DD's (2months) poos don't seem right to me

[jackrose]

Although everything seems to be going perfectly well in some ways with my 2.5month old and breast feeding, there are a few little things that don't seem right. I wonder if there is anything recognisable going on, and any suggestions for how to fix things.

So, bf was established easily, DD is demand fed and gaining weight well. At 10 days old I got an infant potty and took off with EC which was fantastic. I managed to catch each and every poo and caught wee every now and again. So, I got to know DD's pattern and poo pretty well She was pooing a mustard coloured, toothpaste consitency poo at least once, sometimes 2 times a day. All good.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that DD's farts had become very smelly and it was about the same time that her older sister had a bout of vomiting. At the same time her poos suddenly changed dramatically. They:

• were much more frequent
• were very watery
• had bits of yellow solids in them
• were passed with gurgling guts and discomfort
• were passed with a lot of gas and farting
• became more and more frothy as time went on

She seemed to have a bit of discomfort in passing them as in writhing around skwarking and pulling up her legs before she had a poo then she was visibly relaxed after passing. Interestingly, I also had trouble 'catching' the poos with EC as DD seemed to have trouble holding on as she had been able to do so before.

So, I called the MCH help line, kept up the bf and watched for signs of dehydration as her motions were so watery.

In the past 3 weeks, her poos have not returned to normal. They are no longer as watery but they are still

• frothy
• liquid with 'bits' of solids rather than the smooth 'toothpaste' consistency as before
• been green for the last few days although back to normal now
• passed with excess gas and sometimes visible discomfort
• come at about 3-4 a day - where before they were regular at once-twice a day
• are much more difficult to 'catch' in comparison to before (EC wise).

I realise that a baby can have lots of different normal in rate and consistency of poo, I am just concerned as DD has gone from regular, comfortable and smooth poos to more frequent, explosive and uncomfortable and runny poos. I am also concerned at the green colour that was around for the past few days.

As mentioned, I have bf on demand (one side only at each feed as is her preference), DD is gaining weight well and sleeping reasonably, reaching milestones etc. She has a few hours of grizzly, skwarky discomfort in the evenings as she attempts to move her bowels which is not fun but we manage to help her with massage, leg pumping and hold positions to encourage bowel movement. I also attempt to block feed in a 3hr rotation to try to make sure she gets a full feed of milk rather than too much foremilk.

I wonder if there is anything that can be attributed to her frothy poo, the green poo, the runny nature or the discomfort that I haven't considered. I have read that perhaps there is a lactose intolerance to blame but have also read that lactose intolerance is actually really rare... I'm really confused, just don't like seeing DD so uncomfortable and pooing so poorly

I would appreciate any suggestions.

ETA: I just remembered to add that DD also seems to have developed some skin rashes on her face - eczema like at around the same time.

[LimeSlice]

Take a sample of them into your doctor or hospital if they are not returning to a more 'normal' state for her.

Charlotte had gastro a few weeks bad quite badly, which cleared up, only flare up again a fortnight later for no apparent reason, with no vomitting etc, just the terrible poo, gut aches, cramps and lots of stinky farts. I ended up taking her to the hospital after quite a large amount of blood in one and had the sample tested - turns out she had a bowel infection - it cleared itself, but affected her for about 4 weeks or so all up.

ETA: Lactose intolerance in a BF baby is very rare, as when you are breastfeeding, the baby produces Lactase, which breaks down the lactose in milk. Once you finish breastfeeding, this enzyme stops being produced and that is when you will get lactose intolerance, allergies etc..

[onthefly]

I very much doubt it's lactose intolerence. I'd suggest maybe a dairy sensitivity, but that is usually acompanied by low/no weight gain etc. Might be worth looking into if you can't get any answers.
Sounds more like an illness perhaps. Your older daughter was sick at the same time? Maybe DD2 has picked something up - it often shows up in strange poos like that.
But I'm no doctor - I'd get on to one and see what they reckon.

[jackrose]

Thanks for the quick replies.

It puts my mind at ease to hear that lactose intolerance is not very likely. I gathered that since she seems to have no other symptoms other than the challenging bowel habits, it was unlikely to be anything to concerning. I wondered whether the eczema like rash hinted at an intolerance and read that sometimes a bug can damage the gut leading to a short term intolerance. LimeSlice, your idea of taking a sample to be tested is good, I hadn't thought of that.

And yes Marcellus, my older daughter was sick about 24 hrs before the first sign of things awry with DD2 so I sort of put that together. I was just confused to see it still hanging around about 3weeks later.

[onthefly]

Yeah, maybe an initial illness has thrown things out of whack?

[Jennifer13]

If she has caught her sisters bug, there's a chance that her gut is just healing itself and that's taking a little longer. She might be over the virus, but still have some healing to do, ITMS. As long as she's doing okay in every other way, you're doing the right thing by frequent bfing. I would keep an eye on her temperature, if she has a low level of fever she might have developed an infection that would need medical attention. I'm not a doctor either though, so if you're worried take her to your GP. Mummy's intuition is a wonderful thing.

Eczema can also flare up if your immune system is low, which would hardly be surprising if you've gotten a gastro bug. It's probably taking DD1's system a little to get back on track as well.

[MantaRay]

I think you have some great advice already. A sort of temporary lactose intolerance often happens after a tummy bug, and in younger babies it can take longer to get over. The signs of this are a change in poo, particularly green poo. This is nothing to worry about. Continuing to bf is the best thing you can do, and if this is what's going on it will resolve within a few weeks.

[onthefly]

Just BTW, DS had something similar after I was on antibiotics. I can't rmember how long it lasted, but at least 2-3 weeks I think.

[Snacks]

Last year Natalie had gastro that lasted aaaaaaaages. (And she was 2.) I think, as others have suggested, perhaps your DD is still getting over the tummy wog. I hope she is better soon.

[jackrose]

Soooo pleased to hear such a clear consensus! This was what I was thinking, I just wasn't sure why it was taking so long and whether this was something to worry about.

Thanks for all your wise words.