Friday, February 29, 2008

Poop problems

I think I have mentioned this before, but Izzy has really weird poop. It is bright green, and very runny. It has the consistency of water. Every time I change his diaper, I am a little disturbed.

About a month ago, I called and talked to one the nurses at my pediatrician's office about his strange poop. She said that there was a wide spectrum of what is considered normal for newborn poop and that Izzy sounded pretty normal. So, I tried to let go of my fears and accept his runny poop.

Over the past few weeks, I began worrying more and more about his poop. On more than one occasion, his poop was actually slimy. I decided that it was not normal and called to make an appointment this morning.

Izzy's doctor agreed that his poop is not normal. She said that it sounds like he definitely has food allergies, and that I need to start an elimination diet. I have already stopped eating dairy. Now I need to eliminate soy, eggs, and peanuts. Oh crap people, I am a vegetarian. Do you know how hard it is going to be to stop eating soy?

In addition to altering my diet, Izzy needs to be seen by a GI specialist. Apparently, the GI doctors in this area have a pretty long waiting list, so it could be months before Izzy even goes to the GI specialist. Sigh.

I knew something wasn't right. Izzy seems so uncomfortable and restless after eating. He can't seem to settle down and get any rest. He takes little catnaps during the day and wakes every hour or two at night. My poor little guy doesn't feel good.

22 comments:

Chastity said...

Maybe this will help solve his sleeping issues?

Lindz said...

It sucks but could explain so much. Let's hope you get it figured out soon and then everything might start getting better, including sleep!

Papa Bradstein said...

Good for you for persisting and getting it sorted out. Or starting to get it sorted out. Since you're going basically vegan, don't forget Vegan Lunchbox, although it won't help with the lack of soy, though. From one veggie to another...No soy? Oi!

Kris said...

I'm so sorry! Goes to show about mothers instincts though right? I hope it gets better though

Dooneybug said...

Aww, man...poor fella. Maybe this has something to do with the non-stop night nursing? I hope you get into the GI soon, maybe they'll have a cancellation? Hopefully it's all figured out soon!

ps - I agree that girls are way moodier. My husband likes to tease me about that, you know, being a girl myself.

Antropóloga said...

Oh, I'm so sorry. Hopefully you can sort it out soon.

Rachel said...

Christy-if you wanna chat about food allergies-I am totally here for you. It was the same for me. A probiotic would help him via a bottle or just squirt it into his mouth. Max could and still cannot tolerate soy. You can try brown rice protein-it is very high in protein. Did you try contacting CHOP?

Mojavi said...

one of the things you might not know is when a breastfeeding baby's poop is green and not bright yellow, it can mean they are getting much more of the fore-milk than the fatty hind milk. Your boobs send out skim milk first and then whole buttery milk at the end... so one of the things to do is to let them nurse longer on one boob before you switch them over. One thing I would do as soon as Kya's poop had green in it I would make sure she nursed forever on one boob before switching. If you have a very large supply of milk this can be more difficult because most people feel like babies need to nurse on both boobs but this is not always the case.

Amber said...

I hope things get worked out quickly cuz I'm sure both of you are ready for a good nights sleep!

katydidnot said...

the mama stuff is hard sometimes. i'm a veg*n too, the soy...oh man, i'll send good vibes (and soyless recipes). good luck.

Paula said...

Momma always knows best...hopefully you find out soon what the problem is.

Timi said...

Ack. That's going to be tough. But like anything else you'll get used to it. I hope you get to see a GI soon so you won't be eliminating more than you have to from your diet. It's a good thing you persevered with getting his poop checked out because from what you described it sounded like normal BFed baby poop as well. Good luck, and like everyone else said once this is figured out it might make everyone happier.

Jen said...

How interesting about the poop. Cole's poop is occasionally particularly disgusting but only having had one child I would have NO CLUE if it was normal or not. Most of the time it looks like the color and consistency of pumpkin guts. Strange for someone who drinks nothing but BREASTMILK.

Bon said...

Oscar had poop like this from pretty much his due date (four weeks after he was born) until he was about four months old. even now, he tends toward the runny side of things.

they put me on the elimination diet, too, and i have to admit i found it really hard...even without being vegetarian.

however, what eventually helped - in terms of his poop, his bouts of pain and fussiness, and his sleeping - was that we both saw an osteopath and also started nursing more for hindmilk. the osteopath diagnosed him with a blocked nerve to his gut, treated him twice, very gently, and he was seriously a different baby after. i realize that that path may not be something everyone is open to, but for us it was a miracle.

good luck!

Anth said...

It is one of my fears that a kid of mine will have food allergies. Because I would have to either change my diet or make special foods for my kid. And I am lazy and therefore opposed to that. Ha ha

BUT I am glad you trusted your intuition. Hopefully there will be a cancellation, so Izzy can get in before his one-year birthday.

Just Jiff said...

Good for you and your instincts!!

I wish you could find another GI doc whose waiting list wasn't as long. :( Keep us updated!

Shawna said...

I'm sorry, unaswered questions are always difficult.

I hope you all get answers soon.

Did they take a stool specimen?

karla said...

Hi Christy
I'm sorry, I have not read the other comments, but this sounds EXACTLY like what happened to Nate, and we have a hindmilk/foremilk imbalance. Basically, he was only getting the sugary foremilk, and not enough fatty hindmilk.

Ps. I'm also vegetarian, and not sure how you feel about it, but rice milk is a dream. :)

Anonymous said...

UGH! Poor lil Izzy. I hope you can get this figured out soon. No dairy, no soy? What's left?

I hate to tell you this, but, I tagged you on my site.

Mojavi said...

hey- I am just wondering if you have tried the hind milk fore milk thing yet?? I am really curious...

:)

Kris said...

Yeah, I don't know why I didn't mention the hind/fore milk thing before.. that's caused my little one to have slimy green poo before too.. I have to stricktly do one boob at a time lol. Sometimes every two feedings even..

Em said...

Aw poor Izzy, its so true that Mummy knows best good for you for going back and questioning it again, i hope things get better