Breastfeeding A Gluten Intolerant Child?

[norahsmommy]

Can I eat gluten while breastfeeding a gluten intolerant child? I am guessing the answer is no, but I haven't been able to find an answer to this one.

[tarnalberry]

no, gluten is passed through the breastmilk and will cause a reaction in her. you need to be gluten free for as long as she's breastfeeding. (and we're happy to help you do that! this doesn't need to be a cause for early weaning!)

[norahsmommy]

no, gluten is passed through the breastmilk and will cause a reaction in her. you need to be gluten free for as long as she's breastfeeding. (and we're happy to help you do that! this doesn't need to be a cause for early weaning!)

Thats what I thought. I have been trying very hard to maintain a gluten free diet but it is very hard and kind of expensive while I figure out what to eat and where to get it. I am certainly cooking alot more from scratch though! My husband complains that the pasta I cook with is not 'real' pasta though.

[tarnalberry]

The easiest way to keep costs down and reduce the risk of picking up something you shouldn't is to just cook from scratch with naturally gluten free ingredients. You may need to rethink some of your "go to" meals. Substitutes, like rice pasta, are more expensive and don't "taste the same", so skip the pasta and make something else. Perhaps spaghetti sauce over rice, or potatoes, or spaghetti squash. Make chicken rice soup (even from scratch, it can be easy and take all of half an hour) instead of chicken noodle. Make chili, but skip the bread. Have beef stew.

What sorts of foods do you often eat and what kinds will you eat?

What is your time limitation?

What can we help you figure out how to make that's easy AND gluten free AND tasty?

[norahsmommy]

The easiest way to keep costs down and reduce the risk of picking up something you shouldn't is to just cook from scratch with naturally gluten free ingredients. You may need to rethink some of your "go to" meals. Substitutes, like rice pasta, are more expensive and don't "taste the same", so skip the pasta and make something else. Perhaps spaghetti sauce over rice, or potatoes, or spaghetti squash. Make chicken rice soup (even from scratch, it can be easy and take all of half an hour) instead of chicken noodle. Make chili, but skip the bread. Have beef stew.

What sorts of foods do you often eat and what kinds will you eat?

What is your time limitation?

What can we help you figure out how to make that's easy AND gluten free AND tasty?

we use alot of milk, cheese and sour cream in cooking so we may have to rethink that one a bit. However potatoes I can do! We love potatoes. I fix them frequently. We eat alot of turkey, pork and chicken so thats fine. Soups are fine since I save the drippings from everything and either make stock or gravy out of it (gravy made with gluten free flour). The things I am having trouble with are biscuts, breads, pizza crust and things like that. I am a serious bread-o-holic and I really want something warm and fluffy and bread-like to eat. Are there ANY products or recipies for making bready things that taste good? I did manage a gluten free 1st birthday party for my daughter. The cake turned out wonderful! The frosting I made from cream cheese, vanilla and powdered sugar. Was that ok or should I not feed her cream cheese? I am having trouble figuring out if she should eat dairy at all.

Also can I prepare my daughters foods in the same pans as the rest of the family that eats gluten? Do I need dedicated pans, plates, utensils? Can I wash them all together in the dish washer? My mom doesn't think it matters and said I am being paranoid when I won't prepare my daughters food on the same section of counter top as the gluten food. Thanks so much for the help. I am trying to find my way in the confusing world of gluten free!

[slee]

I have been told that gluten does not travel through breast milk.

[cassP]

1st off- one of the recent articles discussing gluten in breast milk: Open Original Shared Link

2nd- great suggestion above- sometimes when i make a bolognese sauce- i actually pour it over Basmati rice (instead of rice pasta)- it is DELISH

3rd- with your baby being gluten intolerant- have you or your husband entertained the possibility that either or both of you could also be gluten intolerant??? the predisposition, at least, is genetic... and remember that most Celiacs actually dont have any gut symptoms.. so many would never know unless they got tested. (but again, you have to be ingesting enough gluten for some time to get an accurate test- and you're nursing now, so you'd have to wait till later).

[norahsmommy]

1st off- one of the recent articles discussing gluten in breast milk: Open Original Shared Link

2nd- great suggestion above- sometimes when i make a bolognese sauce- i actually pour it over Basmati rice (instead of rice pasta)- it is DELISH

3rd- with your baby being gluten intolerant- have you or your husband entertained the possibility that either or both of you could also be gluten intolerant??? the predisposition, at least, is genetic... and remember that most Celiacs actually dont have any gut symptoms.. so many would never know unless they got tested. (but again, you have to be ingesting enough gluten for some time to get an accurate test- and you're nursing now, so you'd have to wait till later).

I do believe I have gluten intolerance also. I went off gluten for my daughter just in case she was getting it through my milk and I cannot tell you how different I felt after a couple of weeks. I had no idea all my life my bowl movements were not normal until they actually WERE normal. I also felt (mentally) much better. I could think more clearly and I was much more patient and less tired. I fell off the wagon for a few days and felt awful. My dad and my brother have had issues for years but dad doesn't think anything is wrong with him and my brother (who is a scientist no less =) ) said he probably has celiac and has thought so for years but likes bread too much to bother with gluten free.

[norahsmommy]

I also wanted to add that my younger 2 kids have eczema, my middle child had problems with milk as a toddler and refused to drink it (she barely drinks it now but seems to have outgrown her issue?).She is 3 yrs old this month and weighs 26 lbs and is 35 inches tall. She was on the low end of the height/weight charts at birth then went up to the middle and then fell off her curve at 9 months and didn't gain a thing until after her fist birthday. At 1 yr old she was 17 lbs. She recently got sick and went from 27 lbs to 23 lbs in about 10 days. She has gained most of it back but is still under a bit. Also my oldest has been having alot of adhd symptoms and her teacher is constantly talking to me about her 'attention, and focus' in class. My husband cant drink milk without stomach pain and my kids all have night terrors. Anyone want to come live at my house? =) I am now starting to wonder if it isn't all just diet related. My husband may just be plain lactose intolerant and not have a problem with gluten though.

[cassP]

I also wanted to add that my younger 2 kids have eczema, my middle child had problems with milk as a toddler and refused to drink it (she barely drinks it now but seems to have outgrown her issue?).She is 3 yrs old this month and weighs 26 lbs and is 35 inches tall. She was on the low end of the height/weight charts at birth then went up to the middle and then fell off her curve at 9 months and didn't gain a thing until after her fist birthday. At 1 yr old she was 17 lbs. She recently got sick and went from 27 lbs to 23 lbs in about 10 days. She has gained most of it back but is still under a bit. Also my oldest has been having alot of adhd symptoms and her teacher is constantly talking to me about her 'attention, and focus' in class. My husband cant drink milk without stomach pain and my kids all have night terrors. Anyone want to come live at my house? =) I am now starting to wonder if it isn't all just diet related. My husband may just be plain lactose intolerant and not have a problem with gluten though.

your husband could still be gluten intolerant without having significant symptoms.. i read a study months ago (i think out of columbia university) that only 1 in 6 Celiacs have any gut symptoms. Also.. while Gluten absolutely kills me... and Dairy affects me- but not too bad... back in 1998, before i experimented with No Carb diets & i was eating more gluten per day than a "gluten challenge"... Gluten of course had me in constant bloat/gas/post nasal drip/sleeping problems/& excema.. Dairy would give me IMMEDIATE "D"... i suspect that back then i was completely Lactose Intolerant due to Villi Damage

Excema ... OH BOY- i have had the worst Excema in my life and i am SO THRILLED that i will never have that again- it was HORRIFIC- had it on my foot for 5 years- would itch till it bled... i remember telling God- MAN if You can just make this disappear- then i wouldnt need anything else in this life... that i would be so happy and be able to LIVE MY LIFE.. oh it was awful.

my dad has had excema & psoriasis patches for years- i keep asking him to get tested- and he keeps shruggin it off.. cause he never has stomach issues- but gluten can affect almost any organ- ESPECIALLY the brain!

good luck

[glutenfreemamax2]

your husband could still be gluten intolerant without having significant symptoms.. i read a study months ago (i think out of columbia university) that only 1 in 6 Celiacs have any gut symptoms. Also.. while Gluten absolutely kills me... and Dairy affects me- but not too bad... back in 1998, before i experimented with No Carb diets & i was eating more gluten per day than a "gluten challenge"... Gluten of course had me in constant bloat/gas/post nasal drip/sleeping problems/& excema.. Dairy would give me IMMEDIATE "D"... i suspect that back then i was completely Lactose Intolerant due to Villi Damage

Excema ... OH BOY- i have had the worst Excema in my life and i am SO THRILLED that i will never have that again- it was HORRIFIC- had it on my foot for 5 years- would itch till it bled... i remember telling God- MAN if You can just make this disappear- then i wouldnt need anything else in this life... that i would be so happy and be able to LIVE MY LIFE.. oh it was awful.

my dad has had excema & psoriasis patches for years- i keep asking him to get tested- and he keeps shruggin it off.. cause he never has stomach issues- but gluten can affect almost any organ- ESPECIALLY the brain!

good luck

If's funny you mention the post nasal drip. I have had it my whole life, and for the first time, i don't have it! I am completely off my sinus meds!

I'm a lactation counselor. I can look back, and see some of the children that I worked with who's mom's have cut everything out- dairy-eggs-soy, but never gluten. The kids never got better, and mom was so frustrated she quit and gave hypoallergenic formula. The kids got better. I betchya that it was gluten. The formula is(should be?) gluten free, and once mom stoped nursing, the baby stopped getting gluten, and got better. Hmmmmm...something I will definatly keep an eye on from now on.

My son had major allergies when he was born. They say that they can't tell if a newborn has allergies until they are 3 months old. I don't agree. At 2 weeks, my son was having MAJOR issues, and because i persued it, i got a diagnosis much sooner than normal.

I would definatly stay away from gluten.

How did you know it was a gluten allergy? I'm curious what kind of symptoms the baby has/had?