# Foul smelling and mucousy bowel movements?



## CherryBomb (Feb 13, 2005)

Her bowel movements have always been loose, which I expected when she was breastfeeding, but once she weaned around 28 months (she's now 33 months) I thought they would firm up. She does occasionally have firm bowel movements, but most of the time they're loose (not normally diarrhea loose, but soft enough they don't hold firm).

They've become increasingly foul-smelling. The last couple days they've been particularly nasty, a gray clay like color and more diarrhea like. Dh just changed her and it was mucousy.

She doesn't show any signs of discomfort, no vomiting, no fever, nothing.

I was going to ask the doctor about her BMs at her yearly check up in a few months, but I'm thinking maybe I should go ahead and give him a call.

Any ideas?


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## CherryBomb (Feb 13, 2005)

And then I realized I should've probably put this in the health forum.







My brain is being sucked out through my boobs, I swear. Feel free to move it!


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## nighten (Oct 18, 2005)

Sounds like a dietary issue to me. Does she eat a lot of dairy? Mine gets those BMs when she's teething badly, but if yours has them consistently, and is no longer nursing then I'd bet money it's a food reaction -- most likely dairy.

Try eliminating dairy or other problem foods (like gluten stuff? I'd try dairy first though, especially straight milk products) for a week or two and see if that helps.

ETA: I just noticed the gray color comment. I'd call the ped if I were you. Could be a vitamin issue or something? Good luck, Mama!


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## captivatedlife (Aug 16, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *nighten* 
Sounds like a dietary issue to me.

At 12 mo my dd's bm's started to firm up - she is still nursing. I believe she may have a gluten sensitivity (her father was just recently diagnosed with celiac disease - so she's been off gluten also - and I noticed a visible firming of her bm's soon after).

I'd look into sensitivities.


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## Kama82 (Mar 12, 2006)

My daughter had green mucousy and foamy bowel movements the first 18 months of her life. She had chronic diarrhea until we completely eliminated dairy from her diet. If she has even the tiniest bit of dairy now she goes right back to how it was. Her pediatrician said that it was "impossible" for a child her age to be allergic to milk and that she might be lactose intolerant but it was unlikely.

I would try going 100% dairy free (which is harder than it sounds) for at least two weeks. If you have questions about it feel free to PM me.


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## neveryoumindthere (Mar 21, 2003)

I'd look into gluten sensitivities too. Those are 2 of the main symptoms. I'm getting my kids tested soon as well. Check out enterolab.com

HTH


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## BMG580 (Jun 19, 2007)

Could it be rotavirus? We just went through this with my DD. She too has never had solid bm's, even since weaning at age 2. It took awhile for me to realize she was sick because the consistency wasn't that different from her normal bm's however the odor was unbelievable and there was a lot of mucous. Rota started as sort of a greenish/gray color, full of mucous and then slowly moved into a yellow color towards the end for us. And the frequency of the bms increased considerably. It took her about 4-5 weeks for things to get back to normal. She had a runny nose during the entire course of the illness but she never lost energy or acted ill.


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## CherryBomb (Feb 13, 2005)

Rotavirus and dairy were my first two thoughts (but I didn't want to mention my own suspicions so I could get spontaneous replies, iykwim). She is partially vaccinated but iirc the rotavirus vax is newer, I don't think she's had it.

Quote:

I just noticed the gray color comment. I'd call the ped if I were you. Could be a vitamin issue or something? Good luck, Mama!
The gray color is what prompted me to post, that seems off to me!

She doesn't often drink milk, but she does eat a fair amount of cheese (she had cheese pizza last night and I know she had a bm [in the potty, yay!] this morning, I'll ask dh what it looked like when he gets back from taking dd1 to school). I'm not allergic to dairy but I am sensitive to it and there are dairy allergies in the family.

So I think I'll call the ped about the gray color and try eliminating dairy for 2 weeks and see if her bm's improve. If they don't, I'll try gluten next.

Thanks so much mamas!


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## nighten (Oct 18, 2005)

I did some digging online and found that gray colored poop (especially if it's lighter colored) can indicate a problem with the liver. So I would definitely call the ped and ask. I did find a post on another forum that said one toddler was having what yours is, only it was bananas and hummus that were causing it.







So it may very well be a dietary thing (dairy, gluten, or other), but I would definitely contact the ped to make sure it's not a problem with her liver.

Keep us posted, Mama, and good luck!


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