Unsettled Babies

QUESTION:

Dear Dr Dunlop,

I’m just asking about my 8mo son. For two weeks he has been waking more frequently at night, between 4-9 times every night. He will not settle without being breastfed to sleep again. Also for the last week he has been using his bowels between 4-9 times a day, during the night as well. Sometimes the stools are tarry in appearance and texture, sometimes yellow, sometimes they appear to have mucus in them. He strains quite a lot to push them out.

He breastfeeds on demand throughout the day and night and is also eating solids 3 meals a day.

His mood is also worse, he is grumpy and clingy during the day, much less independent than previously. He is also teething currently, both of his top front teeth are coming down. I’m just wondering if I should get him seen by my GP or if this is a normal sleep regression and teething symptoms. Thank you.

ANSWER:         

Dear S,

Thanks for your question and for visiting Kids Consult.

It's certainly possible that teething could contribute to looser stools and unsettledness, but it's been happening for a couple of weeks now, so one would hope things would settle by now.

I wonder if he has had a viral gastro? Kids can become temporarily lactose intolerant for 2-3 weeks afterwards, which could explain the frequent, loose and mucousy stools, together with the irritability and frequent night waking from wind pain.

In that instance I would recommend a lactose free diet for him for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately you can't remove lactose from your breastmilk, but you can limit it by going lactose free yourself. Be careful not to allow the habit of feeding back to sleep to continue, and if things don't improve over the next 2-3 days, it would be worth seeing your GP to have a stool sample sent for testing.

I don't normally subscribe to the oft mentioned periods of sleep regression - there is often a cause, and maintaining normal sleep settling techniques is my advice.

Regards,

Dr Scott Dunlop
Consultant Paediatrician