Along the same lines of Jill and her post about popcorn poop, I’m just going to go ahead and tell you that this post? Is about poop. Mostly.
But no pictures.
Because ew.
And this post today is as much for me to throw it out the Universe that I need some HALP from the more experienced and to organize my thoughts about this. Okay? Let’s talk poop.
Something is not right with my kid, y’all.
Nearly all of my toddler’s poops, and especially the majority of them over the past two weeks, have been…runny. And plentiful. And they are all the colors of the rainbow. He almost NEVER has a solid poop. Sometimes they will be semi-solid like they started out solid but there is always non-solid poop riding shotgun.
I know this is probably related to his dietary intake. Which is nearly non-existent.
My kid is a picky eater who lives off of a diet of beige carbs.
But now that I’m home with him for the summer, I’m paying attention to his poops. And I can’t help but wonder if this poop predicament is related to what he will, or rather won’t, eat. And the fact that these poops are giving him a diaper rash and are bordering on poopsplosion territory? I can’t help but sit up and take notice of them a little more closely. Because this just cannot be healthy or okay.
What he will eat/drink:
- peanut butter
- cheese
- crackers (saltine, Goldfish)
- tortillas
- bananas
- cereal bars
- Cheerios
- black beans (but ONLY from Moe’s, and ONLY in the restaurant)
- french fries
- junk food (chips, cookies, popsicles, ice cream<–Basically all the things he should never have. Ever.)
- apple sauce
- biscuits
- yogurt
- milk (2%)
- apple juice (1 part juice, 2 parts water)
What he will NOT eat/drink:
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- anything not on that list
He doesn’t eat vegetables. Or meat. Or even bread. Unless you count the biscuits. He will eat both cheese and tortillas, but he will not quesadillas. Occasionally, he will eat a grilled cheese sandwich (and this actually makes up the majority of his meals) but he will ask for a spoon so that he can scrape the peanut butter from the peanut butter sandwich and leave the bread on his tray.
His daycare’s daily reports say that he’ll eat corn (but I’ve never seen any evidence of this, if you catch my drift), green beans, peas, chicken nuggets, even stewed tomatoes (blech!) but here? At home? No. I could go to the grocery store and buy the EXACT. SAME. THINGS. they serve and he will not eat them. When we bring leftover black beans home from Moe’s, he will not eat them.
I’m beginning to think that his diapers are a result of the lack of…something…in his diet.
Meals with him are not fun. At all. And maybe that’s my fault. Meals with him have always given me anxiety so I’m quick to give him SOMETHING to not have him scream/whine/fight/cry through dinner.
Maybe I’ve somehow created this picky eating monster by asking him what he wants to eat instead of just putting a plate of food in front of him and expecting him to eat it. Or by not trying to force him to eat things.
But when I put a bite of something new on his tray and he refuses to even touch it, even to move it away from himself? What am I supposed to do with that? Shove it in his mouth and hold his jaws shut and rub on his neck like I’m medicating a cat??
And seriously. He does that. I put a bite of something new on his plate and he refuses to touch it and will sometimes cry until the offending bite is removed. Every. Single. Time.
He’s always been this way for as long as he’s been eating solid foods. He’s never been the kid who demands a bite of whatever I’m eating, and I’d gladly share with him. But he never, and has never, asked.
And now I think he’s losing out on nutrition because he’s a picky eater and I’ve allowed him to be this way. And because he will not even attempt to TRY new things, there’s no way I can do the “hide the veggies in his other foods” thing.
So I need help, y’all, because this is stressing me out. Again.
I got nothin’ for you. Sorry. But the conversation we had at the dinner table mere minutes ago was very similar to this. James wouldn’t even TRY steak (which is a constant battle – more often than not he likes it if he tries it) so Eddie hid it under his corn like he would hide medicine in cheese for Scout. Toddlers are a force to be reckoned with, are they not? I’ve had a doozie of a day. I’ll be interested in what the internets say about this!
They so are a force. Joshua will try NOTHING. Nothing.
Will he eat pasta? spaghetti sauce is an EXCELLENT mechanism for hiding all sorts of vegetables.
For the most party Madison eats a variety of foods but we do struggle with vegetables. She’ll eat Peas & every once in a while green beans so I try to hide veggies in things like pasta sauce & meatballs.
Our newest thing is dip. She will try just about anything if she can dip it in something. BBQ sauce and honey mustard top our list. She loves ketchup too. It definitely helps with getting her to branch out on her meats.
Maybe try pureeing some veggies and mixing it with apple sauce?
I’ve also had luck with calling things fun stuff. I called green beans “green fries” and thats why she started eating them again 🙂
Yes, he eats pasta… as long as there’s no sauce. He despises spaghetti-O’s and other saucy pastas. 🙁
Well, yes, he’ll eat pasta. But he won’t eat the sauce. I KNOW. This kid is maddening.
If we give him “kapop” (ketchup) he uses whatever he’s eating to eat the ketchup without actually taking a bite of the food. And he won’t try other dips. I’ve tried ranch and sour cream so far.
He’s also really picky about WHERE his applesauce comes from. It has to come out of the little single-serv containers. I can’t buy a jar and then spoon it into a bowl.
I do like the idea of calling the green beans green fries. Sneaky, sneaky!
Eddie hates most veggies too. hates.
maybe this is harsh, but if he won’t eat what we give him? he doesn’t eat. I offer him PLENTY of fruit and sometimes his poops are MASSIVELY AWFUL because we will have a fruit standoff. but then he will suddenly eat the chicken on his plate. or the waffle or whatever. and not stop.
he will also eat veggie chips. people have given me shat about that, but it’s better than none in my book.
He used to love veggie purees. And now? No. In fact, I don’t know the last time I’ve been able to get him to EAT a vegetable that wasn’t a black bean.
We’re nearly to the point of putting a plate of food in front of him and only giving him that. And if I could get him to eat fruit? I would give him as much fruit as he wanted. Even eating fruit would make me feel better about getting different foods in him.
Joshua loves the Snapeas green-bean crisp things. He’d eat a whole bag if we’d let him. And while they are SUPPOSED to be green beans? I cannot see me ever being able to deep fry a green bean and get it that poofy. So I call faker on the green bean crisps.
And I totally almost typed “crips” there. Because, you know, I’m gangsta.
I hate to say it, but I think he’s playing you. If he’s eating other things at school, but whining until you give him certain things at home? And yes, you can force him to eat foods. My daughter (2.5) is served the same thing we are for dinner. She HAS to try one bite, even if it’s by force and with tears, before I’ll give her anything else. It’s amazing what she’s ended up eating happily because we made her try it.
My advice is to eliminate apple juice, french fries and junk food, especially popsicles. The juice and popsicles are major culprits in runny poo. Replace them with real apple, frozen banana slices and home made home fries. Freeze vanilla yogurt to serve instead of ice cream.
You can win this battle! 🙂
I totally made myself sound like the worst mother ever here didn’t I? LOL.
We go out for ice cream once a week-ish and he gets a kid’s cup. Lately? He will not even eat the french fries (like today). The popsicles are whole-fruit popsicles. Their ingredients are fruit and water. And he maybe has them twice a week, but usually once in a blue moon. But the point is that, if offered, he WILL eat it.
As for the apple juice, yeah, that’s probably a culprit in the poops. If he would eat real apple? I would feed him real apple. But he will take a bite, chew on it, and then spit it out.
I do sometimes force him to taste things, but then he screams and my anxiety goes haywire and I am all robot-mom and my head gets all cloudy and I can’t think. It’s a hard line to walk when I know that a trigger for major anxiety is when he cries like he does when he’s force-fed something and I have the power to NOT feel that way. I also think that he eats what’s served at daycare because the other kids are eating it all at the same time. I also know he’s not given options there.
I want you to know this post had me giggling like a maniac (Husband: “Jess…what are you laughing at?!” Me: ::giggle giggle:: “POOP!” ::giggle giggle:: Husband: ::rolls eyes::) and also quaking with fear. Because this? This is my future.
The Husband and I JUST had a conversation this evening about when I was going to start weaning Mac from breastfeeding (because I don’t have enough hang ups about that issue) and I explained to him that the frozen blueberries and cheerios that Mac deigns to eat are simply not nutritious enough to keep him alive — let alone keep him growing and developing. And that until he decides to eat more than 3 foods, my breastmilk is what is providing him with the proper nutrition he needs. But of course I WANT him to eat more food! I WANT him to be able to wean!
But HOW?? How do we get these kids to eat more food? Your post is a glimpse into my future, isn’t it?
This might BE your future. But before Joshua started whole milk, he ate a whole lot more variety. After he stopped breastmilk and then formula, he stopped eating as wide a variety of foods.
And you’re right. Keep nursing until he’s eating more than blueberries. Because blueberry poops are as bad as what I’m dealing with right now.
I have no idea how to get them to eat more food. 🙁
I also have a picky eater. Not just picky, but seriously bipolar when it comes to some foods. He ate cereal with milk every day for a month and now he won’t touch it. Tonight he ate Parmesan black pepper coleslaw like it was going out of style. And I hate to break it to you, but his poop seems to have nothing to do with what he’s eating (which makes no sense but I swear it’s true). On days when he eats almost nothing he still poops like crazy. And the texture is a surprise every single time. It’s like diaper roulette around here – do I try to pass this one off and hope the next one is less squishy? THERE’S NO WAY TO KNOW.
I think everything your toddler is doing sounds like normal toddler behavior. I was a picky eater as a kid and now I eat anything. It certainly didn’t stunt my growth. Try not to freak yourself out.
recipe for coleslaw plz
That’s sort of how he can be, I guess. He’ll eat the same thing for a week and then suddenly that thing is Satan. And it’s also relieving to know the poops may NOT be related to his food.
Is Little E ridiculously regular? This kid? 2-3 times a day pooper.
I could have written this myself. My toddler? Exact same way. If he doesn’t like what’s given to him, he’ll whine and try to get out of meals. I start panicking that he isn’t eating so then I give him pretty much whatever he’ll eat. Then that leads to poor diet. My fault, I know. But I keep thinking SOME food is better than NO food. And my son will eat basically nothing. He’ll eat any junk food, but no real meals.
Like Joshua, my son’s poops are ridiculous anymore. These past few weeks they’ve been runny and STINKY!! Worse than before.
Maybe it’s a phase they go through. Maybe it’s just toddlerhood. I try to keep telling myself he’ll eat if he’s hungry. And, right now, I guess he’s just not hungry.
EXACTLY. I don’t want him to starve, so I feel like a steady diet of peanut butter, cheese, and sometimes bananas and applesauce are better than nothing.
I love food. How can this kid never be hungry?
My daughter will be more likely to eat things that she can dip in ketchup, hummus, or mayo. Soooo I let her put those things on EVERYTHING she eats. She likes frozen dinners. She thinks the trays are neat. She eats more when I put something in front of her and leave. She wants to do it HERSELF. Any pressure to eat and she will not. I try foods every day that I know she doesn’t like before the foods she does like. I don’t ask her what she wants to eat anymore. And I make sure to get excited about the food no matter what it is. Do you know how excited I was when she ate broccoli and a carrot last week? I seriously wanted to call everyone and announce the news. Hahah, just keep trying, it might get better as he gets older, if he’s anything like my daughter. I feel better about my daughter’s diet now that she’s eating a daily vitamin. However, I don’t know what to do with the 3 bottles of vitamins she tried but didn’t like…… (She finally agreed to eat the gummy kind.)
We’ve tried a few dips, but he just licks the ketchup off of whatever he’s supposed to be eating and leaves that thing on his plate.
We’ve also done the “put it on the tray and leave” thing and that worked for a time. I think we’ve just gotten away from it lately. Why? I don’t know.
If Joshua so much as TOUCHES a new food we are ready to throw a party and buy him a pony.
And I’m glad you reminded me about the vitamins.
I would maybe stop asking what do you want and just give the options and if he asks for something else you could say we don’t have any. Would he maybe try guacamole as a dip? I know my nephew would eat basically anything if it was dipped in guac.
That’s one of the strategies we’re going to employ–no more asking.
And probably not on the guac, though I’d be in heaven if he’d eat it because then I’d have a reason to eat it 🙂
Have you tried the kid drink supplements. I know they are kind of expensive but maybe he would enjoy these and then at least he would be getting some of the “good for you stuff”. One of my daughters is 16 now and has ALWAYS been a picky eater (and when I say picky it is worse than your son). Just hang in there it WILL get better.
I’ve thought about it, but haven’t purchased them. I’m afraid that then he’ll ONLY want those.
I think it’s a phase, this picky eater thing. They just want to see how far they can push it. I read somewhere that you have to offer the offending item to them at least 10 times before you give up.
My Monkey was very picky. It came to a point once when he’d barely eaten a thing in 3 days. But we just kept offering him food. Eventually (I guess he was hungry), he started to eat again, and he was suddenly into vegetables! He’d decided that green was his favorite color! Now he eats peas, asparagus, carrot, tomatoes, pumpkin, spinach, mango, watermelon, pasta with tomato sauce, bread (he LOVES bread), rice, muesli, pumpkin seeds, soya bean seeds. However, he doesn’t eat a lot at meals, he’s more a snacker and a grazer. We find that he’s less interested in eating in the evening, so he gets most of his calories in the daytime.
He also didn’t poop well, and we started giving him flaxseed mixed in with pureed fruit+veg (my MIL makes a big batch and we freeze it – it’s a mixture of pear, apple, pumpkin, carrot + dates). It really works!
Good luck!
I don’t expect him to eat three meals a day. I’m a grazer, too. I’d much rather just nibble when I’m hungry than sit down and eat three times. The pediatrician told us at his 2 year WBV that it’s totally normal for kids to not eat dinner because they eat when their bodies need fuel, so most of that is during the day. Which probably explains why he eats better at daycare than he does at home for me.
I’ll do some digging on the flaxseed! Thanks for the rec!
i didn’t read through all of the comments so, forgive me if i’m repeating things.
though, i did see the comment about hiding vegetables in spaghetti sauce (chop them in a food processor) and add it to the sauce. can’t even tell.
the other thing i do for vegetables is smoothies. target has these little organic smoothie packets (if you want the brand, just email me, i can’t remember off the top of my head and finding out requires me to get up). My son loves the mango spinach and my daughter one with bananas, blueberries and radishes. also, i make smoothies for myself a lot and add spinach leaves. the kids will drink that too. OR, since he likes popsicles, you could make the smoothie and freeze them in those plastic popsicle things and he could get vegetables that way.
My daughter (4) is a super picky eater. I used to give her a choice too but lately i put whatever i’ve made for dinner in front of her. it takes an hour, but if she’s hungry enough, she’ll eat it. the other day she ate broccoli. couldn’t believe it. and though it’s terrible, sometimes i bribe her. whatever.
another thing i did with her though–Ensure. She drank one every other day. It’s expensive, but made me feel better that she was getting more nutrients than she was from say, an Eggo. 🙂
He won’t eat spaghetti sauce. He’ll eat noodles, but not sauce. But only spaghetti noodles. Come near him with a rotini and he will scream your face off.
Smoothies are a good option because he’s way more likely to try a new drink than he is a new food, especially if he can use a straw. This kid loves a straw.
Our gameplan is to only offer him what we want him to eat and see what happens.
Mine isn’t a totally picky eater, but he doesn’t eat nearly enough as I would think he’d need based on how active he is. But I just don’t worry about it.
I know this is probably not helpful, but remember that a LOT of kids are like this. And it’s a phase – he won’t be like this forever. Plus, think about him getting nutrition over a week or 2 – if he doesn’t eat well every day or even most days it’s okay.
Some ideas:
– frozen fruit – will he eat frozen blueberries or something? C loves those. Same with frozen peas. He won’t eat much if cooked, but frozen? Gobble ’em down.
– Make popsicles that have good stuff in them. There are some recipes if you Google – I make some with juice and yogurt so he at least gets dairy and some protein.
– Will he eat something like edamame (sp?) – if you boil them he can pop them out of the shells himself. Fun!
– If he’ll eat noodles buy the kind made of veggies.
– Will he eat noodles and cheese sauce instead of pasta sauce? That’s something else. If so, I have a good recipe for butternut squash/cheese pasta that tastes like cheese (and is yum!).
I know he’s not wasting away and the pediatrician always tells us he’s healthy. It was really those poops over the last two weeks that got me thinking that something wasn’t right.
I like the idea of making popsicles because I can almost always get him to eat those!
A. You are NOT losing me as a follower.
B. I almost wrote a post about yeast infections and hemorrhoids… yeah…
C. The Pea is also an uber picky eater and does that SAME thing where if she has something on her plate that she doesn’t want? And you don’t remove it pronto? Meltdown city. As an example I am now trying to coax her into eating Macaroni & Cheese… not happening. Other days? She’ll request it til her face turns blue. Her eating habits are horrible, the only meat she will eat is chicken and on occasion meatballs with her spaghetti. I pretty much have to do a rain dance to get her to eat. And her poop? Pellets. Always pellets or rock-looking things. Probably not normal either. And in all shades. Green, dark brown, light brown, mustard yellow. Ugh. I feel your pain girl and have no advice for you because I’m makin’ shiz up as I go along.
1. Good.
2. Write on, yo.
3. The meltdowns are enough to break the resolve of any living, breathing thing. Perhaps we should use them as torture devices for prisoners from whom we need information.
My life. Your life. Snap. We’re in the same place as you and everyone else on the comments who has a fussy eater. (Which reminds me – can you link this post up at the fussy eaters support club pretty please? It’s SO perfect for it! http://bod-for-tea.blogspot.com/2011/05/fussy-eaters-support-club-mayjune.html)
DD has just about the same list of foods she’ll eat. I do the fruit/veg smoothie thing at dinner time when I know she just doesn’t really want to eat. We went down the route you’re going to start with the ‘eat what I give you’ approach and it failed miserably with tears on both sides. So we’re giving it a rest until we get back to the UK and then I’m going to start again. Hopefully a change of location will cause some sort of miracle to occur and she’ll start to eat normal food. Because I HATE prepping two meals, ya feel me?
Mucho courage coming your way hun x
Linked!
And I’m giving it a shot. If he asks for something healthy-ish, like cheese, I won’t NOT give it to him. But he’s going to get a plate of whatever we’re having first. Which means I’ll have to get off my lazy assets and cook early enough to feed him what we’re eating.
Yay for you! Hope all goes well, I’ll looking forward to reading about your progress!