Loose and Smelly Stools - Fruit?

[Burmese3]

Hi  - our 15 month old has been having loose and smelly stools for over the past 2-3 months.  Prior to being 1 year old, we were very careful about introducing new foods (hardly any carbohydrates such as cereals, rice etc) and she was almost completely breastfed and didn't seem to have this problem. 

After 12 months old, she has been in daycare, and we have introduced new foods and she does eat a lot of fruit.  I guess she has had a bit of diarrhoea/virus about 3 weeks ago, and it got worse.  This week, we have given her more carbohydrates such as rice, pasta and no fruit and her stools have got a bit firmer.  Still giving her a reasonable amount of dairy such as yoghurt, cheese and also formula still instead of cows milk.  She is teething on and off, but it's been an awful long time with the loose stools.

Getting a stool test done for lactose and sugars, but haven't got results yet.  Interesting how she use to be able to eat fruit, and can't seem to be able to eat it at the moment.  Even cooked fruit and bananas cause loose stools.

Does anyone have any suggestions?  Or could it just be continuous teething? or could she be getting over the virus from 3 weeks ago?

[Ennypen]

My first thoughts on reading your post is that its a mixture of all three.. she is recovering from an upset tummy so her tum will be more sensitive, she is teething which can make stools smelly and loose and give a LO tummy ache, and if she eats loads of fruit - having it with an upset tummy may just irritate it more.

If it were me I would try to limit the amounts of fruit she is eating, use teething powders like Ashton and Parsons (UK) or Hylands(US) as they can help to reduce the acid in a LOs tummy and make it more settled, and make sure she stays hydrated.

You say that youve had tests done.. I hope they help to reassure you or help you to help your LO. If this continues for too much longer maybe you should see your doctor again.

Take care and I hope your LO is better soon xxxx

H x

[Mom to M&M]

Totally agree with Helen. In addition, have you considered using probiotics for children? They can really help her tummy and digestive system heal. Some good brands for our LOs are Udo's Choice for Infants and Nature's Way Primadophilus for Children.

[Burmese3]

Thank you both for your suggestions.  I've already been using Nature's Way Primadophilus for Children with Ashlee, but on and off (every 2 days usually), but think I will have to make a conscious effort to do so daily.  Hadn't thought of using teething powder, we usually use a spray.   I had wondered what I could give Ashlee to try and reduce the acidity in her tummy.  Went to a Naturopath originally about nappy rash (and talk about acidity reduction), and they suggested Sprirulina, but really it tastes and looks so awful I stopped using it).  So will try the teething powder.