Coelic babies/toddlers

Pippa · #1 (**permalink**) 19-09-2008, 01:45 PM

I was hoping to chat with any other parents who have a coeliac child. Our DD is now 14 mths and we only discovered about 2 mths ago she is allergic to gluten & wheat, just like my hubby.

I would love to know how others are dealing with the allergy. I am somewhat used to it with hubby having the allergy already. He's not hyper-sensitive but he can feel the effects when he's 'naughty'. I am struggling a bit with our DD though, as I am still BF which means I have to be on the GF diet as well. I not really confident to try weaning her, as she's been sick constantly due to the fact her body hasn't been absorbing any nutrients and the fact she hasn't put on weight for nearly 5 months....

any advice would be greatly received...

~*WindofGrace*~ · #2 (**permalink**) 19-09-2008, 02:54 PM

Hi there! My husband is Coeliac so we've alwasy kept DS (19 months) on a GF diet. Thankfully as he's got older and started eating solids more I'm more comfortable about eating non GF food.

I'm not too sure what you'd like advice about in particular but I did notice you mentioning how it was hard for you to keep on a GF diet as you aren't plagued by it. I found that I looked up GF recipes for all my favorite foods and went from there. Feel free to PM me or you can reach me on msn. solitudes_caress@msn.com

Cheers,
Heather

emd · #3 (**permalink**) 19-09-2008, 02:55 PM

There's a few members here who are either coeliac or on a gluten-free diet due to intolerances. Our family doesn't have gluten issues, but I sometimes go for gluten-free choices as they sometimes include more vegies and other grains instead of refined flour.
How old do children need to be to do the coeliac test?
The best thing, in my opinion, is to get some good recipes and practice baking gluten-free treats. Bought gluten-free foods are rarely as nice as freshly home-baked goodies, and it's easier to avoid temptation when there's a yummy healthy choice available.
Corn and rice cakes, rye crispbread, and corn pasta are great. I just discovered that my favourite supermarket (Only Oz) has corn and rice pasta in animal shapes, which will be handy for getting some extra nutrients into my kids.
You can also make lasagna with thinly sliced eggplant or white sweet potato instead of lasagne sheets, and use cornflour to make the bechamel sauce instead of wheat flour.

Jasper · #4 (**permalink**) 19-09-2008, 04:11 PM

No time for a full post here, but we are a GF and DF family. Not ceoliac, but major intollerences and allergies. Feel free to PM me if you want and Ill try to get on here again soon

Dechen · #5 (**permalink**) 19-09-2008, 04:18 PM

I'm coeliac, and so is my mum. It can be difficult at first, but once you get used to the change in diet it becomes almost second nature. There is a lot more awareness about coeliac disease and gluten/wheat intolerance these days, and there's alternatives for almost everything. Like Emma mentioned, gluten free pastas are widely available, and you can also buy gluten-free flours if you want to make cakes and biscuits etc. I have to go now, but I'll come back later and tell you some of the things I eat. Getting some GF cookbooks is a good start, and if going out to restaurants - a lot of Asian food is GF I've found (Vietnamese, Japanese, Indian etc).

Bronnie · #6 (**permalink**) 19-09-2008, 05:51 PM

we don't have CD but my children are allergic to wheat. it wasn't easy to start with, but now it is second nature. i've been wheat free and gluten free for 2 years now.

possum · #7 (**permalink**) 19-09-2008, 07:36 PM

My DD had allergy issues when she was a bub and yes it is a pain to have to cut it wheat/gluten of your diet as well but for me the change i saw in her was well worth it
With the CD test you can have the blood tedt done to see if there is a "possibility" you "may" have a problem but the real test is a biopsy of the stomach lining done through a bronchoscopy (sp) so for kids it is easier to just go GF and test when older i would certinaly not be putting my DD through such an invasive test until she was older.
I have recently gone wheat free (apart from the occasional slip) for my thyroid and am endevouring to go completely wheat free again

~*WindofGrace*~ · #8 (**permalink**) 19-09-2008, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emd

How old do children need to be to do the coeliac test?

My GP said that we can have the camera done at 18 months, however, he wouldn't recommend it. He basically said that because we had Brae on a GF diet since birth he would automatically have a reaction going back onto gluten. He said it was much less traumatic for the testing to be done on an older child as they could verbally explain how they were feeling and understand the procedure more. So we are waiting a while...lol..

Marmee · #9 (**permalink**) 19-09-2008, 09:59 PM

Like many others here, we aren't coeliac, but we are allergic to wheat. It *was* difficult to begin with, but now it's just life. There is sooooo much out there now - you just need to keep a good eye out, become best friends with your health food shop or aisle in the supermarket and have some extra $$$ to spend on the ready-made products (bikkies, cakes, cereals etc) if you want them! seriously expensive stuff!

Dechen · #10 (**permalink**) 20-09-2008, 06:37 PM

Yeah, gluten free muesli is exxy!!