Pooping small but soft balls every hour

[ENMS]

DD2 has started solids a while ago but did not really learn to swallow foods until recently. She's been eating well for about 10-14 days now, mostly purees but we offer finger foods as well (we initially wanted to do BLW but due to weight gain issues we decided to go ahead and offer purees as well).

For the last 3 days or so, she's been pooping small balls, very soft, every hour or so. Her skin is definitely irritated. I'm not sure what is going on and if we should pull some foods or not.

I initially thought she was constipated but the balls are very soft. It's almost as if the poop just slips through when she passes gas maybe

Any thoughts?

[zissi]

Hi there,

we do have the same baby! we had this a couple of weeks too. very frequent pooing, just a small ball, not sure how soft they actually were (didn't touch). a couple of times LO cried as well when pooing, but she is back to normal now! I cut out banana BTW...

[weaver]

Constipation can also manifest by small soft poos - it's the bit that 'slips out"  past the bit that's stuck (yuck).  Banana definitely blocks up, pear tends to get things moving.  also keep an eye on fluid intake.

Is she having any of the common allergens regularly (dairy, egg, wheat)? I'd maybe choose one and reduce it and see if that helps.

[ENMS]

She is having none of those three allergens. The only new things I can think of are carrots snd sweet potatoes. I think carrot can be constipating? She is not having banana right now.

It is also possible she may have reduced her breastmilk intake - I'll have to watch it and maybe offer more often. I offer water in a sippy at mealtime but she does not take much.

Thanks, I am relieved!

[weaver]

They also get weird skin irritations which can have nothing to do with food maybe she's sweating in certain clothes, or new soap or something??

[ENMS]

Sorry I meant diaper rash!

Lost in translation, that was poorly written in english!!! Sorry!

[creations]

Carrots can be constipating - I always gave my DS prunes at the same time or on the same day to keep things moving when he had carrots.
If the diaper rash is all over the nappy area it may not be linked to the small poos.  If it is a deep red exactly where the poo has touched her skin then my DS also had this, I always called it bum burn rather than diaper rash because it was as red like a burn rather than little dots more like a sweat rash, the deep red would also pin prick with blood it got so sore.  A wonderful cream for this is called metanium, it will 'cure' a bum burn pretty much over night where as other creams don't appear to have such good effect.  You put a very small amount on but all over the redness.

Mine used to do several poos per day like this but was not constipated (although do watch out for it), he didn't like the feeling of poo in his nappy so he did a bit then stopped, once he had a clean nappy he did a bit more then stopped again (I suppose the more 'solid' poos must feel like an uncomfortable object in their nappy.  Once mine was using the potty he let the whole poo out in one go, it reduced his poos from 5-7 per day down to 1-2 per day as there was no discomfort in the nappy.

The bum burn might be caused by red/orange foods, carrots, sweet pot, red sweet peppers, tomatoes.  Mine was not allergic or intolerant to any of these but he did have a contact skin reaction both on his bum form the poo and on his hands/wrists and face if the foods touched him there (which they did, he self fed and certain areas would get sore so I had to either avoid toms or serve with a fork or wash him quickly and thoroughly after a meal.

hope this helps some

[ENMS]

Ok I'm definitely struggling to write what I am thinking in plain English! Sorry guys! It is exactly bum burn créations that we have!

I will try to see if I can get metanium here, never seen it before.

Interesting about not liking the feeling of the poo. I'll have to see if that is the issue, or plain constipation. Most times, since last night, it is really just a trace in her diaper. She's already having pears and I bought prunes so will try that.

[weaver]

Si tu aimerais le mettre en français, vas-y!

[creations]

I've copied this so you can see the ingredients, I realise you might need to translate (google or your friend BW translator ) before you can ask a pharmacy for it but thought it might help to know the ingredients rather than a brand name.

Metanium ointment contains titanium dioxide, titanium peroxide, titanium salicylate in a water-repellent, siliconised base. It is a type of medicine called a barrier ointment and is used to treat nappy rash. Barrier ointments like Metanium work by forming a protective water repellent film on surface of the skin

Although it says a barrier cream (put on before the poo) I used it as a treatment cream (put on when there was redness and burn on the area) and by next morning the entire area would be healed.  it is quite a messy cream so I didn't use it at every nappy change unless it was needed at that time.

[ENMS]

I went to the pharmacy and was able to get a cream that was prescribed by my DS's GI doctor, it is for burn victims and worked like a charm a few years ago. I had forgotten about it! Hopefully that helps, it seems very similar to yours créations, a barrier cream.

I think she is constipated. I was changing her diaper just now and there were little bits of poo coming out and she was crying as she was passing them. I will definitely stop carrots for now. She already has pears and I offer apple-prunes although she's not a fan.  I'll see what else can be good for constipation. The foods she's having at the moment are: oatmeal, pears, chicken, turkey, lamb, sweet potatoes, leeks, peas, courgette, carrots. Anything else in there you think can be constipating?

Should I back off from solids a little bit to ease the constipation? Or is that a bad idea?

[creations]

At this age there is no harm in backing right off from solids, I know not all LOs would be happy with that so you judge it with the idea that less is better for now.

I would take her to the doc to get some meds to help her poo. you really don't want this to go on.

I am a fan of altering diet to help with poos, I used to add carrot to DS's meal to make it firmer and prunes to make it softer and I could do that on a daily basis to keep things running nicely, but I also would not delay on getting meds if LO is constipated. I got one meds prescription for DS, it was a huge bottle and I only gave him the dose for perhaps 2 or 3 days.  The doc had said to continue giving daily but here the health visitor advised not to because babies need to learn to push harder when they have more solid poo.  Pushing harder (and having regular full sized poos) is not the same as constipation though.  It looks like this has been continuing for maybe 4 or 5 days, I would see a doctor today/tomorrow at the earliest opportunity.

[weaver]

Agree with stopping solids for now.  The poor little love! 

You know you can cook prunes in water to make them softer for her but they will still have a similar effect. You can also help her by bicycling her legs and a bit of tummy massage.

[ENMS]

Poor little baby. She even pooped during the night.  She's surprisingly a tough one, she doesn't even cry when I change her, despite her bum being so red and almost bleeding!

I called this morning to get an appointment but could not get in. I'll have to set my alarm tomorrow morning and call to get in (we have to call at 6AM!)

[creations]

Wow that's harsh not being able to get in on the same day.
I hope you manage to get in tomorrow!

With the prunes (great idea above about cooking, you can also puree) I found prunes in a can which I think are intended for pie filling, I found some which had no added sugar or syrup, just prunes in juice, they acted very very powerfully on my DS, so powerful that I did not get them again.  They are also softer and sloppier than the regular soft ready to eat prunes.