Strange Poopy Diapers

My 20 month old son had the same kind of #2. I started giving him more water and it helps. I suspect it was the amount of milk he was drinking.
Although...and this may sound selfish to all of you... but changing and cleaning up pellets is SO much easier than the regular poop. ( :

I have a little girl in my care who has the same diapers and she is 2 1/2. The doctor told her mother it was a sign that constipation was coming, and recommended trying this powder you mix in with liquid. The recommended dose gave her major runny diapers, so if this is something you try, I would recommend using a small amount first, or you might be doing lots of extra laundry! Giving this little girl extra juice when I notice her poop is getting like that seems to help. Good Luck!

My son is 30 months and his diapers are the same way. Some times they are mushy, sometimes more solid like an adult's, and then sometimes the "milk duds." I think it's all fine and it's never been a problem.

Hi, You'll have to adjust the way you have been watching your son's diet. Two ideas come to mind.
The first is that your son is energetic. This tells me he probably has a super-fast metabolism, which means he'll need more calories, and with all that energy getting out, he'll heat up and sweat, which means more water intake for him.
I wouldn't give him just any calories though, the hard poop means he is dehydrated a bit. He needs fruits and vegetables (any kind, and any way he will take it, and lots, and lots of water (no soda, tea, etc). Watch him with caffeine. It dehydrates a small body really quickly.

My 2 year old has this every once in awhile and it's usually when his diet has changed. I feel bad when I see this because it usually means he hasn't had enough fiber enriched foods. The poop should be soft and in one smooth piece. The "milk duds" usually show up after a few days if he hasn't been eating well due to illness. They shouldn't be like that everytme and like some suggested, add more fruit to his diet...apple slices, grapes, mandarine oranges..fruit juices may just give him diarreah because they are loaded with sugar.
Veggies have fiber, so give him those too..our favorites are green beans, corn, and carrots. Also, give him water to drink or 1/2 water, apple juice, this will help with the constipation! I hope this helps.
V.

We are all moms, nothing is gross to us. My son and daughter had the same thing. They love cheese and yogurt. Just add some more fiber to his diet in the form of fruits and vegetables and make sure he drinks plenty of water. His poops should become normal in a few days.

You have lots of good advice already I just needed to add something. I saw some saying to give apple juice but please be super careful with apple juice because it does the opposite to my daughter. She gets constipated if she has too much apple juice. My daughter drinks water best out of my glass. I just put a straw in my cup and she thinks she is getting something special. Also the colder it is the better she drinks it. One other thing you can feed him that I didn't see mentioned anywhere is raisins. If my daughter hasn't had a poopy diaper I give her corn or raisins and usually have one within hours of eating these foods. Good luck

give him apple/prune juice undiluted. 2 ounces every day.this will do the trick. my 9 month old has been on this since she was 2 months old. if he starts going to soft just cut back. good luck.

Have you added anything new to the food diet? I would suggest drinking more water for him. My son "dries up" a bit when he has not had enough water. :)

It sounds like he is drinking too much milk. It is what is causing the "pebbles" and constipation. So cut back on the milk and offer some water or juice. Good luck!!

I would talk to the doc about it. I used to watch a little boy who had problems all the time and his mom gave him a laxative but it did not really help the problem. My neighbor gives her little boy Miralax to help him and as far as I know it works pretty well. Whole milk can cause constipation so make sure he is getting enough juice and water, maybe even spike his milk with some prune juice unless he will drink it straight. Hope that helps! E.

Too me he still sounds a little constipated being that you seem to be describing "pellets." I would give him 100% juice diluted with a little bit of water in place of some of his milk. Or offer him cereal with a lot of fiber or oatmeal in the mornings with some fruit mixed in. If this doesn't help you would probably then want to check in with his doc. Hope you get the poo mystery solved! :)
Roxanna

Yup, he's probably getting constipated! Both my girls did this when they were youger. We called the dirty diapers "rabbit poop". It always was linked to constipation with them. I know how hard it is to see them get to the point where it hurts them so much. When the "rabbit poop" starts I put Benefiber in milk. It works 95% of the time. My girls even say, "Mommy, I think I need some fiber"! And I used to give my oldest acidophilis on a regular basis. LOVE that stuff. I would crush up the pill and put it in her milk. It kept her regular. And really helped her to get over that horrible stage in her life. And of coarse I'm sure you know you can give him a glycerine suppository if he just can't get it out. I hate doing that b/c it scares them. But, it will get it out. Hope your little guy gets to feeling better!

Hey Kelly,
Poor lil guy! Give him lots of water. As adults we need water too to help us stay "regulated" and hydrated. If he doesn't like to drink plain water, try putting a few drops of lemon in the water, but then also brush his teeth/gums too so the acidity doesn't damage his precious lil mouth. He sounds like a very energetic kiddo so he will need water, lots of it. If you notice him sweating while he plays, even just a lil bit, make sure he gets his water. Sounds like i'm repeating myself, but it's important for him, espeically at such a young age. He needs it as bad as we do. Don't substitute with coke products or tea, especially with caffiene in it, and with all the sugar that in those too will also take the water out of him. Hope this helps, and have fun with the lil one!

Hi Kelly!

Whenever my boys had poopy diapers like that they were getting too much protein and carbohydrates. I would just feed them more fruits and veggies and their poop would turn back to that nice squishy blob that it should be. Oh! apple juice and straight juice work well too.

L.

Hi Kelly,
I dont kow if I can help much! but my son who is 19months old has this problem all the time! It seems like at least 2 times a month or so. I asked my doctor, bc I looked it up and got all freaked out.. make sure its not really dark like black stool and no blood. My doctor told me next time it happens bring it in to the office. (which I have yet to do) I dont think I want to drive with poop!! lol.. but he pretty much said that its normal especially after being consitpated. Does he eat a lot of bananas? that usually causes constipation. I hope I helped in some way.

Be sure to check with your doctor too, maybe your dr. will have another idea of what this could be!!!

Good Luck!
S.

My son is 23 months and has the same issues. He eats a lot of meat, cheese, and milk so he's just not getting enough fiber in his diet. A little benefiber in his juice cup makes a world of difference. :)

Sounds like he is constipated and needs more stool-softening foods in his diet. Maybe some children's bifidofolous (sp?). I give my son (who is 14) some "chewable fiber" - they are made by Hero and called Yummy Bears - you can find them at Clovers in Columbia. Having him chew one of those a day might just do the trick.

Don't worry, just get a bit more fiber into his diet. Raisin, apples, whole wheat breads or pasta, any fruits or vegetables, etc...My daughter especially likes fruit leather. It's organic fruit that's smooshed and dehydrated, sort of like a real fruit rollup.

My daughter went through that when she was around that age. He is getting old enough to give more water and I dilute her juice with water as well and that seemed to help. It is nothing to worry about unless he is straining.

My son is 2, and his diapers have been that way since he started eating table foods a lil after one. Since then they've slowly started taking over and have become that way. He eats lots of fruits and veggies, as well as fiber. I've talked to his Dr. about it, and she said unless it was hurting him, and this is normal, not to worry to much about it. Depending on what he's had to eat that day, sometimes it will be more soft & such. He's had 2 major bouts of constipation, seems like it's been once a yr since he's turned one, and that's it. But he's always just had the lil "rabbit"/milk dud poo! Talk to your Dr. and see what might be going on with your son, but I wouldn't stress to much about it if it's not causing him pain. Plus it's easier to clean when he decides to "play" = P Ugh! Good Luck!

Sounds like he's getting constipated again. When my little girl did the same thing I started putting some kayro syrup in her bottles/cups or even try apple juice. Hope this helps!

My son is the same way -- and he drinks a lot of milk. I haven't thought anything of it, though. If it doesn't bother your son, I wouldn't worry about it.

don't have advice on this subject - my 20m old son has the OPPOSITE problem, with runny diapers almost ALL the time, to some degree. we have to watch what he eats really closely. although i would suggest trying to give him water - i know a lot of kids will only drink milk or juice (juice is good too) but i got my son drinking water early because his tummy was just too sensitive to drink much juice (even 100% juice can give him the runs sometimes) and i like the water because i don't have to monitor it as closely as i do the juice. he can have as much as he wants! when i first started giving it to him i figured he wouldn't want it, so i would put ice cubes in his sippy cup to make it more "entertaining". i dunno, worth a shot? good luck!

Cut back on the milk. My daughter had the same problem and I gave her more water and less milk and it helped.

My first thougt is that he is constipated and a little dehydrated. Try giving him more water to drink. (And check with your pediatrician. It's not normal and they could probably advise you via a phone call.) Good luck.

Try giving him some peach heavy syrup mixed in his cereal and see if this helps his constipation.(sold as peaches in heavy syrup in a can you could give him the peaches to cut up as needed) You may want to do this daily.
S. E

This is totally normal. At least it was for my daughter (now 28 months). Doctor said it was fine, that her digestive tract is just maturing. Now, though she thinks it's funny to take off her diaper and run down the hall with it while the "pebbles" or "milk duds" fall all over the floor. Not a fun job to clean. :) She's had these types of diaper from about 20 months and still does. Hope this helps!

If they are little balls of poop, it sounds like he may be constipated but not so bad that he can't go. It could be that he is not hydrated enough, Try some juice, that should loosen things up a bit, or pumpkin. You can get the canned pumpkin that is all natural. That should help to regulate him whether he is constipated or has loose stools. Of course mention it to your Doc when you see him.
Good Luck!

I would give him some fruit. How much milk does he drink? If that is all he drink, try replacing every other cup with water or maybe a natural fruit juice. I am not sure where you are, but shop n Save carries a juice called Vruit and it is vegs and fruit, with nothing added, my kids love it!

Try increasing the amount of fresh veggies and fruits he's getting, or substitute a serving of milk with a 100% fruit juice with no added sweeteners. My daughter went through the same thing.

My 23 mo. old had the same thing. I asked our ped. about it and she recommended more water throughout the day and also a teaspoon of Benefiber in her glass of milk 2x a day for 4-5 days and then as needed. The Benefiber has really helped my daughter. It's easy and mixes well into any beverage.

My mother ran a daycare for years and saw this in several kids. She would feed them oatmeal and other healthy high fiber foods during the week and they would be fine. But over the weekend the parents would feed them fast food and low fiber foods. Come Monday they would be back to the "milk duds". Try whole grains, fresh veggies (kids will eat brocolli if you call them little trees and pretend to be giants), and other healthy, high fiber foods. I hope it works for you.
P.

I know this sounds silly but my daughter gets this when she eats rasins. Good Luck.

My daughter is 26 months and has the same thing. The doctor said it could mean she needs more water but doesn't mean she's dehydrated. I've found that the more she eats of sweet snack foods the more she poops like that and if she eats healthier food she tends to have one solid poop. I don't know if this helps.

The good news is that your son is having regular bowel movements and they don't seem to be bothering him. This is bothering you. If you feel you have to do something, keep in mind that your son is growing and changing very rapidly. What was fine for him a few weeks ago, may not be the best thing today. Review what he has been eating and drinking. He needs lots of liquids and fiber. Milk can be constipating. He can get calcium from a lot of places, it doesn't have to be from cow's milk. I'm not sure how my son (now 17) developed the habit, but he likes to drink plain water. I'm always asking if he wanted a lemonade, Propel, something with a little flavor, but no, just water. How great is that? So, see if he will drink some water.

I'm not a health care provider, so I'm no expert. It doesn't sound to me like something urgent. If after you've tried some different eating/drinking strategies and it doesn't change, I would bring it up at the next dr visit. If he is getting an annual check up at 2 years, that sounds like a good time to bring it up. If you notice any blood in those milk duds, take him right away.