I have a healthy six month old son (20 lbs, 28 in long already at this age) who recently started eating solid foods. Up until that point, he was drinking Similac w/ Early Shield formula and rice cereal twice a day (he's had the same formula since he was two months old when I stopped breastfeeding, started the rice cereal at 4 months). We started with bananas for about a week, no problems. Then we started sweet potatoes and it seemed like the number of BM diapers increased (from 1 BM per day to about 3 or 4) and they seemed a little on the watery side, so I backed off on the sweet potatoes and tried apples for about 2 days. The number of diapers continued to increase (to about 7 or 8 at least). I decided to back off on everything but the rice cereal and formula and he still was having this problem so I called the doctor's office and they've said to try him on a lactose-free formula which we started yesterday afternoon (Similac Sensitive). They said to keep giving him the rice cereal and bananas. In the middle of all this, he got an ugly diaper rash from so much diaper changing - they recommended A & D ointment and using only warm water and wash cloths to wipe him off. I should also mention that he has not had a fever, has not been vomiting, has not been acting sick - he has had no other symptoms and is his normal, happy bubbly self. I'm just at my wit's end and don't know what else to try - he went 4 times this morning before we left the house. They're not HUGE amounts - they're very small, but loose and frequent. I know I probably need to give more time to adjust to the new formula, but I just wanted to see if anyone had a similar experience or had any other advice? I never had any problems with food, formula or diaper rash with my daughter at all, so even though I have a child this issue is new for me. Thanks in advance!
Thanks to everyone for their kind words and advice. I ended up getting an appointment with the doctor. (I know they don't want parents running in there over every little thing, but I felt like someone should see him!) He said that he does not believe that my son is actually lactose intolerant but that he really just has a stomach bug that needs to run its course. He said that lactose can just further aggravate the situation in anyone with that kind of illness. He said we could try soy formula because it is constipating and can slow down the number of diapers which could help clear up the rash also and once things get under control we can switch back to his normal formula. He also recommended giving him a very small amount of yogurt with active cultures to help with the stomach bug. He looked at the rash and said it just looked like a bad rash and was not infected or anything like that. We started putting a tiny amount of neosporin on the areas that were really raw and then covering everything with the A & D ointment. I also dry things out with a blow dryer on cool every time I change him (which my son thinks is very funny). Thankfully the number of diapers has decreased and the rash has finally started to clear!!
My son cannot eat sweet potatoes or carrots or he gets a horrible diaper rash around his anus, bright red lttle bumps. The only thing that helped was desitin the white creamy kind. A & D barely worked. I would slow down on the food and stick to one thing at a time. Bananas are pretty mild for babies. He may just be sensitive to different foods right now or formula.
I think sometimes it just takes their little bodies a long time to adjust to new things. I would stop adding in new stuff for now, stick with the tried and true that he's been fine with for 2 weeks. It often takes that long just to get their guts back to the starting place. Add in one new food and see what happens. I bet he's just really sensitive to high fiber foods. If I give my kids apricots (for example) I can expect tons of pooping. They're not allergic, just fast processers :) As for the diaper rash, we had good luck with the bourdroux (?) butt paste. I think that as long as he's happy, and all the pooping doesn't bother him, he's probably fine. It's when he's unhappy and gassy that you need to start worrying.
I can't believe they had you switch while he was already having so many BM's! My son had to switch twice, which made him go much more. Bananas help, they naturally help harden things up. Stay away from apples, juice, berries.. things like that loosen them up a lot more. Give it a week before switching back and forth between things. Honestly, he may just be a poppy kid. My son goes 4-5 times a day and he's 17 months old! We have to limit his juice intake or it's out of control. Good luck and happy holidays!
Wow- I feel for you and your little one... that's a lot of work. We didn't have that issue, but we were very slow with the intro of new foods. We started with Similac Organic at 4 months of which she tolerated just fine. We then added single grain rice cereal for 4 days, then single grain oatmeal for 4 days, then barley single grain. We then started to introduce root veggies (I know you said that sweat potatoes were a no go but perhaps others would be okay). I very much recommend Eucerin for the prevention and diaper rash itself. Knock on wood, my daughter's just over a year and she has only had two diaper rashes thus far. Our Pedi told us about it b/c it's natural, more oil than others "baby" brands. It's awesome- definitely try it! Best of luck and take your time with the introduction of solids.
Hi Jamey,
When my daughter started eating solids at 6 months she went through the same thing with pooping. She would poop between 5 and 7 times a day. Boy was I tired of changing diapers! It took her a while to adjust to the food in her diet since she was only breastfed for the first 6 months. Like another mom said, just try to give your son foods that will help him have more solid poops. I don't know how quickly you introduce new foods, i know most doctors say 3-4 days, but maybe you could try 1 new food a week to give his system time to adjust. Good luck and try not to stress. Happy holidays. :)
Yes you have to give the formula more time! My son was switched from milk based formula to soy & was on the Good Start. He ended up getting constipated from the soy but he had surgery (not related to constipation)but in the hospital they have Enfamil ProSobee & that did the trick no more constipation at all so when we got home we bought Enfamil ProSobee and stopped the Good Start! He has been great ever since. So I would give the formula some time because he body need to "get used to it" (adjust) to it. If that does not work then try switching brands to either Good Start or Enfamil. Also starting solid foods will also mess with his digestive tract so his body also needs to get used to different foods as well. Also apple sauce will help to bind him up as well!!! Believe it or not.
Also a great diaper rash cream is Johnson No more rash in a blue tube. It is the best stuff I have tried but very hard to find try Walmart that is where I found it.
Hi Jamey. When we made the switch from dairy to soy my little guy could not go from the kitchen table to the living room w/ out having a bm turns out he can't handle soy either. Soy is on the top 8 allergies and I"m surprised they told you to try it because most babies that have a problem w/ dairy also have a problem with soy. I would say until whatever is bothering him goes away give him bananas, applesauce, & rice generally toast too but I'm assuming he doesn't eat that yet. You might need one of the hypoallergenic formulas. Good luck.
