Hello ladies so I have an odd question but I am curious and looking for some other opinions. I babysit an 18m old little boy everyday. He's very healthy and growing rapidly, and typically eats well at meals but is very picky. However this little man poops 3 to 4 times a day! It's unbelievable! Everytime I turn around he's poopy. And these aren't just your typical poops they are very acidic. If I don't realize he's poopy right away he has a terrible rash within mins! I've talked with his mother and we've decided to cut things out of his diet like oranges and other acidic fruits and also cut back on tomato based things like ketchup and spaghetti sauces. He drinks alot of milk and has very recently started to accept water and juice he did not show any interest in water or juice at all until about 3 weeks ago. So needless to say he has a constant diaper rash and is constantly poopy! Is this normal? Are there other kiddos out there that poop this much? This has been his regular digestive schedule for almost a year now. I have two girls and they poop 1 time a day with the occasional second poop but its very rare. I realize that everyone is different and we all have different systems but pooping 4 times a day just seems bizarre to me. Any comments or advice would be great. Thanks
M.--
The body is designed to push out waste every time you eat--so in a perfectly functioning system it is not weird to have a BM that often. However, the rash is not normal or healthy. Has he been on anti-biotics in his life? If so I am guessing the poor little guy probably has a rampant yeast infection in his digestive track. If that is not the case then most certainly he is having food allergies/sensitivities.
Good luck!
J.
Frequency is completely normal, but the acidity may not be. Have the mom talk to a pediatrician for advice. And for the record, there is absolutely no correlation between teething and bm's.
According to our pediatrician, yes, 4 times a day is perfectly normal. My almost 2 1/2 year old has been having constipation issues and the DR told me that once every other day to 4-5 times a day is normal - all depending on the person. As long as the bm's aren't runny, and you continue to ask the parents to watch his diet, I'd say everything is fine. Something is obviously irritating his bum so I'd be persistant with the parents and his diet. Good luck! :)
It might be worth trying a probiotic to see if it helps with the rash. Like everyone else is saying, that poop frequency is normal.
Regarding the possibility of a food issue, there's a great book ('Is This Your Child?' by Doris Rapp) that has explanations of food reaction symptoms (picky eating can actually be a symptom) and also has information about how to track down which food is a problem. You can't necessarily identify a food issue based on *which* symptoms a person has. Your friend could take a look at it and see if there are any other symptoms that indicate an allergy or sensitivity. Allergy testing is good, too, but won't pick up sensitivities at all and is only about 50% accurate for allergies.
Have you all tried a different brand of diapers to see if that might be an issue?
The other thing I'd suggest about the rashes is keeping a food diary. Write down everything the boy eats/drinks and then note any symptoms. They're a pain in the butt but can give great information. Ours helped me identify my baby's sensitivity to rice!
Best of luck... hope you guys can get the poor little guy's rash cleared up!
My boys pooped multiple times a day when they were younger - I always had someone commenting on the "always having diarrhea" (which it wasn't). So that part is normal.
As far as them being acidic, is it because of the rash he gets? It's possible that they could be alkaline, or that it could be the reaction between something in the poop and his urine. It wouln't hurt to run it past his pediatricial (who may even ask for a sample), but chances are that its something in his diet. Most common culprits would probably be spicy foods (think of what give you heartburn. That's acid; it could be going the other way for him). Milk could also be a culprit, it might be good to rule out lactose intolerance. If it is a food-sensitivity, it would be best to work with a doctor to diagnose which food and find alternatives (rather than the 'specialists' at the health food stores).
I'm glad you and his mom are working on the same page to help deal with this. That'll make things so much easier for him!
Hi M.,
One of my boys was exactly like that - several poops a day, some of them fairly runny, and he always seemed to have a diaper rash. His belly also seemed a bit distended. Eliminating all strawberry and tomato products from his diet helped with the rash. Then I read that lactose intolerance can cause the stool to be acidic so we switched him to lactose free milk. That made a big difference! In one day his stomach flattened out and his pooping became more normal. We like the Lactaid brand of milk. I would definitely try changing his milk for a few days to see if anything changes.
My guess is that the milk is the culprit.
My daughter is poopy every time I turn around and neither of my boys were that way. When people watch her they always feel bad because I walk in the door and sure enough she is poopy! She also has very sensitive skin and gets diaper rash very easily. I tried to change her diet and it did not work for me, however, I do use Baby Butt Paste and baby powder on her every time I change her even when she doesn't have poop. It seems to have stopped the rash, unfortunately not the constant pooping though.
Good luck.
My son is 16 months and poops 4-5 times a day, and thats been his schedule his whole life. The good news is it is always around the same times every day, so I know when to start looking for a dirty diaper to change.
My now 21 month old son recently went through a phase where he pooped 5 or 6 times a day. It lasted a few weeks and he was done. He tends to poop twice a day, but it's not unusual for him to go 3 times.
It stinks (no pun intended) but there is nothing wrong with it!
My son had some issues with BMs and it turned out to be partially lactose intolerance. The lactose free milk does wonders - we like Lactaid because it doesn't come from cows treated with RBGH. Also, he was still having some issues and his doctor recommended NO juice, and no products with sorbitol. Cleared the rest up within a week. Good luck!
He could be lactose intolerant. I would cut out the milk and keep the water and juice and see what happens.
My youngest son is 16 months old and he poops just as much. He's getting his molars (top AND bottom) and that's contributing to the consistency, frequency, AND the diaper rash. Same thing with him, too. If I don't change him IMMEDIATELY, red, blistery diaper rash ensues immediately. The molars are taking their sweet time coming in, too. It's been about a month and constant diaper rash and non-stop, acidic poop.
I know bananas make kids have more BMs.
If he will eat fruit, he really doesn't need juice at this age (especially if he will drink water). It can't hurt to (one at a time) try switching to lactose-free milk to see if that helps, then if not, try cutting out the juice. It's just empty calories and definitely adds to acid.
I think all kids' systems are different. My two older kids have always been very frequent poopers, from the time they were babies. It makes for lots more diaper changes and lots more helping them wipe when they potty train, but at least we haven't had to deal with constipation issues like some parents have. I'd rather change a few more diapers!
Also, about the acidic thing, every once in a while my two year old will have a few days in a row where his poops are acidic and burn his skin if they sit on him too long. I don't know if it's something he ate or a little tummy bug, but it always seems to go away after a few days. I feel so bad for them when their bottoms get sore!
I haven't read everything, so excuse me if I am repeating any information.
My son is in cloth diapers and really hasn't had any diaper rashes, other than a random redness when he is diapered while still damp from the wipes. Recently, he discovered blueberries, and ooooh did he! I learned that poop can be purple! Anyway, we went through a two pound container in less than a week. One day, he apparently pooped right after being changed and before his nap, and when he woke up from the nap he was REALLY red and had a rash. I believe it was from the acidity of the blueberries. We cut back on the berries, but also made sure that we slathered on the cream (Motherlove - Diaper Cream and Thrush). It lasted a while, but it was continually getting better until it disappeared.
I would try airing him out well, and the diaper cream, also try some cloth or organic diapers. 7th generation makes some disposable. It could be a reaction to the diaper, and not even the food. Good luck.
You are right, everyone is different. My son poops 2x a day, my daughter anywhere from 1 to 5 times a day depending on how hungry she is, and what she wants to eat. Sounds like you and his mom have already made some smart choices about his diet. Adding juice to his diet will just make him poop more -- and adds more acid to his diet. Stick with water or milk. Add in a little cheese (real cheese, not the processed stuff) to slow his digestive tract down. Maybe getting him to eat some more fiber and more of the BRAT (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) diet type things to give more substance for his digetive tract to latch on to. And, if he's constantly got diaper rash, you might want to consider some kind of ointment at every single change. When my daughter poops that often (usually with a growth spurt) the only way to keep her from getting diaper rash is the full strength original Desitin (yeah, I know, the horrible white stuff that never comes out and gets all over everything). Good luck!
I would not be worried about the fact that he's pooping 4 times per day. That is actually good for him. But the fact that it's acidic and hurting his bum is a problem. That happens to my son when he has too much dairy. He has a dairy intolerance. Try cutting out milk, cheese, ice cream, and yogurt. See if it helps. If it does, slowly ween him back on with only a little bit... I bet it's a milk intolerance or some other food intolerance. Just because a food is acidic does not mean it would make his poop acidic. It could be any food, and like I said, would not at all be surprised if it was because of the milk.
