Waiting To Introduce Gluten

[momtok&m]

Hi all! I haven't been on in ages, now I need some advice. A little background first...DD2 has been off of gluten for 2+ years, she'll be 3 in a week and a half. She's doing fine without, we never had her tested and her ped. is just fine with a GI diagnosis instead of trying to test for Celiac. Anyway, DS will be 1 tomorrow and I'm afraid to introduce gluten! I'm not afraid of him being gluten intolerant, I'm afraid I might not see symptoms if he is. So, how long should I wait to give him some gluten? What are the chances he'll have issues too? DD1 does not have any gluten issues and neither do I or DH. Any help/advice/experience is greatly appreciated.

[Jestgar]

Since he's already gluten-free, why don't you wait until you are sure he can communicate to you how he feels?

[M0Mto3]

I can understand your fears. If DD was not my last child I would be scared to give my kids gluten, too. With all that she went through I don't know if it would be worth it. I like the idea of waiting until he can communicate to you how he is feeling. If you start now you may end up playing a guessing game to try to figure out if there are symptoms.

One thing I would ask is did you breastfeed? Were you eating gluten? My DD's issues started with just the little bit of gluten she got through breastmilk and then the cross contamination in the Gerber Rice Cereal. So, unless he has been strictly formula fed or you were eating a gluten free diet, then your son has already been consuming gluten through breastmilk. The gluten in breastmilk was enough to cause problems with my DD. Although, we didn't figure that out until much later when she was older and eating gluten products herself.

[beebs]

I'm going through the same thing with my youngest - he is 8 months old and I'm too scared to give him any gluten...what a minefield!

[momtok&m]

I do breastfeed my kids and I do/did eat gluten and it hasn't been an issue. DD2's problems were only with foods she consumed. We're fortunate and my consumption of gluten hasn't been an issue. (disclaimer-I don't eat much gluten, I crave sugar when pregnant/nursing). I think I will wait, but how long?! I always said once DD2 was 2 1/2 I'd try to reintroduce gluten just to make sure it was definately gluten she couldn't tolerate. Now I'm thinking she can do that on her own when she's old enough

[momtok&m]

So, since my original post my kids have had to go back to their babysitter. She watched our kids for a year so she understands the whole gluten intolerance mess.I forgot to tell her that we were keeping DS (now 14.5 months)off of gluten, I just didn't even think about it since we pack their lunches! Anyway, she shared some cheez-its with him. I wasn't angry, I figured we'll just consider this a good time to start gluten and see what happens. All evening all he will do is nurse. If I have to put him down, or even take him off, he sits up and throws his body over at the waist and just cries and cries. It looks like he has gas pains. Looks like no more gluten for him I'm considering trying again though, just to make sure. Is that considered cruel or diagnostic? *sigh* What's your experience been with toddlers and immediate reactions?