Going Gluten Free To Bf

[CorpsmanWife]

Hello, I'm new to this board. I am 35 weeks pregnant with my first child and have some concerns. My brother has celiac disease and is gluten free. From what I know, I am a carrier of celiac disease, but it lies dormant in me. My husband and I have discussed that I go gluten free while breast feeding, and not to introduce her to gluten products for a while. Has anyone done this and could give me any advice? I went to the grocery store and it's so hard to find gluten free foods. I want to start eating gluten free now so I will be use to it once she is born. I'm also afraid of loosing weight since there is not much out there. Any advice would be wonderful!!! Thanks!

*Celiac attacked my brother when he was an infant. He was in the hospital for over a month. It's just not something I want to experience or put our baby through.

[SGWhiskers]

Hello, I'm new to this board. I am 35 weeks pregnant with my first child and have some concerns. My brother has celiac disease and is gluten free. From what I know, I am a carrier of celiac disease, but it lies dormant in me. My husband and I have discussed that I go gluten free while breast feeding, and not to introduce her to gluten products for a while. Has anyone done this and could give me any advice? I went to the grocery store and it's so hard to find gluten free foods. I want to start eating gluten free now so I will be use to it once she is born. I'm also afraid of loosing weight since there is not much out there. Any advice would be wonderful!!! Thanks!

*Celiac attacked my brother when he was an infant. He was in the hospital for over a month. It's just not something I want to experience or put our baby through.

You could get genetic testing for celiac and see if you even carry the genes. While it is probably you have at least one, it is possible you have none and baby is no more at risk than the general population. I really think going gluten-free for your baby is wonderful. It will help your sanity if hubby keeps the cookies, muffins and cake out of the house.

Lots of products are naturally gluten free and a diet high in whole foods will be great for your nutrition. The hardest part of gluten-free is often cooking most of your own food and not being able to rely on boxed/frozen meals.

Breakfast:

Eggs, hormel brand bacon, Van's gluten-free waffles, Rice chex, Trix, Cocoa/Fruity Pebbles, Bob's Redmill gluten-free pancake mix, Omlettes/scrambles, Protien shakes, Fruit, Yogurt (some do have gluten)Bob's Redmill gluten-free oats or Mighty tasty hot cereal.

Lunch:

I usually have yesterday's leftovers with a twist.

Yogurt, Salad w/chicken rasins nuts cucumber, Loaded Sweet potato, Nacho's/beans/salsa/olives/cheese, cottage cheese & fruit, Peanut butter on apples. Lunch isn't my forte. I never liked sandwiches.

Dinner:

Meat, potato/rice, veggie. Sometimes I cook them separate. Sometimes I scramble them all together. Spagetti with asian rice noodles, Tacos!, Stews and soups with potato or last minute added rice noodles. (the rice noodles don't hold up to a long stewing). I cook rice in larger than normal batches so that I have it to throw in with a meal without having to spend the time or clean the pot 3 nights a week. Sweet potatoes and winter squash take over the starch category many nights. Chili. Naked burgers. Really, the only things we don't eat anymore are take out, boxed dinners, and frozen partially made dinners (the type with pasta, veggies, and seasoning and then add your own meat). We used to love pancakes for dinner too, but that is expensive with gluten-free mixes and they are not as good by the time you substitute for my other allergies as well as gluten-free. Oh, and pizza. The gluten-free crusts you find in the freezer section are decent for home made.

Dessert:

ice cream (check labels), fruit and cinnamon or cream, fancy coffee, lots of brands of gluten-free products are as good or better than Betty crocker, but her mixes are probably most familiar to you. She has gluten-free cookies, brownies, and cakes. I think some of the frostings are gluten-free as well. I use Pilsbury for some reason though. Pamela's has excellent brownies! Bob's Redmill has good enough corn bread. Premade cookies are usually hard and not worth it. Frozen muffins are good. Children's bunny graham's are good. I forget the manufacturer. Amy's has mac and cheese.

The easiest lifestyle will be one where everyone in the house eats the meal you cook. Hubby can grab a slice of toast or a bun if he wants. If he is dying for "real" gluten foods, he can fix it himself. Most foods fall off the highly important list at that point;)

Best wishes and congrats on baby!

[SGWhiskers]

There are lots of brands that have great labeling policies. I can't remember the long list, but Kraft, Unilever, and Hormel are the 3 I rely upon because I remember them. They will clearly state the source if an item has gluten. For example (Modified food starch (wheat)). If they don't state wheat, rye, barley, oats, their products are safe. Unilever has a U as their logo and they make both foods and body products.

I make most of my food from scratch now because I've swung more organic, but I have a short list of safe products (read your own labels).

Ragu super chunky mushroom. (& some other flavors)

Chichi's & tostido's salsa

Tostido's plain tortilla chips (any size)

Hormel has several high fat high salt products I rely on when I'm too busy to cook. Dinty moore beef stew (original), Hormel chili (read the label, but I think it is the regular with beans), Hormel pepperoni, Hormel bacon, Hormel lunch meats.

Lots of Bob's redmill products (but not all) are gluten-free

Watch out for wheat in dry beans, nuts and powdered sugar. I was surprised split peas were coated in wheat.

Plain meats will all be gluten free (watch the injected turkeys at thanksgiving though).

Sausage will probably have gluten as will some bacon and lunch meats

Obviously, breaded or marinated meats will have gluten.

Frozen veggies will be safe, but canned will need checking.

You will also need to make sure your personal care products applied near your breasts are gluten-free. Dove and Suave are Unilever and will be clearly labeled. Vitamin E(Tocepherol Acetate) can be derived from wheat or other vegetable sources. You will need to call the manufacturer to ask about the gluten status. I'm thinking nipple cream? Lotions?

There is a researched ideal age to introduce gluten. I don't know it for sure, so I won't quote my faulty memory. It is within the first year though.

Think a meat and potato's type diet with lots of fruits and veggies and you are on the right track.

[CorpsmanWife]

Thank you so much!! Both of you have provided me with so much information.

Some reason my old OB only thinks you can test for Celiac by doing a biopsy. Which I can't do until the baby if born. I've tried to explain that there is a blood test, but they don't listen. I have a new OB and I will ask him at my next appt. Or could I just call my family doc?

SGWHiskers, thanks for mentioning the lotions/creams. I never thought about them containing gluten. I will definitely check.

I've read that it's safe to introduce gluten to babies between 4-6 months...

[Dixiebell]

I would start out with more whole unprocessed foods. For one thing they are easier to shop for and less expensive. We like Udi's bread and Tinkyada pasta, rice, potatoes, baked or roasted chicken, steak. Most frozen and canned veggies are gluten-free. If you have a whole foods near you it is pretty easy to shop there. They have shelf labels on their gluten-free items. As for blood testing, print some info to take to your doc to show him/her the tests they could run on you. Best wishes.

[scarlett77]

Thank you so much!! Both of you have provided me with so much information.

Some reason my old OB only thinks you can test for Celiac by doing a biopsy. Which I can't do until the baby if born. I've tried to explain that there is a blood test, but they don't listen. I have a new OB and I will ask him at my next appt. Or could I just call my family doc?

SGWHiskers, thanks for mentioning the lotions/creams. I never thought about them containing gluten. I will definitely check.

I've read that it's safe to introduce gluten to babies between 4-6 months...

Been in a similar situation and our Pediatric GI doc told us the window of opportunity to introduce gluten is between 7-9 months old. I don't agree with the 4-6 month old since it really isn't recommended to give solids before 6 months. I would wait and see how your baby grows and develops. Some babies are ready for solids earlier than others so use the age guidelines as a loose reference. Babies should be able to sit up and show an interest in food before giving them solids.

[SGWhiskers]

The blood test will work on you if you are consistently eating gluten. It will not work on the baby until it is older and eating gluten (maybe preschool, maybe preteen, maybe teen). The genetic test is just to see if you are predisposed to celiac (or you could have it on the baby and see if it is predisposed to celiac). It WON'T diagnose, but may help you make some decisions about the risks you do or don't want to take. 4-6 months was the age I had read as well, but I have heard 7-9 months quoted here frequently lately. I'm expecting too, so I'll have to do some research before my little one is born. Mine won't be getting much gluten ever though because I'm the celiac and it will be up to dad to take it outside for gluten snacks and then do the bathing.

Congrats on the new baby!