My Toddlers diaper.....am I Just Being Paranoid?!?!?

I have had the same thing with my daughter who is now 9! I didn't believe the doctors when they told me about the toddler diaharea syndrome especially because Crones Disease runs in my family. We went to all types of specialist jut to find out that there was no Crones. It did finally end but not until she was past 2 years. Hang tight. I know its hard to deal with but it will get better. Good luck.

If they eat a lot of fruit or drink lots of juice, then this can happen. As long as it is not painful (like cramping) and just looks like it isn't firm then my kids both have had that. I call it diahrea if it is causing diaper rash because it is so acid full, it comes with other signs they aren't well, or if they are in pain because of it like cramping before they go.

Chronic diarreha is a symptom of a food allergy, typically milk. It is not normal. It is a sign that he is not absorping his nutrients and his digestive system is starting to break down. Did he have chronic ear infections, colicky, seemed to be fatigued, perhaps he has small dark circles under his eyes. All things to denote when looking into food allergies.

Keep in mind that doctors are nortorious for not understanding how nutrition effects our lives, our bodies and our minds...they only get one semester of a nutrition course and it is an elective..scary. You definitely need to see a specialist, Pediatric GI as some suggested.

Two recommended books. Digestive Wellness for Children and Is This My Child by Dr. Doris Rapp www.drrapp.com both talk about food allergies and food intolerances (there is a difference) and how to treat it or do a food elimination diet to figure it out for yourself. (This is good for anyone who cannot or does not have healthcare, but nonetheless, easy to do for anyone)

Your child will need to begin some probiotics to help rebuild the good bacteria in his system (I always recommend FloraBaby by Renew Life, excellent brand, found at www.smartbomb.com) and he will also need some fish oils to help reduce internal inflammation...it is also great for the developing brain. for kids under 2, Nordic Naturals, is a good, clean quality brand. Not all probitoics or fish oils are created equal.

Feel free to email me if you have more questions, you received some great info.

J. W. MPH
Wellness Educator/Lifestyle and Wellness Consultant

Had your pediatrician suggested doing a stool culture to test for carbohydrate malabsorption? You also might want to see a pediatric gastroenterologist (GI), and they might do some tests to see if your son indeed has a problem.

A pediatric GI ordered a bunch of stool sample tests for my infant son since he had diarrhea for nearly 2 months beginning when he was 7 months old. He is now almost 9.5 months old and is finally having more solid poop. He also had other things causing the diarrhea, including a post-surgical infection called "c-diff" (which wouldn't be relevant to your son) and a milk-sensitivity (which might be relevant to your son) to his milk-based formula, so I switched him to a soy-based formula, and that helped a lot. Since the carbohydrate malabsorption test was positive, I was told not to give him juice, which I occasionally used to give him very watered down, but no more of that. A babysitter tried giving him watered down juice this past week, and sure enough, it caused him to have diarrhea again.

I hope things get better if they aren't normal, but maybe a pediatric GI could give you a second opinion if you are concerned about what your son's pediatrician is saying. Good luck.

Looking back at my older daughter's toddlerhood, I have to say it's not just nothing. My daughter is 9 1/2 yrs old now, but from the time she was 9 mos old till she was 18 mos old she had diarrhea. It was intermittent, 3 days of white, stinky runny poops, then a day of normal ones, then 2 days of the yuckies, and a few days of normal, then 4 days of yuckies, etc. She ended up being failure to thrive and getting to the latter stages of starvation, but after the diarrhea left she jumped 2 lbs and was ok.

When she was almost 4 I discovered that she was allergic to milk. I had breastfed and didn't drink much milk myself at all. But I am wondering if that diarrhea was caused by a milk intolerance.

I would eliminate milk from his diet for 2 weeks and see if that makes it stop. It could also be a sign of celiac disease or other allergies. Or a parasite in his system. The only way to be sure is to test him for allergies, eliminate the item you think it might be or have his stool sample tested (or a combination of all of those).

My guess is it's milk, so easiest and cheapest is taking that away for 2 weeks and seeing if it improves.

I do daycare for a living and have changed LOTS of diapers for kids that age. It is NOT normal to have runny poops all the time.

N.

My daughter had this for about 3-4 months starting around 25 months. During this time she had several colds and I believe the loose stool was due to excessive mucous drainage. Just another thing to look for. Good luck solving the problem, I know how awful it is to change those diapers.

I totally don't mean to be gross when I ask this, but what do you mean by 'solid poop'? Are you looking for logs or chunks? My 21 month old has never had logs and the bms have been pasty like the consistency of either peanut butter or hummus (not runny or wet, but not a log).

You are not being paranoid! You are being a responsible parent! Diahrea is a sign that something is wrong and he may not be absorbing the nutrients he needs. I didn't read all your responses so far but I agree that it could be a food sensitivity or allergy. I would pay attention to what he's eating and how he reacts to it. I'd also put him on probiotics right away. Hope this helps! Take care!

My 31 month old still has peanut butter poop, as I like to refer to it :)

My 3 year-old son rarely has solid poop. It's usually mushy and sometimes a little watery. I have tried putting him on soy milk thinking it was a dairy allergy, I don't give him any juice or if I do, it's watered down, his dr. made me bring in a stool sample to test for parasites (it was normal). The dr. finally said to add more starchy foods to his diet, but he's not big on bananas and rice. So, I guess it's just his way. He's a normal weight, in fact in 75% for weight so I'm not too worried. It sure is gross though especially since he won't poop on the potty yet. Hang in there!

What do you mean by a long time? A week, weeks, month....
My girls would get the runs each time they cut a tooth especially if they cut their molars. It might last a week, but typically not much longer than that.

Do you have any bowel issues...IBS, Crohn's??? I have Crohn's and my doctor told me that my children could inherit it and it could be worse for them than in me.

I learned I was giving my todder to much milk and that caused yellow soft stool.

This happened with one of my sons. He loved and still does, apple juice. It is a natural softener and he appeared to have diahrea for months. Once I cut the apple juice with water (50/50) and reduced the amount of intake his bowels checked themselves. This was after numerous stool samples to the lab which showed no other cause.

Hope this will help.

I breastfeed my son till he was 11 months old and then when he turned one I started him on oberweis whole milk. For months his poop was never solid/formed. I took my concerns to my doctor and she didn't want to test him for allergys just yet. She recommended Lactait milk instead of Oberweis. So I started him on Lactait (comes in a carton and can be found at pretty much any grocery store and is lactose free) his poop instantly was solid!! I was a miracle!! I had him on this milk till about 2 1/2 and now he is 3 and just not into drinking milk. My daughter on the other hand has no problem drinking any kinda of milk and she is 12 months old. This milk is a little more expensive, but tastes great and will be so much better for his little system. I was in the same boat as you, best of luck, hope this is all it takes to make ur little man "solid" LOL.
Please let us know how he is doing:)

My son had odd smelling and mushy poo. He also had an egg allergy. It didn't gowhen we stopped giving him goods with egg in them but it got better with time. I had my son allergy tested and asked for the egg test becasue we had seen other signs as well. The whole tesst takes about two hours and is not so much fun for the kids:(

Hi T. -

You can never be too paranoid! A similar thing did happen with my son. It was actually at about the same age as your son. I want to say that it lasted about 3 months. I don't know if I would call it diahrea but it just wasn't solid. Our Dr. was also not too concerned. He did suggest to give him a probiotic. I now give my son Acidophilus along with his vitamin. Walgreens sells a chewable one that is strawberry flavor.

Good Luck

He could be sensitive to dairy. Not allergic, only senstive.

I have the same issue with my 16 month old. I think I can count on one hand how many times I've seen a solid poop. I've read a little about the possibility of him having a Milk Protein Intolerance. My hairdressers daughter was having the same problem (except worse because she was having diahrea 5-6 times per day). Once she eliminated Milk Protein (which isn't easy) she began having solid poops within 36 hours. I'm toying with the idea of giving a Milk Protein diet a try for about 3-4 days to see if there is a difference. I would like to do this before my sons 18 month Dr visit so I can talk about the results, if any, with my Dr. Take a look at this website ... http://www.milkfreekids.com/. Also, whole foods has a list (in the store only) of the products they sell that fit within the diet. Just a thought ... good luck.

Hi, I totally understand. My son who is now 3 had diahrrea for 6 months straight, and then sporatically until he turned 3 in June. I had him tested for everything and the tests all came back negative. I breast feed him for 7 months and the pediatrician said it was normal. It got to the point when I would change his diaper that he would ask me if it was solid. The answer was always no. He did grow out of it though and seems fine now. Good luck!
S.

My oldest son had this same thing! Basically what they told me is that it was a form of IBS (Irritable Bowel) and that he would outgrow it, which he did. While I trust my child's doctor completely, I always like to be educated on what is going on with them. Here is an interesting sight that talks about "Toddler Diarrhea".....
http://pedclerk.bsd.uchicago.edu/toddlerDiarrhea.html

And I'd say as long as you're keeping plenty of fluids in him, he's eating well, and gaining weight, I wouldn't worry! Hope this helped!!

Ditto. My 19 month old has mushy poop.

Hi! My son is 18 months old and in the same situation. He drinks organic whole milk which the pediatrician recommends until he is at least 2 and then I can switch him to 2%. He said it is normal to have less solid poop with whole milk. He does not have any allergies and is otherwise perfectly healthy.

My son is also 21 months old and he doesn't have solid poop either. I have no idea why and haven't even thought about it until you mentioned it. I know that my son gets diarrhea when he drinks too much apple juice. How about your son? You could try giving him a lot of bananas, rice, and toast for the next few days to see if it thickens it up. I did notice one day when my son accidentally pooped on the bathroom floor after his bath that it looked very solid, but when I picked it up to put it in the toilet (with gloves of course!) , it fell apart. I wonder if it just gets smushed because it is in a diaper. As long as he is healthy and not in any distress because of it, I wouldn't worry about it. Good luck!

You are not being paranoid! Stay on top of it with a(nother) doctor. But first... For us, it was too much juice. I cut out juice entirley and it went away within two days. I would first be sure the diet is a good mix of healthy foods -- and no juice, candy, sugar... If that doesn't work, I would check with another doctor!!!

remember it's ok to get a second opinion (medical). also it could be their diet. sometimes what we eat determinds wether our stool are hard or soft