6 wk old breast fed baby doesn't poo, just constantly leaks poo...

[JackBlackRoady]

DD born 4 wks early, and since about 2 wks ago, her due date, she has become more alert and has periods of being wide awake, so i have been giving her kicking time without her nappy. before then she always had a pooey nappy whenever i changed it - but now i see why, she does a tiny tiny poo every minute or so - it is constant - and she has had a lot of nappy rash, i was using sudocrem every change. saw gp today for 6 wk check and she said use metanium and not to orry but she didn't actually check the rash, which is red raw at the moment. i think i've made it worse be using more reusuable nappies than disposables, was using disposables more when she was born. i can't shift the rash because she just poos all the time, when her happy is off i have to sit at the bottom of the changing mat wiping. as i am soley breasfeeding it is runny yellow not smelly stuff, but everything gets covered - for example, she poos as i lift her into the bath, when she is in the bath, when i take her out to dry her - 2 loads of washing just for her pooey stuff. sooo....

do you think she will poo less often as she gets a bit older? is it because of something i eat in my milk? how can i get rid of nappy rash when she is always sat in poo when asleep? and how do i know it is just a nappy rash?

sorry to go on! ds wasn't like this

that doesn't sound quite right - did the GP appreciate the fact that the poo is constant not just frequent?

it might just be her poo-holding muscles are a bit underdeveloped

and tbh If I were you I'd be using disposables otherwise the laundry must be through the roof - you can always switch back later once it's sorted

its unlikely to be your milk, theres a miniscule chance that an intolerance exisrs (my ds4 has one) but there are usually signs such as discomfort , weight gain issues etc as there were with us

you can buy one way liners for reusables, i would consider placing one of these inside even a dispoable for an extra layer.

definitely see gp again, keep up with the metanium as it is a barrier, maybe think about a few drops of lavender in ath to asist healing?

Dd was like this, both with the poo and the rash. It turned out to be because she was milk intolerant, so I had to give up eating dairy altogether.

I know that Peachy says that there are usually weight gain issues with intolerance, but dd piled on the weight no problem.

She was miserable and screamed or cried most of the day and night, but that and her poo and rash were her 'only' symptoms.

i'm on no dairy too csws - but its a drastic step to take.

wondering id op putting a post for tiktok would eliminate that side of it (or not as appropriate)

there's anythig op eats to excess- eg cheese, chocolate, coffee- that can be eliminated without recourse to dietary disadvantage may be worth a go?

I'm osrry to hear this, the poor thing mu st be so sore - no advice re the poo, but can I recommend Bepanthen? It was the only thing that helped dd's bottom heal when she had nappy rash.

I'd also go back and see a different gp if possible and if they try to brush you off, take her nappy off and let them watch.

Is your HV any good? Mine always rang the surgery on my behalf when I had concerns about the DTs and managed to get them seen by a Dr even if there were "no appointments availble"

Good luck

DD was a frequent pooer until about six weeks and we regularly went through 16 nappies a day, but this doesn't sound quite right, like perhaps there is a problem with her sphincter muscle or there is a problem causing her to have constant diahorrea.

I would go back to the docs and try to explain, or take her nappy off and let them see for themselves.

The rash might have developed into a fungal rash if her little bottom is constantly soggy from the poo....another reason to get it checked out.

Am shocked that your GP didn't even look her over. IIRC DD was naked for her six week check as her hips were checked as was the bottom of her spine.

thank you everyone. No, there is nothing i eat to xs. i have no cooffee and eat really healthy at the moment anyway. lots of fruit and veg. i might try the cutting out dairy so thanks for that advice.

yes, i was a bit annoyed the dr didn't take it seriously, or have her clothes off to check anything really, i am going yto make an appmy on mon if its no better by the end of the wkend. Will insist they look at her bum!

i wondered if it could be her schincter muscles aren't developed - if she coughs or sneezes more comes out too.

the metanium doesn't seem to be having much effect as yet, but i will give it a bit longer. i have got bepanthan too. for info, i use cotton wool and water to wipe her.

i've been putting her in salt water baths too. i read on here that fennel tea might help too, will get some.

thanks again everyone.

I think sometimes GPs assume you exaggerate -- so when I told them DS had a really hideous cough they listened to his chest briefly then metaphorically patted me on the head and told me to run along (turned out he had whooping cough and needed to be admitted to hospital on supplementary oxygen). I suspect your GP thought you were exaggerating when you described the pooing. Cutting out dairy sounds like a good first step, but if that doesn't help then go back. Is your HV any good? You may be able to demonstrate the poo issue to her and then she can encourage GP to take it seriously.

I think you need to go to the GP tbh pretty sharpish. Be a v pushy Mother. If it is an intolerance/diorreah she'll be getting really dehydrated from pooing all the time.

Poor you. Sounds grim. I'm afraid I don't have any advice about what could be causing the constant pooing, but I would also recommend bepanthen to deal with the nappy rash. It worked brilliantly on my DS (although he wasn't as bad as your DD sounds.)

JBR - if you're going to cut out dairy, then I should make you aware that it takes 7-10 days to clear completely from your system, so don't panic if you don't see an overnight improvement, or if it gets better but then a bit worse over that period.