2 Year Old With Cd

[JacobsMom]

Hi everyone...My name is Brandi and we just found out today that our 2 year old has Celiac. I was glad to finally know what was causing all of the problems...Then I start reading about it and I think I have a bigger problem b/c at this age his food groups are NOT great....I will call on Monday and get in with a dietician b/c I am so confused on what too look for...

Any thing you think will be helpfull please let me know....I have read some of the other post and have gotten some great ideas for snacks and stuff but I am so confused on what ingredients too look for and which are bad.

Anything will be helpful...

Thanks again and have a good weekend.

Brandi

[KaitiUSA]

https://www.celiac.com/st_main.html?p_catid=12

This will help you with what ingredients to look for. It has safe and forbidden lists for us. It is a good guideline when you are first starting out and don't really know what to look for.

There are some companies like Kraft who will not hide gluten under anything. On their labels they will put wheat,rye,barley,or oats or they are safe.

It's a good thing they caught this young. Since your son has been diagnosed I would recommend the rest of the family get tested because it runs in families.

Have a great weekend and let me know if I can help anymore

[mommida]

My daughter was diagnosed at 17 months, last July.

Let me suggest the book Kids with Celiac by Danna Korn. The part about always having a gluten free treat substitution is priceless. It's written in simple terms and deals with a lot of the things that happen the first year of diagnoses.

Laura

[Deby]

The healthfood stores should have gluten-free cookies and crackers that can make snacks easier. Also, there are lots of recipes in the cooking and baking tips section that you could try. Finally, be glad, your daughter is young and will not know life any different. I have twins. one was diagnosed at 3 and he never cheats, mostly because he doesn't remember what wheat foods taste like. The other twin was diagnosed at 6. He cheats all of the time and complains that he just misses those foods. This from a child who has access to fresh baked goodies fairly often, pizza at least once a week, cinnamon rolls, etc... I just can't win with this kid. lol...

[Boojca]

I second the suggestion to get Danna Korn's book. It is AMAZING. I have a copy, both grandmothers have a copy, and I gave a copy to my daycare provider.

I know this seems very overwhelming, but it will soon become second nature. You WILL mess up, I promise you, but just remember one "goof" does not undo any progress you have made. So just shrug it off and start over again.

My son is 3 and was diagnosed last June at age 2 1/2, so I know where you are coming from. It feels like there is nothing they will ever eat again. Ah, not so! I've found that mostly it is just a matter of using very specific brands of "normal" foods. Breads, pasteries and pasta are the hardest things in this diet. We use Tinkyada pasta, it's amazing. Just be VERY careful when you cook it, gluten-free pasta is very tempermental and if you overcook it yikes!! I tend to cook mine for the minimum amount listed on the package, check a piece then cook a little more as needed and I keep checking it. We use regular jar sauce (we like Prego, but most are gluten-free). Thre is a PHENOMINAL gluten-free list of mainstream foods at www.delphiforums.com in the Celiac Disease Support Group. I belong to that list as well as this one and I cannot tell you how great it is!

One word of advice on the dietician, BE WARNED most do not have great or even good experiences with them. I went to ours (which was recommended by our ped. GI that I cannot say enough good things about) and ended up teaching her a thing or two, AND it wasn't covered by insurance (and we have great insurance coverage) so I had to pay $130 to tell the dietician about gluten-free. Sigh. Lesson learned the hard way.

So, my best advice is to go to the Delphi Forums list, and feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Bridget

Mom to Brennan, age 3, Dx 6/01/04 at 2 1/2 years

Georgia, VT USA

[scaredparent]

We just put my 20 mo old son on a gluten-free diet and for the first week I thought he was going to starve but he didnt. I have a recipie for gramham crackers and he loves them and I also have about 10 different flavors of rice cakes and he loves them. I put peanut butter on them and loves that. I also give him alot of fruit and veggies. There is alot out there just look and always keep your eyes out for good deals. I also give him alot of popcorn. I had a lot of luck by finding a support group in my area and our leader and her husband are both gluten-free and she has made a lot of receipes up. Good Luck and find a good support group to meet with so it doesn't feel so over whelming. It does get better. I know cereal was a major item my son missed but have found three kinds at Walmart that he can have. My son is young and it doesn't bother him that he can't have glutten. I have 5 children and he is the only one that has to be gluten-free and all my other kids have been very supportive of it and makes sure he doesn't get bad food . So hang in there it gets better GOOD LUCK