Jackson’s meals

Ok, I have been thinking a lot about Jackson and his weight issues. Recently he has lost some weight again and I am not sure why as he seems to eat well these days. I can't help but wonder if he has some malabsorption issue, and am wondering about coeliac as it runs in DH's side of the family. No matter how well he eats, I just can't keep him growing at an adequate rate.

Anyway, here is what his day foodwise looks like and I would love to know if others are doing similar, more or less. He is fairly consistent, we seldom have him refuse to eat.

Breakfast: 200ml toddler formula, small bowl of cornflakes and milk and a 100g pottle of yoghurt

Morning tea: Box of raisins and some crackers

Lunch: Two slices of wholemeal bread with butter, ham and tomato sauce (I know - ew)

Afternoon tea: Quarter of an apple, crackers, raisins

Dinner: Tonight was about 150g of my own concoction (macaroni, mince, tomatoes, pureed veges and cheese sauce), 3 cheerio sausages and 100g pottle of yoghurt.


I think I might take him back to the doctor as he has not seen a paed since he was discharged from hospital care about 8 months ago. What is involved in testing for coeliacs?

Hi, my son was tested for gluten intolerance and as part of that test (blood test) they tested for the coeliacs gene, without the coeliacs gene you can't get coeliacs but you can still be like me and be gluten intolerant and have issues with low iron, headaches/migraines and not absorb your food properly have bowel issues and so on, just no matter how much gluten you eat you wouldn't get coeliacs without having that gene. The paed also did a skin prick test for wheat.
This is the doc we saw and he has a lot of stuff on his site about gluten intolerance/coeliacs.

Allergy Specialist

I think if they want to confirm coeliacs they have to do a biopsy as well, but if they carry the gene and it's caught early (before the blood test shows inflammation) then they shouldn't need to do that test as they wouldn't have developed coeliacs.

His eating is great. My 2 year old eats the same.

I guess best to see someone about the weight though.

Also perhaps give him more at lunch. Maybe some baked beans, spagetti or egg. Does his daycare do hot lunch?

Sheza wrote: His eating sounds great Laurie! :) He eats about the same as my two :) With the weight thing Im not really sure..but Caden didnt gain bugger all from 20 months - 2 years, but he grew a lot in height, maybe Jackson has grown in height and lost a bit of weight or not gained much? Does he have any other symptoms? I thought with Gluten intolerance etc you had tummy pain, headaches etc etc

No, no other symptoms. And I kind of don't even want to tempt fate by getting him tested as all his main foods he loves are gluten! In all other respects he seems healthy and happy, so might just mention it to the doc next time we go to see him. Though I wonder if our paed would want to know about the weight loss? Hmmmm.

Good to know that he's fairly similar to what others are doing. Some days I think he eats more than me!

Hey Laurie Wow Jackson eats a lot more than Kade he is such a grazer and barley eats a proper meal!! What does Jackson weigh at the moment?

Yeah, cuppatea, we were always considered low risk because Jackson always gained in head circumference and height. Apparently they start to worry when these don't follow their curves because the body adds weight last. I am pretty sure he's still on track for height - his pants keep getting shorter!!

Bizzy, I wish I could get more fruit and cheese into him. He continues to refuse both of these, and any vegetables he's aware of. Hence I still have to hide cheese and veges. Sigh.

We're slowly getting there though - have just noticed he's more willing to try stuff now, so we are making progress. He's just started eating chicken, so I guess that helps. I would dearly love for him to fall for cheese and bananas.

And as for being active, he certainly is! Like crazily so. The kid NEVER walks, only runs (and constantly falls over because of it). He is constant energy - I tire just watching him. So no issues there. :)

Becky, he's now about 11.5kg. Looks skinnier than reality because he is closer to average for height. Just a wee stick!

Edited by kiwilaurie

I actually think his weight is okay. Flat-lining on weight for a time is pretty normal but I would definitely see a GP about weight loss in a child. He's obviously not losing excessive weight.

As for his current diet, he eats a lot more than my Kaela who is just a couple of weeks off 2yrs. I would suggest dropping the raisins from afternoon tea: they are high in sugar so you don't really want him eating them twice a day, and he's having a decent amount of fruit already.

A note on fruit and veges: my fruit-loving baby is 5 now and still goes straight for fruits and jams. She will eat veges now without any fuss but they aren't her favourites. My 2yo will eat nearly any green vege but won't eat fruit! We discovered this week that she likes watermelon, it's the first fruit she has ever eaten! But, she eats weetbix and veges everyday and if she ate fruit as well, it would probably be too much fibre for her.

re coeliacs: there is a blood test which checks for the gene as well as antibodies. Research is now indicating that anyone with the gene is going to develop coeliacs eventually. When the blood test is undertaken on someone who eats a standard level of gluten each day, it seems to be pretty accurate. Only people who "fail" the blood test can go on to have the biopsy which provides the formal diagnosis of coeliacs. That then allows for children up to 16yrs to have WINZ funding and adults to have some subsidies.