Diarrhea and the Baby

My poor poor Monster...

All of last week, he and I were both fighting colds. While mine was draining through my face, his little body was fighting infection and trying to rid itself of toxins through his poop.

What started off as a few poopy diapers here and there, ended up being diarrhea from Tuesday-Thursday, and let me tell you...DISGUSTING!

I think that's the one thing about parenthood that I was not prepared for, and something that I absolutely will not miss whatsoever.

Now! He was so poopy that he ended up with a horrible diaper rash, and even blisters. Knowing that it's pretty common kept me fairly calm, but there's no way that it was comfortable for him.

He is, however, a boy and will not complain if something like that is bothering him. He'll sit in his poop all day (or night) long without a peep!

I know alot of you out there may be plagued with this issue, so I wanted to share what worked for us!

During the Day

- as much bare bum time as possible. This helps in a few ways...first and foremost, airing their bums helps to keep it dry. Secondly, the bambino won't poop without a diaper on, so it gives Mom and Dad a break ;)
- antibiotic ointment or cream (such as Polysporin) on the blisters during bare bum time. This will help them heal, prevent infection, and will prevent them from bursting
- LOTS of Penaten in a clean, dry bum, prior to a diaper going on. We did this for every single diaper change and it really made a difference

At Night

- warm bath of warm water+2tbsp baking soda. I don't know why it works, but a good Mama friend suggested it as it really helped her baby girl, and it really does work!
- dry bum completely
- antibiotic ointment
- LOTS of Penaten cream

What he ate also made a difference. While he was sick, all he wanted was mushy foods so he ate alot of...
Oatmeal
Applesauce
Blueberries
Plums
Cherrios (his go-to comfort food!)

Notice a theme? All things that are high in fibre, which clearly didn't help!

Remember that BRAT diet from when we were kids (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast)? Well, it really does work and why I hadn't thought about it sooner is beyond me.

Part of our issue is that Owen was completely normal mood wise, and still roaming the house, climbing over things, walking around tables/chairs/jumperoo/us like crazy, so I knew that he still needed the protein to keep his energy levels the same.

SO! Rice+applesauce+chicken makes for a very lovely dinner, as does rice+applesauce+garlic pork, and rice+applesauce+blueberries for breakfast!

One thing to keep in mind is balance. Too much rice and he'll clearly be constipated. Not enough, and well...you end up dealing with a lot of poopy diapers.

Good luck! It makes for a very, very long week and I was very thankful that it happened when we were approaching a long weekend so that C could take on the brunt of parenting this weekend and I could have a mental rest and get ready for another busy week!

Have remedies that you'd like to share? Post a comment!