In the short-term, it meant getting my kiddo down for a nap and throwing away all his foods that he could no longer eat. (Bye-bye beloved gold.fish crackers and morning baby oatmeal!) I cruised a few GF blogs (which I will soon reference and link here), wrote down a few emergency recipes and started a GF grocery list.
As you can imagine, after 18 months of eating foods that are painful to his system and contribute to extremely bad acid reflux (he takes two kinds of medicine, four times a day), Little C is pretty wary of food. Mealtime is usually a battle. The ONLY things he takes without a fight are gold.fish, yogurt, his meal replacement shakes, and most anything chocolate. So, most of the recipes I have written down won't be accepted and enjoyed by my kiddo right away. BUT I am hopeful that as we slowly introduce food that doesn't cause him pain, he will learn to trust new foods and become more adventurous.
We have a looong road ahead of us. For me, I need to educate myself and stock up on basic GF essentials. For Corban, he has to discover that not all food causes pain, it's okay to try new things, and trust that his mama wants to make him food that tastes good and is good for his system.
So, I am calling today day 1. With baby oatmeal no longer an option, I bought some baby rice cereal (which I already know he won't like, why do I do that to myself?) and some chocolate flavored crispy rice children's cereal. Not the most nutritious choice, but I need to be honest, these next few weeks are going to be all about bait-and-switch bribery.
Little C is not a fan of cereal. He doesn't like when it gets soggy. He doesn't like having to chew, chew, chew. There are a dozen reasons why he won't give this a try. There is a very real likelihood that he will throw up at the sight of it. (Another fun little trick he keeps up his sleeve). But, mama is holding an ace of her own, this rice cereal is chocolate flavored. I poured a small amount into a bowl of milk, grabbed a spoon, and casually sat it before my kiddo. "Look buddy, chocolate cereal! Yum!"
Wish us luck!
*~* UPDATE *~*
I have since learned that purchasing corn or rice breakfast cereal, if not certified gluten-free, is a big no-no. This cereal was likely made on machines that also process cereals that are riddled with gluten. Sigh. With a disease as serious as celiac, every gluten molecule counts. This is why educating myself is so important!
Go Corban! Good luck mama!
ReplyDeleteYour little boy's story is exactly like my story 45 years ago. I was diagnosed with celiac disease when I was 2 years old (almost 3) and I weighed 17 pounds. Doctors had tried for 8 months to figure out what was wrong. The did an exploratory surgery where they cut me "stem to stern" only to find that they couldn't tell what was wrong. They did note that my intestines were 4 times the size they should have been. Other than that, they had no idea. They stitched me up and basically sent me home to die, saying that they had done what they could. "Failure to thrive" was my diagnosis too. Luckily for me, my pediatrician refused to give up and continued to host weekly meetings at UW hospital, where we finally found my diagnosis. A German doctor happened to sit in on my weekly meeting and he was the one to mention celiac disease. No one had even heard of it back then. Long story short, as soon as they did the endoscopy and biopsy, they knew what it was. My parents couldn't believe that all of my problems could actually be helped just by changing my diet. 45 years later, I'm doing great! I hope that gives you comfort and incentive to keep doing what you're doing. It sounds like your little boy is SO lucky to have you. You are doing the right things. Stay strong. Things are getting easier all the time. When I was growing up, there really weren't many options. Now there are many! YEA!! Take care of that sweet boy and hang in there. It gets easier as you go. If you want my personal e-mail, I can connect with you through your friend, Lindsay. She shared your link with me. :)
ReplyDeleteTake care! Cathy