anyone do the FODMAPs elimination diet with a toddler and live to tell about it?

[chicagomom]

we are starting day 4.  it is going really well (DS is doing so much better, he has been really suffering since contracting enterovirus 3 months ago so we are under guidance of a pediatric nutritionist) except that 1) i am cooking ALL OF THE TIME, and 2) he is hating meal time.

any tips to get through this?  we are on it for ONE WHOLE MONTH and then will slowly start to add back...i am kind of afraid that DS will lose weight on this.

[Sam-n-Max's Mommy]

Not doing this diet with my LO, but we went gluten, dairy, and egg free a few months, so I can sympathize with the cooking all of the time, and how hard it is in general, so wanted to offer you some (((hugs)))!

[Buntybear]

No, I have not heard of it but it sounds tough. WHat foods is he eating at the moment?

[chicagomom]

thanks ladies!  FODMAP is for fructose malabsorption.  so we are now gluten/dairy/soy free, for starters.  it is tough because although i am so thankful he can still have eggs, he cannot have honey and almost EVERYTHING already prepared that could fit the bill otherwise has honey!  or if it is a savory dish it has garlic or onion spices, which are also a no-no.  also i have to severely limit his fruit intake to 1/4 cup 3x a day and he can only have certain kinds of fruits and no tomato/tomato paste/avocado.

sigh.

so far he likes the following:

-eggs (thank goodness we can have eggs) with melted rice cheese in earth balance spread
-grilled rice cheese sandwiches (gluten-free bread drenched in earth balance spread)
-gluten free pancakes made from scratch
-peanut butter cookies (made with PB, egg, and sugar)
-carrot muffins (made from scratch)
-sausage

he tolerates the following:
-cheerios (of course he is the 1 out of 1000 kids who doesn't love cheerios   )
-carrots
-cucumbers
-rotisserie chicken

he flat out refuses:
-homemade french toast
-homemade pizza made on rice crust with rice cheese, olive oil, and oregano
-rice pasta
-plain chicken

[Edesanja]

My DS couldn't eat Fructose when younger either (he had an immature bowl and was about 14 or 15months when he could finally tolerate more than a very limited diet). It WAS tricky to make things, and I tended to make a lot of the same things. J could eat banana, blueberries and avocadoes which I was thankful for! He had porridge and blueberries for breakfast, GF sandwich and usually a banana or avocado for lunch, I made lots of things into pattie/fritters for dinner or he could eat plain versions of the meat, potatoes and veggies we were eating.

Buntybear is still going with no Fructose for her wee boy though, so she might have some better ideas (she just probably didn't recognise it when it was put as FODMAP diet!) - it's almost a year ago now that I had to think about this stuff and I am so thankful that we are now over all our food issues. Is FODMAP diet going to be a way of life for your DS or is he like to grow out of it?

[chicagomom]

his ped and nutritionist both feel that this is a temporary issue.  he and DD both contracted a GI bug 3 months ago...it was a pretty bad one with both of them waking in the middle of the night with diarrhea for a week or so.  DD recovered, and DS did not.  so basically the diagnosis is fructose malabsorption due to damage to the gut from said virus.  i am a bit concerned that he could have some allergies (small but ongoing issues with eczema since i weaned him from BF at 6 months) and the nutritionist said that if he cannot tolerate certain foods when we reintroduce after the ED then she would recommend allergy and poop testing as the next step.

my DS throws me curveballs, i'll tell you!  he also has two congenital heart defects, although he is symptom-free and his cardiologist is confident that the only issue DS will face in life is a possible aortic valve replacement at middle age.  it makes me laugh thinking about my 17mo as a middle-aged man but there you go!

[Buntybear]

Ah yes, sorry - Olly is dairy/wheat/egg free and low fructose. We didn't follow any particular diet just muddled our way through till allergy tests and Jenny's light bulb moment of suggesting frucotse when he was still waking at night with wind!

ALl I can say is YES it is hard! Olly is fussy to boot and so we have really struggled with feeding him. I would bulk buy/cook as much as you can.  And don't worry if you feel like you are feeding him the same things day in, day out. My allergist told us that until fairly recently humans would live of only a few food groups. It is only recently that we have had so many new foods introduced.

HTH x

[chicagomom]

buntybear...what your allergist said has made me feel better!  i am not going to stress about him eating the same few things day in and day out (although I am finding pretty decent FODMAP-friendly baked good recipes online that DS likes so i will keep trying new things).  in 1 week per the nutritionist we start reintroducing by adding 1/2 cup lactose free dairy and i am PETRIFIED.    yesterday DS took a monster nap and woke up REALLY cranky and stayed that way for about 1 hour.  it reminded me of what he was like for the 3 months before his ED and it was really upsetting (i don't think yesterday was diet related as we had scheduled a haircut for him just after nap time and he hates haircuts LOL) and i am sooo scared to possibly go down that road again...

[Buntybear]

It is very scary  Olly has been off some high fructose fruit for over a year now with no trial as I can't face it!

So glad he is liking type food you are cooking for him, makes it so much easier if they are accepting of it! Also be reassured that it is easier to do this when they are young and not used to the foods that are potentially culprits xx