Ok, so I called the doc's office and basically it sounded as if no one made the appointment. Thanks guys! Anyway they said they'd make an appointment and call me back. They did within a few hours, only to find out that the date/time they picked wouldn't work for us. So then they gave me the direct number to schedule for myself. Geez, couldn't they have done that in the first place??
Anyway, we will see one of the surgeons from the Riley Children's Hospital on Tuesday Dec 9.
Sam is having a hard day. I am more and more suspecting teething. No fever, though I sort of suck at taking temperatures. He cries a lot and it's hard to keep the thermometer and place and often it ends up below temp which makes me suspicious. My friend got me one of those 1 second ear ones, but I'm a little scared I'll hurt his ear or something. I tried it though and I didn't seem to bother his ear and it was fast and seemed pretty good. I also did the under arm. Both were just about normal body temp, if not low, he isn't flush, his head isn't hot -- I don't think there is a fever. But he gets really upset and has crying spells, which just isn't usual for him. I even think today that the tooth has emerged more, but it's so slight and difficult to see that it could be in my head. Anyway, we'll just have to wait and see.
Another thing that has got me worrying today is diarrhea. Poop talk becomes VERY common for new parents. Here are details that may not be appealing...Sam has always had frequent stools. They eventually slowed around 3 mos or so, to one thicker monster poo per day. Then I think around the time of the first fistula (or whatever it is) "popping" he started having more frequent runnier stools. At this time he also switched from the Tri Vi Sol vitamin to the Tri Vi Sol vitamin with iron. His poo changed color and odor too. I attributed this to the iron, and I'm like 99% sure it is indeed the iron. He started going like 6-8 times a day again I think. He has kept with that pretty steady for weeks now. But often the stools are darker in color and much more watery than they used to be -- before they were curdy and seedy like breast milk poo is supposed to be. Yes, all you new to baby poo, it is a whole world of textures, colors, odors, frequency, and quantity -- oh joy! Anyway, I had read somewhere early on (probably when his poo was sort of green as opposed to yellow) that you shouldn't worry about your baby's poo because it changes soooo much and most of it is really normal. If they start pooping more than once per feeding, THEN it might be diarrhea. Well today, all my reading indicates that watery poo IS in fact diarrhea. So I think he's been having diarrhea for like a couple of weeks! Is it time to call the doctor? He doesn't have any other sick symptoms, apart from the teething symptoms. AND THEN I ready that diarrhea can be a symptom of teething from swallowing excess drool OR from putting so many new things in their mouth that they get bad bacteria.
I dunno. All this just raises a mom's alert level. But I'm thinking that the diarrhea isn't a problem, right? I mean, I don't KNOW that it's diarrhea, I just know it's very runny watery poo. He's eating normally and urinating normally and he continues to grow and be happy so I know he isn't dehydrated. He seems cranky and uncomfortable, but other than that he just doesn't seem sick at all. He isn't progressing, he doesn't have fever, and when he's upset he can be distracted by things like making faces in the mirror...
What do you moms think? Time to call the doctor? Or wait for real warning signs?
5 comments:
Max had Poly-vi-Sol with iron for ages -- it can definitely be responsible for some green, strange smelling, and (especially at first) looser poop. If Sam seems fine otherwise (no fever, eating and peeing normal amounts, bottom isn't getting sore, etc.), I wouldn't worry too much about looser stools.
Sometimes babies start working on teeth and they cause them discomfort way before they pop through -- it could be that Sam is thinking about a tooth. Molly cut her first one at 5 1/2 months -- if you consider that she was born six weeks early, that's some early teething!
We always use the "kiss test" to tell whether or not the kids have a fever. Kiss their forehead -- if their skin feels hot to your lips, then it is time to break out the thermometer. We always just used a digital thermometer under the arm -- you just have to keep in mind that they'll always measure a little cooler than they probably actually are. If you're ending up below temp, he probably doesn't have a fever.
That's just my .02 -- I always found "mama" advice to be the most helpful. I love all the pics and stories -- I'm sorry we don't live closer so we could visit.
Iron causes darker poo. More frequent and looser poo would indicate diarrea, more frequent more than watery is what I've heard. Teething seemed to make a difference in it too, I forget these things until you mention them. It does sound liike he's working on a tooth but be patient cause it may take a while.
Glad you have an appt. Does the lump break through the skin and drain?
Sleep,schedule, up to you. If you would like to make Sam more regular you probably can but if his schedule, whatever it is, works ok for you and Aaron then don't be concerned. The first child is always hard because you think you and your child should be doing what the books and everyone says. But it's really up to you. Sam is healthy, he probably doesn't need middle of the night feeding, but so what if you and he want to cuddle.
He's so cute, has a lot of personality in his pictures. Expressive. Aaron was like that. I think maybe Liz was too??
Poly Vi Sol could certainly be to blame. We had to quit giving it to E because it made her super constipated, but a lot of babies have looser poop instead. Our pediatrician told us that diarrhea was only a problem if E wasn't urinating enough or displayed other signs of dehydration.
Teething wise, those old school water filled teething rings always did the trick. I would put them in the fridge and E loved them, as well as some wooden toys she had. I hope he feels better soon!
My kids poo always changed when they were teething. It seemed to always look a certain way then, kind of mealy and watery around the edges with a sharp acid odor.
I agree with Carol about baby sleep. It really sounds like he's doing great. I would only use the extreme 'cry it out' method as a last resort.
Hope to see you in BR and meet Sam. Give us a call if you have the time.
Sufyan went through 15 days of unexplained diarrhea and it came to nothing. He was about Sam's age. No other symptoms, AND no tooth. It was really bad diarrhea, but he was fine. He never dehydrated.
His poo changed so much over the months from 3-now. It has been all colors and consistency and has never = big problem. However, I ALWAYS called the nurse just to put my mind at ease. And I always was vigilant about fever, too. If he passed the kiss test, he was fine. Their little digestive tracts and immune systems are just so new and still getting used to it all.
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