AIBU to not feed baby gluten?

[CanaBanana]

I have coeliac disease so I can't eat gluten. Cross contamination is a big problem. If DH puts normal bread in the toaster I can't use it for gluten free bread because of cross contamination from crumbs. If he butters his normal bread then dips the knife back in the butter, I can't eat it because of cross contamination from gluten on his knife. Any plates or pans etc that he uses for gluten have to be thoroughly scrubbed in separate washing up water. And if I touch gluten I have to scrub my hands. Then I can't eat the meal so have to cook something separate. It's a huge hassle so we made the decision to just not have gluten in the house. DH eats gluten when he's out but we don't have it at home.

DS is due to be weaned in a few weeks and the HV is insisting he has to eat gluten as normal. This would be a huge hassle for me in terms of avoiding cross contamination. I'd need a separate toaster, would have to cook and wash up separately, scrub the pans, scrub my hands after touching his food, etc.

AIBU to just not give him gluten at home? Is there any reason he couldn't have a slice of gluten free toast? Obviously he will still eat some gluten at gran's house or in a cafe etc.

I don't recall gluten being an essential part of anyones diet.

does the hv know the cross contamination issue? Maybe she thinks you are just following a fashion with no reason

Gluten free food is actually not that healthy at all - of course not meat/fish/veg/fruits! To make bread and biscuits palatable, they tend to have a much higher sugar content, so no I wouldn't feed my baby with that. A one-off piece of toast is fine, but not a full gluten free diet if you include ready-made gluten free items as opposed to fresh food.

You get used very quickly to avoid cross contamination in your own home and to serve gluten and non-gluten food. It becomes second nature, it's only a pain for the first few weeks.

I would at least follow the medical advice but I can't see why feeding gluten-free bread etc would be any good for a baby.

I’d get proper professional advice from the Coeliac Society or whatever. There must be dietitians who could advise (specialists).

Most HV aren’t trained beyond normal development, weaning etc and rightly do discourage restrictive diets for babies but this seems a sensible decision on the face of it.

It's perfectly reasonable for you not to give gluten (to avoid contamination) but for other people to give as normal. I have ceoliacs and that's how i did it. Means my DH is now in soul charge of pack ups too which is one less thing for me to bother about!

My MiL has coeliac disease (fairly severe reactions to gluten now as was years before it got diagnosed) but will still prepare gluten-containing meals for FiL/other people. She just makes sure she has her own butter, jams etc that no one else uses unless they use a clean spoon. She will toast her bread under the grill or I think they had 2 toasters for a while. It is perfectly doable, just takes a bit of thinking about and concentration until it becomes habit for everyone. We are currently doing it here as one of my DC has a fairly severe food allergy and it just takes a bit of thinking about, not banning the allergen entirely.

It is unusual for crumbs to cause an issue. Is this what you have been told, or have you actually experienced symtoms from small amounts of cross contamination.

Can your DP feed your baby gluten-containing food out of the house? Like a cafe breakfast at the weekend where DC gets regular toast or other suitable weaning food?

Will DC go to nursery or a childminder and eat regular, gluten containing foods there. Could a grandparent or friend help, if you want to feed DC gluten, but not at home?

I personally don’t think you are unreasonable to keep your house gluten-free or to want to wean on gluten-free food yourself. I’d ask for help from friends and family to provide the gluten-containing foods.

I wouldn’t put a baby on a gluten free diet no. But as long as baby is exposed to gluten at other peoples houses and in restaurants, then I don’t see the problem in being gluten free at home.
But your hv is right that you shouldn’t restrict anything completely from your baby’s diet

Do you have much experience of coeliac disease myChildren because my understanding is that a crumb is an issue.

www.coeliac.org.uk/coeliac-disease/myths-about-coeliac-disease/

Sorry, mydc

I think this would be fine as long as you aren't giving processed "gluten free" versions of foods. Just giving whole food alternative would be better, so don't give gluten free cereal or bread, just oats for breakfast or something. As gluten free food isn't exactly great.

I have a DS with coeliac so understand what a right pain it is. I can't see any reason why a baby would need to eat gluten. There are countries where they just don't eat much gluten as a culture so those babies wouldn't be eating much gluten.

I read awhile back an article saying that there was US research suggesting that delaying gluten until after one year of age could delay the onset of coeliac disease. So maybe see what the latest research says and see if there is any way to help prevent your baby getting coeliac.

As you yourself are a coeliac I am sure you're aware of what a healthy GF diet consists of. I actually reckon my kids eat more healthily being GF because we are more thoughtful of what they're eating and I cook way more from scratch then I would have otherwise. I also tend to give natural foods like fruit, veg, hard boiled eggs etc as snacks rather than store bought biscuits or crackers and my kids have a lot of leftovers like stir fry and curry for lunches rather than sandwiches as leftovers are a handy GF lunch. So you may find you have a healthier diet for baby in the end than a typical gluten based one.

It is unusual for crumbs to cause an issue.

it absolutely is not! If you are on fashionable diet, you wont' care about them, but when you have a medical issue, your body will take a hit.

That's the problem with some "gluten-free" cafes and restaurants who do not understand that serving a gluten-free item with a contaminated spoon is dangerous.
Gluten free should mean strictly gluten free.

It is unusual for crumbs to cause an issue. Is this what you have been told, or have you actually experienced symtoms from small amounts of cross contamination.

In addition to what PP have said about this being a ridiculous statement - any coeliac knows you need to avoid all traces of gluten -symptoms aren't always present when gluten is causing damage. A person can be completely symptom-free and yet still have coeliac disease.

I’d maybe see if there are easy gluten containing foods. My baby loves a brioche roll, and they can be individually wrapped. They don’t need toasting/filling so would reduce the risk of contamination? High sugar content though might mean there are better alternatives.

When my son was diagnosed, his paediatrician specifically said that a single crumb would basically undo all the gluten avoidance we were doing - we currently operate a dual meal house: separate butter dishes, bread board, bread knives and storage containers for some items. We have all moved on to gluten-free pasta and oats as it was too much hassle to serve separate portions of those, but half of us eat normal bread, fishfingers etc and the other half stick to gluten-free versions. It's not that hard once you get into the swing of it, but I can't see why your baby would need gluten other than to be tested for coeliacs.

If DH puts normal bread in the toaster I can't use it for gluten free bread because of cross contamination
I'd need a separate toaster,
Etc. So if part one is already the situation, why haven't you already got a separate toaster etc? Why is weaning your child any different to the fact that you currently live with cross-contamination issues? Get a second toaster, they're about a tenner in the supermarket! Label it GF so there's no confusion. Keep a separate butter dish etc. Why aren't you already doing all of this if the issues are there?

Failing to see why you'd put your child on an unnecessary GF diet for these reasons. Maybe you fear he might turn out to be coeliac, but that's not what you're saying, is it?

My husband and teenage daughter have coeliac disease, they've been GF for many years ! I fully understand the issue as regards to cross contamination, and have dealt with the consequences many times, unless you've been there people just don't understand, it's awful and can put my daughter out for a week sometimes, luckily these days it rarely happens, most definitely not in my house that's for sure !
I have my kitchen split into two parts, Gluten and non gluten, separate pans and utensils too. My oldest son and I do not have coeliac disease and my baby of one year is displaying absolutely no symptoms so far of it.
Under my daughters pediatrician and dietician advice we have gone full gluten with him, there is a chance he will have it, but you cannot find that out without him trying it first, our next appointment for my daughter they will take a cheek swab of him and see if he has the gene, my DH and DD have DQ2.5. Neither my older son and I have the gene.
But as you will know you can carry the gene but not necessarily be coeliac, the only way to tell for sure will be the to see if he has the gene and if the IgA and tTg antibodies are over that magic 7 usually for most though it's in the thousands just before diagnosis, and if that is not clear a biopsy of his gut, to look at the villi for damage.

So far we're all doing well, my baby is fine, growing and no sign of failure to thrive, however I know what to look for having dealt with it before so will keep a sharp eye out.
Our dieticians advice to us is if you don't need to be Gluten free then don't be.

I don't live in the UK btw. so maybe it's handled different there ?

Feel free to pm me ..

@CanaBanana sorry to jump in, would those toastabags be any use to you? You could put your bread in them to toast it and it wouldn't be coming into contact with the toaster directly, so shouldn't get gluten crumbs on it.

The coeliacs I know also have their own/labelled spreads to use to avoid cross-contamination.

This thread is not about how the op is affected by gluten, it is unhelpful to try especially as she has coeliac disease she is the expert in her own condition.

For the record though some people have a reaction from something as subtle as kissing their partner who has had gluten earlier in the day so a crumb could definitely cause issues.

Op I think the issue might be like with all food that has been modified or had things removed, something has to replace it (like sweetener or sugar etc) or chemical processes take place to remove/modify the structure of the food. So some modified food is really unhealthy.

My opinion is as long as your checking the foods you give ds and not giving to much of the worst of it like any other young child's diet then it's likely to be fine.
I don't know anything about if gluten is one of the things that children should be exposed to (like some other foods) early but you probably know much more than 99% of us!

So if part one is already the situation, why haven't you already got a separate toaster etc? Why is weaning your child any different to the fact that you currently live with cross-contamination issues? Get a second toaster, they're about a tenner in the supermarket! Label it GF so there's no confusion. Keep a separate butter dish etc. Why aren't you already doing all of this if the issues are there?

The OP was pretty clear that they have eliminated gluten from their house altogether so the issues aren't there, hence the point of the question!

I’m a coeliac - do you have a four slot toaster? I use that and it’s a lifesaver for avoiding cross contamination as it’s basically two toasters in one. Also have my own spread - these might help you avoid cross contamination without much effort. I would give my baby “normal” food as I think some GF food can be full of trash (I still eat it though..) but gluten free alternatives when eating with you if it’s easier.

Sorry I missed the by about you eliminating gluten, doh! But I do think the above stuff would help you with cross contamination

I have coeliac, and 2 children. They all eat gluten. How do I deal with it? I have a seperate toaster. I prepare my own food in a different area. I'd never stop my children eating different food because I can't eat the same. It's not fair. Obviously I have to then pick up what they've dropped or spilled, our 1 year old isn't the tidiest, but seriously, just wash your hands! It's annoying but it's not the end of the world. And mydc, I don't think you understand just how dangerous a breadcrumb can be. You might be thinking of fad dieters.

I did hear somewhere that keeping babies gluten free would actually result in them being allergic as the body has no idea what to do with gluten later on. But I really don't know how much of a truth this is.
All advice from posters above are great and would surely make your life easier, like 2 toasters etc. Maybe consider byuing a pack of gloves. The blue ones for food industry. That would help with skin contamination.