3 week old poo's a lot, exclusive BF, help!!! As docs can give no answers as to why, worried.....

[OMGIAMAMUM]

Hi,

I'm looking for some help whilst trying to work with Doctors and the general medical ward of our local children's hospital in re to our 3 week year old.

She started displaying what we thought were symptoms of diorea when she was 4 days old. Mustard coloured liquid poo. I'm aware that BF babies can have runny and frequent nappies sometimes however our baby is v.v. windy, poo splating out of her and due to her bottom being sore she can't tolerate any even small amounts of poo in her nappy so changes are frequent at least x2 both pre and post feeds which is leaving me and my partner exhausted. Yes (for info) we already have prescription treatments to try and treat her bottom soreness.

Our baby is our 3rd child and is the 1st that I've been able to exclusively BF, the doc's she has been in the care of have ruled out a gut infection or bug. They believe our baby to be lactose intollerent, I have been lactose free since Sunday, they have also told us she has a urinary infection for which she's now on oral anti biotics for. We have been told that these could cause diorea like symptoms but I don't think from a Mum's gut instinct point of view that should be happening to level it is for my baby. We have a GP appointment tomorrow, HV making visit tomorrow also and we will continue to keep liaising with doc's to try and understand what is going on for baby however both myself and my partner are concerned about what is happening given our baby although otherwise good is unsettled due to what's going on for her coupled with the fact it's having an impact on her weight gain which is static at present.

Does anyone have any similar experiences or advice they can share please?

[Mummy369]

Has anyone discussed other aspects of your diet with you? There are a few foods which can upset baby's tummy - and some more than others.

The Lactose will take a bit longer to clear from both your systems, too.

Citrus fruit and drinks should be avoided as they can give baby a lot of wind as can heavily spiced foods. Anything that you eat which upsets your tummy is likely to have the same effect on your baby - and sometimes more so (like the citrus and spices)

Any food in your diet has the potential to upset baby's tummy. I used to work for a Mum who used to enjoyed a varied diet, but when breastfeeding just ate really bland foods all the time. I do remember her eating the odd Eccles cake or Flapjack, though!

[OMGIAMAMUM]

Thanks Mummy 369 - yup my diet is fairly bland at present on purpose to try and ensure baba's tum isn't upset - I can't drink orange juice as I'm sensitive to it's affects so I stick with apple and mango juice instead in just a small amount with breakfast the rest of the time I'm drinking water or herbal tea.

My diet is bland and as careful as I can be whilst I'm BF'ing to the point where I passed up beans on toast for tea yesterday to try and ensure this didn't make her windy! All spices, hot food items, chilli's etc have been cut - I guess what I'm trying to understand is if her troubles are poss caused by a lactose issue how long this might take to clear from both her and my systems and poss how long her gut or GI situ will need to heal and repair if it's become inflamed or upset previously at all? Or if any other mum has experinced the same problems we are having at present and what happened for them.

[Tambajam]

There is some confusion here. Are we talking about dairy protein intolerance or lactose intolerance? The former can be affected by a mother using an elimination diet but not the latter.
www.kellymom.com had lots of useful articles on food intolerance in the breastfed baby.

Antibiotics will make a huge difference to baby's poo so you can't judge much by poo until the course is behind you.

Liquid mustard coloured explosive frequent (every nappy and more) is within normal range for a newborn.

I think if you have concerns with a baby being v.v.windy and static weight gain the first port of call is a breastfeeding specialist/ lactation consultant. A far more common reason for these problems is positioning and attachment and management of breastfeeding. This is far more likely than a food intolerance so should be ruled out first.

After that I think you should ask to see a paediatrician as if a doctor is confused about the difference between lactose intolerance and dairy protein intolerance and is prepared to diagnose lactose intolerance because a baby has excessive wind and poos as you describe it's time for a second opinion.

Poos as you describe and excessive wind do not necessarily mean a GI abnormality.

As I say, Latch is such a common cause of wind it's important to get that ruled out. It's far more common than a dietary cause. I am a bf counsellor and usually every week I see an excessively windy baby who has all problems eliminated overnight with an improvement in latch and positioning.

[OMGIAMAMUM]

Thanks Tambajam, yup had latch checked, yes know that anti bio's can have an affect - just didn't know how long for. Also aware that this could be a possible dairy problem not just lactose - so have taken dairy out of my diet to - not just cows milk products - again just wasn't sure how long elimination of these products would take from my and the baby's system - so the website link you've provided is v.helpful already on these points.

Thanks once again.

x

[lou031205]

DD3 has always been like this and is still the same at 5 months. I think some babies just are.

[zonedout]

omg, in my experience the offending substance (be it cows milk protein/ antibiotics etc) takes exactly 2 weeks to pass through the system. my ds1 had severe intolerances and reflux as a baby and my premature ds2 used to poo/wind as you describe. i also remember 2 occasions when i was exclusively bf (pre-solids); the first time i was on antibiotics for mastitis and it took exactly 2 weeks to the day after my last tablet for him to stop having the most atrocious nappies. the same thing happened when he was put on a course for an infection, it took exactly 2 weeks to clear his system and for his tummy to get better and poo to return to normal.

also, it sounds like you have done your homework but will add just in case, with cmpi the proteins can be hidden in all sorts of foods (not just the obvious dairy products) and in all sorts of guises.

oh and i totally agree with what tambajam says