Frequent pooing, very smelly poos (sorry!) & less of an appetite - can this be due to teething? | ExpatWoman.com
 

Frequent pooing, very smelly poos (sorry!) & less of an appetite - can this be due to teething?

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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 27 December 2011 - 17:11

We took DD to Nairobi for 10 days. The second or third day after we got there she vomitted up her lunch (just the one time) but was hungry about an hour later and as we were out we gave her some organic packaged food we had carried with us which she ate well. The next night she developed a mild fever which lasted for about 2 days. She had been drooling more and pulling at her ear a little so we assumed that she is teething. However, she also started pooing a lot more frequently (prior to this she would poo once a day), sometimes going 3-4 times a day. At the same time, she did not seem as interested in her food (she never completely skipped a meal, but is definitely eating less and seems to be more picky). Her poo has also gotten extremely smelly and looks a little runny at times. We are now back in Dubai and she is still not eating as well as before and is still doing 3-4 very smelly poos everyday. Few other points to mention:
1. I am still ebf and she is still nursing very well (waking up more during the night recently when all this started).
2. She has her 4 bottom and 4 top teeth so I think it is the canine coming through (she is 13 months old) and I have been told by several friends that those can give the most trouble.
3. While she seems to not be very interested in the fresh food we are making for her, she will eat the bottled purees quite easily (which made me think it may just be a fussy spell that many babies have when they hit 1), and she still eats her plain yoghurt quite happily, and will eat bread and plain rice/pasta too.

I did call my pediatrician today but he is away this week :( so before I drag her off to see another doc I just wanted to check with you ladies if this sounds like normal 'teething issues' or should I be more concerned? Today she has pooed 5 times (extremely smelly, and some are very small, but it is more runny than usual).

Other than that, she is her normal cheeky self, no fever or lack of energy or anything.

330
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 06 January 2012 - 12:04
Sorry I should have clarified - she only had the low fever for the 2 days, and the poo seems pretty much back to normal (although she's still going 2 or sometimes 3 times a day as opposed to just once before). Now it's just the fussiness when eating - but I guess that's more to do with her age than anything else? She'll generally eat a good breakfast of oats/fruit/multi-grain cereal/yogurt etc but seems to be very picky with her lunch and dinner. She did throw up again yesterday - it was almost 3 hours after she'd had a good lunch (pasta, peas and pumpkin) but it all came out in the car as we were driving out 3 hours later! Brought her home immediately, put her in the bath and afterwards she happily devoured a whole slice of toast and some yogurt followed by bm :)
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EW GURU
Latest post on 06 January 2012 - 11:24
OMG!! DD has been having this problem for the last couple of days and I've been pulling my hair as she used to love her food!! ( just like mummy i think ;) ) what else can i give her? do you think pureeing her normal food may help with this teething problem? it's different from how she used to be when teething. so worried about her poo ( only mothers do hahah ) .. and also, when do you reckon this will go? thanks a ton!! :)
2340
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 06 January 2012 - 10:34
Just bumping this up as she is still not eating too well. She seems to only want carbs, fruit and yogurt - should I just assume this is a (teething) phase and give her only those foods or keep trying to feed her other stuff? How long has it been now GQ? The one thing that stands out for me is the fever...there's every chance it could have just been a passing virus (teething does not cause a fever), but if it's linked to the loss of appetite and diahorrea, it might be time to get a GP or paed to check her over. For what it's worth, I don't think smelly, loose stools are always a sign of teething. Put the loose bowel motions with fever and loss of appetite which is ongoing for some time plus OS travel... I think it's time for your little one to see a Dr, even if only to put your mind at ease. I hope she's back to her old self soon. ETA - She may well be teething on top of whatever else may be going on. She may be like one of my kids and is now a little fussier after an illness...I wonder if they feel SO bad when they try to eat some foods that they develop a negative association and aversion to those foods even once the illness or pain has passed. <em>edited by Green-ish on 06/01/2012</em>
2782
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 06 January 2012 - 08:23
both, give her the foods she will eat, but keep offering the rest and try different textures. DS def goes off crunchy food when teething although he has never had runny or smelly poo with it, but maybe thats stil to come. There has been a lot of giardia going around lately so if the poo is still off I'd def get a a stool culture done. 11-13 months seems to be the start of the fussy phase though, DS used to eat absolutely [b'>anything[/b'> I put in front of him but he has clear preferences now and seems to be the same for lots of my friends, its a phase, but it could be a long one. For us meat has become trickier so I cook lots of lentils instead and give lots of eggs to compensate. I also went back to batch freezing like the old puree days, as it can be a little disheartening to spend ages cooking and have his highness turn up his nose. When you've just nuked it and have other frozen options it upsets you less :)
330
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 06 January 2012 - 01:55
Just bumping this up as she is still not eating too well. She seems to only want carbs, fruit and yogurt - should I just assume this is a (teething) phase and give her only those foods or keep trying to feed her other stuff?
330
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 29 December 2011 - 00:04
Sorry ladies - had some computer trouble so could not log on for the past couple of days. Thank you for your replies - am glad to hear that these are most likely just 'side-effects' of teething. We never really had any trouble with the first 8 teeth (except for a little more frequent pooing before the first one came out, but nothing really since) so I just wasn't sure. I really was beginning to think that maybe she also had a light tummy bug at the same time but her tummy seems better now and if loss of appetite and the smelly frequent poos are a sign of teething then that makes sense. She's been putting her fingers and hand in her mouth a lot more recently so the tooth must really be bugging her. As a matter of curiosity, how did you handle the loss of appetite part? I do realize that they will eat if they are hungry and I do not want to encourage bad/picky eating habits but do I keep offering her loads of different things or should I just give her the 2-3 things that she will eat at the moment, i.e. bread, plain brown rice with butter, plain pasta with butter and yoghurt, oh and she'll eat blueberries by the bucketload :) I've been cooking for her everyday but she'll eat 1-2 bites and then refuses to eat those foods after that :(
500
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EW GURU
Latest post on 27 December 2011 - 20:35
This is just one site I go to for info, you may find it informative http://www.cda-adc.ca/en/oral_health/cfyt/dental_care_children/development.asp
178
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 27 December 2011 - 18:44
Smelly' runny poo's are a classic sign of teething. Often you will notice this before other signs. Saliva becomes more acidic during teething - the stools will usually be loose, almost watery and have a sour acidic smell. As they are acidic - make sure you use a good barrier cream to prevent nappy rash. Appetite - another sign of teething. Can be due to the general unwell feeling while teething - but usually it's a sign of pain - eating hurts with new teeth coming through! Use Teething cream, feed her cool soothing foods, give her some panadol, and plenty of cuddles to reassure her :)
500
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EW GURU
Latest post on 27 December 2011 - 17:45
If the poo is foul smelling, mucus like and runny if she is running a fever or has a loos of appetite better to take her to the Dr, could be a viral infection they should take a stool sample. How old is she? Meanwhile continue offering the breast. Better to err on the side of caution Hope this helps and speedy recovery to your daughter
 
 

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