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 haven’t been tested, as I can’t bear how ill I would be for the six weeks. I am fairly certain I am coeliac though as I have another auto immune condition and a couple of other things that are commonly linked. I was tired and run down, gave up gluten for six weeks as part of a general healthy eating regime, and then when I tried a small amount I was really ill. Tried again a week later, really I’ll again, like food poisoning. Now if I get a tiny amount from cross contamination it makes me unwell. I can’t bake with normal flour any more as then my elbows come up in an itchy rash. So you can have few symptoms but then when you stop eating gluten , even a small amount can trigger a big reaction.
( as an aside, does anyone know if there is any advantage do doing the test ? Doc at the allergy clinic said if I was having this reaction to gluten then I obviously shouldn’t be eating it anyway ) .

Surely I couldn't have it without knowing if even crumbs can make people feel ill for a week?
@GinaCarbonara you can have asymptomatic coeliac disease where you have no real symptoms but intestinal damage is still occurring.

Yes crumbs are an issue !!
If your house is gf then I don't see why you should bring gluten into it but check coeliac UK.
You can introduce gluten to your baby outside in cafes and other people s hpuses easily enough....and do.the relevant blood tests at a suitable time

Gluten actually has a strongly protective effect against a number of health conditions. You shouldn't exclude it from your diet unless you really have to.

@CanaBanana @HBA1981

Thanks for the information, that's really helpful. I had never considered Coeliacs, until a blood test I had a couple of weeks ago showed a severe Vit D and B12 deficiency (even though I live in a county with constant sun these days), plus a

Whoops too soon.

Plus one of the results showed some antibodies or something, I didn't really understand it.

I didn't give it any thought until I looked into it more to learn about it and saw a picture of the DH rash some people get? It looks exactly like a rash I've had on my stomach/legs/bottom off and on for 10 years or so.

Only other symptoms are near constant diarrhoea and stomach pain whenever I eat and other rashes on my arms and scalp.

God I keep hitting post on the app by accident.

I've had low iron counts sometimes when I've tried to give blood and been refused, and a report once said I had low mcv blood count but I never really knew what it meant.

I'm generally tired and feel like shit but I but it down to eating junk food rather than gluten!

So you think that if I do have coeliac disease, I'll have to be as strict as you are now, even though it doesn't make me feel especially ill? Or that I'll become more sensitive if I cut it out completely? It just seems so extreme when (if I do have it) I've been getting along alright with just a dodgy tummy.

I have coeliac disease and weaned both DC by normal guidelines. We have two toasters and two tubs of butter. We don't double dip anything else. I had both my children tested when there were about 3. One has CD, one hasn't. All main meals are gf so I don't have to worry about cooking twice.

GinaCarbonara If you have Ceoliac disease then yes you need to be careful and strict even if you appear not to react, as even a tiny bit will set off an autoimmune reaction and your body will attack itself, so even if you are not feeling particularly unwell you will be doing damage.

OP it really sounds like you just can't be arsed to find work arounds, despite the advice from other posters.

The real question is how often he will be exposed to gluten outside the home. If it's regularly then it's probably fine, but if very rarely then he may not be exposed to it to the level of a "normal" diet. He may not have coeliac disease but if he has it only rarely in the early years he could end up with an intolerance, which would be a shame (unless you disagree).

Alternatively, you could just buy him some rusks or pouches (no temperature or toaster or knife issues) and feed them to him at home.

What about a four slot toaster and you have half each!

OP I think the latest allergy/intolerance advice is that early exposure to potential allergens/irritants is beneficial to the developing gut and protects against allergies. I don't know how that translates to auto-immune disease, but it's likely your HV's advice is based on good, current science.

I would try to find the odd gluten containing thing you can give your baby which doesn't need to go in the toaster. Posters above have suggested things like wraps. You could also buy bread which doesn't need toasting, or feed from pouched food with some gluten in.

My daughter is a coeliac, I use toaster bags for her and I’ve got a separate draw next to the cooker with her backing trays and a pot with coloured cooking utensils which I only use when doing gluten free meals, she also has her own cupboard with snacks that she can eat safely and everyone in the house knows not to take anything from her cupboard.

A lot of our meals are gluten free where I’ve adapted the recipe so we all can eat it, but there are times where some of us have gluten but were really careful that it doesn’t impact on her.

To be honest I’d probably ask your gp if it’s ok to not give baby gluten, he may well say you won’t know if baby has coeliac disease if it’s not introduced first but definitely speak to him he’ll know more than a health visitor.

If you get him tested at 1 year old, I'd be willing to bet that he wouldn't have a positive diagnosis because he hasn't had enough gluten.

Also- how will you get him tested? My children haven't automatically been tested- one has because of suffering from "toddler diarrhoea" and her coeliac test came back negative.

Ps- I understand re: washing hands! Obviously misunderstood at first

Its not difficult to read the OP's thread, I dont understand why so many poster obviously choose not to. OP is not suggesting her baby is gluten free, just gluten free at home.

Op I am sure your baby will be super healthy eating corn pasta rather than wheat and the same for bread.

I think it’s fine not to serve gluten products at home, but you also need to be careful about serving GF ones. A lot of GF stuff, especially bread, is full of crap and not great for kids. I have to eat GF (wheat allergy) but don’t give GF to DS because of the high sugar and additives. I’m lucky that I’m not triggered by cross-contamination in small doses though.

Delaying gluten increases the risk of intolerance.

I made sure to introduce all the main allergens by 7 months.

As long as you aren’t filling him full of processed ‘gluten free’ crap and are instead offering sensible gf alternatives - gf oats, rice, quinoa, polenta etc. I have no idea why this would be a problem. Gluten isn’t an essential food group! I’m sure there are plenty of cultures where babies grow up without eating or eating minimal gluten.

The problem is, if your baby does not get gluten, they will have a higher chance of developing this allergy later on in life. Maybe worth testing now for allergies to see if it's OK for them to have it?

it's the current fashion, with baby led weaning parents are being told to give some of their food to the babies and they do give anything. I have even seen parents happy to give pasta sauce or casseroles made with wine.

What on earth would be the problem with a baby having a bit of sauce made with wine?

OP I’m allergic to peanuts and my toddler DS is allergic to peanuts and eggs and sesame. Baby DD is weaning and so far doesn’t seem to be allergic to anything. I intend to keep feeding her allergenic foods regularly as the research at the moment says that’s the best way to avoid an allergy developing. I just have to be very careful with cross contamination. I appreciate she doesn’t need peanuts in her diet for example, but if I can do anything to reduce her risk of an allergy or intolerance to them I will.

I think it’s sensible in your situation for your DS to eat naturally gluten free, but I would look into some realistic ways to get gluten into his diet in ways that are very low cross contamination for you. If he’s going to be eating at nursery or grandmas regularly then make sure he has bread and pasta etc there so you don’t have to give it at home. My DH does breakfast most days for the kids so he could give a bowl of cereal or whatever and then clean up throughly. My uncle and cousin are coeliac and their family is very strict about separate chopping boards,cleaning the counter after every single meal, no knives that have touched bread in the butter and jam etc, no snacks anywhere except in the kitchen. It becomes normal. Pasta is low contamination providing you have a designated separate pan, wraps don’t leave many crumbs or need toasting.

What on earth would be the problem with a baby having a bit of sauce made with wine?

because you don't give alcohol to your babies if you have half a brain? Not only all the alcohol doesn't disappear with cooking, but people don't even consider that a slow cooker for example doesn't have the same effect.

Eating gluten only out of the home is fine once they eat regularly such as nursery or school. In the earlier stages of weaning that may not be frequent enough.

My concern prior to that is the hypothetical risk of increasing gluten intolerance due to lack of regular exposure, and potential issues with gluten not being identified due to lack of exposure.

We've had milk/ egg/ soya allergies and intolerances in the house so not quite the same. Some substitutes such as the "milk" were used universally. Some such as butter/ spread were managed in duplicate. I rarely cooked totally seperate meals, but sometimes split a portion while partially cooked and finished off seperately to give more diversity. Washing non-contaminated items first, and using separate spoons for things like jam reduced the risks of cross-contamination between buttered/ spreaded bread.

For your situation, I'd include some foods that are less likely to cause cross-contamination such as the wraps over crumbly bread.

If he doesn’t ever gluten then he is more likely to develop a serious allergy to it, just like you. You (or in this case your DH) absolutely has to introduce gluten to him at an early age.

Sorry not like you. By not giving him gluten as a baby you risk a deathly allergy