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.

Sorry just read your updates - go private and get a food allergen test if you’re reluctant to cut dairy or other food groups without professional advice. For babies they either do a skin prick test or a normal blood test depending on what/how many allergens they’re testing for. You will go round and round in circles with a GP.

You'll need to do an elimination diet. Its a pain, but the only way to find out if its food related. I wish I'd listened to myself when DD was little. Constant vomiting and was told no allergy by GP's, allergists and gastro team. In and out of hospital.

It was egg allergy. At age 7 a different consultant saw her and was outraged that allergies had been dismissed. Within a week she wasn't vomiting anymore, within 3 months off all the meds to stop her vomiting. Within 6 months her weight was much better. For some reason, Dr's are crap about allergies.

Don’t try to self diagnose. Ask for a referral to a paediatrician. If you can scrape up the money then go private for a consultation: they’ll refer you back into the NHS if there is an issue. It will be money well spent, even if it’s just for peace of mind.

We tried a few different nappy types and also found Asda Little Angels to be the best for us. It was very very rare to have a leak of pee or poo (and my toddler also had very runny poos sometimes). During potty training we went straight from nappies to pants during the day. At night we swapped nappies for pull-ups in case of any accidents. I think that's what they are best for, occasional accidents. The one time my partner bought pull-ups by mistake when my toddler was about 18mths I wasn't impressed, they're too loose fitting to deal with runny poo!

From a leaks standpoint, you could get some reusable nappy covers and put those over the disposables – the cover should catch the escaping poo and avoid clothing/bedding changes and make it much easier to get out and about. The swim nappy cover linked to earlier should definitely contain it, but will be messy to get off. Regular covers should also do the trick, and they open up like a normal nappy, so much easier to get off if full of poo. Somewhere like the nappy lady or some of the cloth nappy facebook groups you can ask for specific advice on what covers are likely to fit your boy well over a disposable. Most can be picked up cheaply secondhand to try.

A two-part cloth nappy system would be even better for avoiding poo leaks, and probably still save you washing compared to where you are now, but is obviously more to take on than just adding covers.

Nappies are absolutely better than pull-ups but that’s easily changed 😊

Allergy testing is definitely available on NHS as both my grandsons have been tested. One is allergic ( affects breathing) and one is intolerant ( diarrhoea) as am I. But if the doctor won’t refer you and you’re in a position to go private I would just go ahead yourself.

Milk is in everything and if it turns out there is an intolerance you’ll get used to reading labels but there’s lots of alternatives available.

This is an excellent alternative to milk for toddlers. Keep listening to your instincts, your doing great 😊

IgE mediated allergies can actually affect the digestive system too (though as you say digestive issues are often non-IgE mediated and more difficult to test for). It's why I asked about rashes too as they're another symptom of IgE allergy and might narrow it down.
IgG testing is quackery in my opinion, was trying to steer OP away from this type of "allergy testing".
Kids often grow out of cows milk allergy if that's what it is ( and most formula is based on cows milk OP).
I wouldn't start limiting or avoiding foods without medical guidance though.

I don't know about the different possible reasons, but I don't think this is normal. One of my children was like this and it turned out they had food allergies.

My son is similar. He’s now 2.5 years old and only weighs 10kgs. He’s gained 1kg since he was 10 months old. He was diagnosed as failure to thrive and we’ve recently discovered he has malabsorption. So he’s not absorbing any fat, vitamins or minerals. All other bloods are normal, it’s not related to the foods he eats or allergies etc. we’re currently waiting on a gastroenterologist appointment and he will likely have a colonoscopy to try to see what is causing it.

Just another vote for absolutely NOT normal.

Could be too much fruit. DS was frequently being sent home from nursery due to runny nappies. Cutting out fruit most days made a big difference.

This is a prime example of how wrong things are these days. When I was a baby my mum said there was a weekly baby clinic that you just turned up to to get baby weighed and air any concerns you had. My parents were shocked when I said there's nothing like this. You have to essentially rely on Google sometimes.
Op I would keep pushing to get more tests and investigations done.

Could be a lactose intolerance. I suddenly became intolerant after the birth my 2nd and she was as well. Had to give her special formula and lactose free milk and yogurt. Switch up to lactose free and see how you go. It can’t hurt

Hi

My son was the same,has reflux too. But it sounds like a dairy allergy, my son just tolerated formula but as soon as went on cows milk it was horrific.
See if Soy or Oat milk help, these are the best alternatives for nutrition, though Aoy is often a common co allergy with dairy, so we use Oatmilk, make sure you get fortified ones with potasium iodide. Asda's own both regular and barista are brilliant and affordable. Come off all dairy solids too. You can be allergic to dairy and not tollerate milk but be ok with cheese or even yoghurt as these are heat processed. My son now tolerates biscuits or cakes made with a small amount of powdered milk, as the milk is heated twice.
Talk to your health visitor. And a different GP. Once off for 6 months, try the milk ladder. Ask to be referred to a dietitian.

There is one in my area but it wasn't helpful.

They diagnosed my DD as not growing. Quick talk to other parents who all pointed out baby growth isn't linear.

Sounds like an intolerance to me. Either dairy or gluten are the first ones I’d consider.

Not normal, and my son was the same. GPs kept ignoring me, health visitor listened and got dairy intolerance diagnosed with elimination diet. Problem solved as soon as the dairy was out of his system (10 days ish). We have a dairy free formula prescribed now!

My son was also healthy weight, happy in himself, he just had vinegar smelling runny poos and farted LOADS. The farting did disturb his sleep, so his sleep also improved without dairy :)

I was worried about cutting out intolerances at first, but honestly it isn't a hassle except when you go to some restaurants and have to faff around with asking what has dairy in. That is minor though.

A two-part cloth nappy system would be even better for avoiding poo leaks, and probably still save you washing compared to where you are now, but is obviously more to take on than just adding covers.

@skkyelark I agree with this. My DD both had very runny toddler diarrhoea but they did both grow out of it and have no allergies/intolerances etc. Might be worth buying some 2 part cloth nappies (you can get them second hand and just hot wash before use) to reduce leaks. They are much more reliable than pull ups/disposable nappies when it comes to runny poo explosions... We couldn't have coped without them for ours!

@Ujalo

no it’s not okay, keep insisting that you want a pediatrician referral and/or food sensitivity testing/allergy testing/dietician. Ignore comments about first time mum and say you are not satisfied with level of care and just keep pushing

The best nappies in my opinion are Asda little angels never had any leaks with those. Also whatever brand you choose buy the ones that are plus they are not bigger just more absorbent.

Get small packets of a couple of different brands. Aldi and Lidl work as well as more expensive for a lot of people. Just see what seems to fit him best

You can get prescription formula for milk protein allergy- my second had it, grew out of it by about 1 year old

Nappies are much better than pull ups imo. You can tighten them properly and make the fit better.

I also have never rated pampers for poonami containment. Tesco or Aldi’s were the go-to for my younger twos.

It’s also worth considering getting a couple of reusable wraps, the ones people using cloth nappies use. They’re very good at containment (hence lots using them as a swim nappy cover) and can go over a disposable

My Ds2 had lactose intolerance when he was little. That led to similar symptons to what you are describing. It is due to a lack of lactase enzyme in the gut. You can get a small bottle of lactase enzyme which you can add a few drops to every milk feed and that does the job of the missing enzyme in the gut. It was amazingly effective for my son. Eventually he grew out of his lactose intolerance. However he was older than your son when I realised what the cause was so I have never tried it in formula. Googling it though it looks perfectly safe to use and you wouldn't need to change his routine or cut out dairy completely.
Here
or here
but there are lots of options. Ideally you need liquid not tablets.

These still exist.

I was told to take my oldest kid to the local one (hes 5) but then lockdown hit. Just been invited to take my youngest about 6 months ago as its reopened and they forgot to tell those of us with lockdown babies (shes 2 now) and don't really see the point... being weighed offers no help and they simply ask about things like are you depressed or do you need breastfeeding help which is no use to me personally.

Probably good if people feel socially isolated or need breastfeeding help or mental support but for people that don't its useless and a hassle to drag yourself there.

They aren't doing GP checks or running tests or anything, its just health visitors giving standard advice.