New Celiac Infant

[a-adamson]

We just found out that our 1 year old has Celiac. We have removed most gluten from our entire families diet but there are still a few things we have not removed (cerel, spaghetti - don't like the taste, goldfish). My 3 year old is very good at making sure his cereal or goldfish are ate at the table and not shared with our 1 year old. His symptoms are a lot better but occationally he still has loose stools, so I am wondering if we might be cross contaminating by having the foods in the house.

How do you deal with other gluten in the house but still protect a 1 year old from ingesting it?

[Aphreal]

I am in somewhat similar situation. I think I am CC myself because I cook only gluten-free for myself.

I know I have seen that you should have a dedicated gluten-free prep area but my kitchen is SO small... Also have gluten-free utensils, cooking items and toaster etc.. again where to keep it. We have no room nor money for all new stuff.

[Chakra2]

I only have one child (age 2) but he and I both have gluten issues. I don't have much advice about avoiding CC in your situation, but I did want to mention that my son's GI symptoms improved after I did some things that seemed kind of extreme to me at the time. Now I won't argue with the results! I switched all of his and my bath products, diaper cream, etc to gluten-free versions and switched to a gluten-free dogfood. We also did no restaurant food and no eating at other's houses (I just brought food for him) for 3 weeks. It helped a ton and now I feel like we've been able to ease up a bit without noticing symptoms. For example, he ate gluten-free restaurant food a few times recently with no symptoms.

We also did no dairy for 3 months but have now added yogurt back in. So -- not exactly addressing your question but just some other things to think about. For what it's worth, I had a gluten free kitchen for the past 5 months and have recently switched back to having some gluten in the house and I REALLY don't like it. I loved knowing that there wasn't anything to worry about in my own home. Eventually we'll go back to that -- less stressful and really not that big a deal for the "normals" in the house. Just my 2 cents!

[ravenwoodglass]

With little ones so young it is going to be hard. There are many gluten-free cereals and snack cracker, pretzels etc and you might want to see if you can find some that the 3 year old might like. You got some good advice from the previous poster on other things to look out for. Also watch out for gluten in stuff like playdoh.

Do make sure that the whole family is tested. Once one member is found to be celiac all first degree relatives should be tested. You may find that more than just the littlest needs to be gluten free. Celiac has many presentations and even if tests are negative now if there are health, mood or behavior issues a trial of the diet can show if those issues are due to gluten. Even if tests are negative and there are no symptoms now keep in mind that celiac can present at any time so if issues develop later don't trust the tests from the past.

[mamaw]

It is very hard when children are in the picture esp. with one gluten-free & one not...

Any crumbs from the goldfish crackers or any gluten crumbs can easily land on the floor or on toys--- then the gluten-free kid picks up the toy to play with it or puts it in his/her mouth & bingoCC. It's a challengeto say the least...

You stated you haven't found a spaghetti noodle you all likes, Bi-Aglut is so close to the real deal. My husband & family members who are not gluten-free eat this pasta often & never complain....we order by the case & keep it in the freezer....

blessings

mamaw

[precious831]

My DD(who is turning 3) is also deemed celiac or gluten-intolerant for now. Anyway, it's gonna be hard if you have another child who eats gluten. They are not gonna remember to wash their hands, etc and touch the younger sibling. I think it's better if you just find some other snacks for your older one, the one without the celiac.

How long has the 1 yr old been gluten-free? Also you might find there are other foods that he is reacting to, this is very common.

Hope this helps.

[nmlove]

One thing I noticed with my more sensitive son was his bath soap. He has sensitive skin and I was using something that had oats in it. I called and they said they couldn't gurantee it but thought it unlikely. I removed it anyway and saw a difference. If he was older I may not have worried so much but he was still taking sips of bathwater. Kids love to do that - yuck!

I'm still trying to figure out separate areas myself. I'm opposite you though - my one year old eats gluten, my 3 and 5 year olds are gluten-free. They're pretty good about washing hands before eating, eating at the table, etc. My one year old has been really fighting her high chair so I've started giving her food at a little table. I try to keep that for gluten-free stuff and just feed her gluten foods in her high chair at meals so it can be somewhat contained. Ugh, what a mess. Plus she's soy/dairy free so I have to watch the boys' stuff around her. I still don't feel like the house is clean enough...

I think if I were in your situation where only one had to eat gluten-free, I'd make the main meals gluten-free (I do that now) - mostly to make it easier but also so everyone feels included. For pasta, my husband really likes corn spaghetti or Ancient Harvest Quinoa pasta (quinoa/corn) and he's pretty picky. I rarely use rice noodles - just Tinkyada for lasagna which is a rare thing anyway and some rice spirals to put in soups. If your 3 year old is good about eating in one spot, I wouldn't worry too much about switching his foods but you'll have to really clean up after him and have him wash his hands well. You could make separate snack stations in the kitchen for the kids to grab a snack of their choice. Pre-bag up some goldfish crackers or other snacks and put in a drawer. The one year old will eventually do that too. I have a tall plastic tower with three drawers on wheels. I initially used it to separate my boys' snacks when only one was gluten-free (before the other came back with a positive test too). But they still love having their own drawer to choose from. You may want to find a few gluten-free snacks the oldest will like for days out or trips because I find that's a pain to keep washing hands and keep food separate. Cereal may be a good thing to have gluten-free all around. That's a favorite around here and the few times I've brought in a gluten cereal (for me) I've seen his face fall when he found out it wasn't gluten-free.

Good luck!

[scarlett77]

My 2 year old is Celiac and when he was diagnosed we decided that we would make the whole household gluten-free. We didn't want to take chances with CC. I did introduce some wheat to my 1 year old when he was 7-10 months (on our GI's recommendation) and have on occasion when eating out given him gluten items but I try not to bring gluten into the home. We chucked our toaster and just use our oven when we do toast...this is mostly because we are a family of 5 so toaster would take forever anyway. I have replaced some of our teflon cookware, cutting boards, and wooden utensils over the coarse of the last year. I have tried to convert most of our favorite meals to gluten-free with great success. We also do not eat out as much anymore so while our grocery bill did increase, our eating out bill went way down. It is easier if you make a menu and plan breakfast, lunch, dinner as well as snacks and treats. Try to focus on things that are naturally gluten-free and shop on the perimeter of the store. I do splurge on some specialty gluten-free items such as Udi's bread, box mac & cheese (either Annie's or DeBoles), Pamela's pancake & baking mix, Tamari (wheat free soy sauce), pasta, and occasionally some bread, cake, or flour mix if I am looking to make something specific like pizza crust or birthday cake. A note on the pasta...rice noodles do cook up differently than wheat ones. I have found that if you keep a close eye on the pasta and properly salting the water you really can't taste too much of a difference. I use Tinkyada brand as it is widely available. Another tip on the specialty items is to shop around (even online) and buy in bulk. Most stores (especially ones that carry these types of items) are usually happy to special order bulk for you at a cheaper price. A lot of grocery stores actually give you discounts if you purchase a certain # of the same item like at Whole foods you can get up to an extra 10% of for buying 8 loaves of Udi's.

It is a decision each family must make for themselves. Keeping a gluten & gluten-free combined kitchen is certainly possible with the right types of precautions. For me personally it would be too difficult to do with my tiny kitchen and limited cookware (the stuff I replaced needed to be trashed anyway). I also don't have the time or energy to cook separate meals either and because it is my child I don't want him to feel left out if we have one thing and he has something different. It might be different if it were me that was Celiac, but because it is my child I don't want him to feel he is any different than the rest of his family.

[tarnalberry]

My 2 year old is Celiac and when he was diagnosed we decided that we would make the whole household gluten-free. We didn't want to take chances with CC. I did introduce some wheat to my 1 year old when he was 7-10 months (on our GI's recommendation) and have on occasion when eating out given him gluten items but I try not to bring gluten into the home.

...

It is easier if you make a menu and plan breakfast, lunch, dinner as well as snacks and treats. Try to focus on things that are naturally gluten-free and shop on the perimeter of the store.

It is a decision each family must make for themselves. Keeping a gluten & gluten-free combined kitchen is certainly possible with the right types of precautions. For me personally it would be too difficult to do with my tiny kitchen and limited cookware (the stuff I replaced needed to be trashed anyway). I also don't have the time or energy to cook separate meals either and because it is my child I don't want him to feel left out if we have one thing and he has something different. It might be different if it were me that was Celiac, but because it is my child I don't want him to feel he is any different than the rest of his family.

This is what we plan to do. The house is mostly gluten free, aside from a few things my husband eats. But I have no doubts that a baby/toddler is a messy eater, and if I let her eat gluten in the house, I will get sick. So she will be gluten free at home, and (if she is not gluten intolerant) will have the option to have some at home. (Her dad will get to introduce her to it somewhere that's not here. )

For me, it's not so much about space as convenience. Having to be hypervigilant about gluten in the house is annoying, and I just don't have to think about food if it's not around. (My inlaws are on a special diet and they do eat wheat. While I might argue they didn't need to in order to maintain the diet they are doing, it's not worth the battle. As adults, it's easier for them to be cognizant of cross contamination, however. Despite the fact they are respectful of the whole issue, it's a little nerve wracking to have that stuff in the house.)

While I do buy some luxury products (I consider WF tamari a staple, but will get Udi's once a month or so), it's mostly relying on naturally gluten free "whole" foods. (We do a lot of stir-fries, really.)

[a-adamson]

Thanks for the advise. My son has only been gluten free for a little over a week now. Last night I read an entire book on living gluten free an it was very helpful as well. We have decided to go completely gluten free home because it will be a lot easier and I think we can find ways to cook more over time (since this is so new to us). We have a long ways to go but I am now starting to feel like we are making headway.

[sandsurfgirl]

Thanks for the advise. My son has only been gluten free for a little over a week now. Last night I read an entire book on living gluten free an it was very helpful as well. We have decided to go completely gluten free home because it will be a lot easier and I think we can find ways to cook more over time (since this is so new to us). We have a long ways to go but I am now starting to feel like we are making headway.

Tinkyada rice pasta is good.

I know it's hard but I think you're making the best choice. A one year old will put everything in his mouth. YOu just can't monitor it all.

[ravenwoodglass]

Tinkyada rice pasta is good.

I know it's hard but I think you're making the best choice. A one year old will put everything in his mouth. YOu just can't monitor it all.

That is a pretty good pasta. One thing I have found with the gluten-free pastas is that I need to check if they are done starting at about half the cooking time on the box. For me they cook much faster than the box states and if I let them go the full time they turn to mush. Thai Kitchen also makes a good rice noodle, they make an angel hair size, my favorite, and also one that is like linguni. I get them from the Oriental Foods section of my grocery store and they are not quite as expensive as the specialty gluten free pastas.

Glad to hear you are making the house gluten free as it will make it easier. Do be sure to get the rest of the family tested before you have made the change over as it may be more than just the littlest one that needs the diet.

[StacyA]

Thanks for the advise. My son has only been gluten free for a little over a week now. Last night I read an entire book on living gluten free an it was very helpful as well. We have decided to go completely gluten free home because it will be a lot easier and I think we can find ways to cook more over time (since this is so new to us). We have a long ways to go but I am now starting to feel like we are making headway.

Going gluten-free for the whole house is a good idea. An adult can handle a shared kitchen fairly well with diligence and frequent hand-washing. But it's way too tricky for a kid to be that careful and aware. It may not be fair for the non-celiac child, but it's certainly easier than it used to be to find mainstream choices, and it's only going to get more easy.

[T.H.]

Just in case - have you, your husband, or your other children been tested for Celiac Disease? If you haven't, that might be something to consider before getting rid of all the gluten.

We ended up testing everyone after I came back positive for Celiac Disease. My daughter tested as positive for celiac disease, even though she didn't have any of the symptoms we or her doctor associated with the disease. Of five members of my family who have been tested, four are positive, and the other had symptoms and has improved off of gluten, even though he tested negative. I was really shocked how many of us ended up having it!