4 Month Old with Diarrhea for 2 Wks Straight

This happened with my son when he was around that age. My ped told me that he had a virus and that it had destroyed the cilia (sp) in his intestines, which is common, and that it just takes a few weeks to regrow it. The virus was gone, but the cilia hadn't re-grown, so his food wasn't being absorbed. It took a few weeks of the diarrhea, and then it just gradually stopped.

I hate to say it but the oatmeal may be the cause of your daughter's diarrhea. I'm not sure which brand of oatmeal that you are giving her but I do know that a lot of oatmeal on the market, unless it is specially labeled, do have gluten (wheat protein) in them because the oats are made at the same factory and with the same equipment that the wheat products are made. What you are describing could be several things but I am seriously concerned that your daughter may have a gluten sensitivity right now and that is causing her digestive issues. Why don't you try stop giving her oatmeal for a while and see what happens. And give it some time because it does take time for gluten to clear out of the body.

* ADDITION: Most doctors recommend just giving a baby breastmilk at this time due to food sensitivity issues. If you do want to keep with putting rice cereal in her bottle to help her sleep, I would suggest giving her just plain rice cereal and saving the rice w/ apples cereal for when she gets older.

As babies get older, their diaper deposits change. Besides the oatmeal, has she started any new foods? If she's only on formula I wouldn't think that its e-coli or salmonella.

I would try taking her off of the oatmeal for 3 days and see if that helps.
M.

*** Update***
I just read that you said that is rice w/ apples. It may be the apples. Apples make kids GOOO so I would switch to just plain rice cereal. She's old enough to start veggies and fruits, but I'd hold off until you get her system back to regular before introducing anything new.

Pedialite and Orange Gatorade should do the trick.

Stop the oatmeal at night.

Well, you did ask your pediatrician and they did not seem bothered by it. You can either except that or call them back and tell the nurse that you are worried and ask them to do a stool sample.

What you need to worry about at this time is dehydration. As long as your baby is eating and drinking the proper amounts, there shouldn't be an issue. I doubt the oatmeal would be the problem if you've been doing it for months now.

It's a good sign that she does not have a temp. I would pressure the doctor if it continues.

Hi C.
Sounds like you need the help of an MD.
All mine had diarrhea and ended up in the hospital between 3 and 4 months and spent various lengths of time there until the MD realized that they had an allergy to milk and___ depending on the child I am talking about.
The boys we were told would not live through the night, because of how sick they were. The girls I didn't wait and was able to say that our boys had milk allergy. I bottle fed due to C-section and the number of years ago that was.
SAHM married 39 yrs -- adult children are now 38,34,and twins 20.

You can try stopping the oatmeal. Who knows, maybe that is the problem.
I doubt it though. Is it watery diarrhea? Is she gaining weight? If it
continues, go back to your doctor. Certainly if she is not gaining, or is
extremely cranky, and in obvious distress you must investigate further.
AT 4 months, she could be teething. My kids had their first tooth at 5
months and always had diarrhea when teething.

did u give her some pedialyte so that she doesn't get dehydrated?

Because the cereal turned out to be rice cereal it is not a gluten allergy, but it does sound like a possible allergy. One of mine had a milk allergy, but she threw up before it could hit her intestines.
Let us know if you get it figured out. --Oh, please dont take this wrong, but are you sure it's diarrhea, not just regular loose baby stool? We had the opposite problem. Our girls mostly had hard poops, (One big clump) so when they had a regular one it almost seamed to us like it was too loose.- Just a thought.

Teething also causes diarrhea. My 6 month old has horrible bouts of diarrhea when she's cutting a tooth. Maybe that's it?

Hey Mama - you are right to be concerned! Any time your kids have such loose stools that you are concerned, you should tell your doctor in a way that they LISTEN. It's not ok for the baby to have diarrhea. It very very strongly sounds like a food reaction. I might be gluten, but it also might be dairy (the #1 culprit for Americans with gut disorder - Gluten is #2). It can also be rice, corn, egg, or a number of other foods. If you are breastfeeding, it can come through your milk (my son is milk sensitive (not even allergic) and whenever I ate cheese or anything dairy, he would get the rash). So #1 try quitting dairy yourself and see if that helps her. If you stopped the rice cereal and she still has diarrhea, that would be my best recommendation. Rice allergy is rarer than most food allergies, but not unheard of, because doctors (and cereal companies) recommend it at such a young age, before babies have had time to develop the right stuff in their tummies to process the rice, and it creates an auto-response in the gut to *get it out* which results in diarrhea. Only a sensitivity/allergy, though, would explain the rash, if those two things are linked. IF they ARE linked, you would need to figure out EXACTLY which foods are causing her problem by eliminating them until she is symptom free and then re-introducing the offending food to check and be sure that it is causing symptoms. There is such a thing as the elimination diet, but as long as you are pretty sure you can figure it out w/just a few foods, you can probably start with that. The diet itself is BRUTAL and requires much more of the mother, than the baby in denying yourself a lot of foods. But you can read more about it all here. http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/t041800.asp Even though it is a pain, having a baby or child with chronic diarrhea is dangerous and unnecessary.

You can also give your babe probiotics, which are safe and healthy for anyone of any age. You can get them at any health food store. Mention that you want dairy free ones, and also ones that you can dilute with boiled (but not hot) water and then just drip them into your baby's mouth when she is willing (or sleeping). These probiotics will reintroduce some of the good bacteria that help to break down food in the gut. If it is a virus, not an allergy, it should help her on the road to recovery.

I really hope your answers come quickly and easily, mama!

my son had dairy sensitivity and at around 3 months that when we knew he had a problem. he had lots of diarrhea, very bad bloody diaper rash, up all night screaming. i was nursing at the time so i cut all dairy out of my diet. he got better almost immeadiatley.
switch to a non dairy formula, (soy or amino acid based) Keep in mind that kids with dairy issues also usually have problems with soy. My son has problems with both. good luck!

if she is bottle fed, she might be allergic to the formula. if she is on milk based then try soy. if you breast feed, maybe it is something you are eating. good luck and switch Peds. you should feel confident in their decisions, not wary.