My 3 Week Old Son Is Very Sick. Could He Have Celiac?

[AlexandraDaniels]

My son is 3 weeks old and he is breastfed. Every time I feed him, he spits up. He doesn't seem to be able to keep any food down.I do not have celiac but my father, my grandma on my fathers side, and her father all have it. Is it possible that my baby could have it now? Is there a way for me to test it? What should I do?

[twohokies]

My son is 3 weeks old and he is breastfed. Every time I feed him, he spits up. He doesn't seem to be able to keep any food down.I do not have celiac but my father, my grandma on my fathers side, and her father all have it. Is it possible that my baby could have it now? Is there a way for me to test it? What should I do?

I wouldn't jump to celiac at this point. Your baby is too young. And based on my limited knowledge, you need a triggering event (i.e. a virus) to spark celiac. Work with your lactation consultant and/or pediatrician on the spitting up. My 2 youngest babies spit up quite a bit as infants, one worse than the other. Make sure you are sitting up the baby for long periods after feedings, make sure you aren't overfeeding (yes, this happens with bf babies). All 3 of my kids were 100% breastfed until they were 13-15 months and we did not start solids until 6-9 months. If all the spitting up for breastfed baby tricks don't work, talk to your ped. about a reflux med. like zantac. Check out kellymom.com for ideas to help with the spitting up. Good luck!

[Roda]

I don't know if the baby could have celiac at his age, but foods you eat can be a trigger for reflux and colic/gas. I breast fed both my boys till 14-16 months. I inadvertently was gluten light when I was breastfeeding my youngest (not because I suspected, just happened to be what I ate) because he had so much trouble with certain foods. I eliminated all dairy, tree nuts, oats, rice, and gas producing foods. He had reflux so bad!! He would break out in hives or a rash on his head if I ate the tree nuts, oats or rice. He would reflux more if I ate dairy and would scream with colic. I eliminated dairy with my first son and obvious gas producing foods only. Each one is different. My youngest eventually out grew his problems and when I reintroduced things in my diet is when all heck broke loose for me. I don't know if I would be diagnosed today if it wasn't, for him. Anyway, dairy can be a big trigger for reflux and colic, so I would try that first and avoid obvious gas containig foods and overly spicey stuff. My youngest one also was put on zantac. It didn't prevent the reflux but did lesson his symptoms. At least he spit up, and I use that term lightly ,with a smile instead of screaming in pain. Good luck to you and your baby.

[kareng]

We have a valve that opens to let food in and closes to keep food from going out the wrong direction. You have heard about adults with gastric reflux ( always advertising for meds). Babies can have this. In some babes that valve doesn't mature well. It can take up to 18 months and I believe it may be more common in boys but not sure. One of mine had this. Check with the doc and keep an eye on it. Kwlewis has good ideas to help with that.

A tricky thing can be if you give meds. My son got polio vaccine by mouth twice & both times had a little pink spit up. The office said it was fine. He was tested a few years later for immunity to polio and had none.

Also, they keep a lot more food down than you think sometimes. You will know if he is getting enough by his weight is going up, plenty of poopy & wet diapers.

[my3monkees]

We have a valve that opens to let food in and closes to keep food from going out the wrong direction. You have heard about adults with gastric reflux ( always advertising for meds). Babies can have this. In some babes that valve doesn't mature well. It can take up to 18 months and I believe it may be more common in boys but not sure. One of mine had this. Check with the doc and keep an eye on it. Kwlewis has good ideas to help with that.

My middle ds had reflex and he threw up constantly! The biggest fear for us was choking, we had one episode at a few days old where he was choking and stopped breathing on us. When we rushed into hospital, that's when we found out what it was. I learned I had to be sitting up to feed him, keep him up for 1/2 hr. after every feeding. He also side slept, never back slept so he wouldn't choke. He is now my only child without Celiac! He can eat everything!

My dd didn't throw up. But she had eczema, horrible gas, and seemed to be developing colic. Until I discovered she was allergic to milk. I had to eliminate dairy the entire 1 1/2 yr. I breast fed her.

Just some thoughts, you should get your peds. opinion.

Congrats on the new baby!!

[kareng]

My middle ds had reflex and he threw up constantly! The biggest fear for us was choking, we had one episode at a few days old where he was choking and stopped breathing on us. When we rushed into hospital, that's when we found out what it was. I learned I had to be sitting up to feed him, keep him up for 1/2 hr. after every feeding. He also side slept, never back slept so he wouldn't choke. He is now my only child without Celiac! He can eat everything!

My dd didn't throw up. But she had eczema, horrible gas, and seemed to be developing colic. Until I discovered she was allergic to milk. I had to eliminate dairy the entire 1 1/2 yr. I breast fed her.

Just some thoughts, you should get your peds. opinion.

Congrats on the new baby!!

Funny how things go. My reflux kid never choked. Those were the days of propping to sleep on their sides and a brick under 2 legs of the crib to elevate. Would slide down the bed. . The one who didn't have this almost choked to death 3 times. Wouldn't eat baby food. Was choking. I jumped up & yanked his arms over his head to get him out of the high chair and the food flew 6 feet and hit the wall. About 4 and in the van, choked on a candy. 7 yr old bro yells. Hub slams on the brakes. I jump across the seats. He is so surprised he manages to expel it & hit bro . In 4th grade, is on a field trip. I'm helping and in another area. He has the first lunch, fortunately, so does the school nurse who happened to come along. She grabs his arm to pull him up and he " unclogs".

Children are a blessing and they make your hair go gray!

[cassP]

there was a recent scientific study that showed that Gluten had indeed showed up in human breast milk (if the mother was eating any gluten of course)

3 weeks seems to be too young to exhibit signs of Celiac- but then again- we hear of babies being intolerant of baby formula and having to switch to soy or something else.

technically Celiac needs to be "triggered"... but it doesnt have to be a virus... it could be anything- including simply eating gluten

good luck... i think the above poster makes sense- that that esophageal flap maybe isnt fully developed yet... idk

and of course- there are a ton of foods including garlic- that you need to avoid if you're baby is prone to colic. maybe reflux is similar to colic in that you have to avoid problematic foods

[crimsonviolet]

My 2nd son had horrible reflux and was breastfed as well. I eliminated dairy, eggs and oranges from my diet when he was around 5 months old and his reflux miraculously disappeared (like overnight - it was the oranges more than anything else.) Don't jump to celiac at his age, but definitely look into food intolerances. The most common for breastfed babies seem to be dairy, eggs, caffeine, nightshades. I actually have never met anyone with a wheat allergic infant, despite knowing several allergic babies.

[tarnalberry]

To a certain degree, ALL babies have reflux - the esophogeal sphincter takes a while to fully mature. For the most part, it's not a problem, but for some babies it is. My daughter also has reflux (though her variation is silent reflux, so not quite as much spitting). Spitting up A LOT is a common sign of reflux.

Consider a few things:

1) if you breastfeed, the foods you eat can contribute - dairy tends to be the biggest offender, but wheat, and gassy foods (broccoli/cabbage/cauliflower, onions, etc.) and a few other foods tend to be dietary triggers

2) even if you breastfeed, if you have oversupply, he could be getting too much food. my daughter, particularly early on, but even now in the mornings, will eat more than her stomach can handle. in general, we're careful about handling her right after she eats (pressure on the stomach will cause spit up, so no burping over the shoulder for us!), but she can do this one all on her own (and sometimes she doesn't spit up the extra until half an hour later)

3) if you don't breastfeed, consider giving it another try. (yes, it hurts like hell at first, and it can take a while to get the hang of it - it was nearly three months of torture for us, but I gave it those three months because some babies need longer to develop neurologically to be able to coordinate their mouths. there are people who can help, besides lactation consultants, if that is the problem.) breastfed babies, especially once their mothers "optimize" their diet for the baby, do best with regards to reflux.

All that said, if this is projectile vomiting, and the baby is not gaining weight, and the doctor is very concerned, they might want to look into pyloric stenosis as well. Keep working with your doctor.

If the baby is gaining weight and LOOKS and ACTS healthy otherwise, I wouldn't worry about it. (I know, harder done than said, but still true. Their appearance and behavior is your best guide to what's going on - not a single number or combination of numbers will tell you anything more useful.)

[lovegrov]

No, no, no, no. Your child does not have celiac at age 3 weeks. It's simply not medically possible. Babies spit up and some have lots of trouble eating at first. It's a fact of life.

Keep an eye on your child when he gets older but please, please, please don't try to force every symptom into him being celiac. Even with your family's history, the odds are still much more strongly in favor of him never having it.

richard

[finally diagnosed]

My son is 3 weeks old and he is breastfed. Every time I feed him, he spits up. He doesn't seem to be able to keep any food down.I do not have celiac but my father, my grandma on my fathers side, and her father all have it. Is it possible that my baby could have it now? Is there a way for me to test it? What should I do?

i would check with my pedi right away.. babies do spit up after feeding every now and then, if this is constant and turns into projectile they usually want to see them to rule out pyloric stenosis.. it ususally shows by 2nd or 3rd week of life... nine times out of ten it is not this and usually reflux..which most docs would prescribe omeprazole based on weight.. just becareful after the feed, make sure you keep him upright for a good 20-30min.. to make sure he won't choke if spits up....

babies are scary things and don't come with instructions...please always check with your pediatrician regarding any issues docs are on call 24 hrs or have someone covering for them... and no question is ever dumb and they are always getting the worried well call...

good luck...

[westernblotmommy]

My middle son spit up every time I nursed him. I took him to a GI and he wanted him to take zantac to help ease the vomiting. The doctor felt it was a problem with the food that I was eating. He said it most likely an intolerance to the milk proteins from the milk that I was eating. I am not sure if it was true or not, but he suggested that I try to eliminate milk and the proteins from my diet. I did and it wasn't easy. Probably not as difficult as a gluten free diet, but it wasn't easy. I nursed him for 6 months as I kept dairy free and he stopped spitting up and gained weight. After 6 months I switched him to a soy formula and no problems. Today, he is a healthy 8 year old.

[T.H.]

Do they actually have an age restriction on age of development? I had always heard that it could trigger at any age, although I admit the earliest I know of was a few months old.

[finally diagnosed]

Do they actually have an age restriction on age of development? I had always heard that it could trigger at any age, although I admit the earliest I know of was a few months old.

no age restriction it just rears it ugly head around this time if they were to get it early... they can have it at a few months as well.....