We Can't Seem To Get Color/consistency Together !

[2boysmama]

I'm feeling pretty frustrated here. Maybe I'm just being too impatient. What do you guys think ?

Ryan (3 yo) has been gluten-free/CF/egg-free/soy-free for about 2.5 months now. Actually, he's been egg/casein free since he was about a year, but I digress...

We get solid poops, loose poops (about the consistency of chunky applesauce), brown poops that smell more normal, and yellow poops that stink pretty bad. So far I've YET to get a solid, brown, normal-smelling poop out of the kid. He gets every other combination though ! Our entire house is gluten-free, I brought his own art supplies to the daycare with strict, written instructions on how to handle his art supplies and avoid cross-contamination, and to have him wash his hands before he eats. I did discover yesterday that the rice bars by EnviroKids have a trace amount of soy in them, so it's possible that's part of the problem, but I would think that would consistently cause a problem if that's what it was.

Am I just being impatient and I need to give his intestines more time to heal ? He has commented several times (on his own) that his "tummy feels better." or that his "tummy doesn't hurt anymore." So I think I'm at least on the right track. Maybe I'm missing hidden glutens ?

[Sophiekins]

Relax. Ryan's poop sounds perfectly normal.

Poop is what gets left over after your body has taken everything it can out of your food. His poop should be relatively consistent based on his diet (ie, meatloaf, carrots, potatoes and applesauce should produce similar kinds of poop every time he eats them), but it probably won't ever be "normal" consistency. This is okay. Ryan's body will always work slightly differently from everyone else - and his poop will change colour, smell, and consistency depending on lots of things (his diet, stress levels, his immune system, exercise, hormones, etc). It will probably take about 6 months from the last glutening for Ryan's intestines to completely heal, but this may not result in completely identical poops - if you think about it, you'll probably realise that your poops aren't completely consistent. . .you just never look at yours. Monitoring Ryan's poop is just a rule of thumb to make sure he's relatively healthy - generally there should be less coming out than there was going in. If you're worried, talk to his pediatrician the next time you're in, but so long as Ryan continues to gain weight in his age/height bracket and stays fairly healthy, there's no need to worry about the kinds of poops you are describing.

(If it makes you feel better, I am completely gluten-free for six years, and my poops range approximately along the lines of what you describe for Ryan, and my team of docs has given me a completely clean bill of health.)

[Mamato2boys]

Relax. Ryan's poop sounds perfectly normal.

Poop is what gets left over after your body has taken everything it can out of your food. His poop should be relatively consistent based on his diet (ie, meatloaf, carrots, potatoes and applesauce should produce similar kinds of poop every time he eats them), but it probably won't ever be "normal" consistency. This is okay. Ryan's body will always work slightly differently from everyone else - and his poop will change colour, smell, and consistency depending on lots of things (his diet, stress levels, his immune system, exercise, hormones, etc). It will probably take about 6 months from the last glutening for Ryan's intestines to completely heal, but this may not result in completely identical poops - if you think about it, you'll probably realise that your poops aren't completely consistent. . .you just never look at yours. Monitoring Ryan's poop is just a rule of thumb to make sure he's relatively healthy - generally there should be less coming out than there was going in. If you're worried, talk to his pediatrician the next time you're in, but so long as Ryan continues to gain weight in his age/height bracket and stays fairly healthy, there's no need to worry about the kinds of poops you are describing.

(If it makes you feel better, I am completely gluten-free for six years, and my poops range approximately along the lines of what you describe for Ryan, and my team of docs has given me a completely clean bill of health.)

I'm so used to closely scrutinizing what comes out of the kid that I've nominated myself "official poop patrol" lol.

I always thought the yellow poops were a bad sign ?

[Sophiekins]

Yellow poops can be a bad sign, but they don't have to be - human poop is a variety of colours, and everyone's poop is individual. Neon yellow poops are more troubling than yellowy brown ones, but I still wouldn't worry unless his poops are consistently neon for a few days. My general rule of thumb is that as long as I am feeling healthy and I'm having less than six poops a day, it's just my intestines playing up and nothing to worry about. With a toddler, I might be a little more picky - maybe less than four or five a day, and I might be mildly concerned if you were getting large quantities on a daily basis - but it sounds like Ryan is doing just fine (particularly since he says he feels good). While his intestines heal, he will have stranger poop than normal. If you are worried, try keeping a food/poop diary - keep track of what Ryan is eating and what kinds of poops are coming out, and see if there may be a connection somewhere. You should be concerned if he starts being unable to predict (or control) his poops in time to reach a toilet, or if they start to hurt him - and as always, if there's blood, your next stop is a doctor. The other thing you might want to check is his toothpaste - Oral B toddler toothpaste is not gluten-free, but I think Colgate toddler is. And while they say you don't need to worry about toothpaste because you don't swallow it. . .well, we've all helped toddlers brush their teeth. . .

[2boysmama]

Oy. What a thing to be fixated on, lol. I've been dealing with mysterious GI issues from him for over 2 of his 3 years on this planet - with no help from allergists or GI docs. I've had to totally sort this out on my own.

At any rate, lol, IKWYM about the toothpaste. Mainstream items such as toothpaste and mouthwash grosses me out because of the garbage that's put in them, so we all use Tom's brand (from Wild Oats). He does swallow it. I'm pretty sure it's gluten-free, but I'll have to double-check just to be sure - thanks for pointing that out. Funny how the obvious can pass you by.

Yellow poops can be a bad sign, but they don't have to be - human poop is a variety of colours, and everyone's poop is individual. Neon yellow poops are more troubling than yellowy brown ones, but I still wouldn't worry unless his poops are consistently neon for a few days. My general rule of thumb is that as long as I am feeling healthy and I'm having less than six poops a day, it's just my intestines playing up and nothing to worry about. With a toddler, I might be a little more picky - maybe less than four or five a day, and I might be mildly concerned if you were getting large quantities on a daily basis - but it sounds like Ryan is doing just fine (particularly since he says he feels good). While his intestines heal, he will have stranger poop than normal. If you are worried, try keeping a food/poop diary - keep track of what Ryan is eating and what kinds of poops are coming out, and see if there may be a connection somewhere. You should be concerned if he starts being unable to predict (or control) his poops in time to reach a toilet, or if they start to hurt him - and as always, if there's blood, your next stop is a doctor. The other thing you might want to check is his toothpaste - Oral B toddler toothpaste is not gluten-free, but I think Colgate toddler is. And while they say you don't need to worry about toothpaste because you don't swallow it. . .well, we've all helped toddlers brush their teeth. . .

[Izak's Mom]

lol...I've been an active member of the poop patrol for quite awhile now! Sophiekins, thanks for the reassurance. My Izak's poops have quite a range to them & sound exactly like what 2boysmama is talking about. But I know he's eating well, and his growth & weight are on track, so I figured it was OK.

[Guest cassidy]

I don't know if babies can take probiotics or drink kefir, but that always helps me get better. Digestive enzymes help as well.

It sounds like most people think he sounds ok, and I really don't know, but adding these supplements that help make it easier for his body to digest his food may help.

Obviously, you would need to do the research and see if it is ok at his age, but I know they are beneficial when you are pregnant, so I don't think it is much of a stretch.

[2boysmama]

I don't know if babies can take probiotics or drink kefir, but that always helps me get better. Digestive enzymes help as well.

It sounds like most people think he sounds ok, and I really don't know, but adding these supplements that help make it easier for his body to digest his food may help.

Obviously, you would need to do the research and see if it is ok at his age, but I know they are beneficial when you are pregnant, so I don't think it is much of a stretch.

He'd have to skip the kefir since he's allergic to dairy, but I ordered some probiotics for all of us to take that should arrive tomorrow.