Super pooper...

I have a 14 month old in my care who poops 3-4 times every day. I often notice that he has in his poop corn and/or blueberries, raisins and things that I know get the bowels moving. I don't even serve corn, bran or large amounts of berries anymore in my daycare because I have so many super poopers. I am not sure whether to talk to the parents about this or not...I don't want to seem like I am telling them what to feed him, but at the same time, I have to change him so many times a day! Plus, he has constant diaper rashes and all the poop agrivates it. Have any of you dealt with this? Did you talk to the parents and if so, how?

I would go the angle of the rash...mention that you noticed that some of his food is going through undigested, and that he poops so much that he gets rashy. Ask if they've noticed this. Asking them to corroborate has often proven to be a good way for me to get dialogue going with parents. They don't feel attacked, and you can get a point across. Good luck!

I have mentioned to them before that he poops a lot and we have talked about the rash as I've honestly never seen rashes like this (bleeding sores!). They are very loving and dedicated parents, so I don't think it is any kind of neglect on their part, but I do think it has become normal to them as this is their only child. None of the other kids in my care or my kids get rashes like this nor do they poop so much! I will try your suggestion Alpha and see if it helps.

I feel your pain. I have twins who are super poopers (love that term). Without fail they will both poop 2-3 times a day, sometimes 4. They don't have problems with rashes though. I would just do as Alphaghetti suggested. Poor wee guy.

Or...kanga, you could say, "I know when my kids eat too much ___, it can cause really acidic poops", because maybe they're not putting 2+2 together?

I have one guy in my care that gets bleeding sores on his behind and it's ezeama (sp?) ... Parents had to get a medicated cream ..... And my own kids has yeast infections that produced bleeding spots and required cream .... I would suggest visit to the dr and if it is ezeama stay away from acidic foods .... Juice, tomatoes(spaghetti sauce) pickles, pineapple, ect. My dcb screams when I have to change him even using a warm facecloth instead of wipes don't help.

We already use cloth wipes (he's in cloth diapers too) as the other kind were making it worse, but I will ask if she has spoken to her doctor about it. I don't think it's yeast, but can't be 100% sure.

With the push to whole grains, raw vs cooked, etc for feeding it is something that is going to become more common an issue since it is a shock to the system. Kids that lived on special infant cereals and purred food - generally cooked before puree they are suddenly as toddlers switched to a new diet. Corn doesn't even digest in some adults. If possible serving the foods cooked or mixed with other foods such as a fruit berry mix rather than a whole dish of blueberries would help.

For the rash you will need to use a zinc cream at every change because once the rashses start the skin actually thins and then repeat rashes are more common. Sudocrem, the one by aveeno are good ones. Desitin used to be good in it's old formulation and so did peneten but don't like the new one of either for ideal healing. the aveeno diaper cream is recommended for those with eczema.

I use sudocream on my own kids and it works well, although they have never had rashes like this. This little guys mom provides various creams, but nothing seems to really work. They are all natural creams and I am 100% supportive of natural as I try to use natural things for my kids too, but I feel so bad for him having constant rashes...or more like sores...I guess I will need to discuss again with them about a strategy to help this situation as it doesn't seem normal to me!

I was told by another provider that she swares on "burnt flower" she even keeps a salt shaker full of it in her diaper bag. You litterally burn (brown) flower in a sauce pan, cool it off and apply some to diaper rashes......all gone by next diaper change if not the next day depending on how bad it was.

My daughter recently became a super pooper but I'm sure it's the mix of meds she's on - nothing prescription though....tylenol, advil, fake tears, eye drops, eye ointment etc.

I feel all of your pain :laugh: I too have a super Pooper. So bad he blew threw his too small diapers :ohmy: You can bet mum brought a size larger the next day after I handed her her "parting gift" in a plastic bag at pick up. He also had bad rashes. Sudocream cleared it right up.

The natural creams are meant more to provide a moisture barrier rather than heal what is already there.

Oh I have a super pooper here too - I am sure it is a dietary allergy to something cause it is not normal :(

However I did mention it to the parents to take him to the Dr cause in addition to the poops he too has 'skin rash issues' with both diaper rash and excema also a sign of food intolerance or environmental allergy although with the 'poops' I would lean towards starting with the diet ... however our medical systems sees these things as NORMAL now cause so many children have this that was what mom got told 'oh it is normal - hopefully he will grow out of it' so she has just accepted that her kid will have loose poops and rashy skin and one day might grow out of it :rolleyes:

The thing that concerns me is that how do we KNOW for sure they grow out of these things? What if what our body just builds up a resilience to the one set of symptoms aka we grow out of the poops or rash and instead it still the intolerance or allergen continues to invade our bodies internally where we cannot SEE the damage being done by offending foods and so forth and well we just grow up thinking 'this is what my body is supposed to feel like'.

I recently made my spouse to an 'elimination' diet because he was having some 'digestive issues' and I have always maintained he had food allergies but he said that was 'normal' for him .... turns out that taking dairy and gluten out of his diet his 'gas and bloating' disappeared and he became more regular but in addition to the digestive issues disappearing so did the PAIN in his joints he had had for years and he thought was developing 'arthritis' as he got older ... I maintain it was the 'allergens' which in his body are TOXINS were being attacking his joints since they had done as much as they could in his tummy over the years!

What we forget as humans is that food is also a DRUG and just because something seems edible to one person does not mean it is GOOD for EVERYONE to be consuming it - just like not all drugs work for all people!

I have one pooper too. And 3 poop when he is with me not unusual at all. But he eats a lot! An adult can live on what he eats on a daily basis. I would suggest parents' to stop giving him blueberries for a while as from my experience blueberries cause bleeding rashes. And then they can start giving a little not much though.

Oh yes, I have a boy in my care who has been with me 3 years now so you just took me back a while. But when he started here at 11 months of age he was on table food already and his diapers were EXACTLY like the ones you are dealing with now. I swear he still doesn't swallow any of his food but I'm really lucky that he poops at night, once a day now, whew! But back 3 years ago he had a poop like that in every single freaking diaper!!!!!!!

When I have a child with a chronic rash or sensitive bum I always ask the parents to provide a jar of cream to be left here with their diapers. I had another little boy whose parents had to go to the doctor to get a medicated prescription cream to clear up his poor little bum it was getting so bad. Definitely get the parents to get the rash under control, that is THEIR responsiblity to provide the ointments.

I've heard of a cream called "Butt-paste" that is supposed to be good. I havent tried it, just heard some of my mom friends talk about it. I think I saw it in Shoppers Drugmart. Sudocream, Destin, Penatin (can you not get penatin in the thick sticky stuff anymore? Just bought some and its a vaseline type thing) and one that I got from Walmart, white tub, red lable, yellow lid... something about little goats? that works well for diaper rash.

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Originally Posted by kangaroomama

I have mentioned to them before that he poops a lot and we have talked about the rash as I've honestly never seen rashes like this (bleeding sores!). They are very loving and dedicated parents, so I don't think it is any kind of neglect on their part, but I do think it has become normal to them as this is their only child. None of the other kids in my care or my kids get rashes like this nor do they poop so much! I will try your suggestion Alpha and see if it helps.

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I had a girl pooper like this and it was soooooooo bad! the look of it...the bleeding, the sores.....and seeing the pain it was causing her was unbelievable. Nothing like I've ever seen! Her parents went to doctors and used many different creams and nothing worked. I even tried creams my friends were swearing by and trying different natural options like corn starch, etc...And the smell and acidity of it was just disgusting. I had to start buying/using disposable gloves just to change her and I swear I was ready to wear a gas mask. And I felt so sorry for her. The poor little girl. But I seriously could not take it. Each day I wondered if I could take another day of changing her. It ended up that her parents wanted to take her out of care for a month because their family was visiting and they didn't want to pay during her absence, so it gave me a way out as I made them aware that if they did that, it would unfortunately open her spot up to someone else and that's what happened. I got someone else to fill the spot. And thank goodness! But poor little girl!

And in terms of corn, I just thought I'd mention that this was normal. Children and often even adults can't process the kernels fully. Corn is just hard to digest. Didn't know anything about the blueberries though. Good to know!

A couple of my own points to add:
When it comes to seeing visible pieces of food, remember that the food may not be getting completely chewed, since this person is pretty little. That could account for whole pieces. And yes, even adults have issues digesting corn or "whole" foods like an entire berry.
If the rash WILL NOT go away, or get better and only gets worse, it may be a yeast infection. My kids got them all the time, and my little baby has had them too. I wish I knew what caused it, but the only way to get rid of it is to use an antifungal. The generic name is Clotrimazole, and you can pick it up at any pharmacy without a prescription. The tell tale signs are a rash that begins with a "pinprick" appearance. Usually in the folds or creases, or under the testes in boys. Then it takes on a "shiny" look, quickly followed by open sores.
Red all over is usually a sensitivity to either the diapers/wipes or a food. When kids are really little, I always find that some naked time, with no diapers or cream or anything is helpful. BUT, that is tougher when they are older, and I would not do it with daycare kids.
I LOVE Sudocreme. I have used the Butt Paste, and I don't think it's effective on a rash that is already there. But it's okay as a preventative barrier.