Tips for dairy/gluten free for one LO not the other?

[CCCmom27]

So DS2 has had chronic ear infections for about 6 months now.  All started when we went off reflux meds.  I'm to the point where I will do anything to not have to get him tubes.  I tried dairy free at the end of the summer but not really fully.  So I'm ready to have him go dairy/gluten free to see if my some amazing miracle it helps.  The problem is DS1.  He would literally live off cheese and bread if I let him.  Any tips for having one that can (and needs to bc he's not a big meat eater) eat dairy/gluten and one that can't?  Also how long for gluten to get out of his system?  He also still nurses 1-2x a day.  Should I also go off both?

TIA

[Jimbob]

My ds is 8 and dd is 9. My dd has no food allergies but my ds is allergic to dairy, eggs and nuts. He did have other food allergies including wheat, barley and oats so he was gluten free for a few years to. We have always allowed our dd to continue eating ds's allergens as we did not feel she should be on such a restricted diet when it was not medically necessary. The thing that made it easier for us was that we knew most of ds's major allergies at around 10 months so he has grown up not knowing any different really.

I think the main thing is to try and make the meals/snacks that you are offering as tasty as possible. There are plenty of milk substitutes so hopefully you can find one that your ds likes. My ds likes coconut milk best. We did not really use gluten free substitutes as my ds did not really like them. The one product we did use was gluten free pasta. My ds actually really liked it.

I hope that is of some help. Please feel free to ask any questions and I will try my best to answer them.

Kelly

[deb]

I swing the other way: neither dairy nor grains (with or without gluten) are nutritionally necessary and once you get into the groove of preparing that food, it's relatively easy to cook without them for everyone.

Josie's diet changed radically when she was just turning 4YO - her 4th birthday cake was the LAST gluten and even sugar she had for about 3 months, and it was a slow re-introduction (during which we did find other foods she was sensitive to, including fructose and artificial food colorings, and we can only do yogurt and sour cream and unpasteurized milk for dairy unless we are prepared for digestive and behavioral consequences). We find it easiest to just avoid them period, just stick with meat and vegetables and some fruits and nuts and seeds, not even grains or legumes except the odd gluten-free grain in some other meal, like the weekly PBJ with GF bread or some rice when we get Asian at a restaurant.

[abbysmomma]

I have an older dd who has no food allergies, and ds1 with egg, milk, wheat nuts, and ds2 with egg nuts. I let my dd have wheat toast and milk at brekkie, and her lunch at school usually has things she can't eat at home. Dinner is generally friendly for everyone. We don't have eggs or peanuts in the house due to their risk factor, and dd is really good about eating cleanly and always washing hands. How responsible is your ds1? The tough part is how ds2 will respond if he sees his brother eating things he can't have. Need to make sure that ds1 knows not to share. Gluten free pasta isn't too bad, especially the corn ones. GF breads are generally pretty terrible. You have better tasting options though, bc you can do eggs.  Daiya makes an cheese alternative that my son likes, but i'm not a fan. Then again, i'm pretty picky. As for breastfeeding, i know i had to not eat any of my son's allergens, but if he's only nursing a couple times a day, i'm not sure it would make a big diff. I would be tempted to say not to eat dairy and wheat, just to make sure that it's not coming from you if the diet isn't working for your son. Anyways, hope some of this made sense.

[CCCmom27]

Thank you all.  DS2 has only ever had a sip of milk to drink so the main dairy to eliminate is cheese and any trace amounts of milk etc in food. 

The tough part is how ds2 will respond if he sees his brother eating things he can't have.

This is what I'm most concerned about.  I don't want to not let DS1 have cheese for a snack just because DS2 can't eat it but at the same time I don't want poor DS2 to see his brother eating cheese (which he loves) and not be able to have it    They eat bean burritos a lot so I got some corn tortilla's to use for myself and DS2 instead of flour. 

I just realized I'm not sure when DS2 started eating eggs and if it coincided with the start of ear infections.  Now I'm thinking maybe we should go off those as well.  So that leaves breakfast as a big problem because we generally eat scrambled eggs!  What in the world can we eat for breakfast that is dairy, gluten, and egg free?!?!?!

[CCCmom27]

Just looked back and in April he started eating scrambled eggs.  Think it's possible they're contributing to the reflux & ear infections???

[abbysmomma]

I only deal with IgE mediated food allergies so i'm not so sure about reflux and ear infections. And breakfast, yeah, for ds it does suck. Probably the worst meal of the day. I've been told to let go of the preconceived notions about breakfast and have whatever but i can't get myself to actually cook a breakfast. The other meals are hard enough as it is.

[abbysmomma]

Sorry, my comp froze. Anyways, i was going to add that we generally have cereal (dry), gf toast that is toasted and dairy-free-buttered to high heaven to make it palatable (earth balance makes a good marg), some terrible tasting soy yogurt (but there are awesome coconut yogurts that weren't around when i first started all this - ds gets stuck on something he's used to and won't budge on the soy yogurt), and rice cakes, usually with jam or honey. Pretty dull. Oh, we have frozen waffles but you'll have to shop around for one that tastes ok. I can only find one that i like. Hope that helps!