New Here...need Some Help!

[fotochic03]

Hi there, I'm Erica and this is my first post here. We've been working to figure out my 1 year olds diet since he was about 12 months old...I still don't know what is up. We've been seeing a Naturopathic DR who works with my midwife, but tomorrow we have a well checkup with our pediatrician and I wanted to have all my ducks in a row so I don't leave with no new information.

I don't really know WHAT we are dealing with. My son is 19 months old and has an insatiable appetite. He's been dairy and wheat free since 13 months old. We've only relied on muscle testing for his weak/strong foods. We've found that with the addition of enzyme powder his appetite is greatly improved, but he has to take the recommended amount for a 12 year old in order for it to help (which is what was prescribed for him) but I still wonder if there is more to it than that. We also have some pretty bad wet/pasty poopy diapers 2-3 times a day....or not and then we have massive blow-outs.

He doesn't seem to have any bloated belly symptoms or pain... He weighs about 21lbs which is less than 5%tile.

For example on his daily eating (this is with out enzymes, we ran out and they are on order...

Monday

1/3 old fashioned oats (measured uncooked)

1/3 cup of apple sauce

small banana 5 inches

1 oz uice/6 oz water

2eggs over easy

1/2 sprouted grain bread

1oz juice 6oz water

Pirate Booty large handful 2/3 cup?

2 arrowroot animal cookies

banana

1tsp peanut butter Smart balance

1 rice cake low salt, very thin layer of peanut butter

3 small strawberries

2 multigrain gluten free crackers

Rice Milk 5oz

Instant Grits 1oz package

1oz juice water

Tuesday

1/3 old fashioned oats (measured uncooked)

1/3 cup of apple sauce

small banana 5 inches

1 oz uice/6 oz water

1 slice, no crust Sprouted Grain bread (genesis 1:29)

Kiwi with peel

Carrot juice (2 carrots juiced at home 2oz)

3/4c pinto beans whole bean boiled with salt

1/2 mashed banana 1/2 mashed avocado

1/2 Cucumber, 1/2 Sweet potato, 1 carrot juiced at home + 2oz premade apple juice (8oz of total juice)

6 oz Red Raspberry leaf tea + 2oz apple juice

2/3 cup Veggie flavored Pirate Booty

3 Gluten Free multigrain crackers

2oz pork chop

1tbs green beans (he doesn't eat these very well at all)

5oz rice milk

[tarnalberry]

huh... I'm seeing a lot of carbs, not as much fat/protein. (of course, I've never fed a toddler, so it's fair to say I could be totally off on that!) also, if he's eating sprouted bread, he's not gluten free, or even wheat free. (sprouted wheat is still wheat!)

have you tried eliminating all gluten (including oats) or at least all the wheat?

[ang1e0251]

I don't really know WHAT we are dealing with. My son is 19 months old and has an insatiable appetite. He's been dairy and wheat free since 13 months old.

Is your goal to have him eat gluten free? Just wheat free?

We've only relied on muscle testing for his weak/strong foods. We've found that with the addition of enzyme powder his appetite is greatly improved, but he has to take the recommended amount for a 12 year old in order for it to help (which is what was prescribed for him) but I still wonder if there is more to it than that. We also have some pretty bad wet/pasty poopy diapers 2-3 times a day....or not and then we have massive blow-outs.

The stool problems sound like he is eating something, maybe gluten that he doesn't tolerate well.

For example on his daily eating (this is with out enzymes, we ran out and they are on order...

What are the ingredients in the enzymes?

Monday

1/3 old fashioned oats (measured uncooked)

1/3 cup of apple sauce

small banana 5 inches

1 oz uice/6 oz water

Oatmeal is not tolerated well by many who cannot eat gluten or wheat.

2eggs over easy

1/2 sprouted grain bread

1oz juice 6oz water

What are the ingredients of the bread? Does it contain barley or rye? These can be problem foods.

Pirate Booty large handful 2/3 cup?

2 arrowroot animal cookies

banana

1tsp peanut butter Smart balance

Pirate Booty? I'm not familier with that.

1 rice cake low salt, very thin layer of peanut butter

3 small strawberries

2 multigrain gluten free crackers

Rice Milk 5oz

Rice milk should be Ok but other posters have reported reactions to the barley in Rice Dream brand.

Instant Grits 1oz package

1oz juice water

Looks good.

Tuesday

1/3 old fashioned oats (measured uncooked)

1/3 cup of apple sauce

small banana 5 inches

1 oz u

1 slice, no crust Sprouted Grain bread (genesis 1:29)

Kiwi with peel

Carrot juice (2 carrots juiced at home 2oz)

3/4c pinto beans whole bean boiled with salt

1/2 mashed banana 1/2 mashed avocado

1/2 Cucumber, 1/2 Sweet potato, 1 carrot juiced at home + 2oz premade apple juice (8oz of total juice)

6 oz Red Raspberry leaf tea + 2oz apple juice

2/3 cup Veggie flavored Pirate Booty

3 Gluten Free multigrain crackers

2oz pork chop

1tbs green beans (he doesn't eat these very well at all)

5oz rice milk

The same concerns I mentioned above for this menu. I don't see much protein in this diet or dietary fat. Small children need 30 to 35% of their diet to be good dietary fat. That's probably why he seems to have such a good appetite, although the amount of food you listed seems pretty normal to me for his age. My son ate well at that age also. Though at age two , it seems children back off eating a lot. That's when their rate of growth slows somewhat.

If you're trying to avoid gluten, there are a few concerns in that diet. Also I would try to get a little more protein and more dietary fat in his diet. What do you think?

[fotochic03]

Is your goal to have him eat gluten free? Just wheat free?

Well, the goal was wheat free, but I was told that sprouted wheat is okay for him...

I went to the pediatrician for our well check up on Friday. Spoke with the nutritionist, who rubs me quite the wrong way, but I did take away a few good things from the appointment. She recommended that we start him on a optiflora probiotic by shakely as well as a multi-vitamin. I decided to give a gluten free diet a shot (based on my own conclusions) . I went to the store and bought all his new foods tonight. All had gluten free labels. I'm going to do the diet for 2 weeks and see if we notice any changes, if nothing changes I'll consider adding the probiotic and see if that helps

The stool problems sound like he is eating something, maybe gluten that he doesn't tolerate well.

Yesterday and today he had diarrhea...wondering if that is a result from the immunizations he received on Friday. After talking to the nutritionist, I decided that chunky (salsa like) applesauce is a better way to describe his stools, rather than wet and pasty.

What are the ingredients in the enzymes? Copied and pasted from the website-

Proprietary Plant Enzyme Blend 320 mg

Alpha-Amylase (from Aspergillus oryzae), Protease (from Aspergillus oryzae), Glucoamylase (from Rhizopus nitveus), Lactase (from Aspergillus oryzae), Maltase (from Aspergillus oryzae), Cellulase (from Aspergillus niger), Lipase (from Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus oryzae), Acid Stable Protease (from Aspergillus niger), Hemicellulase (from Aspergillus niger), and Invertase (from Saccharomyces cerevisiae)

Other ingredients: Beet Fiber and Rice Flour

Contains NO added fillers, lubricants, soy, wheat, corn, dairy, sugar, yeast, gluten, starch, salt, additives, or preservatives.

Oatmeal is not tolerated well by many who cannot eat gluten or wheat.

Replacing Oatmeal with Quinoa flakes

What are the ingredients of the bread? Does it contain barley or rye? These can be problem foods.

He was eating Ezekiel Bread, but I bought the bread for life..gluten and wheat free kinds this evening.

Pirate Booty? I'm not familier with that. www.piratesbooty.com I just checked the website and it is gluten free. Its basically a "healthy" version of veggie flavored "puffs" and has absolutely no nutrition, but its an easy to eat snack food for a toddler with only 10 teeth.

Rice milk should be Ok but other posters have reported reactions to the barley in Rice Dream brand.

I bought the rice dream milk and noticed that the new improved "organic" version contained malt in the ingredients, so I took a look at the original- classic ...and it had different ingredients...no malt or barley listed and it is labeled gluten free.

The same concerns I mentioned above for this menu. I don't see much protein in this diet or dietary fat. Small children need 30 to 35% of their diet to be good dietary fat. That's probably why he seems to have such a good appetite, although the amount of food you listed seems pretty normal to me for his age. My son ate well at that age also. Though at age two , it seems children back off eating a lot. That's when their rate of growth slows somewhat.

If you're trying to avoid gluten, there are a few concerns in that diet. Also I would try to get a little more protein and more dietary fat in his diet. What do you think?

[taweavmo3]

Based on his insatiable appetite, stool descriptions, and low weight , I would say it sounds like something is still causing malaborption. I think it's a great plan to try the gluten free diet. My dd, before she was diagnosed, would eat constantly. It was a joke in our house, b/c she was tiny, but she ate adult sized portions.

One thing you also might consider changing is the Rice Dream milk.....they are misleading in their ingredients list. The "gluten free" box is still processed with barley enzymes like the others, they just don't list it. Almond Breeze is safe (and great tasting!) and so is Pacific rice milk.

I'm still reeling over the comment by the nutritionist....I can see why you were less than impressed. The olive oil is a good idea....another one is coconut oil. Full of good fat for the brain, and it is tasty. I used to put it on toast in place of butter, then add some honey. Coconut milk is also a good source of fat, I use it at times in smoothies, added to almond milk to increase the fat content, or I bake with it.

Also, you may want to give it a bit longer than 2 weeks, only b/c everyone makes mistakes in the beginning, and gluten takes weeks to get out of the system. If the diet works, and he starts absorbing nutrients again, then you won't have to worry quite so much about the carb/protein/fat amounts. Just give yourself some time to learn the diet, take it day by day, and the rest will fall into place!

This is a great site for help....so many informative people (many have had zero luck with nutritionists btw!) that will answer questions in a heartbeat. Good luck!

[ang1e0251]

I agree with the PP. I also recommend the coconut milk, it's very high in good dietary fat. I add to anything that's milky; like smoothies, omelettes, milk of any kind, dips, etc. Avocado is another good fat. It doesn't really matter when he eats his protein during the day but it will be satisfying to him and last longer with him. Just don't feed him anything reduced fat. His muscles need all the dietary fat to grow well.

The enzymes all looked OK to me. I'm no expert on that.

I'm wondering how the gluten-free will work for him. I hope that it helps and allows him the growth you are looking for. It's so hard on Mom when the answers aren't obvious and we're trying our best. You are a great Mom to worry so about your son and I can see you're giving him all the best. Hang in there!