Baby poop and colitis??

[mommyto2presidents]

Hi. Sorry if this is TMI, but I'm just digging for info...

DS is 5 months old and for the last 2 weeks or so has been having 4-6 bowel movements a day. (This is where it may be tmi..) Many of the bm's are made up of a green egg white like substance and is generally small in volume. The thing that is most disturbing is the frequency and that when it's slimy like that, it smells like fish...

Has anyone ever seen/heard/dealt with this? I'm wondering if maybe it's colitis? My dd had it when she was younger but she had blood in it.

Any other ideas or know how they can find out what it is? His ped had it tested to see if he had a bacterial infection, but supposedly the results were negative.

TIA mamas! The things us mommies will talk about!

[Carrie]

The only thing I can think is that it might be rotavirus. It can cause stinky green poo that can last 2+ weeks. Has your ped suggested that as a possibilty?

[mommyto2presidents]

hmmm... actually, no, not a word about that. How is it treated or does it just go away on it's own? He's not really acting like himself (a lot of whining and not wanting to be put down at all). I don't know if it's his tummy, teething, both, something else... ACK! sometimes it IS easier when they can talk!! LOL

[Mindi]

Did he test for C Diff? That has an aweful smell

[Menfusse]

Has he had any new foods? Active c diff infections in a baby his age are very rare. More than half of all babies actually have c diff as a normal part of their gut flora. They don't usually have the receptors for them to actually have symptoms. It sounds a lot like the beginnings of allergic colitis. My dd did that for a little while before the blood showed up. Frequent slimy stooling can be a sign of it, even without blood. If he hasn't started solids, and you are bf'ing, is there anything that you might have started eating that would be new to him? If the doc check for infection, what about other tests? Did he/she check for reducing substances? Or white blood cells in the stool? There are ways to tell if it is a symptom of an allergy.

I hope you get it figured out soon. Did you know that baby poop is like the number 1 most worried about thing for new parents? Anyway, hugs.

[mommyto2presidents]

Actually, we HAVE started introducding solids lately. I'm not sure what all he may have tested for. The only thing he said was to check for a bacterial infection. DS just isn't acting himself, wakes up very frequently at night (and naps too), sometime whimpering.. He already sees a ped GI, so I put a call into him too (hope to hear back tomorrow). What do you think I can do to make him feel better???

[Menfusse]

Is he formula fed? If so what kind? I am not trying to be nosey, but do you mind if I ask what he sees a gi for? My dd has some major issues, and we too see a ped gi as well as an allergist. We have been through the mill. My guess is that he isn't tolerating something he is eating. I would stop solids for the time being. See if things start looking better. I assume that his stool was normal prior to them. Definately call the gi. They may want to see him, or just have you take him off solids. If things do get better, and his stools return to normal. You will have to add things back and feed him only 1 thing at a time for at least a week, maybe 2. As for making him feel better, how about a warm cloth on his tummy, or just a gentle tummy rub. I am sure that it is upset no matter what is causing it. Just go with your gut. If you feel like something isn't right, then something isn't. You know your baby better than anybody. I am in the middle of fighting with our GI team about this very thing, and it is getting old. We are getting ready to go elsewhere. Feel free to pm me or email me if you want. Sounds like we might have some advice for each other, or at the very least, understanding for what we are going through.

[mommyto2presidents]

We see a pediatric GI for both kids since they both have reflux and dd still suffers constipation from witholding issues.

I haven't given him formula and am trying to remember the last few things we've introduced. I definitely think I will back off except for the basics...

I just feel so bad for the little guy... do I need to cut out anything from my diet or just start with his??

[Menfusse]

Fellow refluxer here, among other things. First let me point you to a great site, with tons of mamas of refluxers and kids with allergies/constipation issues. www.infantrefluxdisease.com Wonderful ladies there and you will find tons of support. Now, if his stools started being funky after starting solids, but were fine on just your milk, my guess is that it is something new. But, you can go to a bland diet and that might make things feel better a little more quickly. But I would just stop solids all together and see what happens. My guess is that if it is somethig he was eating, then you should start seeing a difference in about 3 days, and it should just keep getting better from there. And you can always call the gi and run all of this by him just to keep him updated.

[Menfusse]

BTW, I meant to say that give him nothing but your milk for a few days at least, then if things start looking better, you can add back something like rice cereal and just give him that for a week or so, then move on to something else. Eventually you will run across the culprit this way. Of course, if things don't improve off solids, then he probably needs to see his gi.