Ever heard of toddler diarrhea?

[gail_kofi]

My ds has had occasional diarrhea for the last two weeks and his ped says it toddler diarrhea. I found that diagnosis strange and need a second opinion. A quick history of my ds: He was breastfed exclusively until six months (never had diarrhea or constipation); started solids with great success and still no diarrhea or allergies; well I started med school in sept. so needed to stop breastfeedind and introduced him to formula late July and began weaning at that point. He was completely weaned by 11 months (sooo sad) and started whole milk about a week ago. I don't think the culprit is the whole milk because the diarrhea was present before the switch; however, it seems to be getting worse. Also, alot of his food is not digested and appears in his stool. He has a bowel movement 5-6 times a day and in the past only had one.

What can possibly be wrong with him?

[alkagift]

Poor baby! Toddler diarrhea, I thought, was a nickname given to the situation which resulted from too much juice. Is he getting more than 6 ounces a day? If so, cutting that back might help. My understanding is that toddler diarrhea shouldn't last for weeks on end, and your son shouldn't be losing weight because of it or being listless, etc.

You may want to consider the possibility that he's lactose intolerant. Did the diarrhea begin as you weaned to cow's milk formula? Does he have a bit of gas too? My son was sick a couple of months ago and during that time we put him on soymilk to help him with the viral diarrhea. We've discovered that he's slightly lactose intolerant and it helps for us to mix his regular milk with Lactaid or soy. I would read up on lactose intolerance on askdrsears.com or some other website you trust for kids. I wouldn't worry about seeing whole bits of stuff in his diaper, that happens! They can't chew things as well and whole veggies often just remain, well, whole!

I would check with your ped's office, perhaps the nurse, and see if it would be a good idea to switch to Lactaid whole milk for a week and see if it improves. Good luck!

Allison
Mommy to Matthew Clayton, 5/03