Porridge like poop in 21 mo old--STILL! Food allergy?

[lkmiscnet]

My DS rarely has formed stools. They are always mushy and require me to give him a bath 2-3 times per day to get his bum properly clean. 

He gets 5 oz of frozen breastmilk a day with cow's milk and is gaining weight normally.

Are his mushy poops a sign of a food allergy or normal and healthy?

[scsigrl]

I would say not normal.  It happened with DS (age 4) till we put him on a very strong probiotic and dx his other issues (celiac's disease).  DD who is 2 was having normal BM's by about 12-14 months I would say and that is what made us think maybe DS was having issues.  

[tanyalynn]

For my DD, mushy poop was not normal, I saw improvements when we took out her food intolerances and when we added in good probiotics (for us, I started fermenting veggies, kimchee is really tasty and does a really nice job for gut health, sauerkraut would probably be similar). 

[calynde]

omg! this is my son, too (30 months). From the time he was a baby until 18 months it was total blowout mania, then I cut out dairy completely (we were already eating only small amounts) and things improved. But even still it is never formed, ever...but he does eat a whole lot of fruit, so I guess I've always assumed that was the culprit. Now I have some researching to do...

[lkmiscnet]

I do add a liquid probiotic to his milk daily and it has not made a difference in the past couple of months. Since probiotics have milk, wouldn't they cause a problem if DS is milk intolerant or does the good outweigh the bad?

He also eats cheese. He is being raised a vegetarian, so I was using those sources to help ensure enough calcium in his diet. He doesn't like yogurt much, thought I try to get him to eat it, but I would have to eliminate that too since it is made of milk I would think.

I know I would need to eliminate all dairy in his diet for a couple of weeks, but don't know what to do about his calcium intake during those two weeks. Would not having enough adversely affect him for such a short time period?

I was going to make a dr appt, but feel that perhaps I should do some detective work on my own first, as I do suspect milk allergy.

What can I give him to drink in place of milk during this test phase? I want to avoid soy as well. Is goat's milk a good replacement?

He also eats a lot of fruit daily (tangerine, pear, apple, kiwi, banana, mango...), but I would think the added fiber would help him bulk up.

[scsigrl]

A decrease (not total lack of) of calcium for a few weeks isn't going to cause that big of an issue.  My DS has never had any dairy and his calcium levels are just fine. You may need to find other sources for it (green leafy veggies).  

If you are going to try no dairy, go all dairy free.  Something like 92% of people with cow dairy issues can't do other dairy either.  Dairy isn't a necessary part of the diet. It can make things easier but it is not necessary at all.  As I have said, at 4 years old we have never had dairy with no ill effects. This would also include your probiotic.  There are plenty of dairy free probiotics out there if you find he improves off dairy.  Also a lot of kids with dairy issues can't do soy anyway so I wouldn't jump on the soy train no matter. 

There are plenty of alternatives.  If you can do nuts, there is almond milk.  Rice milk is out staple. There is also coconut milk.

[tanyalynn]

Probiotics are just bacteria helpful to our digestive tracts.  There are dairy and soy-free probiotic supplements, and people have been fermenting vegetables, like kimchee and sauerkraut and pickles, for ages--I mean real pickles or sauerkraut, not pasteurized, but there are some brands at health food stores that have live bacteria, and it's shockingly easy to make your own. 

You'll want to remove all dairy, lots of people react to both cow and goat (and sheep and other sorts) of dairy products.  Soy is very cross-reactive to dairy, it's good you're not planning on substituting soy for dairy.  People can be intolerant of other foods as well, but dairy is a good place to start experimenting.

Ditto the PP about calcium intake, it's one of those things that, over time, you should think about, but 2 weeks shouldn't do anything at all problematic.

[aldensmom09]

my son has been just like this.

he is dairy-intollerant, so both he and i have been dairy free since he was about a month old (because i'm nursing him). we've just discovered through biomerridian testing that i am very gluten-intollerant, which is causing a lot of connected health issues for me, and likely him as well. i'd tried minimizing gluten before when i was trying to figure out his dietary issues (through my milk), but gave up at christmas. i've been gluten-free for the past month, and my son just had his first solid/formed poop since christmas. 

and yep- people think of dairy products when they think of calcium- but cruciferous veggeis and greens are very high in calcium, as are bone broths, sardines, etc. dairy does make getting calcium easy of course, because it is convenient and yummy! but you can totally do without.

we do a lot of vegetable ferments and kefirs which are IMO far better than any probiotic supplement. here is a link to a great video that shows just how easy (and inexpensive!) it is to make kimchee/kraut on your countertop: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i77hU3zR-fQ

good luck!

[lkmiscnet]

Well, he's been off dairy for two weeks and it hasn't made a difference. I've been using almond milk, and then switched to coconut milk.

DS eats a lot of fruit daily and that could be causing his BMs to be so loose according to his ped. We just had an appt and ped is not concerned because DS is gaining weight and length and seems to be healthy.

So, I'm not sure if I should add dairy back in or try eliminating, say, wheat.

My question is: What if he is allergic to something else (including dairy) and because whatever that is is still in his diet (until I can figure it out), he is showing no improvement while off dairy, so if I add dairy back in, he may still be allergic to dairy? Does my concern make sense? Should I have seen at least some improvement with him being off dairy?

Is it safe to add dairy back in now?

 Ped thinks it is the fruit intake, she felt like I could add dairy back if I wanted to.

He does get bright red cheeks and chin, but I haven't been able to find a pattern. I thought it was apple a first, but he's eaten it other times with no ill effects.

[DevaMajka]

Your concern makes perfect sense. It could definitely happen that way.

I'd probably take the fruit out (or cut way back) for a few days to a week and see what happens. I know, living with no fruit sucks, but at least then you would know, kwim?

[scsigrl]

It is possible to gain weight and still have an allergy. It is possible to have more than one allergy and not discover the others because they are still in your diet.  I did 2- 6 week dairy trials and they did nothing for DS.  He is allergic to the Top 8 and others.  Until I took out ALL the offending foods, nothing got better.

If your child eats a ton of fruit, I would cut that back (or out totally for a few days) and see what happens.  If all goes well I would try adding dairy back.

Good luck!