Should I take him to a&e? Docs appt not till tuesday

[Jenwen22]

Hi all,

Hope this is the right place to post. Basically for the last two days my DS (4months) has had watery poo. Its not totally watery, only partially watery. Hes formula fed only, and I always make the bottles by putting the water in first then the formula. Everythings sterilised. Hes feeding fine, plenty of wet nappies and seems fine in himself.

On thursday just gone, before his poo became runny, the health visitor came and suggested I put an appt on as there was a slight wheeze to his voice when he babbled. She didn't seem overly concerned but said better safe than sorry. I rang up and being bank holiday the earliest pre bookable appointment was this coming tuesday. I was prepared to wait as he seemed absolutly fine in himself but thought if he gets any worse I'll take him to a&e. Yesterday his poo started to become watery; as I can feel a tooth starting to come through I thought it may be that so held off and decided to keep an eye on it. However this has continued today. Hes usually poos once a day but hes pooed three times already.

I am a first time mother so aware I may be worrying about nothing, but as its combined with the weeziness the health visitor noticed I'm wondering if I should just take him to a&e anyway rather than wait till Tuesday.

However its saturday night day after payday and bank holiday weekend; and I don't want him to be surrounded by drunks if I can help it, but obviously I will if he needs the medical attention. I'm just about to ring nhs direct but wanted the opinions of other mumsnetters in case this has happened to you and it really is nothing to worry about.

Im just really worried about him. Thank you xx

Hmmm I probably wouldn't take him, but I can tell you are very worried. My DS had numerous tummy bugs at that age (probably
Cos of older DSS and friends). However You know your LO and what is out of ordinary.
Does he have a temp? Is he still feeding as normal?
Maybe ring 111 and see what they advise ?

Oh just seen you are going to ring 111, I'd be guided by them.

In our area we have out of hours doctors who we can contact via NHS direct or there is a number on our gps answerphone . I have found they will either do a telephone appointment, ask you to come in or when ds2 was very poorly came out to visit. They are usually happier to double check with babies as they can change so quick so I would always phone for advice. Hopefully it is nothing serious

Heya thanks for your reply. He doesn't have a temp at all. Hea honestly perfectly fine thats why I'm wondering if I'm over reacting. I think if it was just the slightly watery poo I'd be ok with it but its just the wheeziness and slight dihoreah combined thats making me worry lol. But then again it could just be me being a first time mum haha. I'll let you know what 111 say when I get off the phone to them xx

If you're that worried that you're willing to brave a&e on a saturday, and you're spidery senses are tingling, to be honest I'd just take a baby that young. Mothers intuition counts for so much- even first timers- and very young babies can get very sick, very fast. Doctors never ever mind seeing a young baby when mum is very concerned- I've twice taken DS to a&e in his first six months, when everyone else said "relaaaax, he's fine..." and both times he was admitted.

Also- paediatric a&e is usually separate from main a&e, so you won't be sat with the gurning masses.

Go with your gut instinct. But generally if they appear otherwise well, and are not dehydrated then A&E won't do much.

I took my 4 week old 3 times when she had severe diarrhoea, going up to 15 times a day. I was told in young babies stomach bugs can last for several weeks. On the 3rd visit they tested her poo and found that she had norovirus. It was about 3 weeks before she was back to normal, the poor thing.

Thanks guys. Just spoken to them. Because of his age theyre passing it on and getting someone to ring me back in the next few hours so well go from there. They said if he gets suddenly worse im to ring back straight away or if his breathing changes im to ring 999. Jes not that bad yet though he is starting to feel a bit warmer. Fingers crossed its just a tummy bug and he doesnt get worse xx

Theyve just rang back. They told me just to keep an eye on it as he seems well in himself and alert. Again reiterated that if he becomes floppy or his breathing gets worse to call 999. So i guess well just roll with it for now and see how he is. Xx

If you are worried don't hesitate - keep a close eye on the breathing. Breathing fast/pulling in/breathing from the tummy/wheezing etc are all things to look out for.

There is a good app from the lullaby trust that is great for assessing babies health.

have you got a good thermometer, op? Underarm is best with young babies according to my gp- it's a good idea to keep checking it if you can.