What is going on with my baby

[Elland]

DS has had an upset tummy for two weeks now, it seemed to be getting better yesterday with less nappy changes but we're back to lots of poo today!

Has anyone experienced similar? 7 month old having about ten poos a day, TMI but normally 1 big amount in the morning and then the rest small amounts with mucus ranging from brown to green to yellow. No explosives but pretty wet. DS had nappy rash but cream has cleared it up/kept it at bay for now.

He's not being sick but he has turned back in to a whingey baby but on a whole is okay in himself.

The first week of this he slept through on a night but this week he's waking up more than ever, he's not crying he's just whinging with his eyes closed but settles as soon as I pick him up!

He is eating solids now, normally 3 meals a day but he was pretty much doing a couple of weeks before the tummy trouble started.

I wondered about teething, he's not dribbly outside but he is chewing and whatever it may be i soaking by the time he's done or his face is covered in dribble when he takes his dummy out.

Any ideas?

I forgot to add that he's been to the doctors and she said it's a viral infection which should go within a couple of weeks but it will be very contagious.
I'm just not convinced that it's that, I would have thought someone who comes in to contact with him would have caught it if it's contagious but we haven't?

2+ weeks for viral tummy upset is unfortunately pretty normal.

You might well have caught it but not be getting symptoms with it, or you might be immune. There are so many viruses that cause diarrhoea in babies that it would be impossible to say which this is without actually going hunting for viral DNA or RNA or doing electron microscopy to see what the viral capsid looked like.

The variation of poo colour is probably where in his gut the poo is coming from: green is usually very fast transit from high up (can be associated with cow's milk protein allergy), brown is from lower down. Yellow is typical for diarrhoea lots of times a day. Is there any pattern to the colour vs. time of day or what he's been eating? He may well feel better if he can do more poos that are brown.

Secondary lactose intolerance after viral tummy upset is a thing, not sure if it happens in babies much though (babies are mostly way better than adults at digesting lactose). That could be causing the green poos (lactose intolerance is not the same thing as cow's milk protein allergy, but can produce high -in -gut diarrhoea too), but it may be something else.

Good luck riding it out with lots of stewed apple and plain toast!

The sleep sounds like he was feeling rotten the first week so was really tired, and has now perked up enough to just be disturbed a lot by gut rumbles...

Thanks for replying and explaining.

His first poo of the day is the brown one and it goes to yellow or green from there, I'll keep on eye and see if there's any pattern to it after he's had certain foods.

We're still having lots of upset tummy poos over here with very little sleep, any suggestions for helping to clear this up?

I'd go back to the GP. Talk them through the poo colour/ pattern re what food has been eaten & when.

I am not one to say "ooh it's obviously dairy and gluten allergy, cut those out" but if a lot of the poos are green it might be a temporary inability to digest dairy (note: not allergy). If there is something being eaten at every meal - eg bread - it could be worth swapping it for other things to see if the diarrhoea clears up. Be cognizant that processed food is full of surprises, like the milk solids and soy flour found in nearly all bread. Having done it, I think eating an unprocessed diet is a good way to tie yourself to the kitchen and go totally nuts, but it's a lot easier to know what you and baby are eating (and you feel great). However talk to the GP as cutting out particular foods may well be totally unnecessary at this stage. I would say stick to an unchallenging diet of rice, vegies, stewed fruit, +/- plain set bio yoghurt depending if there's any correlation between dairy & poo.

Obvs suggestion for diet lacks adequate protein & fat, so I'd reintroduce eggs & fish & nut paste & pulses & dairy as soon as the diarrhoea begins to clear up. Your baby may be different but mine struggles a bit with meat, he much prefers fish, lentils, chickpeas etc.