[morlando27]

My 13 month old ds, who has been pretty regularly pooping once/day since he was a few months old, has been going 3-4 times a day for the last two weeks. He seems to be feeling fine and the consistency is a little loose, but I wouldn't call it diarrhea and he doesn't show any signs of dehydration. Should I be concerned? I should add that he started an iron supplement a few weeks ago and has molars coming through.

I really hate giving him the iron supplement and would prefer to try to boost his iron through foods rather than the drops, but I know that iron deficiencies can have serious, lasting developmental effects. Can I raise his iron to a safe level through iron-rich foods alone (he tested at 10)?

Iron typically causes constipation, not loose bowels, but could it be related? The increase in frequency started shortly after I started giving him iron drops?

I've heard that teething can give some babies diarrhea, but would it go on for two weeks?

I would appreciate any advice!

Thanks!

 

[MamaE]

You're right, iron does usually cause constipation, doesn't it? It could be the teething causing loose stools. DD has had that as well. Teething can go on for several weeks, so that could be it. I think they say it's the excess saliva.

As for the iron, I can't help much, but I have seen some posts here about that before. What about posting an iron question in health and healing or nutrition and good eating? Maybe cross-post in both.

I think I have read that a normal iron level for one toddler may not be normal for another. Besides that, I think babies and toddlers are meant to have lower iron levels to begin with - something to do with disease/illness prevention? I am thinking excess iron causes bacteria to grow or something along those lines. Please don't quote me on any of this. I am just recalling bits of info I've read and giving you some ideas for research you might look into. Other mamas here in the forums I mentioned will be able to tell you more about iron levels and raising them through diet.

Here are some threads that looked helpful:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...highlight=iron
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...highlight=iron
http://mothering.com/discussions/sho...highlight=iron

Sorry I wasn't more help!

 

[MamaE]

Just found this too. Scroll way down the page. It says that iron levels of 10.5 are normal for a toddler, so if your toddler is at 10, he's just barely under. I bet you can fix it through diet. Anyway, just wanted to add this link!

http://parenting.ivillage.com/baby/b...,,3x95,00.html

 

[morlando27]

Thanks MamE. I'm new to MDC and although I did a search for iron, I only found one of the threads you posted. DS doesn't eat a large volume of solids, but I found some good pointers in those posts that might help. It helps to know that his iron levels aren't terribly low. The reaction from the nurse who checked his iron worried me, but I hate giving him the drops. I hope we can raise his levels through food rather than supplements. Thanks again!

 

[mysweetfiona]

Lurking and had to say....Those links are very interesting. Endless Iron and Grain recipes.....That sound very tempting. Thanks for including all the great threads MamaE!

My parents never cooked much for us, nothing wholesome anyway. Cans and pasta.....I used to avoid cooking until I had children and got sick of well, cans and pasta. Taking kids to restaurants wasn't appealing. So, I began to learn to cook and am getting pretty good. I love the nutrient packed recipes; good for the pocket, body, and mind! Anyways, thanks again for the inspiration! I was getting bored in the kitchen again..... Sometimes I have a blast, then eventually I run out of ideas and get sick of the same-o stuff.

Lori
Mom of 3!

 

[lizabird]

My DS had low iron at 12 mos and even lower at 15 months. We gave him the iron drops and he was definitely not constipated. Actually, his poop patterns didn't change too much on the iron. I know both iron and teething can cause changes, though, so I wouldn't be too worried unless he was acting sick or seemed like diarrhea or something.

Back to iron, we tried giving him lots of iron rich foods, but he refused to eat any of them, so we are now diligently giving him drops. At 18 months, he had come back up to about 10.0, which for us was pretty good. But we continue on the drops. I agree with you though, I wish I could find a better way, but I also don't want his iron to get too low, so we'll do the iron for another couple of months and then just do a multivitamin with iron and hopefully that'll do the trick. I think the worst thing about the iron for us (aside from the aweful taste) is that his teeth are now stained, even though I brush them 2x every day. ugh.