13 Month Old - Milk Intolerance or Too Much Fiber?

I would cut milk down to 16oz a day, if she's drinking more. You could try lactose free milk. But I would think she would have runny stools if she is lactose intolerant and she would have more stomach upset. As far as food variety goes, offer her all the foods you eat (minus choking hazards). If you don't continue to expose her to new foods she'll never eat them. Don't force her to try the new foods; just put them on her plate. She'll try them when she's seen them enough times. I also dought she's getting too much fiber because most crackers and toddler foods have very little fiber in them.

I would not worry too much just keep an eye on it. As long as it is not diarrhea I wouldn't be over excited. One thing to think about is..... after doing day care for 10 yrs..... Cheerios cause many children at this age to have very loose stools. This is not true of all kids but some kids it really affects. Just a hint removing a food for two weeks is a fairly good judge if that is or is not the problem. If all else fails asking a Dr. is never a bad idea. Good Luck!

Hi L.-
One of my twins middle name Leigh ;)
About me- 47yo med. prof, wellness coach, mom of almost 7 yo twin girls.
Sounds like lactose intolerance.
The cruchies- some of those binders so that would help- fiber too but still simple starches and white processed foods.
You might want to try soy milk or rice milk and see if that makes a difference.
Or add in a good yogurt- good bacteria and probiotics.
B. J
____@____.com

I think there's a lot to be said for context. What were her diapers like before? My son was VERY constipated from about 3 months until about 7 months...he'd go once every 3 days to once every 14 days, and he was miserable the longer it went. Suddenly, after being on solids for almost two months, my son (now 8 months) is going 3x a day and much more mushy. Kids that age still have digestive systems that are trying to figure out all the new foods they're introduced to--so yes, it could be the milk, but unless your doctor is concerned (or she's miserable), it could just be her body adjusting. Both of my kids have gone through big bowel changes as we went from nursing to cereal to purees to finger foods.

We should all be "pooping" three times a day. Thats normal and healthy. A healthy digestive system is to poop a half hour after every meal. "In with the good out with the bad" Most of the US is constipated! We don't eat right, drink enough fluids, or excersise regularly. A normal healthy individual should be pooping three times a day, but most of us are lucky if we poop once a day or every other day. Not good.

Leigh
you said you had your daughter to the Dr. What did he say about all this ? what did he say to do about it? no table food? why not? you eat, why not cut up some of the food you eat into very small pieces let her eat it with her fingers if she wants. get her started on it maybe she just needs more sold foods in her.baby food is soft so it is going to come out soft.

L., my daughter is 4, and we just diagnosed her with milk intolerance. She get's loose stools and gas and cramping. She also had very dry itchy skin. Looking back, she was always intolerant, but we didn't put the puzzle pieces together until she was old enough to complain of tummy aches. I wish I had known sooner. My daughter is sensitive enough that even milk as an ingredient bothers her and it is in everything! (Lactose, Whey, Milk Solids... watch for it....) She is perfectly fine when she avoids those things. Try going off milk for 2-3 weeks and see if the situation improves. If not, you've lost nothing.

I think she sounds fine. But I also agree with Annette, and I wanted to add that she doesn't need big bottles of milk either. If she's drinking whole milk, it should be from a cup. I think anyone would have issues drinking bottle after bottle of whole milk, and really its not necessary. Let her have water during the day in a cup, and give he rmilk in a sippy or cup at meal time, give her a plate of food and let her eat herself. My boys could both use a fork and spoon by a year old because we let them. Give her cut up fruit, veggies, shredded chicken, scrambled eggs, pancakes, toast, cooked noodles... let her eat herself! She will be more than happy if you give her a plate of food and sit down to eat yourself and let her eat herself. :)

I would not worry about it unless she has diareah or is constipated. Some people go 3 times a day and it's not an issue.

Lactose intolerance occurs in close to 20% of all people. You can buy lactose-free milk. OR give her acidophilus to help with digestion and switch to soy or rice milk (a very good idea).

Acidophilus is good bacteria which is naturally occurring in the colon. When a body does not have enough good bacteria, diarrhea or soft stools can result. Lack of this good bacteria can also inhibit a child's willingness to eat good foods.

If she is living on 'crunchy' foods and milk she is not getting the nutrition she needs L.. I would suggest that you eliminate these foods from your cabinets and only offer fresh fruit for a while (melon, watermelon, apples and pears). Bananas will harden her stools - perhaps too much.

If she gets hungry enough, she'll eat healthy foods. Giving her filler foods like Cheerios is not a solution - it's part of the problem.

I don't think anybody else has mentioned this, but my son use to poop more when he was getting teeth. Especially if he was getting more than one tooth at a time. There were somedays he'd even poop more than three times. Peditrician said that yes, that's what often times happens when they get teeth.

I would say she is just a very good pooper!!! Just keep an eye on it. As for the food, just keep offering all different kinds of foods that she would be able to handle. She could just be a picky eater.

Soft stools can also be a sign of gluten intolerance (sorry to suggest THAT but it's getting much more common). An easy (relatively speaking) check is to take her off of grains for a week and see if the stools clear up. So, you'd give her just fruit, veggies and meat for a week -- easy on the white potatoes too.

Sounds like my 15 (almost 16) month old and my 2 1/2 year old. My boys always have soft stools and I've never worried about it. I wouldn't take her to the doctor unless it turns into uncontrollable diarrhea.

Hi! My 13 month old is similar, but I've always been just happy that he's not constipated! My friend's son would scream at potty time, and say that a monster was eating his behind. So be thankful that your little one is getting positive experiences with it all. Also, I learned in yoga that the body "should" go 3 times a day IF you eat 3 times a day. So it sounds like she's just healthy and on track!

If she is eating mostly soft foods like baby food her poop will be soft. My daughter has a dairy allergy. We didn't realize that was what it was until she was three because she was growing so well. When she was a baby she would spit up a lot, but like I said still gained weight. Her poop seemed to be fine until I gave her a lot of milk or a cup of ice cream. Once she got older she had horrible stomach aches. The dr had us keep a journal of how she pooped and when she had the stomach aches along with what she was eating. Every time she ate something I had to write it down. We soon saw that it was indeed the dairy. If you keep a record you might see a pattern in something.