JennyC

My son was just diagnosed with celiac disease and we are having a one year party for his sister this coming sat. Now should I make 2 cakes or should everyone have the cake my children can have. I have three kids - a one year old 2 (he has celiac disease) and a 9 year old who has ADHD so he is also doing the gluten free diet. This is our first party since we found out.

I just found out that my son has Celiac, and the B-day party issue has been kind of upsetting to me. (I was planning a pizza party at kid-friendly pizza parlor.) I will have a gluten free cake. I have been told that some bakeries will even make one for you! I will probably also have Lays potato chips, fruits and Veggies, and other gluten-free foods. I'm still new to this so I don't know very many gluten-free party foods.

Good luck with the party!

If your son's blood work was positive for celiac disease, his villi will be quite damaged at this point. The tips of the villi are supposed to produce lactase, the enzyme that helps us digest dairy. If there are no villi tips, you will have a lactose intolerance as a result.

That is why all people diagnosed with celiac disease should eliminate dairy for at least six months, giving the villi a chance to regenerate, before trying dairy again.

Thanks! There is so much to learn!!! I am very grateful for this great resource and all of the people who participate in this message board.

My son was just diagnosed with Celiac disease via full panel blood work up. I had previously suspected that he had a milk allergy (Celiac symptoms?), but it turns out that he has no other allergies. I read that many people with Celiac disease are also lactose intolerant. How do I know if my son is lactose intolerant? I want to be sure that I remove all irritants.

Jenny:

It is really important that he be gluten free.

I would suggest that you spend some time here reading the posts. There is a wealth of information here. Celiac is a very important in young children and it needs immediate concern.

I did not know anything about Celiac until the doctor told me I have it. As distressed as I was, I learned. You have to learn for you son. Please be an active member here and learn from those that have come before you.

I will definitely spend a lot of time here. I have already spent quite a bit, and have learned many things. I am very committed to sticking with his diet. I am finding that it is very much so trial and error, at least at first! I am fortunate to live near Bob's red mill headquarters, and I have purchased lots of different grains to get a good start! I am just so grateful to finally know the cause of his symptoms. I can't wait for him to start growing like a weed!!!

Ditto everything that Momma Goose said... My daughter is also a very picky eater. Here are some of her favorites:

apples with peanut butter (Jif)

pancakes made with gluten free flour

waffles made with gluten free flour

corn tortilla chips with cheese whiz

carrot sticks dipped in Sweet Baby Ray's honey BBQ sauce

grapes cut in half the long way

Cracker Barrel cheddar cheese

Kraft string cheese

Rice crackers w/ peanut butter

Tuna fresh out of the can, room temperature (yuck, I know)

Seltzer's sweet balogna

Kraft singles - yellow

Stretch Island Fruit Leathers

tinkyada pasta w/ cheese whiz or butter and parmesean

Great Value brand vienna sausages

Oscar meyer cheese dogs

Mashed potato with Kraft orange powdered cheese in them

Brocolli with Kraft orange powdered cheese on them

Brussel sprouts smothered in margarine (Great Value Brand is gluten free)

Carrot Raisin salad w/ Kraft light mayo, a little lemon juice, and sugar

Dora's Cinnamon Stars Cereal

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Cereal

Disney's Little Einstein's Cereal

Cocoa Pebbles

Fruity Pebbles

I also make her special treats. I make popsicles out of carrots, green beans, berries, and fruit juice. I puree them all together and then freeze in a popsicle tray. This is a great way to get added veggies into their diets. You can also make smoothies in the same way, just stick to only carrots for the veggies, they blend in very easily with fruits and you can't even taste them. Your son can even help you to put the fruit into the unplugged blender. He'll like that. If he needs extra calcium, you can use milk as the liquid and you can even add nonfat dried milk powder for extra calories if needed. Banana, strawberry, yogurt, and milk tend to be a favorite of my daughters. If he's lacking in protein, try adding small amounts of cooked chicken to the popsicles. It sounds gross, but it works.

Also, I finally convinced my daughter to eat meat by giving her dipping sauces. She started out with five different sauces: ketchup, BBQ, ranch dressing, honey, and honey mustard. She finally narrowed it down to just honey and BBQ. Now she typically prefers honey. She'll eat fresh veggies too sometimes in honey or BBQ. She really liked the fact that she had so many choices and that's why she started trying things. Perhaps your son will do the same.

What did your son like pre-diagnosis? We can probably point you in the right direction on substitute foods.

Thank you so much for your help! Unfortunately, the only things that my son will really eat dependably are cereal, pasta, crackers, bread, and poultry. He's a carb junkie!!! That is why this is so hard. I've bought lots of new products. Some have been bad, others are OK. Thanks again for all ideas!

My 3 yr old son was just diagnosed with Celiac disease a couple of days ago. He has had diarrhea, abdominal bloating, small appetite, irritability, and a small stature nearly his entire life. I have purchased lots of new food for him already. It's really hard because he is a VERY picky eater. Does anyone have any recommendations for kid-friendly food?

Also I've been using the list of forbidden foods from this website, but I noticed that some of the foods that I thought were OK have some of the ingredients. Like Kelloggs rice crispy treats have malt flavoring. The box didn't say that it contained wheat ingredients, so is that OK for him to eat? Just how picky do you have to be about some of the items on the forbidden foods list?

Do I have to buy new pots, pans & utensils? Should I buy a new toaster?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!