Don't know, if somebody can help me today. I know, I haven't been here for a while, but I've had a lot of trouble and a lot on my plate. My husband and I are getting a divorce. I'm fighting to get the custody of Lukas and my husband said, he doesn't care at all, what the celiac pediatritian said. He said, he couldn't stand that man anyways and Lukas would be fine. He doesn't believe he could have celiac (yeah right, by looking at him), after all he would have half his genes (how does HE know, he doesn't have it either? after all he's half irish and shows a lot of symptoms) and also he said he doesn't care. He threatened me. He said, he takes my boy and a lawyer. And he will get Lukas, even if he takes an a... beating (sorry for my french, but that's what he said). So I got scared, fled out of the country. I was in a women shelter. I am returning shortly, cause I have a lawyer who settled everything for me. However she said, it would be good to have a written statement or confirmation or whatever, that a child of a celiac could also develop celiac and needs to have a genetest and if the genes are the ones that indicate the danger of developing celiac, the child needs to be monitored every year to make sure, there is nothing triggered yet. I have no idea, where I can find the contact information for the american celiac association right now, because I'm so upset. My court hearing is xxxxx (I x-d it out, not that my husband will read it, because he has emergency temporary custody right now. I don't want him to show up at this date and take Lukas). I should have it by then, preferably earlier. Please, to all my friends on here. Help!!!

Stef

Here is a list with some national celiac groups and their contact information. Not sure that's what you're looking for but hopefully it can get you started in the right direction. Would a letter or something from the pediatrician work? Kind of like an expert witness explaining the need for ongoing monitoring of your son for Celiac?

I'm very sorry for the tough situation you are in and wish you all the best.

Stef:

I can so glad that you contacted us. There's power in numbers and we all have great collective resourses. I am sorry for all your troubles.

Here is a contact for the Celiac Disease Foundation www.celiac.org. At that organization you can contact deborah@celiac.org (Deborah Ceizler). Let her know that you are from Celiac.com and that I suggested you contact her. She can guide you to who you need to talk to.

Did you take Lukas out of the country? Is he with you?

Please keep in touch. Hugs to you.

http://www.americanceliac.org/

There is a link to contact info on the main page.

Stef - I'm sorry you're having so much trouble. I missed you.

I'm going to PM you something from the University Of MD Celiac Research Center that may be of help. I't long, or I'd just post it here.

Cindy

Stef, I'm sorry I can't help you with any of your questions but I am really sorry to hear of your situation

It must be very hard for you - and the baby being so young

{{{hugs}}}

OMG Stef. I cannot believe this has happened to you...I had to reread the post several times. If you need anything, feel free to PM me, I can help you when you may return to the area....let me know if I can do anything.

Stef, I am so bummed to hear this. I can't add any useful information beyond what is already here, but I hope you and Lukas can get clear and away from the creep. Please let us know how things go.

Oh Stef--my gosh...all of the information you have already been given is good and I can't think of anything to add to it.

If there's anything I can do, please don't hesitate to contact me. We care about you and the baby and I pray that you both stay safe and away from trouble.

When you can, please let us know how you are.

Thanks for all your answers. You don't know, what this means to me. I will get back to you, but I don't know when and where. Wish me luck and keep me in your prayers. Prayers in numbers are awesome.

Thanks so much, Stef

Good Morning Stef
I know you don't know when you will get a chance to answer again....as long as you can pop in and just say Hi that will help

Hi there, I'm back. I called domestic violence today. They said, unless something already happened, they can't put me in a womens shelter. I tried to call the pediatrician, but they don't put me through to him. I only got the answering machine anyway. I tried to call the Harrisburg La Leche League Leader and will try to get into contact with Attachment Parenting International in Harrisburg. Because they also said, what I'm doing is child abuse (carrying around, co-sleeping and so on...). I forgot their number though and I can't find their Yahoo Group in Harrisburg, because my mother's computer is very slow.

At the moment I'm the bad guy in their eyes. Because I wasn't their, my husband has temporary emergency custody for the boy. A friend of mine had her hearing already this morning. They asked her, if she was going to turn over the baby. I have my hearing soon. I'm afraid, if the custody thing is not settled until then, I will have to turn him over. And I won't... I mean, I didn't do anything wrong. When I left the country I didn't know my rights. I thought, I didn't have any. For g... sakes, he's still breastfeeding. If I don't get custody soon, I have to turn him over. And if I won't, this means, they are going to arrest me.

I don't know, what to do? I'm so desperate. My boy belongs to me. I didn't do anything.
Stef

whats the yahoo thing you are looking for I can look it up and post it ASAP

Stef, I am so sorry you're going through this. I wish there were something we could all do to help. Please keep us posted and most of all STAY SAFE! Prayers are with you and Lukas.

I am so sorry u are going threw this. What is wrong with co-sleeping, ughhh people. There should be a law if u are breast feeding then the bb has to stay with you. I wish u the best of luck.

paula

The groups name is either Attachment Parenting Harrisburg or Attachment Parenting International Harrisburg.

Yes, I don't know what's wrong with co-sleeping either. This just enhances your imagination of how to do it otherwise, if you know, what I mean. But according to my husband, he didn't want that with me anymore anyway. Sooooo, what can I do now?

My friend called me today. They are trying to get the court order about the emergency custody reseinded, or whatever you call it. I hope, it works.

I'm coming back shortly and don't know, if I have internet connection THAT quick again. This might be the last time you hear from me, while I'm in Germany. Thanks for all your prayers and I will be back as soon as I can. Hopefully with good news.

Thanks so much, Stephanie

Well be safe and careful, your hubby souds like a real winnder. I still have nights when one of my kids is sleeping with us, i have never thought of it as being bad. MEN.

i hope they can get it turned around, the custody thing. One thing to do is have all your inforation together, keep track of all the things he has said or done and document them. That is so important in getting custody.


paula

Thanks, that's what a cop in Germany said, too. I've been working on a diary since then. My attorney gets an update regular. She said, it's an awesome diary. I hope, it helps some. She wrote a letter to my husbands attorney now to get the custody order reseinded. I don't get, how people can be so cruel . I will see my lawyer soon, since today I'm back in the US.

Thanks so much. I will try to keep you guys posted.
Hugs, Stef

Great to hear from you Stef!!

Well, I'm safely back in the US. The court hearing is tomorrow morning at 8.30 eastern time. Please, send some prayers up for me around that time. I hope, I can update you as soon as possible.

Thanks so much, Stef

Stef--

I'll be thinking about you and the baby tomorrow morning

Take care

Stef: I am going to pray that the hearing will be in your favor.
My brother lived in Lancaster area (I think that's Dauphin County?) and he recalls that during his divorce that the county Lancaster is in, is a "pro-woman" county - as he wanted the custody of his son (for reasons totally different than your husband - my brother's wife, after 10 years of marriage, was cheating on him and brought veneral disease into the home - thankfully he did not get the V.D. she brought home because they were living like brother & sister due to the broken relationship. But he found out and felt she was doing drugs as well. He also found out that the county they lived in (Lancaster) was "pro-woman" when it came to child custody in a divorce. ) He felt that he would lose the case due to this, so he allowed ex-wife to have child custody unofficially & he monitored her behavior and if he saw that her behavior was deterimental to health & welfare of their child he was going to pursue custody. So far 8 years after the divorce the child, now 16, was not in any danger living with his mother in Lancaster. Inasmuch as she violated her marriage, she was an O.K. mother - there was not enough to "wrestle" with the courts for custody.

Hello to all my celiac friends,

I don't want to let you wait any longer, so I'm saying it straight out. The judge declared me as the primary care taker of Lukas. This means, he will stay with me. However my (still) husband and I will share the custody for the next 6 weeks. We came to an agreement, that he can see the child (if he wants and has time) every day from 8.00 to 12.45 in the morning. On his days off, Lukas will stay with him from 8.00 to 5.00. There are no over night stays yet and Lukas will stay with me the rest of the time.

Well, now my two cents in this. As I see it, Brock will get sick of having Lukas all the time. After all Brock works from 2 to 11 every day. I know, in the evening, he needs to wind down. So he has his beer (who hasn't, well, glutenfree for us) and sits in front of the TV, sometimes until 2. Then he wants to get up early in the morning to pick up Lukas from our meeting point? He needs to do his housework and get ready for work. How in the world does he want to do that all with a little baby? I'm telling you, he is not going to last long. In a few days he will beg me for a day off... lol.

Well, let's see, where we go from here. I will monitor Lukas and take snapshots every day, I pick him back up at the meeting point. If he has red eyes, cause he let him ball all the time and he is real clingy, cause he didn't care about him most of the time, this will have an aftermath (however you call it).

The worst thing was, when we finally had a break after one and a half hours of court. The judge said, well, let's meet back here in 10 minutes. So I thought, well...... if the next period is one and a half hours as well, you better go and nurse Lukas, cause he won't last that long. So I sit down in a quiet room beside the court room. I just nursed for like 5 minutes... and every mother who nursed already knows, it will take longer than 10 minutes anyway to nurse a baby to satisfaction, it's not like with a bottle, like 10 minutes and done with. So I nurse for like 5 minutes. All of a sudden my mother in law comes in and b.....s at me to give her the baby. She literally wanted to rip him off my breast. She's like, well, his relatives haven't seen him for a while. I was like, excuse me, he's hungry. She kept bitching and bitching until she had him after like 15 minutes. I mean, what the h..... excuse my french. Is her and the family's wellbeing more important than my baby's wellbeing??? I told my lawyer. Her jaw just dropped. She did not know, what to say.

Then the American "family" handed the poor little guy around like a piece of meat. Every time he got a little fussy, he got handed from one to the next. He kept looking helpless to Kathy, who he knows better than his own family. That's why I call her his adoptive grandma. But of course she couldn't do anything. Well, the end of the story was, that after we went home, he started to ball uncontrollably around 4 times throughout the day, where neither my mom or I could call him down. It was pure overstimulation. What were they thinking?

And the best part. I will get find (no imprisonment, but something else) for something, that wasn't my fault to begin with.

OK, I got it off my chest. Now it's out. Well, the lawyers and my husband will meet again in like 6 weeks or so and discuss, how it went. I will lead an accurate diary about everything important, so that I have something in hand, in case we go to court again. And if not, maybe I land a bestseller I could need the money anyways... lol.

Oh, speaking of diary. As of this week, we will introduce solids. The celiac doc said, research showed, it would be beneficial to introduce gluten between 4 and 6 months and than to take it away again. But he will get these little glasses with the numbers on them. I have no idea, what you call them. You know, these baby glasses? And then my husband and I will document everything that goes into Lukas mouth and everything, that comes out the other end and important stuff like rashes and such. Well, at least he has to do THAT now, because there was no getting through to him, when I try to talk to him about that earlier. But now he has to, otherwise my lawyer will say, he isn't interested in the wellbeing of the child and then he might have a problem. So I'm actually glad it turned out like this.

Soooooo, even though it isn't over yet, here is a big thank you for all that prayed for us and thought about us:

THANK YOU

Now I have to get ready, because I want to leave at 7-ish, so that I can nurse Lukas on the parking lot one more time.

Stef

I am so happy for you. Im glad u are going to document everything, and you do know if u are at your meeting place and he is more then 15 minutes late, you dont have to wait any longer. If the baby comes home in a dirty diaper, document it.

paula

Thanks for the update Stef--I'm so happy that things went your way!

Paula's right--document everything

Stay strong--you're a great mom I'll continue to remember you in my prayers.

great news Stef!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, I'm so anxious to see Lukas again. I was cleaning up my friends house and thought, in my milk pumping break I just read your posts.

Thanks so much.

I'll keep you posted.
Stef