New - 15 Month Old Withpossible Symptoms

[Momof2u2]

Hi! I just discovered this forum when I googled "toddler distended stomach" and I have a question or two.

When my daughter was just a few weeks old she presented with blood in her stools. I cut a number of things from my diet and was able to successfully reintroduce all but dairy, soy and wheat.

She has been a slow gainer from the start, requiring weekly weight checks for a long time when she was an infant. She was 8 pounds, 8 ounces at birth, putting her in the 88th percentile. As of her last visit to the doctor at 14 months, she was only 19 pounds, 3 ounces (fully clothed, I might add), putting her in the 9th percentile. She never had a sharp decline, rather a gradual decline, in her weight percentile. The thing about this, though is that she eats.... A lot! More than her 3 year old brother and almost as much as me. She eats anything and quickly... So why doesn't she gain weight?

She is so skinny. The diameter of her upper arm is only about 1.5 inches. But she has a big pot belly! Poor girl looks like she's pregnant sometimes! I know a big belly is normal for her age but hers is quite large. I took a pic last night to show her doc. It isn't always so big, though. Sometimes it looks pretty normal.

She is more on the constipated side. She poops 3 or 4 times a day but it's usually hard little balls and light beige in color. Is that what people refer to as a "pale poop" or are they more referring to the chalky white kind?

I plan to bring this up at her 15 month checkup but want to be armed with as much info as possible. Does this sound conducive to gluten intolerance? If so, what tests should I request? Any other questions I should ask?

Oh! One last bit of info - my husbands sister has a gluten intolerance...

[tarnalberry]

It sounds (outside of the constipation) fairly classic for celiac (and the constipation is not abnormal for celiac).

I would both consider getting her tested AND trying a strict gluten-free diet (after any testing you decide to do).

[anna34]

That sounds a lot like my daughter as a toddler - especially the belly. It would pop out in front of her, but also to the sides. Now that she has been diagnosed and is on the diet, her belly is gone.

Somebody on here will be able to tell you the exact tests to ask for. I hope you get some answers.

[Momof2u2]

Thanks for the responses. I tend to be a worrywart when it comes to the kids so I wanted to get some outside opinions.

Poor girl pooped 6 times today. Not diarrhea, just poop but still ended up with a diaper rash. Her next appointment isn't until the 20th but I have to take her brother in for an ear re-check on Wednesday. I may bring the pic of her belly and ask the doc about it then.

[tarnalberry]

Sometimes poop will cause a diaper rash, regardless of other issues. It can get acidic, and that irritates the baby's bottom. Our daughter generally will get rashy from poop that isn't changed within half an hour (at the most).

[Momof2u2]

All of these were changed immediately... I wouldn't have been able to stand the smell for long 

Thinking back now to what she ate that might have caused some acidity...

[tarnalberry]

It may not be food related (the digestive system has plenty of acid all on its own).

My friend's son (7 months) is very sensitive to poop being left on his behind, especially without some sort of barrier (usually just a simple oil).

[MacieMay]

My daughter has a gluten-intolerance, she just turned two. She started showing signs when we introduced solids. It took us forever to figure out what was going on. She had Lots of poops, not D but mushy, smelly, pale and grainy (like there were pieces of sand in them). She had the distended belly. She had terrible terrible diaper rashes, like I had never seen before (she is my third). She would wake up crying in the middle of night, and whimper while she was sleeping. She was growing OK so it was hard to convince the Dr's that something was wrong. We eliminated whole milk first but she was still having issues so we went on down the line taking all the big food allergens out of her diet, gluten was last on the list. It turns out she was lactose intolerant secondary to a gluten intolerance. I never would of guessed it. I have two other daughters both healthy no allergies. She is new a girl since eliminating lactose and gluten. I hope this helps.

[Momof2u2]

MacieMay- thanks for your response.... It helps very much!

I hope she's just a slow grower who eats a lot which makes her belly larger than average. I really hope she's not gluten intolerant but will discuss all of this with her doctor on the 20th.

You ladies have been so helpful. Thanks for taking the time to answer!