How I found out I had celiac

My grandpa had cancer. I was six years old. I was writing all sorts of letters to him and suddenly my stomach started hurting. We thought I was going to puke so we rushed to the bathroom. I stayed leaning over the toilet for a long time. Then finally my parents thought I should get some sleep. So I went to bed. But the stomach aches kept happening day after day and finally we went to a doctor. He made me keep taking this pill called Prevacid. And Tums. That helped for a little bit. But not for long.

I felt nauseous. I felt all sorts of things. Angry. Upset. And I could not ignore how much it hurt. So I didn't have a very fun time playing in my room.

Then we went to see my regular doctor. He wanted to stick a needle in me, and the needle would take out the blood. And then some people would look at it and see what I had. And then they did it. And then they did it again after a little while.

We visited a new doctor and she said to take a little more blood. That made me feel annoyed, upset and a little scared. It hurt. It didn't take long though. After it happened they gave me a band aid with a smiley face on it. It took a little while for it to stop being sore. But eventually it did.

Then I had an operation. It was not fun. I went to a playroom, (the only fun thing about the whole operation thing). Then I got taken to a room, and got on to a bed with wheels under it. I got changed into a nightgown (which was WAY too big on me) and mommy rode with me when they took the bed with me and my mama on it to the room where I would have my operation.

I stopped at the bathroom. Then they made me breathe into this yucky air that would make me fall asleep. And when you counted to three, poof I was asleep. They stuck a tube in my mouth and my two wiggly front teeth came out, even though they weren't really ready. The tube went into my tummy but still I was asleep, so what I felt was nothing.

And when I woke up I had a big hole in my mouth when I smiled because my bottom teeth had come out too. I looked at my chest and there were these square things on it with pictures of animals on it. I couldn't talk very well. I never really talked without any front or bottom teeth. I was talking horribly. There was also a needle in the back of my hand and it hurt. I kept asking when it will we take it out? When will we take it out? The answer was, ALWAYS, soon. The good part is, I had some animal crackers and watched a movie.

They scraped off a tiny little thin piece of my tummy when I was asleep with a knife and sent it to a laboratory where it would get tested. I didn't feel it because I was asleep. Or else the whole thing would terribly hurt.

And that's how they figured out I had celiac. We basically emptied out the whole house. Now I can't have some of my favorite foods but that doesn't mean I can't have any yummy foods. And some people make gluten free pasta, one of my favorite foods. That made me feel a little happier. But still, no Cheddar Bunnies, and other crackers.

The most important thing is that I'm not hurting my body and I still get to eat yummy things!

Mama Mondays

I love to bake. And the Kid and I have been baking together for a long time -- even though she's 7. So when we heard she had celiac, my first worry was how would we bake again?

Luckily, we're not the first to think about this! There are so many wonderful recipes, blogs, and cookbooks out there aimed at the gluten-free baker. While I am starting to learn how to use xantham gum, tapioca starch, quinoa flour and other strange items I had never heard of before, I am not too proud to dive into a pre-made mix to ensure the Kid's craving for a muffin or brownie can be fed.

So for my first post on Gluten Free Rocks, I thought I would name a couple of my favorite cookbooks, blogs and mixes that we've tried in our short four months...I am working on some recipes of my own, but let's just say I don't think they're quite ready to be shared. (we've had some fun disasters!)

But these are great and I recommend heartily:

King Arthur Gluten-Free Mixes (we LOVE the brownies...amazing!)

Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix (the best gluten-free pancake mix we've found so far)

Tartelette (Gorgeous to read, her story inspiring, her recipes are amazing!)

Cannelle et Vanille (also gorgeous, and some dairy-free recipes too...!)

Gluten-Free Baking Classics (Banana Nut Muffins are EXCELLENT...we upped the cinnamon...)

the Gluten-Free Almond Flour cookbook (recommended by our friends at Chew On This...almond flour is the best thing I've found and we love the recipe in here for chicken fingers)

A short list, I know. But all have been helpful for this mama to help her celiac kid feel that being gluten-free rocks!

Birthdays!

Usually when people have birthdays they either have cake or cupcakes. Those usually are not gluten-free. If you want to go a birthday party then why don't you start bringing your own cupcakes? And if they have something like pizza too, bring your own lunch or dinner.

Whole Foods makes good gluten free cupcakes, chocolate and vanilla. So you can go to Whole Foods and get some cupcakes there.

It might be a little hard at first. I felt embarrassed when I went to my first birthday party that I got invited to when I had celiac. Because everybody else was having the other food but I had to have a different kind. But then I got used to it and I felt comfortable bringing my own food.

When people have birthdays at school I have a cupcake carrier from Amazon. My mama squishes the cupcakes into the carrier, and usually I bring one for the teacher too. It's like nothing changed except I have a different cupcake than them. And I feel like nothing changed too.

It's getting really fun to bring my own things because sometimes I even get to bring brownies! The best part is, the brownies are homemade. You might learn how to make them on the recipes page which my mama says she will put up on Monday. We call it Mama Mondays. It's when my mama gets to write on my blog and add something.

Hello Everyone

Hello, I am gluten-free girl living in New York City, and I'm 7-years-old.
I made this blog because I want you to know how fun Celiac can be sometimes. If you are a kid then keep reading. And if you're a grown-up and you have a kid there might be some helpful info that you might want to learn about. But only if you have Celiac.

Just like me.

For example, you might want to go to a very good bakery called Tu-lu's. They make cupcakes, muffins, cookies and all sorts of very yummy treats. There's also a bakery called Baby Cakes. They're also very good at making gluten-free things. And as you go along you will find some other good things that you might be interested in.

Why don't you go ahead and start reading more about Celiac and gluten-free things. On my blog, there might be some recipes, reviews, and how hard it was at first when I got Celiac, and how long it took for them to figure it out and the process. You might find some connections with the blog and yourself.

When you're done, come by soon and we'll have some more for you to read about Celiac and kids like me.