Baby Food

Question: Can baby food cause loose stools?

(Posted by: Bry on 2008-10-17 07:45:16)

I started watching a 15 month old a week or so ago. All his mom sends with him to eat is Stage 2 baby food, which I thought was kind of odd for him to still be on just baby food...but my question is, he always has very loose stools almost like diarrhea. Could the fact that he is on just baby food be the cause of this? She also gives him a lot of juice, she sends about 2 or 3 cups with which is a little much in my opinion, but I do what she says since it's her kid. Should I say something about all of the juice or leave it be? I actually mentioned something to her the other day about giving him some cut up banana like my kids were eating and she said no, she's afraid of him choking. The only "solids " I am allowed to give him are cheerios.

Posted by: Unpretty on 2008-10-17, 08:15:22

I would think, at fifteen months, he would be eating something more substantial...starting on adult foods. My daughter was almost completely weaned off baby food by 15 months, save for some of her favorites (like the blueberry cheesecake pudding stuff and a few of their yogurt flavors). As for the juice, not only will that cause loose stools, she is also damaging her child's teeth, and can even be wrecking his adult teeth. Juice is highly acidic and has a lot of natural sugars, which can damage teeth and gums...even if they look "perfect ". Most doctors advise parents to dilute the juice to half juice/ half water. But here is my question. Could she possibly be assuming that you would be sharing your lunch or snacks with her child? It might be worth asking...something like "I thought I'd have some ____ for lunch/ dinner today. Would it be o.k. if I gave him a little bit? " I wouldn't just "leave it ". She might be a newer parent, afraid to ask her doctor why her son has diarrhea. She might not be consulting with her doctor on his foods or anything for fear of looking like an incompetent parent. It sounds crazy, but I know of a lot of new parents who are just too determined to do it themselves so they are afraid to ask for help. The fact that he has diarrhea all the time is worrisome, and could lead to more severe health problems like dehydration.