Could all this be due to teething?

[Sanne Panne]

Our nearly 7 month old baby has been teething for a while now, no teeth yet (our eldest had her first at 9.5 months so I'm not really expecting them yet) but her gums are definitely bothering her. She's pulling her ears, is a bit cranky (usually the happiest/easiest kid in the world) and teething gel and baby nurofen seem to calm her down which is probably a sign too ;)

My question is about poo (don't mothers love talking about it!). I know frequent, different, rash causing poos are common during teething. But can a baby who used to poo once a day change to once every hour during the day and JUST be teething? It's been going on for two weeks now. It's sometimes runny, sometimes clay like, sometimes yellow, sometimes green. Sometimes it comes out with a lot of gas, sometimes not. But it's just so frequent! (almost always small amounts due to the frequency and her poor bum is bright red now, she screams even when I just use cotton wool and water... next step is to clean her sitting in a bowl with tepid water and baking soda I fear!). And it's so often not completely normal looking.

She looks healthy, pees enough, is on formula (I weaned her at 4 months thinking I was going back to work and then I decided not to go... tried to relactate and failed but that's another story), not really interested in solids yet (takes a few spoons here and there but then refuses and still gags when the food isn't very "slippery"). She's big, strong, chunky and happy (although a bit crankier than usual as I mentioned before). She used to only wake once between 7pm and 7am but now wakes 2-3 times (and poos when we feed her).

Could she have a sudden intolerance to her formula (that she was fine with for 3 months, never changed brand, it's Hipp)? Or could she have something else going on? Or should I not overanalyse it and wait for the teeth to appear? :)

[Saffron]

Oh no, how awful for you and your LO! :( I would think b/c it's gone on so long, there might be a bacterial element to it (which might just coincidentally be overlapping with the teething). Your GP should be able to do a stool test to help confirm if this is the case.

But then again, it could all be totally normal... the fact that she still has a prominent gag reflex might suggest her digestive tract is still maturing. So the poo might just be a sign of the intestines continuing to develop.

For the sore bottom, try wiping her with olive oil and then a soft dry flannel. This method worked really well for Little Saff and seemed to require less wiping on a sore bottom this way, esp'y if the poo is runny. I think you can also buy pre-packed wipes with oil, but I can't remember what the brand is.

Metanium works wonders on weepy type rashes, and Drapolene is very soothing on more chapped type bum, from our experience. Lots of nappy-free time is great too. But if your LO is pooing all the time, I'm guessing you don't want to leave the nappy off too long! I had Little Saff's nappy off for 10 min tonight after her bath, and she'd done a tinylove (as we ironically call the free-range poos around here) on the carpet and then danced in it. Sigh.

Hope things get better soon. xx

[Ole]

Little Ole had something similar when he was about 7 months. He had lots of poos (and they were very explosive ones!) but was otherwise very happy, at first I also put it down to teething, but eventually I realised it must have been something he 'ate' (had only just started weaning at the time). What I did is I stopped weaning for a a few weeks so went back to milk only and made sure he drank plenty of water too during the day, and the GP prescribed something called Timodene (not sure about spelling now) what was fantastic and cleared up the nappy rash within hours. They did take a stool sample but it came back normal, so who knows what caused it!.......I don't know about the formula though as I was breastfeeding. It all stopped up one day quite suddenly.

[ClareC]

I seem to remember baby I having something similiar soon after she started solids, I went back to cotton wool and water and did lots of bare bottom time. I can't remember how long it lasted but she definitely has really smelly nappies and a sore bottom accompanying teething!

[Sanne Panne]

Thanks for the feedback! She only woke once last night and woke up with a clean bum so her skin got time to get a bit better. It's not weepy or chapped or rash like, it's just very red and she screams when I wipe it (even with cotton wool/water).

Saffron, interesting insight about the intestines still maturing, it could be true. Great idea about the oil - good for out and about as I currently need lots and lots of water on my cotton wool in order to make it even slightly bearable for her to be changed. As for the nappy free time, I know it's a pain to keep cleaning poo/pee off towels (I put her on towels, she's somewhat mobile but not crawling yet) but if it helps, I do it anyway. I prefer spending a day at home and do (even) more washing than seeing her that miserable again.

Ole, she's a bit better today and hardly ate solids yesterday so food may indeed play a role. I only read this after I fed her some more carrots and sweet potatoes though so I can't do a real test. Will try milk (and baby cereal type solids) only for a couple of days and see...

Clare, yes we have the cotton wool out too but when, ahem, clay like poo sticks to a metanium bum you still have to rub quite hard! Oh what a charming conversation! Anyway, good to know it could still all be due to teething, I almost hope it is so that I don't need to go to the GP (and then hear it's nothing anyway). Will call the GP before the weekend if she goes back to her hourly poos today. Am optimistic after a better night... Fingers crossed!

[Saffron]

> clay like poo sticks to a metanium bum

> you still have to rub quite hard!

Wiping with oil (olive oil, baby oil etc) should help this too. Metanium is oil-based. You need an oil to dissolve an oil-based product. I can also really recommend walnut oil (provided you're ok on the nut allergy front). Walnut oil is more expensive but is fantastic for skin. It's slightly lighter than olive oil, absorbs quickly, and has lovely smell.

[Sanne Panne]

Will definitely try olive oil and may buy walnut oil just in case I get desperate one day. I have an annoying generic nasal allergy that I can somewhat tame with a nose spray but the side effect is that I can't smell a THING even when I can breathe perfectly well so I won't be able to appreciate the scent... on the other hand I don't faint when changing baby nappies ;)

My husband brought some dead sea salts back from Israel and I put those in the kiddies' bath tonight... their skins felt quite smooth. It's probably similar to sodium bicarbonate, another salt after all.

Lots of nappy free time today and bum is better (and "only" 3 mini poos after the morning poo for those who really want to know hahah). S still cranky during the day so please, teeth, make your appearance now and then give me a little break ok?

I mean give the baby a break ;)

[minder]

Teething and frequent pooing are not necessarily connected. Your baby may have teeth coming through but this doesn't mean he/she will have runny etc. poos. There is usually another reason.

Good old vaseline is great for sore bottoms.

[laurac]

My 6 month old has been pooing a lot, probably 6/7 times a day, always clay-like, since she started on solids - the change has been pretty dramatic. Although I am sure she is teething again (she had her first two teeth at 4 and a half months) I have definitely put it down to weaning, although unlike your daughter she packs away a lot of food and is on three good 'meals' a day.

I did take her to the doctor a couple of weeks ago as she has been waking a lot at night with wind/tummy ache (this pre-dates her starting on solids) and I was worried she had some kind of sensitivity/intolerance (to formula, dairy??). The doctor was adamant this wasn't the case (my daughter is on the 91st centile and is very cheery). She said it takes two years for babies' digestive systems to properly mature and put any upset down to all the mouthing my daughter is doing. Who knows - I took from this that even at six/seven months some babies' systems are still really sensitive and easily upset without it necessarily being anything serious - although your daughters excretions seem a little more extreme than mine!