14 month eating/pooping issues...should i be worried?

[BabySmurf]

Here's the low down:

Since DS was a little baby he has been having poop issues.  I figured out that we both have food issues, and have been working on figuring them out.  For the first half of his life, DS basically just had diarrhea, then once I figured out most of our issues, he went almost immediately from going poop up to six times per day (runny, mucousy, poops) to once per day to every other day (wet peanut butter like).  This continued for a month or so before he started going every couple of days.  Not in of itself a big deal, he didn't seem too bothered by it.  He was at this point only occasionally experimenting with solids.  This lasted from about 8 months to about 1 year old.

At around 12 months, it was still obvious that we were both having some underlying food issues, so I started experimenting.  I realized that I had to fix my issues before I could really fix his.  (That they may or may not be one in the same).  I reintroduced the foods I had been eliminating to see if we reacted to them, I got a blood test done, and we also had a series of colds and DS had an ear infection.  He went back to having the frequent diarrhea again for a while.  Not as bad as when he was a little baby, but still evident.  It seems to have had more to do with being sick than the foods.  Or maybe the antibiotic....During this time his appetite for solid food increased significantly. 

Once the sick was gone, he went back to the more solid poops, and at this point they are getting drier.  I'm guessing because of the increase in solid food.  Now he's going 4-5 days between poops, and he seems perturbed by the sensation.  He's eating less.  The last time he went poop (a few days after his last poop), he didn't get a lot out.  It was still dry, but not like crazy formed or anything.  I think he may be holding in his poop? He grunts and seems to be pushing, but he just does really stinky farts.  He also still has an allergy rash on his bum.  I have gone back to eliminating the foods I used to, in addition to the new ones that I found out I have an issue with....

Do you think that he is just getting used to the new sensation of solid food pooping, or does this sound like there is something else going on.  Oh yeah, he also HATES having his diaper changed....but I think this is normal for a boy his age, right? I feel like something is up, but I have absolutely no reference for what is "normal" poop and poop behavior since we haven't really experienced much of it.  I don't want to be overly paranoid.

In terms of how dry/formed his poops are, the most he ever eats in a day would probably be the equivalent of one small jar, but more often it's much less, just a couple of bites here and there...

[KathrynH]

Our DS began having less frequent, peanut butter consistency poops around 3 months. He also seemed to have a lot of tummy pain along with it. He was exclusively breastfed, and everything I read indicated that a child that receives only breastmilk cannot be constipated. I eliminated soy, dairy, and egg from my diet, but it did not help. However the dietary changes did result in a dramatic increase in spit-up.

I could go on and on, but the bottom line (no pun intended) is that I ended up giving him a combination of prune and pear juice at 4 months - 1/2 ounce of each every day. It broke my heart because it was so important to me to get to 6 months EBF. However, it helped tremendously. I came to see it as "medicine" that he needed to be healthy and happy.

DS is almost 16 months and still gets a combination of prune and pear juice everyday. Typically 3 ounces of juice diluted with 3 ounces of water. If he doesn't get it, he doesn't poop. And if he doesn't poop, you can be sure that he'll be fussy. 

From what I've gleaned from all of the reading that I've done, you have to look at the consistency of stools, not the frequency, to determine whether or not a child is truly constipated. Harder, smaller poops sound like constipation to me. I'd try some diluted juice. We use 365 brand organic prune juice (from Whole Foods) and R. W. Knudsen  organic pear juice (This is a much less sweet pear juice than many others you will find.) I didn't want to give DS something so sweet at first, but if you dilute it and use the brands stated, I promise it isn't that sweet. It's much less sweet than the raisins that our DS downs and definitely less sweet than breastmilk. 

[BabySmurf]

yikes! good to know! i really don't know what a "normal" consistency is, but it sounds like we went from too watery to too thick. I will definitely try to get some juice in there! thanks for the input!