NCS, 5 Months Later

So here we are, in the spring. NCS was diagnosed as celiac in early October, and he went totally and completely GF ten minutes later. The following is just a basic rundown of how we've navigated these waters, in case it could possibly help anyone else.

Quick recap: Total cleansing and purging of almost all food and small kitchen appliances/tools. Check. Full brain immersion in all things GF/celiac, including a thorough education on cross contamination. Check. Crash course education of all friends and family members on cross contamination. Check. Boy healed and growing... Check.

We pretty much live our lives in our home as we did before. Our house is absolutely GF, no flour in the house, and nothing that ever touched flour in the house. I cook just as I did before, but now with a wonderful premixed flour blend that I can substitute for regular flour, cup for cup. Easy. The difficulty comes in when we venture out into the world. We still don't eat out very much (maybe three times in five months), and I'm not so sure that will really resume anytime soon. NCS' school has been nothing short of incredibly supportive throughout this journey, and I can't thank them enough for respecting NCS and protecting his health.

I just calculated NCS' growth in height with my ultra scientific measuring device: marks on the kitchen door frame. It seems that he's grown 1.5 inches since October, and I know that he's gone up two sizes in his clothes and probably three in shoes. This can only mean that he has healed, and his body is now celebrating everything he eats with a burst of growth.

Symptom-wise, he hasn't thrown up since he went GF, and he's only had one or two tummy aches, which could certainly be attributed to almost anything else typically ingested by a five year old. And the "celiac belly," think Save-the-Childrenesque bloated Ethiopian belly... gone.

He understands that he has celiac disease, and it means that he can't have anything with gluten in it. He is absolutely amazing in that he assumes that any new food is contaminated, and he asks me or another reliable source ("Mommy, look this up on your phone.") whether or not he can safely eat it. He has a few backup snacks at home and school that he can indulge in when his friends are toasting each other with cupcakes, and we have a freezer full of GF cupcakes, which I have learned are really just a safe, yet labor intensive delivery device for icing and sprinkles.

This is a short list of his approved snacks:

* Fruit (except unwashed strawberries and unpeeled non-organic apples)

* Lays (unflavored) chips: from Stax (like Pringles, but safe) to baked, which he loves

* Vanilla ice cream (we buy Blue Bell, vanilla only)

* Plain popcorn (we pop the kernels at home, don't trust microwave bags or ingredients)

* Xochil corn chips (he likes the blue ones), and I think Tostitos scoops are safe

* Ore Ida french fries and hash browns (haven't checked out the "extra crispy" varieties)

These are some things that we have learned are NOT SAFE:

* unpeeled conventional (non-organic) apples: wax on the skin may contain gluten

* Pringles

* Mission brand corn chips (processed in a facility that also processes wheat)

* Chocolate ice cream (depends on the brand, read labels carefully)

* Frozen yogurt with any "cookie/cake" flavors (cookies & cream, wedding cake, etc.)

* McDonald's fries: rumored to be safe, but THEY CONTAIN WHEAT (also hash browns)

These are the snacks that we usually have on hand, just in case. Lunchbox wise, he primarily eats cantaloupe, bananas, grapes, and Boar's Head turkey/cheese wraps (use the turkey slices as the outside wrapping), plain popcorn. Occasionally, I'll include GF chicken nuggets (either homemade or Ian's), with Chick Fil A Polynesian sauce.

More later,

Whip