"Normal" poos for a 15 months old?

Not quite sure how to phrase this... LOL

My 15 month old DS does poos that are very runny. He's on a normal full diet
of solids with three milk feeds a day. I've heard that once kids are on a
"normal" diet their stools should be more solid rather than runny like those
of a smaller baby.

Are the runny poos normal or should I be looking for older kid type poos,
that are more solid, snake-like, sort of similar to adult stools?

His usual food intake is something like this:

7am - breakfast of Weet Bix mixed with milk and a bit of fruit like a banana
or pureed apple or pear.
9am - 200 mL of milk
lunch of either a sandwich with Vegemite or ham or a slice of cheese or a
soup I've cooked (the soup is based on a broth made of meat and vegetables
and he eats the meat and veges, plus sometimes pasta if there's no potato in
the soup)
2pm-3pm - 200 mL of milk
5:50 - 6pm dinner of whatever we're having or something I've cooked for him
if our dinner isn't particularly kid-friendly
7:30 pm - 200 mL of milk
He gets snacks of crackers or fruit/veges between meals and drinks water, no
juice or other sugary drinks.

My concern is that maybe, like me, he's allergic to milk proteins (but not
lactose intolerant) and hence the runny poos. In me, excessive milk intake
leads to diarrhoea, which is why I think that milk may be the culprit here.
As he's still kind of young it's not recommended that he be denied the milk
in his diet unless under the supervision of a doctor, so it's not like I can
just cut it out. He's allergic to eggs and I'm very careful not to include
any ingredients with egg in them in what I cook for him.

So what do people think? Are the runny stools normal in a 15 month old or
should I get him on an elimination diet under the supervision of an
paediatric immunologist and dietician? We saw a dermatologist about his
eczema last week and she suggested adding probiotics to his diet to aid his
digestion and limit the absorption of stuff that may be triggering allergic
reactions in him. Does anyone have any experience with using probiotics with
young children?

I know that's a lot of questions, but that's pretty much what's smimming
around in my head right now! LOL Any help would be most appreciated.

Engram

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Matthew 21 June 2005
DD EDD 06 Oct 2006

Check out our family at
http://www.geocities.com/engram_au/

Hi --

The runny poos don't sound normal. If milk allergy runs in your family,
then by all means take him compltely off of milk for a couple of weeks
to see if the poos become formed instead of liquid. A couple of weeks
won't do any harm.

Do pay attention to his calcium intake during this time, since if this
turns into a long-term issue, then you'll have to start watching his
calcium anyway. As you're probably aware, the other nutrients to attend
to without milk products in the diet are protein and fat. But those are
pretty easy to find elsewhere.

After weaning, children are supposed to go to a healthy, varied diet.
There's no reason (beyond convenience and the dairy lobby) that the diet
NEEDS to contain milk. So try him out without, and see what happens.

(Breastmilk is still fine, of course. It's the non-human milk proteins
that are at issue.)

My two cents,
--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would
like me to reply.

How many poos per day? How runny? When does he poo?

He may also need more fiber in his diet. The extra fiber may firm up his
poops. Adding yogart or chesse may help too.

The problem you have is probably lactose intolerance, which you don't make
enough lactase, the enzyme that breaks down the milk sugar (lactose) in your
diet.

Lactose intolerance is rare in kids, but is more common in different genetic
groups in older kids and adults. However, you may still be giving him more
milk than he can digest. You could try cutting down on the milk in his diet
for a few days and see if his poops are firmer.

Most kids his age have soft poos, maybe once every three days to three or
four times a day. Unless he is toilet trained the poos will never be snake
like, becuase is just mushes together into one big turd.

Jeff

"Engram" wrote in message
u...
Not quite sure how to phrase this... LOL

My 15 month old DS does poos that are very runny. He's on a normal full
diet of solids with three milk feeds a day. I've heard that once kids are
on a "normal" diet their stools should be more solid rather than runny
like those of a smaller baby.

Are the runny poos normal or should I be looking for older kid type poos,
that are more solid, snake-like, sort of similar to adult stools?

His usual food intake is something like this:

7am - breakfast of Weet Bix mixed with milk and a bit of fruit like a
banana or pureed apple or pear.
9am - 200 mL of milk
lunch of either a sandwich with Vegemite or ham or a slice of cheese or a
soup I've cooked (the soup is based on a broth made of meat and vegetables
and he eats the meat and veges, plus sometimes pasta if there's no potato
in the soup)
2pm-3pm - 200 mL of milk
5:50 - 6pm dinner of whatever we're having or something I've cooked for
him if our dinner isn't particularly kid-friendly
7:30 pm - 200 mL of milk
He gets snacks of crackers or fruit/veges between meals and drinks water,
no juice or other sugary drinks.

My concern is that maybe, like me, he's allergic to milk proteins (but not
lactose intolerant) and hence the runny poos. In me, excessive milk intake
leads to diarrhoea, which is why I think that milk may be the culprit
here. As he's still kind of young it's not recommended that he be denied
the milk in his diet unless under the supervision of a doctor, so it's not
like I can just cut it out. He's allergic to eggs and I'm very careful not
to include any ingredients with egg in them in what I cook for him.

So what do people think? Are the runny stools normal in a 15 month old or
should I get him on an elimination diet under the supervision of an
paediatric immunologist and dietician? We saw a dermatologist about his
eczema last week and she suggested adding probiotics to his diet to aid
his digestion and limit the absorption of stuff that may be triggering
allergic reactions in him. Does anyone have any experience with using
probiotics with young children?

I know that's a lot of questions, but that's pretty much what's smimming
around in my head right now! LOL Any help would be most appreciated.

Engram

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Matthew 21 June 2005
DD EDD 06 Oct 2006

Check out our family at
http://www.geocities.com/engram_au/

"Jeff" wrote in message
nk.net...

Most kids his age have soft poos, maybe once every three days to three or
four times a day. Unless he is toilet trained the poos will never be snake
like, becuase is just mushes together into one big turd.

LOL. I love your description.

Engram wrote:

As he's still kind of young it's not recommended that he be denied the milk
in his diet unless under the supervision of a doctor, so it's not like I can
just cut it out.

This is not correct. He does not NEED milk. As
long as he gets a well-balanced diet, he does not
need milk. You can try soy milk or rice milk and
see if that cuts down on the runniness. If it does,
try taking out the cheese and other dairy products.

So what do people think? Are the runny stools normal in a 15 month old or
should I get him on an elimination diet under the supervision of an
paediatric immunologist and dietician? We saw a dermatologist about his
eczema last week

Oh, he has eczema, too? Pillbug has been sensitve
to dairy since birth. He used to get eczema when
I drank milk and was breastfeeding. Now he is on
Bright Beginnings, a soy-based pediatric drink (like
Pediasure). Not eating dairy has really helped cut
down his eczema.

-- Anita --

"Engram" wrote in message

So what do people think? Are the runny stools normal in a 15 month old or
should I get him on an elimination diet under the supervision of an
paediatric immunologist and dietician? We saw a dermatologist about his
eczema last week and she suggested adding probiotics to his diet to aid
his digestion and limit the absorption of stuff that may be triggering
allergic reactions in him. Does anyone have any experience with using
probiotics with young children?

I'm not sure what normal is. At that age my kids had peanut butter poos as
a rule. As babies it was more like pudding. Yucky imagery now, lol
When they were done nursing it would often be a bit firmer still. I think
there is a lot of variation in this department, even in adults.

With the allergies and eczema I would also suspect diet as a culprit. I
have no experience with probiotics. I wouldn't think a 1-2 week dairy
elimination trial would need a doctors supervision but I really don't
know??!!


--
Nikki, mama to
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
Brock 4/06
Ben 4/06