allergy newbie and lots of questions

[sunnylady303]

My 14 month old daughter doesn't seem able to tolerate wheat or dairy. I am cutting dairy out of my diet - slowly - it is so hard but I'm almost there. But I still eat wheat. She nurses 8 - 14 times in a 24 hour period. She doesn't eat either of those things. But she has terrible gas. She wakes up every hour or so at night drawing up her knees to her tummy and being very very gassy and her tummy rumbling. What could be causing this? Those are the kinds of reactions she has when she eats wheat or dairy...but it's so bad. If she can't do wheat, could oats bother her? She eats a lot of oats. If I cut that out what will I feed her?? That's like the only grain I can get her to eat. We are going to the allergist but reading others' experiences of the allergist doesn't make me feel very hopeful especially since her symptoms are all digestive. Doesn't anyone have answers? I'm worried my poor baby's digestive system is getting damaged or something because I can't figure out what's going on and why her tummy bothers her so much... Thanks for any advice or support...

[Chanley]

If wheat bothers her, it is most likely gluten hurting her. Gluten is a protien found in most grains. It is everywhere.

There is gluten in oats, rye, barley, wheat, spelt, kamut.

What to feed her?

You do not need grains to be healthy. Tho rice is safe. I make rice pudding for my kids. I just take almond breeze and put in a few tablespoons of Thai Kitchen brand coconut milk. Then I cook the rice in that mixture with a little cinnamon and some raisins. When it is cooked, I add a little honey or maple syrup.

Think outside of the box for breakfast! We have fruit for breakfast, eggs, cut up sausage (need to make sure it is gluten free), leftovers. There are lots of breakfast ideas that do not have gluten in them.


Remember, if she continues to get proteins which she is intolerant to, she will damage her digestive system and her immune system.

[sunnylady303]

Thanks so much...do I need to give up all gluten too since we are nursing? Can allergies manifest as gas and tummy pain like that? I always thought you needed grains to be healthy...where do kids get their carbs and other stuff? I appreciate your help so much...I am trying so hard to figure this out. Thanks!

[Chanley]

Yes you need to give up gluten too.

When I cheat my son has reflux. It is painful to see him hurt like that and I feel like a royal schmuck!


carbs are in vegetables by the LOADS! nuts have carbs. Look at a jar of Smuckers All Natural Peanut butter. It is loaded with carbs.

apples are mostly carbs. Dont worry about carbs. Plus you can eat rice until you are blue in the face! Lundberg rice cakes are awesome for little ones to chew on. Just dont get the tamari ones. For mama, they are good with some nut butter and a drizzle of honey (can you see why I am not losing weight! hehe)

I feel that most grains dont have as much nutrition as fruits and veggies. They are mostly filler and I dont want filler in my babies bellies so we go easy on the rice in lieu of healthier things.

Quinoa is great too! Cream of Rice is a great hot breakfast. I throw frozen blueberries in it to cool it off and my little munchkin goes nuts for it. Make it with almond breeze (some rice milks have gluten, Rice Dream does for sure).

This really is not as hard as it feels! I have been on this diet for almost a year and we have never been better!

[Missy]

My ds2 reacts to almost all of his allegens via breastmilk; when we want to trial a new food or challenge a mild allergen, we do it through breastmilk. Unfortunately, none of the mild allergens have passed a challenge--they've all caused very severe gastro issues. And, I worry that, if they make him that sick in breastmilk, how bad would have been if I had given it to him directly?

Oats are actually gluten-free. Most people with severe gluten-intolerance have to avoid them, however, because of the high incidence of x-contam in the US. It's recomended that, if you eat oats, you stick with Irish oats--a little more expensive but far less chance of x-contam.

Someone mentioned quinoa--great grain, lots of protein.

Please be careful with the nut products. Kids with allergies have a far greater chance of reacting to nuts and peanuts; most allergists will recommend avoiding them for at least two or three years to let the immune system mature a little more.

If you have a Trader Joe's near you, they actually have a pamphlet listing all their gluten-free products. You'd just have to read the label to look for dairy.

Missy