Waffle Face

My two oldest are now waffle fanatics ever since I discovered Van's gluten free waffles.  They eat them with maple syrup and frozen blueberries on top; needless to say this is a very sticky and messy breakfast.  They love it, and it's hard for me to say no!

Last week I brought Beth to her pediatric GI doc because of recent complaints of a tummy ache. The problem with celiac disease is that, as her mother, there's no way for me to know if a tummy ache is because she's been "glutened" or if it's for some other reason.  Since Beth never had classic typical celiac symptoms, I have no idea if she would show typical symptoms now that she's been gluten-free for several months or if she'll be asymptomatic for the rest of her life.  I hope that as an adult, she'll be able to figure out the difference for herself.  In any case, she'd been complaining daily so I called and we went in to visit with a physician's assistant, who was wonderful.  I love the care we receive at this hospital.

Long story short, Beth had the same colon issue that Luke did only a few weeks ago, meaning she was very backed up an in need of a colon cleanse.  Doing the cleanse hasn't been so easy for her because she's pickier than Luke is about what she drinks; in fact, all she drinks ever is milk or water.  No juice, no Capri Sun, no Kool Aid. It was nearly impossible to get her to drink the initial large dose of Miralax, and continuing her daily dose has been just about impossible.  Even the most awesome bribes we can think of still haven't been enough to convince her to drink.

I was left feeling like a complete failure of a mother, wondering why on earth both of my children have had this issue.  I can't blame it on a gluten-free diet, at least not Luke, because his problem developed before we went gluten-free (and even then he still isn't 100% GF).  Beth doesn't have as much fiber anymore since she can't eat wheat Chex, but all in all I still think our children eat very good, well-balanced diets.  Apparently it just hasn't been enough fiber for their unusually high requirements!

Luke came with us to the checkup for a followup.  He will remain on the daily dose of Miralax to help him continue to heal, and in related news he's potty trained himself !  Okay, just #2, but that's what really counts right?!  It's been almost two weeks since he's pooped in his diaper, and I feel positive saying that it's a result of his colon healing and the fact that he doesn't have to strain anymore.  Yay!

For now, I'm on a mission to find super-high fiber gluten-free snacks for my kids.  It's been a challenge because they don't always like everything I bake, but I'm determined to figure this one out.