12 week old bf baby: Is this diarrhoea or not?

[Schulte]

I started a thread earlier this week but am still at my wit's end so trying again. DD2 (12 wks) had her first set of jabs on Monday. She has had what I think is diarrhoea since. On Monday, her poos were very liquid and slightly greenish. On Tuesday, they were extremely frequent (3 times after each feed), small, yellow and mixed with lots of mucus. Since yesterday, they have returned to a fairly normal colour and smell, but she still poos ALL the time, several times straight after each feed, and they come out very liquid and sometimes foamy (they happen while I change her nappy so I can see them... sorry if TMI).

Doc wasn't very interested, just said to keep feeding and changing her and give her extra water and dioralyte, which I am doing.

I am not happy though and not sure what to make of all this - she used to go once every 3 days only. So my questions: Do you think this IS diarrhoea? Do I really need to give dioralyte? Do you think it was caused by the jabs? Has anyone got any experience of something similar and how long did it go on for? Do I need to worry?

Thanks everyone...

She's exclusively breastfed? Does she seem (otherwise) healthy? How is her weight gain?

Please do not give dioralyte, it isn't meant for tiny babies.

This sounds normal to me. Runny and foamy poos are normal in tiny babies. I would generally file it under 'babies are weird' and not worry about it, assuming nothing else is up with her.

Oh, sorry, missed that the doctor said to give her water and dioralyte. No, I wouldn't do that! Dioralyte has salt in it! And breastfed babies don't need water (I assume you've been giving boiled cooled water, both straight and with dioralyte?)

Does she seem dehydrated? I wouldn't expect dioralyte to be necessary in the circumstances you describe - but I'm no expert. Green poos are common with any kind of upset. My DD's would do green poos if I ate curry! Mucus also common in poo if they have a cold. Not sure about foam, not seen that.

Do you have a decent health visitor you can speak to?

Yes, exclusively bf. Has been gaining weight beautifully along her centile. She seems fairly happy but wants to feed loads. I don't think she's dehydrated. Taking her to see HV now - spoke to him on the phone and he said it all sounded normal but the change in her poos was so sudden and so extreme that I am sure something is up, maybe a bug if not the jabs.

I'd keep bfing her loads rather than giving Dioralyte or water.

Well thanks everyone for your help. Saw a friend and had a good old moan about it all and am feeling better now. I think you're right about not using dioralyte, I didn't feel too happy with it anyway.

The change in poos can also be explained by the cardinal rule: "babies are weird". Trust me, they stay weird as they get bigger.

schulte - just saw this thread.

is she nursing a lot? how often are you switching breasts?

I have a problem with over supply and strong let-down, I find that if I switch sides too much then my DD's poos get liquidy and foamy.
i tend to nurse from one side for a couple feeds, just to make sure that DD is getting the really fatty milk too.

HTH!

Thanks Purple. No her feeding is just as usual, maybe a little bit more frequent but I am also offering her the boob more frequently to make sure she stays hydrated. She only ever feeds from one side, always has. Then at the next feed, she has the other side, or if it's been less than 2 hours, the same side again.