Weaning Baby when I can't eat gluten

[sar302]

Hi all - I'm struggling!

I have non coeliac gluten sensitivity, not coeliac disease. Unfortunately I'm incredibly sensitive to cross contamination, so my home has been gluten free for 4 years since diagnosis.

I'm 2 months into weaning my baby and I'm getting really stressed about how to get gluten into his diet. My parents and in-law's keep telling me that if I don't give it to him now, he'll have a problem later in life. The one time a friend kindly offered to feed him wheat, he ended up with flour all over him, I got it all over me and was very ill.

He can't eat without smushing food all over his face, hair, clothes etc, so it's always a massive clean up process and it gets everywhere so I can't be sure that I've got it all, without washing and changing his clothes after ever meal, which is ridiculous!

My husband always reckons he'll feed him wheat at the weekends when they're out, but he never does and I wouldn't want it covering the pushchair anyway, as the same problem would happen.

Argh! Anyone coeliac / NCGS, how do you manage to feed Baby gluten containing products and stay well? Advice gratefully received!

I would avoid anything that could give off crumbs. How about pasta, doesn't need to be much, just a few pieces alongside some other bits. Keep your LO in the high chair to eat, I used to let mine eat in their nappy when they were at the smeary stage and would pop them straight in the bath and hose them down with the shower attachment. The mess will get less.

Undressing before eating and then transferring straight to the bath is an excellent idea, and now is the perfect time of year to do that. I used to do it with my dc.

TBH though, is it true that he will never be able to tolerate gluten if he doesn't eat it now? It's not uncommon to come new to food groups in later life, with no problems. I ate shellfish for the first time ever in my mid-20s and have never had any problems with shellfish.

Relatives and friends with coeliac disease as diagnosed by biopsy aren’t this precious over their kitchens and ‘cross contamination’. Just cook and keep your food separately. A bag of oats next to gluten free oats in you shelf won’t ‘infect it’ My DH has extreme gluten sensitivity and we all have been co-existing happily under the same roof for years! Everybody still eats what they want. Do you mean that your husband then, by default, follow a GF diet?

In my experience people who aren’t made ill by gluten don’t understand the total horror and aversion that you as a gf eater feel towards gluten! You’ve avoided it like the plague for years and suddenly you’re in worryingly close proximity to it because you have to feed it to your kids. And it is important to feed it to your kids because the longer you leave it the more likely they are to develop an intolerance or allergy.

My concern is that if I cook meals with gluten I can’t taste them for temperature and palatability. And there’s the issue of cross contamination. So we are gf at home. We all eat gf bread and pasta although we don’t bother much with either and mostly choose naturally gf foods.

My DS is about the same age as yours. He has occasional gluten containing items fed to him by his gran, either at her house or at a cafe. Currently stuff like baby biscuits and the occasional pouch of gluten containing baby food, but as he gets older this will include sandwiches or a pizza etc. Then she cleans him up thoroughly. It isn’t a major part of his diet, it’s basically just to expose him to the allergen once or twice a week. The rest of the time he eats what I eat.

I’m not planning to ever feed him gluten myself or have it in the house. It’s not an essential part of his diet, it’s literally just an occasional few bites to prevent him reacting to it later on.

Actually, I do understand. I, too, have NCGS, though I am not as sensitive and can cope with small amounts in my diet, so cross-contamination is not an issue. (Gluten-loading before the tests was a hideous nightmare, from which I have not yet fully recovered 6m later.)

And I understand about cross-contamination, having friends and relatives with coeliac - who trust me and are happy to eat food prepared in my non-GF kitchen.

Hi, thank you for the constructive responses! Yes to avoiding crumbly food (I think that was my downfall here!) and a good scrub in the bath after dinner.

@GandalfsWrinklyHat Funnily enough the coeliac I know is also a lot less fussy than me - but she barely gets any symptoms. Maybe a bit of a headache, but that's it. But for now, I'll continue to be precious and avoid shitting myself in public 🤷‍♀️ personal preference and all that. And yes, my husband - god how I love him - eats GF in our house. Obviously eats gluten everywhere else.

@JellySlice I honestly don't know! I've read that it can be an issue, but then I ate it without issue for 30years and still ended up having a problem.

@BigBlueBubble I think that's probably just what I'll end up doing. Gluten load him when I don't have to clean him down! Ie, at grandparents etc.

Thank you - I can feel some of the Mum guilt being alleviated!

I have coeliac disease and feed both my DC's gluten. There's some research that shows babies that are delayed with gluten introduction to their diet have higher incidences of coeliac disease.

Bickie Pegs were an easy way to give gluten as I just did that when out somewhere. Food wise, cereal, pasta I find the easiest and have separate pans to use etc. Crumpets are good, as are breadsticks for when your out. I change my youngest pretty much after each meal. Good bibs help too.

Half my kitchen is GF and one of my DC's has multiple allergies so we're pretty hot on cross contamination.

You can get pouches that have pasta/gluten in.

Alternatively what about spaghetti hoops or something? I'm thinking liquidy rather than crumby.

Thank you for both of those. I think liquid rather than crumbly is def a good idea. As are the pouches - I have one waiting to feed him now as a result of this thread.

Just need to crack on now. And accept that it's another way that Baby changes your life! (Wouldn't have it any other way though )

Can he be fed at either your parents or in laws. He goes with a fresh set of clothes. The 'contaminated' clothes are washed there and your ds has a bath whilst he's there if he's known to cake himself in crumbs.

Try and feed him pasta and other 'non messy' gluten foods, but get him to eat your standard diet when he's with you.