Baby diarrhoea at 12 weeks- looking for advice

[ninabeana]

Hi all,
I am a first time mum looking for some advice. My DD who is 13 weeks old tomorrow has been having diarrhoea since last Tuesday. Every nappy has some kind of watery/ mucus type stool in it, sometimes green and stringy, mainly the mustard seed type colour though (sorry if TMI!) she is a really happy baby and is feeding as normal- she has been combination fed from 4 weeks (breastfed and Aptamil 1 formula, never had any problems before this, always been a good eater and about 2 poos a day of a normal consistency).
I took her to the docs last Thurs and he said she is not dehydrated and doing well, keep feeding as normal. Her stool sample came back as normal but this has continued. I rang 111 who just said ring your GP and no response from health visitor. I am going to make an appointment on Monday but wanted to ask a few questions as feeling a bit like something more needs to be done-
How long should this type of thing last for?
Can it be an allergy if nothing in diet has changed? Is it my diet perhaps? I can't think of anything drastically different I've eaten though.
Should I ask for allergy tests?
We went swimming to a public baths on the Sat before this started on the Tuesday- could it be a bug? How long would that take to pass?


I guess I just don't know how much longer I should spend 'waiting for it to pass' which seems to be the doctors attitude. Yes she is happy and eating but this isn't right and I would like to know what to do to sort it out.

Thanks for any replies

[Mogz]

Try cutting out dairy and fruit juice, they cause very runny poo in my dd when I was mix feeding.
So long as she is still active, sleeping ok and has plenty of wet nappies she should be fine until you see the gp again.
Breast fed babies have very runny poo anyway because they absorb more of the milk through their gut and mostly what is left is water. It can be hard to tell the difference between this and diarreah.
If she gets any blood in her poo, seems listless or her fontanel is depressed or bulging then get an ooh appointment ASAP.

[naty1]

We have caught a couple of stomach upsets and colds from swimming pools. (They seen to use them for state school pupils hundreds at a go.)
Have they recently started dribbling?

[ninabeana]

Hi both, thank you for replies :-)
Yes she has been dribbling a lot, what does this mean? Teething?

[ZuleikaD]

No, dribbling means she's able to put things in her mouth and it's the body's way of flushing the system out.

I agree she could well have caught something at the pool - tbh I think 12 weeks is a bit young to take a baby. It's also worth reviewing your hygiene when making up bottles as stomach upsets are easily caught from bugs on your hands.

[ninabeana]

Thank you for the reply.
I thought naty1 was referring to teething, as someone else made a link between teething and the diarrhoea and mentioned it to me earlier, with particular reference to the drooling, which is why I mentioned that.
I have taken her swimming from 8 weeks after her injections, but normally to a private pool for swimming lessons. We were encouraged to do this by many parents and she loves it. There are people there who took their babies from an even younger age. Obviously I wish she was not poorly but I guess I can't change the fact we took her there and it may not necessarily be why it has happened. She has been around other young children for example.
I now want to move forward with any advice about treatment and how long this sort of thing can be expected to last, which is why I have posted. I am always very careful with hygiene and very caring about her well being, which is why I am keen to find a solution instead of just accepting that it should run it's course.

[naty1]

Extra saliva can cause looser poops. (But worst when they swallow it rather than dribble)
As i expect you know formula isnt sterile so needs to be added to correct temp water.
Bf should help them fight it off. Make sure you drink enough water.

[Skiingmaniac]

My DC was a similar age when he got diarrhoea for weeks. I too had been taking him (pre diarrhoea) to swimming pool. I went to the docs about 3 times and they were unable to help me. I researched online and found that once little babies had lost their good bacteria in their gut they could become temporarily lactose intolerant....so I put my son on lactose free formula for about 10 days and he was right as rain again.

[ninabeana]

Thanks both :-)
What lactose free formula did you use?

[NickyEds]

Has she been a bit snotty? When DS was around 8 weeks he became snotty and was waking himself up snoring. HV suggested propping the head end of his moses up but warned us that his poo would become mucus-sy and stringy- and sure enough a couple of days later we had mustard coloured but very stringy poo(sorry TMI). I thing teething poo is runny and very acidic so gives awful nappy rash????

[Jaffakake]

If it's alien snot green, a bit like algae, it can be related to breast feeding. At about 10 weeks ds had that and I was told it was too much fore milk & not enough hind milk. I still don't know how I should've fixed that one!

[ninabeana]

Thank you both. She has been a bit snotty, but this was before the diarrhoea and seems to have gone now. It is not consistently green, it's a mixture of the stringy green mucus (yes snot colour! My first thought when I saw it) and a watery version of the usual mustard with seeds on(sorry if tmi!)
Do the doctors do allergy/intolerance tests or is this something I would need to push for or go privately for? They haven't seemed very concerned so far, but I am not happy about just letting it carry on without doing anything, even if she isn't dehydrated.

[Chocolatestain]

You can buy probiotics specially formulated for babies, which can't do any harm and will help if DD has a gut flora imbalance. I use one called Udo's Choice infant Probiotics, which you can get on Amazon.

[NessaWH123]

hi my little one had diarrhoea for 3 weeks following swimming in public baths at that age so i feel your pain!!!! we eventually got refered to a dietitan who thought he was temp lactose intolerant so changed his milk. We then had to move to diary free diet as changing bowels issued continued. I would ask for a referal if it continues.

[grainmum]

have you had the rotavirus vaccine yet? my son's nappies were looser for a couple of weeks after this.

[ninabeana]

Thanks everyone :-)
She had the rotavirus vaccine but 4 weeks before this started? Got more vaccines on Monday, I hope it doesn't make this worse :-( definitely going to start investigating the lactose free formula and pro biotics, will speak to doctor first though. Her stool sample showed up as normal- would an intolerance show up on a test like that or is that test looking for things that are more like parasites.
Happy Mothers Day all! :-)

[BertieBotts]

Try reposting in breast and bottle feeding.

Sometimes green poo is just green poo. Personally if she's been checked out and come back fine, and she doesn't seem uncomfortable, I wouldn't worry about it.

[Dannygirl]

I have a DS aged 6.5 years and a 7 week old baby, and from memory, at this age, diorrhoea (when it strikes) lasts a really really long time in babies and this is quite normal. Having it for 10 days/2 weeks is not abnormal, even though it seems like ages - if she is feeding well and is otherwise happy I would try not to worry too much. If you are Breastfeeding you can take probiotics too (Optibac powders are good, available from health food shops/ posh pharmacies). If you want your baby to be seen by a specialist and are in London I can recommend a good paediatrician, but I would honestly say if she is feeding well and no other symptoms other than the diorrhoea, it will probably pass soon. I know it feeld awful just to wait it out though. Hope that helps and it clears up shortly x

[weesazz]

DD had this at around 12 weeks too following a cold. HV, GP and NHS24 advised it was normal and would pass, and it did eventually 3 weeks later. I too felt it was too long for symptoms to persist but was assured as long as baby has no other symptoms and is not dehydrated then there is no cause for concern.

[justabigdisco]

It's fairly normal for young babies to have runny, green poo. Are you sure it's 'diarrhoea'?

[ninabeana]

Hi all, thanks so much for replies :-)
I think I am concerned because it is so different to how she had been for so long- 2 poos a day, mustard colour, quite thick consistency. Now it seems to be every time she eats- instant gas and watery stools, sometimes a green colour. It just seemed so different and like a bug? I am constantly changing her nappies now. I probably am being a bit neurotic (DH thinks so! :-)) I think I just didn't want to sit there and do nothing. Got a GP appointment before her injections today. It may well be that it just passes like other posters have said, I hope so!