when is it safe to give gluten?

[issywoo]

confused as to when its ok to give ds gluten. he can't tolerate rice so am limited for breakfast ideas. also, when is it safe to give pasta? i used to give ds the baby organix pasta abc's but can't find it in the supermarkets - have they stopped doing it?

I know you can't give bread til 6 months (that's got gluten in it hasn't it?) but the jar of 4 month baby food I gave ds this morning lists gluten as one of it's ingredients!

most pasta contains gluten, but you can find millet pasta in most supermarkets. alternatives to gluten contain rice, millet or corn and you should be able to find bread or biscuits with this ingredients rather than wheat. being organic does not necessarly mean gluten free unless specifically produced to be gluten free.
in my country it is reccomended that children do not consume anything containing gluten (whaet and selmolina products too)until the age of 8 months and with dd it wasn't a big problem waiting that long.
you can find millet and corn flour over the internet (can't remember the site name but try google) with which you could bake something.
if you feel stuck with ideas for breakfast try fruit puree and don't worry too much about cereals if ds cannot consume rice, see if you could find some gluten free biscuits (preferably sugar free) and mix them in with the fruit purree for more consistency.
hope this helps. good luck!

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Saw some organic baby pasta shapes in Safeways- hd a picture of Peter rabbit on it for some wonderful reason. i give dd a tiny amount of spaggetti chopped finely and mixed in with her veg. Gave my dd gluten products at 6 months- followed Annabel Karmel's advice. A lot of baby cereals etc have gluten in them- and they say that they're suitable from 4 months. confusing

Yes, it is confusing but manufacturers only do what is profitable for them not what's best for the consumers.
Gluten is a protein found in wheat which can be very alergenic to small babies. That is why it is reccomended not to be consumed by babies until 6 months (UK medical advice) because their stomach is not developed enough to process it correctly. In my country they reccomend 8 month old. It is amazing how many food products actually contain this protein and I cannot stress enough how careful parents should be with very young babies when introducing possible alergenic foods. I am saying this because I saw a 6m old baby suffering from an alergic reaction to gluten within probably 2 hours (if not less, cannot remember exactly) from eating weetabix for the first time. apart from the obvious distress (very loud crying, very hot, read and incredibly swollen) it was so clear that he could have died so easily from it. Luckly his mother brought him in to the health centre for a routine check up and he started showing the signs whilst waiting there and the doctors were able to look after him straightaway. very worrying.

You shouldn't give gluten until a baby is 6 months old because of coeliacs disease which is where people can't tolerate gluten. If a baby has this condition you can't tell until after 6 months.

The reason you can't get the baby organix pasta any more is because organix made the decision to remove gluten from all their first and second stage weaning products. Have a look at their breakfast cereals. They have changed to a rice based pasta but it isn't that widely avaiable.

And the reason why other babyfood companies put gluten in their 4 month products is because they can get away with it! It took a change in the law to stop them putting salt in babyfood. They will do anything they can get away with ime.

thanks for the info. poor ds can't tolerate farleys rusks either as well as rice based products (many of the fruit puree jars also contain rice). he reacts with high pitched screaming (he's usually so placid)and his poo is black/green and hard. if i just give him my own concotions with sweet potato then his poo is lovely - all soft and orange (its funny what you find lovely once you're a mum!)
baby organix say they now do a lentil pasta you can buy directly from them. i'm so wary of giving him anything that his poor tummy won't be able to cope with, i wonder if he has digestive issues and whether i should stay off wheat until he's 8 months?

I give dd pureed fruit for breakfast most mornings. There are a couple of baby cereals that have no gluten- think they're the boots own brand ones. dd loves banana for brekkie, pear, apple etc

Issywoo, if your baby (or family) has a history of allergies wait at least until he is 6m minimum.

re Baby Organix pasta ABC's ... they've stopped doing them cos their range is gluten free BUT if you e-mail/ring them, they have a lentil pasta shape that they sell from their office. They'll send you a sample - at least they sent me a sample. I enquired about the ABCs via their website. Worth enquiring about if you can't find any other small shapes.