To think the GP is wrong and this isn’t normal for a one year old?!

[Ujalo]

When ds started solids at 6 months we had some watery nappies. Obviously expected this as he adapted to food. By month 7, he had more solid poos, darker in colour and regular.

By month 8 he began having awful nappies. Runny, smelly, light in colour. Went to Gp, they checked for bacteria and nothing showed up. He has always been absolutely fine in himself and eaten and drank well etc. Said it was viral. It continued. He’s now nearly one and I went back again this week and I’ve been told this is just what happens with babies and could continue but not to worry as he’s eating and is happy. Surely this isn’t right? I’m a first time mum but I don’t know any mums who have to throw away clothes or rub stains out of clothes after every single nappy. Bedding has been thrown away often as it just completely soaks it. Is this normal?? It goes all down his leg and the only time it doesn’t is if I catch it there and then and if it’s a smaller poo. Obviously when in the car this isn’t possible. It is really draining me now. Whenever we go anywhere I have to take loads of clothes and wipes and have to put first set of clothes in a plastic bag. I can’t remember the last time he did a solid poo!! Also we have done a food diary and no correlation there with anything. Please help, I am so miserable.

I think she means try cutting out egg from his diet.

At this point I would just pay for testing. It’s costing loads anyway in new clothes and bedding all the time. Absolutely had enough.

Sounds like our DD, although this happened a lot younger for her. She has a dairy and egg allergy. GP was pretty useless, and it was during covid, we ended up just telling them what she needed and she was put on a prescription formula, followed by oat milk when she turned one. Weaning was a nightmare as we had to figure out what the other issue was (on top of the dairy allergy), but we got there eventually. We’ve tried to reintroduce both allergens, and failed, so we now just avoid both.

I’d be asking my health visitor to follow this up, they will tell you what’s normal and what isn’t.. I’ve had 4 children and the only time they had this was when they had a horrible tummy bug OR teething which certainly would only last a day or two..

mention to your health visitor that your worried and that you saw the gp with little one but you feel they haven’t taken it seriously enough.. they can speak to the doctor on your behalf, they can also come out and check little ones nappies etc to see what’s normal (or just take a picture)..

either way the GP shouldn’t be brushing this off as “normal” ❤️❤️

Please don't cut gluten out unless testing has occurred its horrible to try and reintroduce and can massively ramp up symptoms

Are the nappies definitely the right size?

They shouldn't be leaking that much even if the poo is quite runny

@Pumpkingnome his in the middle of the weight bracket for the nappy size he is in. I am so fed up. I don’t even want to go out anywhere as it’s such a hassle

I would also strongly suspect a food allergy. You need a referral to an allergist, OP.

I can't help on the food - but do try a range of nappy brands - different kids/different shapes and some work better than others (DS1 was huggies - anything else leaked, DS2 did best in Asda own brand for example)

I’m using pampers pull ups

I could have written this post! My DS was a happy baby but pooed a lot, had reflux but it didn’t really bother him and eczema but again quite mild with a couple of bad flares.

When we introduced solids we had very similar periods to what you described but when when we introduced cows milk bottles his nappies were bloody awful! He’s 17 months now and after a lot of back and forth I know he can tolerate some dairy but not whole milk. I also suspect intolerances to other things. My GP eventually took me seriously and referred to paediatrics but still awaiting an appointment.

I found a diary ladder online and eliminated other food groups. Keep pushing your GP.

Also we used pampers active fit and found they were better at holding in the poo than other nappies, including the regular pampers.

@Ujalo that sounds so tough. Unfortunately I don't have any helpful advice about what the underlying cause may be, but while you figure it out, could you stick him in a swim nappy over his usual nappy - the neoprene ones? That should seal it all in.

www.splashabout.com/baby-swimming/happy-nappy-products.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoqf3-beiggMVD8btCh2rBAmhEAAYASAAEgLCZvD_BwE

It's not a long term solution but it may just give you a break from the nappy leaks while you maybe try some of the ideas mentioned on the thread. You sound understandably exhausted and even a few days without having to mop up poo might help?

Please push your GP practice for a Coeliac screen - a simple blood test will indicate initially if he's gluten allergic.

If you haven't tried already, I found the rascal and friends nappy pants are really good, I get them in Tesco.

Must be a nightmare with all those leaks!

@sexnotgenders thank you so much!!!

Keep photos and a food diary. I would start by taking egg out of diet. If he'd been on normal formula it's unlikely be be cows milk protein intolerance /allergy. Do you give him scrambled egg, boiled egg etc? Ice cream? Pancakes?
Go back to veg, meat, potatoes, pasta, pasta sauce. Do it for 4 weeks to allow the system to clear out. See how nappies are then. If they improved then reintroduce egg in line with egg ladder, you'll find this on line.
You may spend money on tests that tell you nothing as it may be an intolerance rather than an allergy and an intolerance doesn't show up on allergy tests.
As an adult I know that I am intolerant to eggs. Not allergic but I know I will need the bathroom within 30 mins of eating a boiled egg but when broken down and cooked in foods like cakes etc etc it's perfectly fine. Generally it's the egg white that gives the reaction.

Your baby might be highly intolerant to dairy. The fact he's had formula since birth doesn't rule it out because the tolerance level can get lower over time until the system can't cope with it anymore.

Tri dairy and gluten substitutes. My money is on one of them being a problem if not both

Hi @Ujalo - my DD was the same. Diagnosed with toddler diarrhoea for years. This went on with worsening UGI symptoms until she was finally diagnosed as coeliac when she was 4. DS is also coeliac and has had real issues with bed wetting and explosive diarrhoea when he was little. Best get a blood test done and rule it out.

Pull ups are crap. They are for older toddlers who are headed for toilet training and were invented to keep toddlers in nappies for longer.

They are terribly loose around legs etc. Use proper nappies for a much better fit.

Is he gaining weight & happy? Does he eat a lot of fruit? Some fruit & raw veg basically gives toddlers the runs all the time.

None of mine had consistently solid poos until they were 3+. We were told that it was toddler diarrhea and they did all grew out of it.
What number does your child's stool look like on the bristol stool chart?

Just to say, pull ups aren't right for this, you need to go back to normal baby nappies. Pull ups aren't good enough for this - they're meant to be used when the child is potty training. I don't think mine went on to them until at least 2 and a half

Go back to proper nappies - pull ups move around too much.

Go back to your doctor's - demand a different GP and ask for a referral.

I wouldn't be removing whole food groups without professional advice. As pp said, removing gluten means they can't be tested for coeliac without reintroducing it, which is horrible. Also things like oat milk can badly affect some coeliacs, so you need a decent knowledge on all food groups. Also, it's quite common for someone to have more than one intolerance so switching to soya dairy replacements can be equally damaging.

DS had a dairy had dairy intolerance and was like this. He was able to tolerate all dairy in moderation past about 18 months. He can still be a bit iffy now at 6 if he has too much live yoghurt or ice cream.

I would definitely ask for some investigations for possible allergies. You mention your DS is starting nursery soon, if your experience goes anything like mine, he'll be getting sent home every time he poops and they will ask for him to be at home for 48 hours after each loose nappy 🙄.

OP I can't help on the poo front but nappies are much better than pull-ups (which I think are often purposively less absorbent than nappies to prepare children for potty training - in that they can feel a bit wet and know they've done a wee). I don't think pull-ups are really designed to cope with poo.