Sudden change in bm 5 months old

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone-

So Connor is almost 5 months old and has only had breastmilk. His reflux has been a little out of control lately and he has had major nursing problems (only eating if he is asleep). Anyway, he is currently on Prevacid and they just added Zantac. I haven’t started the Zantac yet, b/c I’d like to figure out why his bm are different all of a sudden first.

They have always been mustardy yellow, pretty runny and mucusy. He used to go 1-2 x/day, but this last week he’s only had 3 bm. I know that’s fairly normal, but they have also been so much thicker. They are really pastey and almost clay-like. I haven’t started him on solids or anything else. Any ideas why the sudden change? He does seem to have a cold and has been more congested. Can that cause this? Thanks!!

Heather

[Anonymous]

Prevacid can cause constipation. Has his dose been raised recently?

Also if he’s not eating as much he may be somewhat dehydrated which might cause constipation. The bowels need plenty of fluid to function properly.

My son suffered from chronic constipation due to DGE and probably partially due to Prevacid. Interestingly, the problem also started at 5 months for him. I had to use some natural rememdies with him on a daily basis in order to keep him going. PM me if you want details on that.

[Anonymous]

My daughter’s constipation problems started at about that age as well, and my son’s BM’s got much thicker (though not constipated) at that age as well. I think it’s a combination of their digestive systems maturing and the medication.

[Anonymous]

I noticed this with Cooper too at around the same time. We hadn’t started solids yet, and nothing changed meds wise. His poos were always the forest green loose kind that seems to be typical with alimentum. Then they slowly started getting more and more solid. Not hard, just formed…

Now that we are on solids they look different everytime. I have stopped analyzing unless it looks like mucous…

Tina

[Anonymous]

It may just be his system maturing like Naomi mentioned. Caden did this too at about that age, and we hadn’t started solids yet either. Also, he wasn’t on Prevacid at that time, so it may not be the medication either. There is always something to worry us, isn’t there?!?

[Anonymous]

Heather,

Sorry to hear that Connor is having a rough patch right now. That’s great that he’s been exclusively BF for 5 months. The only thing that concerns me a bit from your post is that he’s been having feeding problems lately AND that his poops have been darker and clay like. From our experience with Hailey, if they’re BF and taking in enough and pooping well, then their poop is usually mustardy and seedy. If they’re not feeding well, and if they don’t take in enough or if they’re constipated for another reason (like PPIs etc) then the longer they keep their poop in the darker it gets in colour and the pastier (and usually the stinkier, though I know everyone swears that BF poop doesn’t stink!). About how often he’s pooping, our GI always told us that it’s not how often they go generally, but a change in the pattern that’s normal for them that indicates constipation. Since he used to go once or twice daily, and has only gone 3 times in a week, that’s a sign. As is the colour and texture. Maybe he’s eating less, and so he’s not as hydrated.

Based on the fact that he’s not feeding well and not pooping normally, I’d wonder if the two are related. Also, do you think that his prevacid needs to be increased? I always worry that if a baby will only feed when asleep, that it’s a problem that’s best to be addressed ealier rather than later. What’s he doing when you try to feed him awake? How much prevacid is he on now (is it a solutab)? Also, be sure to space the zantac and the prevacid if you do start it. My guess would be that his dose needs to be increased. Sleep feeding always concerns me (but it’s because of our bad experience). Feel free to pm me anytime. I hope that things are better.

[Anonymous]

Also, colds always made Hailey’s reflux so much worse. When the reflux was worse, the feeding was worse, and the constipation was worse, which in turn made the reflux worse. It was a cycle. We always needed to increase the prevacid at those times in hopes of improving everything else.

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