ok, I really didn't think there could be a problem until I was talking to a friend today. My son who is 2 yrs old has loose poops always. I can probably cound on my hand the number of poops that have actually been firm in his whole life. So I figured this is just how his body is, his sister on the other hand only poops every few days and its usually hard. So my question is have any of you had this with your kid? I can tell from looking at his poop exactly what he ate the night before. All nuts, seeds, rice, fruits, olives, etc go thru him and come out looking the same. seriously and sometimes with full color (ie. yellow corn). IS he getting any nutrients from his food if his body is not able to break it down? Is this normal?
I figured I check this out with all of you before I called the Dr. He has no other symtoms and like I said this has been this way since he has started on solids.
If his development and growth is track, then he is getting the necessary nutrients. You would be concerned if he were not gaining weight, or his hair or nails weren't growing. if his weight and height is on target, then he's fine. If you see he's lacking nutrients try a flintstone vitamin.
My first son usually had soft poops and my second had hard poops. That is just the way they are built. They still are. According to stuff I read normal poop should be like soft serve ice cream. #1 has it. #2 is generally always constipated so I would say that is normal for them to be different.
I have used cloth diapers and I can tell you that stuff (like yellow corn, orange pulp and others) come out the same way they went in. I would think that olives would be digested but my opinion is if he is gaining weight and not showing any signs of discomfort it is normal.
J.
Completely disregard the corn...that is normal for MANY people. It has a very hard outer coat that is nearly impossible for the human digestive system to break down.
All the other things you are listing are quite non-digestible food...especially a two year old that isn't chewing so well. I noticed around two that I really needed to start teaching my toddler better chewing habits...she was swallowing the most weird things whole.
If he is otherwise growing, active, and hitting his milestones you probably don't have much to worry about. A well-balanced and healthy diet will keep him in good shape.
The human digestive system is not incredibly efficient at breaking down many foods, but it is quite good at extracting the nutrition a growing body needs. I would be more concerned about your daughter's infrequent, hard poop rather than regular, healthy bowel movements.
I have two sons and two daughters, one son who is 9 now and the other son 8. When they were smaller they both did the same as your son, in fact one of them still has that once in a while. I'm told it is normal as long as they don't have other symtoms. They should be fine. I don't remember my having that problem, or not as often as the boys did. Hope this helps.
L.,
Did your son have any intestinal surgery when he was young? If his intestines have been shortened, his poop will be different. Also, he may have irritable bowel syndrome. Does he poop really soon after eating? I would ask his doctor. Good luck.
I read that being lactose intolerant can cause chronic loose stools in toddlers.
Does he drink a lot of juice? The acidity can cause this. Besides maybe 3 oz. of orange juice a day, juice provides NO real benefit for kids, except for apple juice when used for constipation.
As far as your daughter, it seems there is a problem there as well. She is constipated. Having very hard bowel movements every few days is NOT normal. She needs fiber in her diet and more fluids. I know it is not easy to get kids to drink a lot of water but your daughter needs more water and fluids. Try some more fiber in her diet, look for high fiber cereals and lots of strawberries or other high fiber foods. Google some high fiber choices for children and you will find many choices and maybe some recipes (muffins, etc.).
L.,
My 2 year old has loose stools also. I attribute it to all the fruit juice she drinks. It's really runny if I give her White Grape juice. And I always dilute it 50/50 and she still has loose stools. As far as the food goes, your little one just may not be chewing it up very well before he swallows it, with the exception of the corn. Corn is an indigestable starch. The only reason adults don't see it in their stool is because we chew things up better. Hope this helps.
Hi L.
I would be a little concerned. apparently his little body is not processing his foods and I think I owuld have him checked. It may not be an issue now but as he grows it could be.
good luck and blessings
My 2 year old is the exact same way. The only way we have been able to remedy this is to completely remove all milk products from his diet. He is not lactose intolerant and does not have a milk allergy, he just was some trouble digesting milk products. The doctor says he will grow out of this eventually. The doctor also said that if it is not causing him other discomfort (gas, cramps etc) then it is fine to give him milk products as long as the loose stools don't bug us. We give him soy milk to drink, but still allow him to eat cheese and yogurts and stuff, and it helps a little bit. Try taking your son off of milk completely for a few days and see if it improves. We also do not give him any fruit juice, but we do give him alot of fruit and veggies. He is completely fine for his growth chart, he is in the 85% for height and weight!
L.,
Usually loose BM's are caused by either a "bug", antibiotics, or having a food sensitivity, like being lactointolerant or allergies to things like orange juice or drinking too much apple juice. One way to firm up the stools is to feed him more rice and bananas. It wouldn't hurt to get a Doctor's opinion. Having the food go thru and be totally recognizable means that he is missing out on some of the nutritional values from normal digestion.
It sounds like he may not be chewing up his food well enough. Our bodies don't digest the skin of corn, so if it is not well chewed up, it can come out looking like it did when it went in. Same thing with nuts, carrots, raisins. I'll never forget the first time my son had raisins at day care and I got the aftereffects in the diaper. Oh my, it scared me to death until I figured out what it was.
Before you call the doctor, I would watch him closely to see how he is or isn't chewing his food. What was the old wives tale, chew each bite 40 times before you swallow.
I have three kids and they are all different. My oldest was (still is) the same as your boy. It has gotten better as she has gotten older, but not a lot. She goes regularly everyday. She was actually sent home from pre-school a lot for having too many loose stools for fear of her having a virus, but we went through test and everything with the dr, and she's fine. We just really have to watch her fruit intake to be sure she does not get too much. So she only got juice once a day, and it was pretty watered down. My mid child is very normal, and my youngest is rock solid all the time. He has to be really sick to be loose, and he gets almost undiluted juice twice a day along with whatever fruit/fiber he wants.
It's normal for some food to come through your body without breaking down, but not everything that goes into your body comes out of your body the same way.
You should speak to your pedi - maybe keep a chart for several days before the appointment tracking what he eats and when he poops - so that you can provide more accurate information to your dr.
L.,
I wouldn't worry. All kids are different. Some kids go days without pooping, some kids poop all the time! Of course a lot of it depends on their diet also. If they are eating a lot of high fiber food, like apples, grapes etc., their going to poop more. My son poops consistantly all the time and very rarely is it hard poops. Sounds like you have a son with a healthy digestive system in my opinion, and he is eating the right foods. If it is watery poop constantly than you have a problem, that would be diarhhea.
Hope this helps ;)
L.
What you are describing in his poop are mostly grains and no the body will not break down these foods. Try giving your daughter apple juice. Kids should poop daily. Otherwise, toxins build up in our systems. Are you a vegan?
I don't think the loose poop is as much of a problem as your daughter having a bowel movement only every few days. That's more of a problem, because she's having toxins build up in her body. Too much dairy can cause constipation, as can not enough fiber and water. I use Sunrider whole food products to help the body build itself up, and then cleanse itself. Sunrider works well for all ages. If you're interested, email me at ____@____.com.
I'd go to a natural foods store with an excellent reputation for each employee thoroughly knowing, really knowing, their nutrition. Your daughter isn't getting enough water, it sounds like. There's a wealth of info. if you go to the best health food stores (usually smallish). Best wishes.
This is completely normal. In fact, softer stools are often a sign of good nutrition - not always, but at this age, you do not really want the hard stools. Some foods, like corn, grapes and watermelon are often present in stools. In fact, around our house, we have turned it into a lesson about the body. We ate corn so we could look for it after our body was done turning the stuff it could turn into energy. LOL -the things we do with and for our children. Some foods just break down better than others...but I have noticed for some reason, I see more "leftovers" in my son's diaper than my daughter. I wonder if boys just do not break down as much as girls...they seem to go more often then girls too. I don't really know if there is any science behind that, but I do know I change A LOT more stinky ones for my son! Do not worry at all, but I would love to know more science behind it. Good job on a healthy boy!
