A question about Poo

[janx]

Hope you have some advice. My 9 month old dd does the most mushy poo - I have seen lots of threads about constipation, but does anyone have this? She eats like a horse and I make all her meals and she has a good balance of carbs, protein etc. I have tried cutting back on fruit to see if that makes any difference, but it does not seem to make any difference. She poos around three times a day and sometimes it is pretty foul smelling. She is teething like mad and already has six teeth, with two more on the way, but the mush has been going on for quite a while. I am not a big fan of our doctors, but should I go to the baby clinic? Please share your wisdom with me

my ds is a bit like this. When he was teething his poo was very mushy (something to do with extra mucus)
Does she seem healthy in all other areas?

Thanks for a swift reply emily05 - she is a very healthy happy baby and full of energy. I am concerned I guess with the length of time this has been going on. How old is your ds?

If she is healthy then I wouldnt worry.

Ds is 3 in August. He eats lots of fruit and has about 2 poos a day! Usually one is mushy and the other harder. I asked my doctor when he was younger and he said it was fine - as he was healthy. Definatly worse when he was teething and smelt worse too. I find that his poo habit definantly change with regards to what he is eating.

I wouldnt worry mate, but if it is really bothering you no harm asking the health visitor or doctor.

Do you give her lots of brown things, like wholemeal, brown rice / pasta, pulses and such... I only say cause a friend of mine who has always been uber healthy just fed her son what they always ate (including lots of the above) and he always had mushy poo - and it was only when she mentioned it to the HV she said that young children just don't need that much fibre in their diet, and she started on more whiter varieties that she noticed everything getting a little firmer!

However regardless of what the health professionals say - my childrens poo always got yellower, mushier, more acid when teething.

my ds is 15mo and poo is still v. mushy. but then the milk will mush up whatever solids they are having. Occassionally he'll do a pattie one which is much easier to flush down the loo - but usually it sticks to the nappy too much and will go in the bin! I'm wondering how this will work when he is on a potty.

Thanks for advice
She does have wholemeal bread every day, white pasta, brown rice every couple of days - I did wonder about fibre but thought that white bread etc was not that great nutrionally?
Tracyk - I love that description - pattie!! - made me laugh

I think white bread has more calcium in it than brown bread so while your dd is teething white bread might actually be better for her than brown. People commonly assume that what is a healthy diet for adults is also the best diet for children.

About your poo "problem", I don't think you have anything to worry about. Some children poo more than others and the poo is softer in some than in others. My ds1 never did a formed poo while he wore nappies and I used to think he had constant diarrhoea until he started pooing in the loo and I realised he was just passing softer stools and that when they dropped straight into the loo and weren't sat on in the nappy, they were perfectly well formed. He still is inclined to softer poos I think (though as he is nearly nine, he will hate me for telling you so!) My other three children (fussier eaters) tend/ed towards more formed poos. It sounds like your dd has a healthy diet and her poo reflects that.