[lovemyfamily6]

A little TMI...my boys have had soft stools always. Frequent and soft. We've had a lot of complaints of tummy aches, so the ped wanted to do a stool sample. The complaints subsided for the most part. No major symptoms of gluten or soy or other food allergies.

I am wondering if the problem is too much fiber. I just learned that kids over 2 should have their age plus 5 grams a day. That means my oldest should have 12 a day. He had 12 by lunch time.

I'm going to try keeping a better eye on it. We're vegan. Does anyone pay attention to how much fiber their kids are getting? Does anyone have a sample menu for a days worth of eating? My kids are ALWAYS complaining about being hungry. They can eat a lot. Are there some good filling foods that won't put them too high in fiber but will fill them up? Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[UUMom]

The being hungry all the time might mean they are just growing boys or it could mean they need more fats/protein in their diets. Do they like things like nut butters, coconut, avocado, extra virgin olive oil on things, or seeds and such? If they like smoothies, maybe add organic protein powders to them? I don't serve tons of tofu, but the kids love it in seasoned chunks sauteed olive oil. It's very filling.

 

[phytoangel]

we've been wondering the same thing about the soft stools. dd is 2 now and has always had soft stools since we introduced solids. she is a fruit eating machine, so needless to say, that will loosening anyone up. it is tough. you want them to eat good food, but a well rounded vegan/veg/raw diet means a lot of fiber. i agree with the fats for the kiddos. we do avocados, coconut oil and some nuts and seeds with dd. a great one is popcorn made with coconut oil.

1tsp coconut oil
1/2 cup popcorn
pop it over the stove on medium heat.

she loves it and we add some sea salt and nutritional yeast. it is a yummy one for an afternoon snack.

proteins are more binding than most things. you can add tempeh, veggie burgers, etc. to offset the other fiber sources.

thank goodness it isn't food allergies. i have to say, tmi, but if you think of what we all eat and how our bowel movements are, then it only makes sense that their little bodies will take a bit harder than ours and loose stools may be the result.

good luck mama!