We Have a Pooping Problem! 4 Months

if his bottom is red give him a soak in a bath with baking soda.

loose stools are highly acidic...baking soda is alkaline...this will reset your son's bottom's ph balance and relieve the redness and any pain he may be suffering.

Also...if he is has constant loose stools do NOT use any bottom products that are oil based as they will hold heat and moisture close to his skin and aggravate the area preventing the rash from healing and often making it worse.. so NO vasaline, NO A&D ointment, etc... Desitin, butt paste, etc are all fine as they are drying agents and have no oil in their ingredients.

One more thing, do not use baby powder with cornstarch as it will provide a perfect medium for yeast to develop and you do not want to add anything to your plate at this time...Use a plain baby powder in his diaper to help soak up the loose stoole away from his precious bottom and an nice layer of desitin or other product to keep the sttol away as well.

Good luck... ;-)

1 mom found this helpful

If u clean his bottom,try to use a cotton ball soak with water, almost dripping instead of scrubbing his bottom with wipes..hope it helps.

1 mom found this helpful

Our pedi advised nothing but breastmilk for 6 months. As long as he's growing and otherwise healthy, he's probably good. At least you know his digestive system works! Try Lansinoh on his red bottom. Works like a charm and you don't have to irritate his delicate skin by scrubbing it off at the next diaper change. He's a good age to try elimination communication if you are with him all day. We've had a lot fewer messy diapers to tend to with this. Just a thought. Best of luck! My 7 month old still goes several times a day.

1 mom found this helpful

So babies poop more than others. Always keep desitan on his bottom. Alson my dr. Told me that at 4 month that I needed to start giving my daughter rice cereal because babies around that time start needing more iron than what they get from me. I also asked a question about sleeping and pooping on here this week and was told by many of responses that at 3 1/2 - 4 months babies are going through a growth spurt and poos are changing too. Best of luck to you!

K.,
Karo syrup is usually added to milk when a baby has constipation problems, not loose stools. Karo may only make loose stools worse! All 7 of my children are adopted, so of course I've never breastfed, BUT i started adding rice cereal in their bottles at age 6 weeks. My children range in ages 34 yrs to 21 months. Some Dr's will say no on rice cereal that young, others say start feeding them at 4 moths & others at 6 month, but it never hurt my children, it help fill them up & they loved it.
I found a product years ago called Balmex & it was the best for red bottoms. I haven't found in in several yrs.
My 21 month old went through a stage of red bottom when he was younger, almost to the bleeding point at times! I would hold him under the kitchen faucet & rinse his bottom under slight lukewarm running water, pat his butt dry (not rubbing at all) let him air dry a few min & I used Aveeno diaper rash cream (it comes in a tube), then I'd sprinkle pure cornstarch all over his bottom.You can find it by the flour & baking soda in the food section of any store. I never used baby powder only pure cornstarch, it more absorbent & is silky feeling to the touch. I've tried the use of boudreaux's butt paste, A & D ointment, prescription medications, you name it! The Aveeno in my opinion is the best. At least for him it was, it cleared it up after a couple of diaper changes.
I agree with the other mom;s that it mught be some of the foods you're eating that is causing the loose & frequent bowel movements, my daughter n law breastfed both her children & had to watch what she ate to help prevent this.
I don;t think I would try the formula once a day unless you are preparing to switch him over to formula, it might mess with his tummy even more. Just add a teaspoon of rice to a bottle & gradually build up the amount of rice you put in each one, until you reach the point you can spoon feed loosely mixed cereal & breastmilk to him.
Good luck with whatever option you decide to try.
One pointer I have on the rice cereal, heat up some water or a small amount of breast milk, & dissolve the cereal in it & let it cool before you mix it in the bottle of milk, it will take out the whole pieces making it easier to go through the hole in the nipple, as you gradually add more cereal to his bottle, you may need to put a larger whole in the nipple ( i did) & i used that one nipple for cereal only.
Walmart carries an organic rice cereal in the babyfood section & we love it! A little goes a long way!it is called Earth's Best Organic Rice Cereal.

Do not add anything to his feeding routine. Babies do NOT need cereal at this age and it may make things worse. The AAP and WHO advise waiting until at least 6 months to introduce any solids. He is just fine. Many BF babies start to have less frequent BMs, but not all do.

My suggestions: think about your diet and what is in it. Your diet may be giving him loose stools. Specifically, babies are often sensitive to the proteins in milk (not lactose). It would be helpful to keep a journal of what you eat to see. Cutting out dairy for a month (not less, since the proteins in milk stick around for a while and it will take a month to get out of baby's system) can tell you if that is his sensitivity. Here is more information: http://kellymom.com/babyconcerns/food-sensitivity.html

Babies that have milk sensitivities do not always react well to soy, either, so switching to formula isn't always the best option. And adding one bottle a day may not affect him positively (especially if it's a milk based formula). Try cutting out the dairy and see if that is what is affecting your baby!

Good luck!

**ETA I just read the other responses. I have to highly caution against adding rice cereal with KARO syrup. That sounds horrible for a baby, and I don't know any pedi that would recommend that.

As far as the rash, I've heard great things about the triple paste. We have used Dr. Smiths on occasion (we use cloth diapers, so we have to be very careful what kind of rash creams we use) and it always worked well.

Breast milk, though, can be very helpful to your baby's bottom. Apply some and let it dry before putting on the diaper.

we were told to add a table spoon of kayro light syrup to water and let him have this. it worked like a charm we did it once and waited. call the nurse at the pedi and ask them if this is ok for your little one.

I think you should add rice to his breastmilk.
I started my babies on rice in their bottles when they were 2 weeks old. Most doctors tell you not to start rice until they are 6 months old because they don't have the digestive enzymes to fully digest the rice. But what I did was put a little Karo in there bottle of rice and they were fine.
Plus my babies were preemies and needed to gain the weight and they turned out fine. Plus I am a nurse so I felt comfortable doing it. Plus I had the ok from my doctor!

Good Luck! If that does help then I would watch what I am eating since you are breastfeeding him.

my daughter was breast feed only and was the same way in fact in continued until about 9 months cause she never really liked solid food ...the doctor told me it was normal...as far as the red bottom i just used balmex and when i would change he i would let her air dry for awhile before i put the diaper back on...goog luck!

Not too sure about the amount of bm's,by baby was BF only as well and rarely had bm's. Call the doctor & tell them what's going on, if it seems important enough to them, maybe they can bump up the appointment. As for the red bottom, straight pure corn starch, from out of the kitchen, works great!!

My advice would be to make a quick call to your peditrician's office. They are accustomed to calls with concerns and if anything they may want to see you before your scheduled visit..or just tell you not to worry. That's a lot of poop! I feel for you!
Best wishes with your darling one :-)
H

I second the suggestion that it could be something in your diet that is causing this. Although loose stool and frequent BM's are normal for BF babies, your baby seems to be beyond the normal range and definitely shouldn't be having as many as he is.

I would hold off on the rice because that may not help, and could even make it worse. You can always call your peds office and talk to the nurse to see what she suggests in the meantime. That is what they are there for!

Hi K.!
My little one did about the same thing. There was a loose stool in just about every diaper. Hang in there! When he was about 4 1/2 months he suddenly switched to pooping only once a week! From what I have read and the pediatrician confirmed is that BF babies can suddenly start to use all the milk and start to process it differently. But yes, that once a week is one heck of a diaper. I could almost time it and started to avoid going out on those days :o). As for the red bottom, try Dr. Smith's. It comes in either a little tub or a tube and you can find it at HEB. I was given a jar at the hospital and it works wonderfully! Much better than the destin. Sounds like your little guy is doing fine though - he is a pound heavier than my 6 month old.

I don't know what to do about his BM but make sure you put vaseline on his bottom so it doesn't become raw or irritated.

I definitely agree that he is probably sensitive to something you're eating. Remember - it's like when you were pregnant in that what you eat, he eats. Try cutting out dairy and see what happens. That's usually first. If that doesn't work by the time you go to the DR., ask what's next. La Leche League should be able to help you as well. Congrats on nursing! Don't add anything to his diet until 6 months. There's no need!

My baby was the same way. She pooped 7 or 8 times a day pretty much the whole first year. She , at 2 1/2, still goes 3-5 times a day. The doctor said that as long as the poop is normal and they are gaining weight, it is fine. Some babies are just more frequent...

If your baby's stools haven't changed in color, texture or smell...you don't have too much to worry about. The redness COULD be from his stools but likely is from the continued use of wipes or reaction to diapers.

I, too, had a frequent pooper. Easily on the same level as your son. I rarely used any sort of cream or ointment...the hair dryer was our best friend. I used it on low to ensure she was completely dry before diapering. I also used plain warm water for a few days when she would get red.

Don't add rice. You don't need to and it can actually interfere with continued success of breastfeeding. There is no guarantee that it will even make a difference. Good luck, the most important thing is that you make a decision you can live with.

I think this still falls in the pretty normal. The things to consider.

What are you eating? Could it be affecting him? Maybe keep a record of your intake and his outpoop..

Place him in warm water to give him relief and see if you can dry him out with no diaper on his tummy.. May need some butt paste to also give him some relief..

Both my kids did that forever...it wasn't until 2ish that it slowed down to a "normal" once or twice a day. Good luck and sorry I can't help!

have you tried not eating/drinking dairy? I know alot of babies have a problem when the Mom eats dairy. Just a suggestion.

I went through this with my daughter. Our pediatrician told us that she was not getting enough hind milk. She said that the breast milk is divided up. The milk that comes out first is more sugary and the milk that comes out last is more fatty. When your body breaks down sugar it releases gasses. Not only did this make my daughter go all the time but she could also shoot it 3 to 4 feet if she wasn't wearing a diaper. Our pedi suggested I try to get her to completely drain one side and then pump the other and freeze. But what I ended up doing was a pump and dump for a little on each side before my baby ate. That seemed to help. We also started her on rice cereal at 4 months which actually constipated her. She went from 9 poos a day to 1 every 4 days. I don't know which was worse. Oatmeal worked better for us.
Good Luck

my son did that too. the daycare use to think he had diarehha lol. the milk is thin so it goes through them quicker.

Triple Paste works wonders for diaper area inflammation. Good luck with those BM's...not fun ;p

Congrats K. on nursing!
7-8 times a day does seem a bit on the frequent side of "average"...
if you're wanting to trouble shoot...
-first thing I'd look at is your diet. Are there any food allergies or sensitivities in your family? Dairy sensitivity in childhood is fairly common -- most grow out of it.
-I would recommend *against* introducing anything new into his diet -- be it rice or formula. As far as intro-ing solids right now -- and anything besides your milk or formula is "solid" -- the general guidelines are:
- Amer Acad Ped says 6mos at the earliest. LLL says middle of the first year.
- Able to sit unassisted.
- Tongue thrust reflex is *gone*.

Honestly, your breast milk has everything in it that your baby needs. Intro-ing anything right now will only affect your supply (negatively).

For his botttom: a RN friend told me that Triple Cream is essentially equal parts steroid cream (Cortizone), triple antibiotic (Neosporin) and anti-fungal (Lotrimin). Since her sharing that, I've made my own "triple cream" and used it successfully. With your baby being a boy, I would be wary of using the steroid cream on his boy parts. For my son, I use the triple cream on his bottom, and if the rash extended onto scrotum, then I made it just a "double cream" instead (leaving out steroid).

HTH - tho written in haste....
If you have any questions, please email me.

K., mama to
Catherine, 5.5y
Samuel, 2.5y
Baby, due 9/09

rice cereal might help the stools. I started my daughter on cereals at around 4 months at her doctors suggestion. Formula might also make a difference. My daughter couldn't process my milk, so she was changed to formula and cereal. She actually started whole milk at around 8 months due to all of her digestive issues. She's perfectly fine and all of those problems went away shortly after we started the whole milk.