Help! Toddler Poop Issues - Not for the Sqeemish!

Some thoughts that spring to mind:

1) Are you watering down his juice? Kids shouldn't have more than 8 ounces of juice a day total, and it causes fewer gastric issues when cut in half with water (also makes them think they're getting more!);

2) Cow milk allergy/intolerance - you might try switching to goat milk for a couple of weeks. It is vitamin D fortified like cow milk, but does not have some of the proteins that cause reactions in some children. My kids are allergic to cow milk (hoping they outgrow it!) and are doing very well with the goat milk. Also has the bonus of being antibiotic and hormone free.;

3) Less fruit and more veggies - kids tend to prefer fruits because of the sugars, and a good way to tell when they are eating too much of a good thing is the big, soft poop. It can inhibit the body's ability to absorb iron, so something to consider.;

4) Have him tested for celiac - better safe than sorry, since this is one of the signs.;

5) Try switching to Pampers Cruisers (and maybe going up one size). We found the cruisers seem to work better with boys.

Good luck! You sound like a great mommy.

Pay attention to when (like after what food/drink) it happens. That might give you a clue.

Add bananas, etc. to his diet.

Shower clean up might be easiest.

This too will pass!

could be celiac disease - this gives the exact kind of poop you are talking about. google it and see if he has the other symptoms

I'm with the other moms. I would think food allergy or dehydration. A toddler feces should look like a smaller scale of adult feces (unless he's smashed it up in his diaper). Also if he's drinking a lot of apple juice he's going to have loose stools. If your son is dehydrated he will have dry lips and be thirsty quite frequently (could aslo be caused by the high amounts of sugar found in juices). I would suggest having him checked out by a doc at a regular visit (no need for the ER). But in a word no, a two year old should not have constant bouts of explosive diarreah.

Well, yeah, I'd be concerned about dehydration if its more a case of constant semi-diaherria. Try taking him off cows milk and cows milk dairy for 2-3 weeks and see if that helps. Dairy is the most common toddler-phase food allergy; they typically grow out of it by age 4-6. At his age, he might fight the taste of goat milk; but they do sell goat milk at most local grocery stores and (and most HEBs has one flavor of goat milk yogurt). I would avoid soy, with the estrogen link from soy protein (especially since he's a boy).

My son had really nasty poop. He turned out having an intolerance to gluten. We eliminated gluten from his diet and now his stools are well formed. You will probably not be able to potty train until the consistency of his poop changes. My son had an uncontrollable accident in Hobby Lobby while in underwear. It was nasty. We didn't start getting him to poop in the potty until the stools were well formed. His body was unable to give him enough warning that he had to go because they were so soft.

While the cause of this can vary quite a bit, keep one very important thing in mind: it is NOT normal no matter how many doctors tell you that it is. I would start out by asking your pedi for a referral to a pedi GI specialist.
My kids are 5, 2 and 1 and have all had similar poop issues since about 1 year of age. My son has adhd and autism and after extensive research, I know that his GI issues and neurodevelopmental disorders are related-there is a term called autistic colitis. My 2 y/o also has sleep and hyperactivity issues along with the poop issues. My 1 y/o is mild compared to theirs but still there.
Anyway, if the GI doc runs all tests and does not find anything, then you can see an allergist as well. But don't stop until you find the cause. If the doctors don't know the cause, they may finally deem it as normal but poops that look like that absolutely indicate that there is SOMETHING going on. Good Luck and I hope you get some answers. Feel free to contact me if you have any more questions!
~L.

If he is getting too much fiber, that could be the cause of the soft poop. Try giving him a little more bananas and cooked rice. Those foods usually firm up the poop. Also, you might want to start writing down what he eats and see if there is a correlation or coincidence between what he eats and how he poops. And also time it, you can try sitting him on the potty and around the time he would poop. Good luck.

F.-
I would first watch his diet....Maybe something he is eatting is causing the runny/soft poops. I have a 2 1/2 yr old, and in all honesty I've never had this problem w/ him. What does cause him to have runny poops is apple juice and other juices that are high in acid. I'm not exactly sure what my son's wt is right now, but he wears a size 5 diaper(pampers brand) and they seem to fit him just fine. I'd start w/ his diet; maybe to see if he's eatting something thats causing the poop. Also just make sure the diapers are being put on correctly. Make sure they aren't too loose around the legs!?
hope this helps-
God Bless,
cyn

Make a record of everything that he eats or drinks. Do this for at least a week. He may be allergic to some of the foods, and that is causing the problem. Remember that it takes at least 24 hours for things to go through the system.
My daughter had this problem and I found that it was the peanut butter cookies that I had given her. Did not give them to her for several years and things were better. It might be an easy fix for you. Good luck.

Start keeping a chart of all of his intake including water. Then also keep an exact record of his output.

Date, time, aprox amounts and descriptions. This may help you see any differences if you make changes to his diet like removing cows mil (dairy) or wheat. You cab then use this information when you speak with your pedi.

Have you explained any of this to your Pedi? has he been thriving with his weight? Has the doctor made any comment about his weight?

Hi F.,
I do believe there should be more texture by this time so I would have him checked by your pedi---- Watch his diet- he may be getting too much of something that is making this too loose-
blessings

I echo all the possibilties below...but you should definitely try a size larger diaper to control the "chaos" in the meantime. Of course, it is really dependent on body proportion, but my daughter (who is the same weight) has been in a 5 for a while. I find that I have to switch her up several pounds ahead of the sizing. She is quite slender but has chubby legs. We use Luvs and have great success with catching all that needs to be caught.

F., I have you looked into any possible food allergies? When both my boys switched to regular milk, their BM's were extremely loose and very often. I switched them both to rice milk and they drank that until about 3 years old. I think for a lot of little ones, dairy can be a little hard on their stomachs, so cutting back on that may be worth a try. Also, talk to your pediatrician... Good luck.. J.

Your son is just a month or so younger than my son and we have had similar issues. First of all, I have to say that I hate Huggies (too many leaks) and all generic diapers. I know that times are tough, but you get what you pay for and this (unfortunately) isn't something you want to scrimp on. With that said, I prefer Luvs because they are comparable to Pampers in quality, but are lower in price. We had to change up to a size 5 becuase we had the same problem, poop out the legs and up the back. The larger size helps. As far as texture goes, I think it all depends on what your son is eating. Lots of fruits and veggies (fiber) will keep him pretty loose. Unless he has clear diarrhea (sp?) I wouldn't worry too much. I don't think poop needs to be too formed. Plus, you may find that it may be formed if he were to use the potty. As it is, there is a diaper that may be squishing the poop as he sits etc. If you still have concerns, call your Pediatric and speak to the nurse. You can call and they will answer your questions over the phone and then you both can decide if you need to make an actaul doctor's appointment.

Good luck!
S.

I am no expert, but I know that a cup of yougurt daily, and some acidophylus (sp?) chewable tablets keep my son regular. I give him the tablets for a week, once a month. They are at HEB in natural food section. Hope that helps.

I raised 4 children and this sounds like food allergies to me. Dairy is usually the culprit but wheat can cause problems too. Get him checked out by a food allergist.

That does seem a little runny to me, but my son at that age did not have formed poo. It was all over the diaper, but he didn't have the runny poo. Have you spoken to your pediatrician about it? Perhaps he's having too much apple juice or something....

My only suggestion, and you probably wouldn't want to do this, is cloth diapers. The new ones have the best elastic around the legs and around the back. My children have never had blow outs since using cloth. I'm cloth diapering my newborn (3 weeks old) right now, and he has had no leaks nor blowouts. I think this is due mostly to the elastic. Now, I'm sure you don't want to switch this late in the game, but that would be my only suggestion (and perhaps something to consider for your next child).

Hi F.,
Wow! Some of these responses are scary. My daughter is almost 3 and potty trained (thank God!), But before that, for every diaper blowout, we'd move up a diaper size regardless of wieght. I've read that there's such a thing as "toddler diaherria (sp?)" caused by too much juice in the daily diet. Apparently fruit juice is a good constipation cure because it draws liquid into stool. Hey how's that for TMI? Hope this helps.