A Poop Question.

Find another doctor, monitor her weight and percentiles...it sounds like food allergies to me. The not solid, colored green, and stool contact causing immediate rash are all symptoms of a food allergy. If you decide to do allergy testing and it all comes out negative, that does not mean she isn't allegic to anything. It just means that it is not an immediate response type of allergy that causes hives, difficulty breathing, etc. The best way to determine food allergies is with a strict elimination diet. Find a doctor or dietician willing to work with you. An undiagnosed allergy can lead to developmental delays, growth problems, behavioral issues (they always feel cruddy so they act out), as well as general ill health.

Green likely indicates that the PH balance is off in her colon. She may be crying because the poop is acidic and burns as it comes down.

Avoiding fruit juice and citrus foods, sweets and corn would be a good place to start (formula has corn syrup solids which is where this PH imbalance process begins).

Buy acidophilus (powdered or chewable) and give twice daily to restore the good bacteria in her colon that will help to balance her PH. You can find acidophilus at all health-food and vitamin stores.

Many moms reading here may notice that when I answer questions about digestive issues I focus pretty heavily on acidophilus. Children/babies who are given formula and antibiotics fall victim to digestive problems pretty easily. It is the corn syrup in formula and the heavily processed food that formula is, combined with the good-bacteria-destroying property of antibiotics that causes most childhood illnesses (ear infections, runny noses, rashes, tummy aches, stool issues, etc.).

I encourage all moms who have children of any age experiencing repeated health issues to consider the foods and antibiotics their children were given as babies. Most of the most basic health issues can be linked to a "good bacteria deficiency", which is easily treated with a few months of acidophilus given daily.

Note: Acidophilus can be safely taken 2-4x daily (read the bottle) for a lifetime. It is completely harmless.

My youngest (adopted AfAm, 18 mos old) just went through two months of the same, with really weird BMs. He was drinking regular formula when we got him at four months, but we switched to Gentle Ease because his rashed were bad and he just didn't seem comfortable, then regular milk at one year old, but this BM thing came on rather suddenly at 16 mos, so I tested ProSoBee (soy) for toddlers and the problem went away. Prior to that he would get these terrible, smelly diapers and break out almost immediately in a rash too, but didn't have any other lactose intolerant symptoms. Now he eats a combo of table and baby food, including dairy products, with no problems. I decided to continue the soy formula until he's about two then try milk again.

SAHM of seven

introduce the new foods one at a time and very slowly so you can try to rule out allergies. Sounds like it could be an allergy?
I know if my son eats something very acidic his poop will burn his little butt and he'll get a rash.
for example- if he had some lemonaide I can say for sure his butt would be flamin' red and ouchy :-s

I would call the nurse line. Bosh my kids sometimes have green poop, and I don't know what it's from, but it's not painful. I'm sure the green color comes from some body secretion or another, and if it's painful for her, it could indicate something excreting some sort of bodily fluid. Obviously, I am not a medical person, but it never hurts to make the call. They often have suggestions that we might not of thought of.

This is really common with babies that go from breast milk to formula. Breastfed babies usually have mustard yellow, sometimes orangish or reglar looking bms because nutrients from mom are more evenly delivered, unlike nutrients gleaned through a formula. So don't worry, just yet. The iron especially and other added vitamins and nutrients found in formula are the culprits. For some babies, the intense amounts of these additives can mess up their bms and they just have a really tough time digesting. You could try a special formula for lactose intolerance etc, but you should note, that whether its soymilk, nutramigen, or any other formula, they still get the green bms.

Since you didn't mention whether your baby seems to react adversly to the formula, I"m going to guess he is not intolerant. Usually, those children with allergies get really severe diareah, tummy cramps, gas, and sometimes even rashes, so you'd know.

My oldest was the same. He did not do well on formula and so with the okay of my pediatrician we just went to regular whole milk and began using a baby formulated multivitamin. I think he was about 10 months too. He improved almost overnight..hardly a green bm to be found.

Be aware though, the liquid vitamins for babies also have alot of iron which means they might get constipated. So to ensure normal bms using this scenario, be sure to feed baby lots of nice fiber like pears, dried fruits, even prune juice will do the trick.

If you decide to just try the milk thing, be sure its whole milk because babies need the extra fats for brain development, and of course check with your pediatrician to be sure the baby is ready nutrient-wise.

Was she on formula before? You said you gave her more, but were breastfeeding prior, so I'm not clear.

One thing you could try is to use something like the Gentlease Formula that has less lactose. Or a soy formula. I would also try to make sure her intestinal bacteria is OK.

Supposedly lactose intolerance is unusual at that age but I do think my son had symptoms as well. We recently came to the conclusion, at 2 1/2, that he does have it. We are now using Lactaid milk and his poop is firmer...finally! We are playing with the amount he needs or now he gets constipated. Lactose intolerance is not all or none. A person can have it at varying levels. You might be OK with one glass of milk, but not 2. Increasing formula could have set this off.

Another thing to think about is that temporary lactose intolerance often happens after an intestinal bug. All dairy must be stopped for several days, even formula. Not fun, but our MD recommended this and it always did the trick.

Keep pestering your MD to help you figure this out, or go to another one. Something is up and you should just not wait any further. Good luck!

M., my daughter is lactose intolerant and she had "explosive poops". She gets diahrea. I know other kids that get constipated. Its usually one or the other with lactose.
So, I'm not sure about green and mushy, but It sounds normal to me. Good luck!

I have a three month old who was having some pooping problems also. He had yellow mushypoop and would cry also. I was on antibiotics while pregnant and my doctor told me it stripped him of the good bacteris in his system and told me to start him on probiotics (over the counter at your local walgreens) and withing three days his pooping problem was gone. I finshied the 10 day supply and havent had any problems since. I would suggest talking to your dr first but it might work! Good luck!
M..

I am a stay at home mother of 6. I have four children of my own and a stepson and foster daughter that we are adopting. Life is chaotic but very rewarding!

If she is eating a lot of green vegetables, spinach, green beans, peas, her poop can take on a green look. Carrots and squash could turn it yellow. They get out of that stage when their bodies get use to it, to a point. She probably is having looser bms from more fiber in her diet. My granddaughter's got that way when she started eating graham crackers or teddy grahams.

Poop consistency should actually be the same as peanut butter, not solid and hard (this goes for infants, children and adults alike - it's the sign of proper nutrition and healthy bowels). The color green might be something to get concerned about. I would try switching her to a soy-based formula and just see what happens. I don't remember exactly what the recommended age is for weaning, but dairy products actually do more harm for children than they do good. In fact, consumption of dairy can actually leech calcium from the bones (because it takes calcium from the bones to digest the dairy's components). Now that she is eating foods, it would probably be to her advantage to get rid of the dairy altogether, and stick with calcium from plant sources and fortified, non-dairy foods.
http://home.bluegrass.net/~jclark/calcium_foods.htm
http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/linda_folden_palmer.html
You can find more online about the dangers of dairy...
http://www.rense.com/general26/milk.htm