[MommieMin]

Since pick-up day my son has not had a solid bowel movement. He was sick in Guatemala & we got some antibiotics which helped solidify a little. We took him to the doctor & they ran tests. He has no parasites. I asked our agency & they said he was on anti reflux formula but was switched to whole milk & was fine. They did have to try 2 different ones but didn't tell me what the issues were that he was having trouble. The doctor said take out the milk & keep giving him cheese & yogurt since he may be lactoid intolerate. We did switch him to soy milk. This isn't doing the trick. I don't know what else to do. Changing his #2 diapers is making me sick. They smell & are totally disgusting. Any suggestions will help! Thanks!!!

[mommytoEli]

ask to see a gastrointestinal specialist. my now 4.5 year old had this problem until he was almost 3 and a half. i started to wonder how i would ever potty train him when he kept having these blow out diapers at 3! he had reflux and was medicated until he was 3 and a half. i believe it was all related. i think when you digest things oddly....it comes out both ends...oddly. and just because he is not vomitting, doesn't mean the reflux has passed, sometimes it can just come up enough that it gets in their nose or they swallow it. both will cause discomfort. and again, i think irregular bowels. i mean, think about it. reflux is caused by too much acid in the stomach.....thus, the vomitting, but don't you think that would effect how it came out the other end? lol. i do. now that my son is nearly 5, he is pretty good and it is not much of a problem anymore.i hear you on the smelly poop. his pee was smelly too. ugh, i can still smell his "morning diaper." gross.

[ana-mom]

Ana has a problem with juice and, even though she is almost 2, we still cut her juice cups with water.

Have you tried giving your son elements from the BRAT (bananas, rice, apples, toast) with his meals? It always helps with DD, especially rice and bananas.

I would definitely check on seeing a GI guy.

[mommy2aidan]

Our son is the same way!! It has nothing to do w/parasites (we've run every test imaginable) or milk. I don't give him any juice, and the only fruits that won't give him a blowout are bananas and applesauce (so the BRAT diet, kinda). I know what you mean about the smell and number of diapers. We can change him anywhere from 3-5 times a day. He's put on a lot of weight since having him home, so our pediatrician isn't worried. He said there's a phenomenon (sp??) called "toddler diarrehea", which isn't necessarily recognized by docs and is outgrown around age 2.
You're not alone!!

[joshsmom]

Our DS did this when we brought him home also. Our doctor ran all kinds of test and found nothing wrong. They attributed it to stress and after a few weeks it stopped. He had 2-3 boughts like this throughout the 1st year he was home every time something would change (me going back to work, DH traveling for work, etc.). Each bought would last 6-8 weeks and we usually could get them under control with the BRAT diet and just giving him time to adjust and get comfortable with the changes. He has been fine ever since.

I would definitely take him to a GI doctor though just to make sure everything has been ruled out. You might also want to take him to an Ear, Nose & Throat specialist since he has had problems with Acid Reflux in the past. My DH has acid reflux and this is the type of doctor he sees for this.

[gwenrenee007]

For us it was OUR water once we got home. We were so excited to use tap water we dove right it. Apparently our water has some things in it that dd's stomach wasn't used to. So we switched to distilled bottled water (not spring) and it cleared up. Also Similac makes a formula to clear up diaherrea (sp?) called Isomil DF it only comes in the already made liquid kind and it is hard to find. They sell it at soem Rite Aids, Walgreens, and Babys R Us, be sure it is DF.

What about the rotovirus? DD just got over that and it smelled really, really bad.

Good luck.

[Muchacho Hermoso]

We had the same problem with our DS. When he turned 1 we changed over to whole milk, what a mess. Then we tried Soy milk, still a mess. Our pedi suggested Lactaid whole milk, we did and he was fine. We were able to give him yogurt without issue too.

He is about to turn 2 and is still doing well with it.

Maybe try to give that a whirl....good luck to you! I know it is gross, but I'm glad he doesn't have parasites.

~Laura

[tyleredwardsMOM]

for our son it was the change.....it happened on both visits, on pick-up for about a week out of the 2 week extended trip and also we were expecting it when we got home and, sure enough, alot of loose diapers. you would have never been able to tell by his personality that he was stressed, we didn't have any of the typical issues other than the poopy prob for a few days when got home. poor little guy hope he's better soon....

[mevertin]

Hi,Our 3 year old son also has icky, mushy bowel movements and has been like that since pick-up. He also tends to go 2-3 times a day and was prone to diaper blows. My older kids actually descibed themselves as the "bomb disposal squad" because of the frequent blow-outs. I would end up* yelling to them* to start the tub and* get extra wipes, towels and clothes. I mentioned it to his doctor quite a bit when he was little and he said that some people's systems work that way. He never seemed to show any signs of stomach discomfort. I was hoping as he got older and wasn't drinking as much milk that it would improve, but so far no luck. I guess I have just gotten used to it although accidents in the underwear are a horrible mess. Maybe it is a food intolerance, but it is also possible that is just his system. Good luck. I feel your pain.
Mary
mom to Bobby11, Bridget 9, Angela 7, Eddie 3 (home from Guatemala in 2005) and Reginaldo 11 months (home since Feb.)

[stephjoel99]

He could have milk/soy protein intolerance. One of the symptoms is mushy, super smelly diapers (like clear a room stinky). Both my boys had it and Amelia (from Guatemala).

Another tip off is reflux in infants. Oftentimes it's "allergic reflux" and reflux formula won't always fix it - b/c since its only thickened w/rice it doesn't hit the underlying problem which is causing the reflux and that is the milk protein intolerance.

It's very common in kids from Guatemala - at least on this board. They do grow out of it - doesn't sound like you're dealing with a super severe case (it can manifest in much more serious symptom, respiratory being one) so my 2cents would be to remove dairy/soy and switch to rice milk and see if the poops don't improve. Good luck!

[Dmitry'smom]

Our daughter came home March 6th and I have just started to see a change. Most are still loose but she has discovered cheese and that has helped. My doctor is not worried about it for now.

[stacytoadopt]

Oh - I wish I would have seen this information about 6 months ago. Had the same issue with my little one. She refuses to drink milk, but has kept a bottle before bed of NIDO (which she was drinking when she came home). She gave up the bottle 2 months ago, and is much better.

my baby born July 2005 - Matched two days later
my baby home Sept 2006

[2forus]

Sorry to say you are not alone. My ds came home over a year ago and still has very loose birthmom and has blowouts occasionally. We had tests run when we came home and nothing showed up. He's about 20 months now and nothing has changed.

[Jerry's Sheila]

Our son had issues when on any formula and with soy milk. He was better on the Good Start NC formula but still had some issues. He has been wonderful since we started rice milk in December. He also tolerates small amounts of active culture yogurt.

[bls0708]

My son had the same issue on two visit trips, the pick-up trip, and for a couple of days once we were home. We went to the doctor right when we got home, and although my son tested negative for parasites, the doctor gave us one round of the medicine to treat just in case the test missed something.

Within 1 day of finishing the medicine, everything stopped. After that, the disgusting blow outs only came with juice. Like other posters, he is now only given juice cut with water.

I also heard somewhere - in Guatemala, I think - that some of the shots our children receive before they have their embassy appointment can cause them to be feverish and have this problem. Anyone else hear this? It might help explain why so many of the children seem to have this happen on their pick-up trips. I also wouldn't leave out stress as a major factor.

All I remember is that it wasn't fun and I was so relieved when it was over. I felt so bad for my son; it seemed very uncomfortable for him.

Good luck. It will settle down soon.