Occasionally, I have wondered if Joseph really is still allergic to all the things I’ve mentioned. Then I’ll splash his face with milk and he’ll get hives, or he’ll eat a crumb of bread made with sour cream, and get red itchy eyes. Yet, I’ve seen him eat crumbs of wheat products Rachel leaves lying around, and haven’t seen adverse reactions, so I’d hoped that he had outgrown the wheat allergy.
Then I gave him barley cereal this week. (Barley and wheat both contain gluten)
Joseph turned into the crankiest baby I have seen. Much worse than when he’s just teething (and he is working on a tooth at the moment). And it would always last for a few hours immediately after feeding him. He started spitting up more. And his eczema is coming back, in spite of liberal lotioning. At least he hasn’t gotten bloody diaper rash, though he does seem constipated.
So, I think it’s safe to say that we’re going to have to avoid not just wheat, but all gluten.
There is an upside to this though. Joseph tolerated oatmeal pretty well. Oats in and of themselves don’t contain gluten, but often become contaminated in the field and during processing. Even though the boxes say single grain, they are now reflecting the contamination by admitting that there is wheat flour in them. When Joseph ate the oatmeal, his eczema did flare up, but he wasn’t cranky like he was with the barley. That tells me that he can tolerate it in small amounts, which means I don’t have to keep separate “gluten-free” cooking utensils, like I know some celiacs have to do. Still, I will just stick to “certified gluten-free oats” in the future.
Dang, those sound like some fairly difficult parenting challenges. At the very least, though, your baby was born into a family that loves and cares for him. Best of luck!
Thanks.