Can A 3 Month Old Baby Have Cd?

[rgeelan]

Sarah has severe reflux and I am trying to figure out what is causing it. I am pretty positive it is an allergy to something at this point and am thinking either MSPI or Gluten... Can a baby this young have a gluten allergy or Celiac Disease? She hasn't had any gluten outside of breastmilk or formula...

[Jnkmnky]

I think so, and I'm only saying this from my personal perspective. My child had severe reflux, was miserable, awful diapers, bloody noses, never happy. I breastfed, but I think you can pass gluten through breastmilk. I've read that you Can't, but I'm sure you can from my personal experiences and anyway, they always change *absolutes* in medicine. My son was horribly ill by the last month before he turned three. He suffered many delays, including growth, cognitive, fine and gross motor skills. He repeated kindergarten last year. I say, if you suspect Celiac, do what you can about it. They don't have a test that reliably tests for celiac disease in young children. Since it's a genetic, auto-immune disorder, it certainly can start at any time during life. It's a huge disservice to people that there's not a test to catch this disease at birth. The developmental years are not something you can *make up*. If my opinion/experience can count for anything let me say, I'd put a suspected celiac baby on a gluten free diet at LEAST until the milestones had been hit..crawling, standing, walking, talking, etc. At least hard wire the brain in those early stages so that there aren't significant delays later. JMO

[scaredparent]

My son was growing and doing fine at the age of 3 mo and the dr had me start him on rice cereal and week later oatmeal . I started him on the oatmeal and he started to get sick. I knew nothing of celiac disease and it took us 17 mo to get him dx with a glutten intolerance. Don't let it go as far as we did. At 20 mo old he was having 18 stools a day and vomiting 2 times a day. He weigh at 20 old 20 lbs. At birth he weigh 8lbs 6 ozs and at 3 months he weigh 13lbs. I didn't know the sighs but am proud to say he has been gluten-free since 20 mo old and he is know 26 mo old and he weighs 26lbs. He is finally growing and do well. He is a happy baby and sleep normally (he was sleeping 20-22 hrs a day).

[Merika]

If you want to make your breastmilk gluten-free, you must eat gluten-free. There is conflicting scientific evidence about this, as not ALL women seem to pass allergens/proteins through their breastmilk, and very few studies have really been done on breastfeeding in general. (hmmmm...could it be cause it's free? )

There is a new study out that shows that the longer you breastfeed, the healthier your baby will be, and the less likely they'll be to contract celiac. My own experience also says they'll have milder allergic symptoms while bf'ing than they do once weaned.

So keep up the breastfeeding! I've heard too many stories of moms who go all formula trying to eliminate an allergen only to wind up NOT finding a formula their child can tolerate (which is a very very scary place to be).

What is MSPI? Obvious signs of celiac usually show up soon after the child is introduced to table food/gluten, typically around 9 months. Of course, this doesn't mean nothing is going the previous months, just that the doctors don't really notice anything. And it must vary case to case - some with severe symptoms and some with mild, so that must confuse them too.

Welcome to the board! I think if you want to test your child for a gluten allergy at this point, your best bet is to go gluten-free yourself, breastfeed, and see if his symptoms clear up. Look closely at the formula too - you may want to get rid of it while testing for allergens.

Also, you may want to google "elimination diet". He may be allergic to corn, for example, or soy, and this could be causing the reflux. Most formulas will have corn and/or soy or other allergens, and it's easier to just control your own diet - which is partly why I'm pushing just breastfeeding to make it simpler.

Best regards,

Merika

[rgeelan]

thanks for the info. william (my oldest) was diagnosed a year ago, so i know how sick it can make a kid but didnt know if it will show in babies also. William had chronic diarhea his whole life than around the time he turned 3 he started vomiting randomly. By the time he was tested in Aug 04 he had been vomiting almost daily for over 3 months. It wasn't untill he lost weight that the doctors took me seriously about something being wrong though.

MSPI is Milk & Soy Protien Intollerance. Emma couldn't handle any dairy or soy at all not even hidden in the smallest quantity or she would get very sick. They said she outgrew it but I sort of think she hasn't or she might be developing signs of celiac disease. She was fine from about 18 to 21 months but for the past 4 months has had chronic diarrhea again. She was breastfed till 13 months then weened to Rice milkbut introduced processed dairy in small quantities, she lost a little weight and had some minor diarrhea but not bad like when she was a baby. At 15 months I introduced regular milk and by 18 months she had gained her weight back and was doing fine. But then she got sick again... I just started a gluten challenge with her today. She's very unhappy that I won't give her 'princess cereal' but I think she'll survive and this will at least let me know if it is the gluten now or if the dairy is bothering her again.

I swear my kids just can't eat at this point! LMAO!

Sarah's doctor has us testing out Nutramagin to see if that helps. We're pretty positive it's allergies but seems to be both Dairy (possibly MSPI again) and Gluten so she is going to Nutramagin for a week to see if it helps then I get to decide what I want to do about breastfeeding... Nutramagin will cut out major dairy and gluten but it still has some very processed dairy in it so she may react to it also and then we will need to go to Neocate. Our other option is to go down to Denver and have her see a GI and have a scope done to rule out defects. We're trying everything else out though first and since she has the mucousy and occasional bloody diarrhea we know there is an allergy going on we just have to pinpoint it. At this point I am not sure I will continue to breastfeed. Removing the gluten from my diet wouldn't be fun but it's easier to do since I do it already for William, but I got very sick and malnurished when I had to do all Dairy and Soy with Emma and can't put my body through that again... I want my child healthy but I can't put my health in geopardy to do that...

[celiackara]

My midwife and my pediatrician both said I should stay gluten free while pregnant and breastfeeding (duh! like I'm not going to do it since I'm a celiac). The pediatricians said something about gluten passing through breast milk and my midwife said something about the antibodies a celiac mom generates passing through breast milk and somehow triggering similar antibody production in the baby (makes sense to me, thought I'm not a doctor).

Anyway, I personally think breastfeeding is one of the best ways to reduce allergies, especially if you're worried about it. Of course, they don't tell you that in the hospital, but that's the politics of breastfeeding I guess. I've never given my daughter formula. I'm too petrified that it's got something funny in it and I don't want to risk it.

I've only given my daughter rice cereal. I am tempted to try oatmeal, since I don't react to it. I've also eaten it, and oat bran, while breastfeeding and it doesn't seem to bother her. I'll probably end up waiting on that though or at least wait to talk to the pediatrician about it later.

ktm

[lovegrov]

According to a doctor who spoke to the GIG this year, it takes 6-9 months of ingesting gluten to build up an autoimmune response. A 3-month-old could not be having a celiac reaction. The latest research also suggests that parents should let a child eat the first cereal with gluten at 4-6 months. And breastfeeding is good, even if the mother is eating gluten.

richard

[Merika]

I suppose a 3 month old could have a wheat allergy, though....

Merika

[rgeelan]

Well switching Sarah to nutramagin has made a world of difference. She really is a totally different baby now. So we at least know the Dairy is an issue for sure. She seemed to be reacting to wheat when I ate it but I won't be able to test that till she is a few months older and we start solids. I guess at that point we will see a reaction for sure if she has an allergy to gluten also and until then I shouldn't let it stress me out. I figure at this point I probably will not continue to breast feed. Don't get me wrong... I do firmly believe that breastmilk is best for a child... But I know I can't go 100% dairy free again because of how sick I was before, so it is safer for her to be on formula at this point...

[emsmom]

Well switching Sarah to nutramagin has made a world of difference.  She really is a totally different baby now.  So we at least know the Dairy is an issue for sure.  She seemed to be reacting to wheat when I ate it but I won't be able to test that till she is a few months older and we start solids.  I guess at that point we will see a reaction for sure if she has an allergy to gluten also and until then I shouldn't let it stress me out.  I figure at this point I probably will not continue to breast feed.  Don't get me wrong...  I do firmly believe that breastmilk is best for a child...  But I know I can't go 100% dairy free again because of how sick I was before, so it is safer for her to be on formula at this point...

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[emsmom]

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Sorry about that last post just got onto DSL and it went to fast

My 6 month old is breastfeed and i had been wondering if he could be having some reactions we tried rice ceral and he cried after and seemed to have a stomach ache ( my Pedi suggested beech nut because it comes from a country that does not rotate crops it still seemed to upset his tummy so we went right to veggies hes doing fine but now i noticed with those zibeck (sp) cookies he seems to get a tummy ache again coienidence? (my sp is awful tonight) or could there be something there?

[emsmom]

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Sorry about that last post just got onto DSL and it went to fast

My 6 month old is breastfeed and i had been wondering if he could be having some reactions we tried rice ceral and he cried after and seemed to have a stomach ache ( my Pedi suggested beech nut because it comes from a country that does not rotate crops it still seemed to upset his tummy so we went right to veggies hes doing fine but now i noticed with those zibeck (sp) cookies he seems to get a tummy ache again coienidence? (my sp is awful tonight) or could there be something there?

[Corrine]

I don't understand something, why do you get sick going 100% dairy free. We've been dairy and soya free for years with no problems.

[rgeelan]

I don't understand something, why do you get sick going 100% dairy free.  We've been dairy and soya free for years with no problems.

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I don't know why I got so sick. I was 100% dairy and all major soy free, I also had to limit my egg and wheat cause Emma would react if I had to much of either of those. The first month I felt great! I lost a little weight but since I was still about 175 (25 pounds over my ideal weight for height/age) I didn't worry. After a few months I was started to catch everything and anything and be sick all the time, just cold after cold after cold. I couldn't fight off anything. I also wound up 15 pounds underweight by the time I got off the dairy/soy free diet but I had been eating ALL the time just to try to keep from loosing. I haven't been 100% healthy since then. I took multivitamins and calcium the whole time I wasn on the diet to make sure I got enough and I still take them now and even with them my calcium levels are very low. I do know that I did not have Dairy till I was 2 because I was sensitive to it as a baby and my family challenged me when I was 6 and had me go Dairy free for a while and I got sick at that time also.

[rgeelan]

Sorry about that last post just got onto DSL and it went to fast

My 6 month old is breastfeed and i had been wondering if he could be having some reactions we tried rice ceral and he cried after and seemed to have a stomach ache ( my Pedi suggested beech nut because it comes from a country that does not rotate crops it still seemed to upset his tummy so we went right to veggies hes doing fine but now i noticed with those zibeck (sp) cookies he seems to get a tummy ache again coienidence? (my sp is awful tonight) or could there be something there?

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Allergies show as soon as enough protien has built up in their system to cause a reaction. Emma was severly allergic to Dairy by the time she was 2 months. Sarah started showing signs before 2 months but we thought it was reflux caused by prematurity and I kept ignoring that it could be an allergy till now.. If you eat enough of a food that your child is allergic to, the protiens can pass through your breastmilk and eventually cause a reaction in the baby.

The only way to know for sure in a child that young is to test them by going without the food for a few weeks (generally it takes about 2 weeks to get out of the system) and then reintroduce and watch for a reaction. Allergy tests are very unreliable until about 18 months...

[Merika]

Rebecca,

My heart goes out to you. I understand your thing with the dairy. I had the same experience. Tried going dairy free twice (a month each). Both times I lost weight, got leg cramps, and was exhausted and starving no matter what I ate. I chalked it up to calories and maybe calcium, as I'm also vegetarian and don't eat a lot of calories in general.

Luckily, my ds (I was nursing and we were doing an elimination diet for ds) showed no improvement without dairy. Turns out the culprit was soy, ANY quantity of it.

I don't really understand it, but this is the first I've heard of anyone else having the same reaction to NO Dairy as I did, lol.

Merika

[rgeelan]

I'm glad to know I am not alone. I had never heard of anyone else reacting like I did either. I tried to eat as many calories as I could on that diet but it didn't seem to matter. I just know I can't do that again. So far it seems that Sarah is not tollerating Nutramagin either. She started out doing great then at 4pm yesterday we started taking steps backwords again. She is spitting up and crying and arching like in pain again. It comes and it goes but she has stopped wanting to eat much now and only seems to be taking enough to keep her from starving. She should take in 29oz a day minimum to keep her weight up and she only took 23.5 yesterday and the last 6 I had to force feed her last night. Today she has taken only 22 oz. and probably half of that wound up being spit back up... She acts like she is starving but it takes an hour to feed her because she is not wanting to really eat and then half what she takes comes back up and she thinks she is starved again. I have a call in with the ped. I told her what is happening and she is going to call the GI docs in Denver to see what we can do. I hate to have to scope Sarah because it means putting her under and I am scared to death to do that to a 3 month old baby. But we have tried everything short of putting her on an elemental formula like Elecare or Neocate so far and the thought of having to put her on one of those just ties my stomache in knots. It would cost about $400 a month to feed her (at the amount she eats now) and all I know is that there is no 'easy' way to get insurance to help with that. So it comes down to a choice, my health, her's, or find a way to pay for her to have the nutrition she needs to survive without burying ourselves in debt.... She is so sick from something but we aren't even 100% sure it's Dairy! She seemed to react to both Dairy and Gluten, but there is no gluten in Nutramagin that I can tell. As far as our ped knows there is no way to really accuratly test a 3 month old baby besides elimination diets so where would I start? I just feel like I am running into a brick wall repeatedly right now. We thought we had our answer with Nutramagin because the first few days went great, but now she is almost back to square one...

[lbsteenwyk]

Rebecca: I went to Enfamil's webpage on nutramigen and found this:

Potential Allergens

The ingredients in Enfamil Nutramigen LIPIL are hypoallergenic. Rarely, however, allergic reactions to extensively hydrolyzed casein formulas have been reported.

It would be unusual, but your baby may be sensitive to the casein, even though the proteins no longer resemble those in intact cow's milk. Here's the webpage:

Open Original Shared Link

[rgeelan]

Thanks laurie. That is what our doctor is suspecting also... I know Emma would get sick if I had even the tinest bit of hidden dairy when she was nursing she was very allergic. We're suspecting Sarah may be the same way and it just took a few days for her body to recognize that the dairy is still there even though it is highly processed.. I am waiting on a call back from the ped today to find out what to do. I run out of nutramagin today and have to go to the store for other stuff anyway but am not sure if I should buy more or not. I hate to spend the money if she isn't going to be kept on it...

[Merika]

Well, if I can chime in with unasked for two cents....if she's reacting to the casein in the formula and the only other formula is $$$$$ and not available asap, go back to breastfeeding with you eating dairy. Dairy is dairy and she will be better off IMO with breastmilk with dairy than formula with dairy, yk?

My son is this senstive to soy. ANY soy and he reacts, no matter how it's broken down or how the protein is removed. ANY soy and whammo, it's bad news for him.

I hope you figure out what it is that's bothering her. There is an email group called Open Original Shared Link that you may want to check out. It used to be called POFAK - parents of allergic kids. You might get some good info there - I think there are about 3000 members. I remember reading on it long ago about a daughter who was very allergic to corn and had to avoid milk and orange juice in paper cartons because the wax used to line them was corn-derived. It's just crazy - the food situation in this country.

Best wishes,

Merika

[rgeelan]

Thanks... I actually found that board a few days ago. A lot of good information there!

Currently we are going to stick with the Nutramagin. They tested the mucus that is still in Sarah's poop and it no longer has blood in it. We are thinking maybe the mucus is caused by what is left in her system and hoping it will go away in another week or so. Since she is tollerating the formula much beter than she was when I was Breastfeeding though we are going to stick with it for now. The ped GI said that at this point if the blood is gone it isn't causing her harm so it's just our personal preference if we want to try the Neocate and see if that get's rid of the reflux also. Obviously if the blood comes back though we will be going to Neocate or Elecare without a 2nd thought. The reflux she still has going on though could just be plain old reflux and may not go away even with a completely non dairy/soy formula.