15 mo old's Undigested Food in BM

[fraggleface]

Should a 15 mo old be fully digesting most of his food? I can recognize almost everything in his stool. Also, a lot of the time his stool is pretty unformed and liquidy. We EC so I get to see exactly how it comes out. He sometimes has dark circles under his eyes, but no other real issues. He only has six teeth, so he doesn't chew his food very much. Just wondering if this might signify a problem.

[coyotemist]

It could signal some digestion issues...or it could just be because he can't chew well yet.

How is his weight? Is he energetic, playful, normal toddler in other ways?

Those are probably better indications!

[mamafish9]

Some undigested food wouldn't concern me at that age, but most of it undigested, along with the other symptoms you mention, suggests food intolerances and/or nutrient deficiencies (low zinc can lead to low stomach acid, which can cause poor food digestion).

Have you tried eliminating any foods (from his and your diet if you are still nursing)? The top 4 intolerance foods would be dairy, soy, gluten, and corn.

[DevaMajka]

I'm dealing with this with my ds (almost 16mos), and I've come to the conclusion that it is not "normal" for there to be a lot of undigested food in poop, especially if it's whole and not little bits. I also don't really think it's normal for it to be watery. Is there any mucous in his poop?
I think it is normal for some undigested bits of food, especially corn or bits of bean skins, or even whole pieces if it's just a few or just occasionally.

Ds has days where his poop seems to be pieces of undigested food with a tiny bit of poop, and also some where his poop is watery or mucousy. My mama gut says that's not normal. He also has some days where his poop is formed with a little bit of undigested food, and my gut says that's a-ok.

[fraggleface]

Thanks for the replies! His weight is great and he is super happy. Sleeps wonderfully. No skin issues. He doesn't has mucous. He would occasionally have mucous when he was small and even flecks of blood a few times. He is still nursing a LOT. This undigested thing has really only been happening this bad for about the past month. I know that part of it is that he eats some things that are pretty hard to digest and he does swallow them whole. Things like goji berries, these Go Raw cracker things with sprouted seeds, grapes (cut in quarters, come out in quarters). He used to digest freeze dried mango well, but even that is coming out in chunks.

I don't eat wheat or soy and very little corn. I do eat a lot of raw milk, raw goat cheese, and homemade kefir. When I was pregnant with him I cut out wheat, corn and soy. I only added some corn back in after muscle testing said it was okay for me. When I eat wheat I get leaky boobs and watery milk, so I don't eat it.

I'll supp both of us with some zinc and see if it makes a difference. If not I'll do an elimination diet. I was sure hoping the undigested stuff was "normal" for this age. I don't want him going down the path of gut issues.

[PTmorgan]

My 17 m/o DS was having totally undigested poops as well. We're also dealing with food intolerances (dairy, eggs, and wheat), as well as eczema. We're working with a holistic MD, did a stool analysis - balance of different bacteria and yeast way out of balance.

I added a LOT of probiotics (bacteria, good yeast, lots of naturally fermented foods, coconut kefir), zinc, Vit D, fish oil. His poop appears normal now, even with his limited number of teeth.

By the way, DS gets dark circles if he or I eat dairy, eggs, or wheat. They resolve if we stick to our restrictions.

Good luck!

[fraggleface]

Well, things have improved dramatically. His poop is now formed and almost entirely digested. I began supping with zinc, but we all got a stomach bug and I didn't keep it up. I didn't see a difference during that time. We had a well baby visit and our holistic MD recommended that I give him the homeopathic remedy lycopodium since he was having a lot of right side issues (blocked tear duct, bumps on back of right arm, tailbone goes out to the right frequently). His tear duct, which has been blocked since birth, isn't leaking anymore and his poop became formed and digested. The only other thing I did was back off on the amount of freeze dried mango I give him. Just wanted to give an update.

[DevaMajka]

wow! Great to hear that he's doing better!