When my oldest daughter, Abbey, was born, she was off the charts in terms of her weight, and height. According to the nurses, she was also off the charts for her lungs, that girl could scream! She had a normal first couple of years with lots of spitting up, recurring ear infections, and the occasional stomach bug she picked up from day care. At about 6 months of age, Abbey had her first ear infection and was prescribed amoxicillin for 10 days. As soon as her appropriate dosage ended, the ear infection came back. So, back to the doctor we went. And repeat. Eventually around 11 months old, our ENT suggested putting in ear tubes to address these infections in a more efficient way.
Abbey at 2 years old
Fast forward to 2 years old. While we were watching all of Abbey’s friends grow out of their clothes and move up to size 3T or even 4T, there Abbey was, still wearing her same 2T clothes. This went on for years. Each time we would go to the pediatrician for her well check-up, they would comment on how her growth rate was slowing, even though she was such a happy child and ate well. No one had a good explanation for why she wasn’t growing. We were always told, “come back in 6 months, and we’ll check her again.” Abbey didn’t really love food. She hated chewing meat, she loved buttered bread, and sweet potatoes made her gag. Eating always seemed like a chore for her because there were so many other things she would rather be doing.
I, on the other hand, loved to eat. I loved to eat everything…except bread, pizza, or pasta. I saw nothing wrong with my food preferences, but the people around didn’t agree. Most people couldn’t believe I didn’t like pizza, and some people even asked me if I was human! When I was a child, my poor mother had trouble finding things to pack for my lunch. I never had a great explanation for why I didn’t like those things, they just made me feel bad. They didn’t make me sick, it just felt like I had eaten an entire pizza when I only had a slice. When I was pregnant with my third child, Jackson, everything changed. During my third trimester, I ate a bad hamburger, and I mean bad. I’ll spare everyone the details, but just know it made me very sick and it took quite some time for me to recover. Ever since that episode, things were different. Each morning for the next several years, I would feel terrible. My stomach would hurt all the time, and I was experiencing unexplained weight loss. Eventually, I told my husband something wasn’t right and decided to go see a doctor. After my doctor listened to my symptoms, she tested me for celiac disease. One week later, she gave me a call to report I tested positive and gave me a referral for a gastroenterologist. Once I did some research, I discovered celiac disease was genetic and decided to have all three of my children tested. Sure enough, Abbey’s blood test came back more “positive” than mine. Both of us went for an endoscopy to confirm the diagnosis. Both biopsies showed evidence of celiac disease. We were given a “how to eat gluten-free” pamphlet and sent on our way.
Abbey 2nd grade
Once the details of our new eating plan started to sink in, we realized it wasn’t as easy as we initially thought. There were lots of tears, a ton of mistakes and so many questions. To this day, we still have the occasional “whoops,” like when I thought I bought an Annie’s gluten free Mac and Cheese only to find out when I brought it home, it was gluten FULL. Going out to eat continues to be a struggle unless we plan ahead and communicate well with the wait staff. Traveling can be overwhelming, but we've finally figured out our go-to restaurants and the importance of packing snacks. We even bring our own toaster for our multi-family ski trip!
Despite all of this, we aren’t miserable - we’re actually doing great. I honestly like to think of our diagnosis as a blessing. Ever since we found out we had celiac disease, we pay very close attention to what we eat, our bodies feel so much healthier, our child is growing at a normal rate, and we all discovered a new appreciation for the powerful impact of food. One of the best outcomes of all, I LOVE eating gluten free pizza! Who knew pizza tasted so good!?
