Mom To Newly Diagnosed 6 Year Old

[jmj0803]

My 6 year old daughter seems to be doing much better since she started her gluten-free diet. She has been gluten free for 2 weeks. My concern is she has not had a bowel movement for 48 hours( I never thought I would be saying this )!! Anyone had a similiar experience?

[snoopylian]

Add more fiber to her diet. I've had the same exp w/my two children ages 3 & 1. I added fresh fruit daily eg. a whole pear or an entire apple. I found that pears are best but they also have more sugar than apples. I also buy the Gerber garden vegetables (baby food) and their large jar of pear sauce. I mix the garden veggies in with the pear sauce. You'll have to play with the amount of veggies you can get away with adding to the pear sauce and still have her eat it. I call it yummy green leprechaun pear sauce. Another suggestion I have is to find a good nutritionist who works with Celiacs to ensure she's getting everything she needs. Good luck!

[Merika]

If you're looking for fiber (which may not be necessary) canned pumpkin is great, tastes good and kids like it (pets too, lol). I like to make "pumpkin pie". Get some Libby's plain pumpkin and semi-follow the recipe on the back. Our version goes something like this:

can pumpkin

egg(s) or egg replacer (however many it call for)

use just 2/3 of amount for spices and sugar

use either milk in recipe or slightly less rice milk (make sure it's gluten-free)

stir, pour into individuall ramekins (or just into a gluten-free/CLEAN pie pan - ramekins are prettier though and don't make you feel like you're missing the crust).

Bake for ?40 minutes at 350.

My ds, age 3, really loves this. And aside from the sugar, it's really good for him. You can add gluten-free whipped cream too (most is, but read the label!). mmmmmm.

Merika

[jmj0803]

Thanks for the information. I'll give it a try.

[cdford]

One of my children has had problems with constipation since birth, even on nothing but breast milk. The doctor's "constipation diet" we were given around age five basically went like this:

Absolutely NO white flour (of course, for us), white rice, white potatoes, apples. or bananas. Avoid dairy initially then gradually add back if not otherwise reactive. Avoid processed foods. Use fresh or frozen vegetables such as beans or broccoli.

Gradually add fiber into the diet until regular. Dry beans are easy and useful for this. So are whole grains that we can eat. If you make your own breads, add 1/3 cup milled flax to each loaf. It adds no cholesterol but does add vitamins and fiber. I use a flour mix with it even for biscuits. I also mill fresh brown rice for my flours to get the nutrition and fiber. Popcorn is a good snack. So is a plate of broccoli florets with cheese melted over them. We sometimes fix a 32 oz bag and share it as we watch TV together like most folks would share a bag of potato chips.

After we got him regular, we were able to add back some of the NO items listed above in smaller amounts. We also found that some foods tended to trigger a BM even though he had no specific allergy to the item. We would use a serving of those once or twice a week. (Here it was corn or okra, but different folks do it with different foods.)