Bowel Movement

My daughter is 15-months old and still goes two to three times a day. She just started getting solid stool. I have asked the Dr. several times regarding the issue and he is not concerned what so ever. My little girl is happy and healthy, so I don't worry any more either. Once in a while my little girl still has soft stool.

Hello my name is K.. I felt the same way with my son but I talked to other moms & was told it is very normal.Do you breastfeed? That has alot to do with it too. I cont htink you should worry. :)

If his growth is normal, sleep patterns good, and he seems comfortable I wouldn't worry about it, especially if you're still breastfeeding. Breastmilk is very laxitive. He won't get the firm shaped adult poos until he is much older, they stay soft for a long time. My little guy is 8 months old and his are still quite soft.

Is there a family history of digestive problems?
Were there complications at birth, normal weight and gestation period? Jaundice, or extended treatment in
the NICU?

Is he breastfed or on formula? What kind of formula and
if so have you tried any others?

One thing you can try, you'll have to catch your son making a BM over the toilet bowl with water in it. You can't just toss in his stool from the diaper. You're looking for the stool to either sink or float on the top of the water.
If it all floats it's something to discuss with your pediatrician.
If you're still not satisfied with your pediatrian, which it sounds like your not it would be in your best interest to ask for a second opinion. Most insurance companies will allow you to see another pediatrician in the same practice or group. If your insurance is unable ask for an urgent care clinic that uses pediatricians. You'll pay out of pocket but at a very reasonable rate.

It's hard; babies don't come with instruction manuals. All we have as mother's is our intuition, listen to yours and don't ignore it until your fears are put to rest. If you pay for healthcare it's a service, as a consumer you are reserved the right to be satisfied.

My daughters bowel movements didn't change when we started feeding her rice cereal (we introduced rice cereal at 6 mos). She still had running bowel movements 2-3x/day as well. The bowel movements changed for her at 7 mos. when we introduced pureed veggies into her diet. So don't worry I am sure she is fine.

breastfed babies tend to have less formed stools. This can be very normal. Also, one of my daughters is almost four and I find that she has often has watery bowel movements. I don't think she had a formed stool at all until around age 2. She says she doesn't have any stomach discomfort even though I can sometimes feel the rumbling in her intestines when touching her tummy. I find that I have to watch her amount of dairy consumed to decrease this since milk issues run in our family. She doesn't have accidents or multiple runny bowels movements at one time, that's why I know it is not diarrhia. Her frequency is normal just not the consistency.

Are you still breastfeeding? Sometimes this will cause the loose stools. Our daughter had loose stools until she was about 8 months old. I quit breastfeeding at 3 months, but she continued to have them. I think your doctor is right. Every baby is different. Our daughter still has 2-3 stools a day, but they are now of the right form. She is 16 months old. Hope this helps ease your mind.

yes it is totally normal and your doctor is the expert. my son had the same thing some days it was once and some were more and some were still runny and then he had some pebbles as well. some foods effect his bowl differently just like the color depends on what he is eating as well.

If your son is growing well and behaving as he normally does, then you have nothing to worry about. You should also take into consideration his other nutrition (formula/breastmilk). I have a 1 yo and a 3 yo and they both still have very loose stools 2-4 times per day. They eat healthy, lots of fruits and veggies, and always have plenty of water available. Every child is different. If you suspect something is wrong, then push further with your doctor, but if all your going by is what is "normal" that can be so different for every child.

Actually having two bm's daily is better than one. It actually means that his body is utilizing everything better. Is he still receiving breastmilk? If so, then he's fine... if you want it to thicken up (and I'm not one to advocate the use of formula) you can give him maybe one bottle of soy formula daily. However, if you are breastfeeding and starting the cereal then just give him time.

Being a mom of five and going throuh a lot of nutrition classes (both me and my husband) (part of our professions) I can say it is pretty normal. I would also suggest taking him to a Chairopratcor who has a nutrional basis with their care. I have had fantastic success from earaches, colic, colds, bowel issues etc. with our Chiropractor. worth checking into is all I can say. Good luck and again it's pretty normal. :)

You might try holding off on the cereal. There are many holistic practitioners that feel grains, even rice shouldn't be started that early, and can cause problems like leaky gut and allergies. That said, most days my son always had more than 1 bm a day, bananas helped firm his bms some when he was loose. If he is thriving otherwise I wouldn't worry about it, if he seems extra fussy or has rashes then I might look into his foods or yours if you're breastfeeding. Good Luck!
K.

Hi,

I don't know if your son is breastfed or formula fed, but all the studies in the books are based on formula fed babies. Breast fed babies always have looser stools and is absorbed faster than formula fed babies. Unless your son is losing weight, not growing properly on his individual growth chart, don't worry! He's probably fine. If you are worried though, you can always call the doc and speak to them about your concerns.

Molly

BRAT: bananas, white rice, unsweetened applesauce, and white toast. These are good "binding" agents for little bodies that have loose stools. Don't worry about frequency-- everyone has his own rhythm. If your son is drinking formula, I would be suspicious that this might be causing the loose stools. My children were both sensitive to cow's milk and had to have soy formula when they weren't nursing.

Oh my gosh, I thought the same thing with my little one! I would see the food he had eaten in his diaper undigested. It is normal. You have just introduced something new into his body. His digestive system has to learn how to break down and utilize the food. I did not start seeing soild-like poo until 8 1/2 months old. Also keep in mind that if you are nursing your son is already getting all the nutrition he needs. Introducing solids is really just teaching our little ones how to eat. --B.

If you're still nursing, that could explain the loose bowels. Remember that breastmilk has a natural laxative. When my son started cereal the only change in his poops was that they went from that sweet, eggy smelling stuff to more poopy, but they stayed loose until well past a year.

My son is almost 2 and a half and still has 2 to 3 movements a day (he's a big time fruit eater). Your boy sounds just perfect. Don't stress over this.

As long as your son seems healthy, i wouldn't worry about it. Obviously his little body is absorbing whatever it needs if he is growing and developing normally.

Hello,

My daughter was the same way, she had runny diapers until she was about 5 months (I mean watery, I almost decided to stop breastfeeding because I thought it was my milk...) but the pediatrician said it was normal. She got better with time, I know your feeling because I was concern all the time.
Now my little girl is 11 months and she has 2-3 bowel movements a day...
My baby for sure has been different from all 'avg' babies but she is healthy and happy.
HTH

K.

My son used to BM 2x/day to sometimes 4x/day. I didn't worry because he was in 95% in growth and weight chart. If he's growth is on track, I wouldn't worry. The way I saw it, having multiple BM meant he was processing his food quickly - not inefficiently since his BM looked good.

Trust your doctor (and I don't always say that!). If your son is having difficulty with absorption, he will fall below his personal growth curve. Unless your child has diarrhea (truly watery stools), I don't see any reason that you should be concerned about absorption. I'm guessing you are introducing solids slowly, as you should, in which case the majority of his diet is still breast milk. Also, one week is not very long for a baby's system to adjust. Averages for things like BMs are often not that helpful. You can have lots of kids who have one every other day and lots who have two per day and end up with an average of one per day but with few kids who actually go once a day. Obviously this is just an exaggerated example to make a point, but, even with adults, the "normal" range for frequency of bowel movements ranges from 3x per day to once every three days. Babies who are breastfed have more frequent poops than babies who are not. The one poop per day average likely includes kids who are on formula. Even if not, unless your son's poop is truly watery, you likely have nothing to worry about. My son had lots of stomach problems from quite young until he was about three, I have IBS, and I have close friends with Crohn's and ulcerative colitis. I am not one to dismiss digestive concerns. However, if your concerns are solely based on the info you have included in your post, I really do not think anything is wrong. Please do not introduce soy, as another poster suggested, because soy allergies are relatively common in children under five. From Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford's website:

"Approximately 90 percent of all food allergies are caused by the following eight foods:
milk
eggs
wheat
soy
tree nuts
fish
shellfish
peanuts"

The longer you wait to introduce these foods, the less likely your son will be to develop allergies to them. Most recommendations I've seen say to wait until at least 12 months for these foods (except nuts, because they're still a choking hazard at that age) and to wait longer if there is a family history of a specific food allergy. Most kids grow out of soy allergies in a few years, but why add a variable unnecessarily? The Lucile Packard website has suggestions for what types of foods to introduce next and how to do it if you're interested in more info.
Take care,
K.