaws sway your care of your baby. I'll bet you have instincts and that they are correct.

[crunchy-mama]

My first guess would be dairy, that is the #1 problem food. I would eliminate it first. Then I would try gluten-free if that didn't work. However, you have to give it at least 1 month, it takes a while for it to get out of your system. You didn't say exactly what foods you eliminated, but if dairy was on the list you have to make sure you get rid of ALL traces and hidden amounts- just the same that you would if eliminating gluten. If not you will not get a true answer. I would be very leary of soy as well.

[Mother of Jibril]

My son is seven months old and has a severe intolerance to cow's milk. I wasn't even feeding him formula! The reaction was to the proteins getting through my breastmilk. Everything was fine for about the first three weeks. Then his poo started turning green. By six weeks he was projectile vomiting, crying all the time (for hours until he would fall asleep from exhaustion) and finally having streaks of blood in his diapers. I kept calling the pediatrician's office and the nurses tried to tell me it was "just a stage" his digestive system was going through. HA. I took one of his diapers to the office and they ran a test to make sure the streaks were really blood. The pediatrician suggested that we "wait and see" because maybe he was straining during #2... really??... with diarrhea?? I found a good website that described what was happening:

Open Original Shared Link

Before we left, the pediatrician half-heartedly suggested that I could try eliminating dairy from my diet... and I thought, "Why wait?" The blood freaked me out and the colic was making me lose my mind. I love dairy, but I love my son a LOT more. I went off dairy cold turkey the next day. I wouldn't even eat things with "traces of dairy." Within a week the blood was gone and he was more calm. A few weeks later he was back to normal and has been fine ever since.

A lot of kids who are intolerant to cow's milk are also intolerant to soy. I read that if you have to give formula it should be "hydrolyzed" (where the proteins are already broken down)... soy is not a good substitute. I drink soy milk and have a little soy yogurt, but I'm careful not to consume too much. It doesn't seem to bother my son. We waited until he was six months old to give him any solid food. Younger babies really don't need it! My mom is also convinced that babies should start solids very early so they "sleep through the night." That might be why I have such a leaky gut and I'm intolerant to gluten. If you're going to eliminate dairy, check to make sure that your probiotics are also dairy-free.

I agree that something is not right with your daughter. Babies cry and scream when something is wrong... it's their only way to communicate. Now that my son is feeling better he is Mr. Mellow

[corasmomma]

First, most major baby formulas do not have gluten. What they do have is dairy, which is more common for babies to be allergic to. Some other have mentioned that, you could pursue that with soy/dairy free formulas and your diet as well.

Second, it is very common for babies to have back alignment problems from birth that cause pinched nerves to their digestive tract. Which means pain and gas. If you are inclined to try this, going to a D.O. doc (regular doc who does muscle manipulation also) or a chiropractor that works on babies, you may find an answer there. And no they don't snap and pop the poor little one's back like they do adults. Just gentle pulling and tugging on their muscles to get them to release and align. I have witnessed a host of friends and family cure colic babies by one visit to these guys. You can't argue with a suddenly happy house

Third, some babies are getting too much liquid too fast either from large nipple holes in the bottle or because mom lets down quickly in the breast. The result is babies have to gulp at the liquid, creating more gas for them.

Those are just some more ideas, I know it's common to feel like doctors might complicate things or do something stressful or unnecessary to your little one, but on the whole, a visit with a good doctor who has 'been around the block' is a million times better than advice from family or internet boards. they have a way of immediately ruling out "soy, milk, wheat, back alignment, etc..." by just knowing what questions to ask you in person, something we can't do here easily. Please consider just taking her to a NEW trusted pediatrician or naturopathic doc and then taking whatever advice you want from them to use.

[Mother of Jibril]

Good point about gulping... I let down really fast. I have hypothyroidism and I've read that it can increase your prolactin levels (the hormone that stimulates breastmilk).

I agree there are other things that can cause pain/crying and they're worth exploring. You mentioned that your daugther is bloated and gassy. Does she have other signs of intolerance like eczema, vomiting, diarrhea, ear infections, congestion, waking up screaming, etc...?

[ShayFL]

I D.O. or Chiropracter is a good idea. They are very very gentle with babies and I too know of a few who have had success with it.

I believe in it myself. I had a pinched nerve for over a month that my regular doctors couldnt do anything about. 1 visit to the Chiro and it was better. By the 3rd visit I was all better. That was all I needed. 3. It never came back.

[Pattymom]

there are so many possibilities that it could be, dairy, soy adn wheat sensitivities beign at the top of the list, the overactive let-down also causes green poops as a tell tale sign. If you can, go to Breastmilk only and try cutting out dairy, soy and wheat for a few weeks. If things get better, you could "test" on of those items and see. When my youngest was this age, taking dairy out of my diet improved her 80%, then I stopped wheat, gluten, soy and corn, and she was a thriving miracle baby. When I tested wheat (it only took one bagel) it was obvious in an hour it was a no go for both of us.

that said, If your baby is gaining really fast, and very gasy, and gulping a lot. an overactive letdown is a good possibility, you might want to contact a La Leche League Leader of Lactation consultant for help.

Patty

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Please contact a La Leche League representative and a lactation consultant as soon as possible.

If it all possible, the best course by far would be for you to stop eating all major allergens (sorry!!!!) and ONLY breastfeed her--no formula.

Formula is a miracle if you cannot produce milk, and if you have a baby with no food intolerances, but you CAN obviously produce milk, and you have a baby with obvious food intolerances. . Why are you giving any formula at all? (I don't mean to sound accusatory here, so I apologize if I do.) If you are working, you can pump your milk for your baby. But formula, in your baby's case, is NOT a good idea.

You will get great advice from the LLL and the lactation consultant on how to up your milk production. If you are producing any milk at all, she won't starve--basically, you should just feed her every 30-90 minutes.

I know that sounds like a lot, but it's her health at stake, right? You would do anything for her, right? If the doctor said to put her on X medication that had 10 potentially dangerous side effects, you would probably do that. This course is the most likely to help, with NO side effects--but it will take some effort from you.

If you are working, can you get a medical leave of absence for a few weeks? Your employer would have to honor the Family Leave act if you have not already exhausted that option for giving birth.

The cover article on this months Chemical Engineering News shows a breast-feeding baby, and covers a study on breastmilk from a chemical perspective--and formula comes up so short, even with the recent advances, it's ridiculous. The article discusses many of the known benefits from a new perspective (on a molecular level), and explains WHY it protects babies from illnesses, and even from e. coli.

If your in-laws are pushing formula and/or solid food, you need to educate them in no uncertain terms. Their "knowledge," unfortunately, comes from the formula and baby food manufacturers--who want to sell their product, and don't have anyone's health or best interest at heart. So what your in-laws "know," in short, is WRONG.

And it's terribly difficult to educate anyone from that generation, because they are practically brainwashed from years and years of MARKETING from those manufacturers. And doctors haven't helped, as they have always given out free "samples" and "educational pamphlets," that are basically more marketing.

There are a lot of us here who have had to deal with this kind of thing, so if you post a separate thread on how to deal with misinformed in-laws, you are sure to get a lot of suggestions!

Good luck!

[aprilh]

I didn't have time to read all the responses so hopefully this is not a repeat.

I went through this exact thing with my youngest. I WISH now I would have removed gluten (I had already removed diary). I was also breastfeeding and formula feeding and when I got desperate and took the formula to the ND to get help with all of this, she pointed out to me one of the main ingredients was corn syrup which is a major allergen food.

She gave me a recipe for homemade goat milk formula that made a HUGE difference. I can share it if you would like to try it.

I found out later that I had leaky gut while pregnant and breastfeeding him and since having to have IV antibiotics during delivery - i had a major candida problem that I was also passing on to him.

It has been 4 years now and we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnell. I have learned so many things along the way that lead me to think "if only I would have known then...."

It might be hard to take these things out of your diet, but it will probably make a HUGE difference in your baby. Once you see the changes you will see that value in it.

[Skeet]

Good point about gulping... I let down really fast. I have hypothyroidism and I've read that it can increase your prolactin levels (the hormone that stimulates breastmilk).

I agree there are other things that can cause pain/crying and they're worth exploring. You mentioned that your daugther is bloated and gassy. Does she have other signs of intolerance like eczema, vomiting, diarrhea, ear infections, congestion, waking up screaming, etc...?

Wow... learn something new everyday! I have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and a massive oversupply/let down!

[shan]

maybe it is something 'simple' like reflux?! My son was in hospital for a whole month having tests done on him, coz his sister has this terrible thing called celiac they discharged him saying he has an eating disorder and sent him to an eating clinic, you know the one for anorexics and such when he was just about one!!! They took one look at him and said let us first see if it is reflux, if not we will check out allergies... It worked like a charm... within days he was happy again!! (could also be coz he was out of hospital )

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Shan. reflux is a VERY common symptom of celiac/gluten intolerance (yes, even in 1-year-olds).

Given that the celiac/gluten intolerance tests in babies are notoriously inaccurate (lots of false negatives, though very few if any false positives), if your 1-year-old tested negative for celiac, that doesn't mean he doesn't have it.

And, since his sibling DOES have celiac, I'd say your best bet is to make the whole household gluten-free. And I bet the reflux will disappear WITHOUT meds (those antacids interfere with calcium absorption--very important for bone growth).

Yes, reflux is simple--bu8t it's a symptom of something ELSE, it's not a cause. Masking the reflux doesn't address the cause of the reflux.

[dizzygrinch]

Hello, just thought I would jump in here. My four month old grandbaby is going through the same thing. I am being tested now for celiacs, and have a slew of problems, and I do seem to be better off of gluten. Anyhoo, my daughters entire life, she has had GERD. Now, with her baby, the doc already tried him on baby zantac, now he was just prescribed baby Prevacid. I didnt even know they made it for babies!! now, Im wondering, if it too could be from what she is eating (gluten) being passed into the breast milk. She is waiting to see if I am going to be officially diagnosed with celiacs, before she persues it, but I am trying to convince her to at least go gluten free, but then again, then she wont be accuratly diagnosed if she is off gluten. But, if gluten can be passed through the breast milk, that would convince her to get off gluten, for sake of the baby. Why is it, all doctors do, is prescribe meds, even to infants, just to mask the problems? I just dont get it...

[Fiddle-Faddle]

. Why is it, all doctors do, is prescribe meds, even to infants, just to mask the problems? I just dont get it...

You put your finger on it. That's the nature of "modern" medicine.

YES, gluten is passed through breast milk. Any doctor who says it isn't is simply wrong.