Babies and Body odors, Xylitol (Sugar Alcohols), Needless destruction

A few months ago when we were visiting the grandkids and our grandson was interactive but non-verbal, I realized that I had eaten some chips that if I were talking to an adult, I would have been careful to keep my distance. As I held him and talked to him it was clear that he was not enjoying it as much as I was. When I realized what might be causing it, I chewed a piece of gum and picked him up again. He seemed to enjoy it much more.


When I got back home and the little one we usually watch came running to me, my suspicion was confirmed. I picked her up and kissed her and she snapped back from me and said, Cafecita, Papa Tim?” I had just finished a cup of coffee. Since then I have tried to be careful when talking and working with any child. I would hate it if their impression of me was the bald man with bad breath. I might still be loved, but from a safe distance.

The same thought passed through my mind as I watched some small children pass through the crowd at church. It is awful, but I thought they are just the right height to get blasted if anyone is having bowel issues. I am not sure if they would notice because body odors have not been formalized in their memories as noxious or taboo yet. They merely observe and report.

At home we are trying the use of some sugar alcohols that are used industry-wide as non-caloric sweeteners. Xylitol and erythrytol are the two we keep in the house because my wife is supposed to be greatly limiting her sugar intake and I like to avoid the calories. There is a problem with their use.

For me xylitol causes severe diarrhea. In the other members of my household, it causes gas – a lot of gas. My son is really sensitive to it so I like to sneek it into a glass of hot tea and laugh at the consequences since he is very self-conscious. He wisely avoids it. My wife still tries to use it with differing results.

On a recent occasion she was having some gas discomfort. When she got out of her chair, the little one we watch was flopping from couch to chair and back. On one face-plant into the chair my wife had vacated, she stopped abruptly, looked at my wife and announced, “Smells like poo poo!” My wife nearly fell over laughing. Which the baby thought was delightful.

On a slightly negative side of normal children my wife and I have been babying an amaryllis for several years. We started with one bulb in the container. We now have three. There were two flower stalks only days away from opening into the huge beautiful orange flowers it has given us for the last three years or more. This morning, as I go home from work (5:30.a.m.) I noticed that the flower stalks had been ripped off of the plant and thrown into the parking lot nearby.

I did not have the heart to tell Mama, who was awake when I got into bed. I knew it would ruin her morning. She was very excited about the blooms since we have no yard, no garden, no flowerbeds, etc.

When I got up she confirmed my suspicions. Last night there had been some rowdy children running through the breezeway outside our apartment. I suppose it presented too easy a target. It is only a flower, but it was disappointing.

None-the-less, I would not trade blooms for having children around. But I will watch more closely from now on