Moms Experienced with Celiac Disease

Though my daughter isn't, I am gluten intolerant and have been so for the last 3 years. Yes, it's inconvenient at times, especially in social situations, but for the most part, I don't have any trouble preparing food for myself. I find it's easiest not to buy/prepare "substitute" foods (gluten free bread, cakes, etc...) unless it's a special occasion. They tend to be expensive and disappointing. Instead, I focus on the yummy whole foods I can eat.
I must say, though, I do miss pizza!
Good luck. It's not that bad.

I am the mom with celiac and have two kids 4 and 2. If one of them had celiac i would make the home celiac friendly. My children already eat the gluten free cereals, waffles, dinners (because they love them). I would just make sure the chicken tenders and wheat bread were out of the house. My 4 year old knows that I cannot eat certain things and she will ask me "is that gluten free?". My friend has a 4 year old who has celiac and is very good about knowing she has to check if she can eat something so I think it will get easier when your child is older.
It is getting easier to eat out. There is so much that you can eat and so many places including gluten free items and support groups as well.
I hope my comments were helpful.

Both of my neices have Celiac when we go out we ask the waiter if they have a Celiac menu. Try Mimis Cafe we eat there alot. Its not as bad as people think....

My aunt has celaics. At first it was hard becomming used to the taste of things. There are stores you can buy organic and gluten free items. Also try different resturants such as PF Changs has a gluten free menu. Since wheat and flower are bad, those stores also sell certain breads, cookies and other snacks. They are a little pricy, but well worth it.

Good morning~ I am friends with two families with members who are celiacs. It seems that once you get into the habits of living with the disease, in other words, shopping for the best foods, cooking gluten free dishes and keeping allowable snacks on hand, life is rather normal. But to you I have one suggestion. In order to monitor the eating habits of an active toddler I would take a leave from work and be a home mom for a few years until you get a consistent set of eating habits established with the new bambino. This might also do wonders for establishing a solid lifelong relationship with the child. Best of luck to you.

Hi - i'm a mom with a almost 2yr old daughter - I am in the Food Business - distribution to grocery stores - there are so many items available out there as alternatives to the necessary gluten free diet. I can get you a few lists to show you the easy options that you can inturn incorporate into dining out - these days there are even cake and frosting mixes available. There are literally hundreds of items - I can even give you a brand name list. This way if you are having something like chips she will have an easy alternative. I wouldn't let the fact that she is celiac get in the way - infact you are in much better shape for knowing now. Many kids are not diagnosed for years and its hard on their little bodies when you don't know - knowing is a blessing and pretty easy to set your mind and understand the alternatives and love the little one - adopting her means managing her diet in a world full of products just for this.

My 6 yo son does not have celiac disease, but he is allergic to all the grains containing gluten (plus many of the grains that don't). It is not that difficult to feed a child on a gluten-free diet at home. There are tons of packaged foods and baking mixes (cakes, cookies, brownies, etc.) available at Whole Foods, Draegers and even Trader Joes. My non-allergic daughter (10 yo) eats any gluten-free product I bake and rice pasta without any complaint. It's definitely easier to prepare gluten-free foods for the whole family whenever possible.

It is however, much harder to feed him when we eat out and when traveling. I usually bring my son's meals to restaurants and bring a lot of food with us any time we travel.

The other big challenge is social situations where food is shared (which is almost always the case). This is not so much an issue for a toddler, but becomes more of an issue as they enter school. Every holiday, birthday party, soccer and baseball game, scouts meeting, etc., has group snacks. Some kids have no problem with having their special foods instead of eating what everyone else is. But some kids, like my son, really have trouble with it. He hates to be "different" and has even opted out of going to birthday parties sometimes because he can't eat the cake. It's an ongoing social issue that we as a family are still trying to figure out how best to handle.

I hope I haven't discouraged you, because since he has a medical problem, I imagine it's all the harder for them to find a loving family to place him with.

My son and I are both gluten intolerant and we find wonderful food at the following website and also great baking mixes at Whole Foods.

http://www.kinnikinnick.com/

It is not too difficult to eat gluten free.

A former coworker of mine discovered she had Celiac Disease a few years ago and she and her son (who also has it) have been able to change their eating habits without feeling too deprived on food options. Draegers has a lot of gluten-free options for food and from what I understand, it just took her some time to realize where gluten was (and wasn't) and their lives adjusted fairly easily. They continue to eat out, etc. like the rest of -- except she orders foods that she knows will keep them both healthy. Once you are familiar with gluten-free options, feeding your new family member will be like feeding anyone else. Good luck! :-)