giving diarolyte to bf baby - please help?

[MamaChris]

4mo ds has had diarrhoea for 2weeks now He was miserable with it at first, but it's got a bit better now and he seems fine in himself, and hasn't lost weight. But 12+ green nappies/day can't be good, can it?

Anyway, GP has said 24 hours of no breastmilk, but diarolyte instead will clear it up, but ds has never taken a bottle and doesn't want to start now! He says if it doesn't clear up this week he'll refer us to the hospital, but after spending the first week of ds's life there I dread going back.

So - any tips on how to give diarolyte and no milk to a bf baby? Is this even a sensible approach? What's others' experience here - is it likely to work if we persevere?

[kiskideesameanoldmother]

i can't see what is in diarolyte that is better than giving bm. sorry he sounds like he doesn't know enough about bfing.

has your gp taken a stool sample? it sounds like a more sensible way to proceed if you ask me.

why don't you phone a bfc from one of the helplines for another opinion?

green nappies are not normally a sign that something is wrong though the number of them may be something to worry about. The smell of the nappies is a good indicator of whether or not something is wrong inside. the literature i have read online say that it is a sign that the milk is speeding through his GI tract without spending enough time to pick up enough bilirubin from his bloodstream which would colour it yellow. I would say that i would try to settle his tummy with something simple like Gripewater first.

[tiktok]

This is odd advice - however, I do think seeing a specialist after 2 weeks of illness makes sense.

But is he ill? He is thriving, and seems fine, from what you say. 12 green nappies a day is not a diagnosis of anything - plenty of babies have green poo and though the number is quite a lot, I don't think it is particularly excessive if the amounts are small - if these are 12 explosive poos which demand a nappy change then that's a different story.

There is no need to suspend breastfeeding unless your baby has developed a lactose intolerance because of the gastric bug - and even then this should be properly diagnosed and it would take rather more than 24 hours suspension for this to clear up (baby would have soya formula in the meantime). This would be very rare and would only normally be suggested for a baby who was ill with the LI...and yours isn't.

Normal treatment for diarrhoea is continued breastfeeding. Sounds like you need a second opinion. Dioralyte will not harm your baby, but I don't understand the need for suspending breastfeeding.

[cupsoftea]

diarolyte iirc is rehydration not nutrition. I'd take your ds to a&e

[tiktok]

Dioralyte (note correct sp) is for babies who are ill and who risk becoming/have become dehydrated. It replaces salts and other stuff, which the baby needs because he has become depleted as a result of the diarrhoea/vomiting. As cups says, it is not for actual nutrition.

Removing nutrition for 24 hours from a baby of this young age seems to me to be very drastic. It is not even suggested for ff babies these days (though it certainly used to be - mothers were told to give their babies 'half strength feeds') and normal feeding is encouraged. A baby going without anything to eat for a whole day is going to be very unhappy....

[MamaChris]

I was worried about that (starving ds for a day). GP's reasoning is that this would starve whatever bacteria in gut are causing this, but I wasn't convinced that starving my old child was a good way to do that!

I know green poo isn't abnormal, but 12+/day are unusual for my ds - he used to do 1 (yellow, occasionally green) every 1-2 days before the diarrhoea, and they were never watery. Although not voluminous, I change him every time as his bottom is now quite sore.

I also read that green = milk travelling to fast, and I'm concerned he may not be getting all he needs nutritionally, although I'm trying to be guided by him being generally happy.

I'll avoid the dioralyte for now then, and wait for referral for second opinion. Thanks.