Diagnosis my baby!

[noobmom]

My baby is 3.5 mo old and she just started suffering from these symptoms in the last 3 days:
- total change in stooling pattern. she went from pooping in almost every diaper to once a day
- stools went from yellow to green
- STINKY farts. thus far she hasn't had these stinky farts.
- I just took her temp (rectally) because she felt hot and it was 101.4 F

Recently (maybe in the last week or two) she's also:
- grabbing at her right ear, but she's also practicing to grab things in general.
- rash in her diaper region. It almost looks like the snaps from her diaper cover burned her somehow (there's a pattern of three dots, same spacing as the snaps). It however, it's in a place where the diaper would be between her skin and the cover, so it really doesn't make sense. The rash is going away VERY slowly and we've been putting weleda diaper cream on it.

Here's the kicker: her mood is fine. She's a perfectly happy baby. The only thing that seems to be bothering her is the farting. She doesn't cry when she grabs her ear or if I touch her rash, etc. She has her moments, but it doesn't seem any different than the normal "I'm tired and ready to sleep" type fussing. She doesn't seem sick. I'm planning to call the doctor in the morning, regardless, but I'd be interested in what people think this might be. The main thing I'm wondering about is all the GI stuff. Is it a virus? Or possibly a reaction to something I ate? I guess the fever points to a virus, although maybe she has an ear infection?

[writteninkursive]

Ear infection or teething. 3.5 months is the classic time my kids all started teething. It would explain the stool changes and fever, and the diaper rash could be a result of the stool changes.

Is your child breastfed or bottle fed?

[Learning_Mum]

Yeah, I'd probably say teething. That was my feeling when I read through your post.

[noobmom]

DD is EBF, I forgot to mention that. Nothing has changed in my diet except that I've been eating fresh strawberries almost every day. I didn't think of teething because DS didn't get his first tooth until he was 11 months old, but that's definitely a possibility!

[SleeplessMommy]

Originally Posted by noobmom

- total change in stooling pattern. she went from pooping in almost every diaper to once a day

this is pretty normal

[FireWithin]

Originally Posted by noobmom

DD is EBF, I forgot to mention that. Nothing has changed in my diet except that I've been eating fresh strawberries almost every day. I didn't think of teething because DS didn't get his first tooth until he was 11 months old, but that's definitely a possibility!

If you are not seeing any improvements. I suggest removing the strawberries for a few days and seeing if that makes a difference.
The symptoms certainly sound like teething, but I have food allergic babes so I always have allergies in the back of my mind - and strawberries are pretty common.

[noobmom]

Just for an update: DD didn't have a fever when she woke up in the morning. I called the doc and talked to a nurse, telling her that I'd rather avoid going in if possible. Since it was a one-time temp spike and no other real symptoms, she said it would be fine to just monitor the sitation. Two days later (last night) DD had another fever (only 100.7 this time) in the middle of the night. I took her to the doc this morning and she has an ear infection in one ear. Still, her mood is pretty good (slightly fussier than normal). I was given an Rx for amoxicillin. I'm debating whether to give her the antibiotics or not since she doesn't appear to be in much pain and from what I've read antibiotics don't help much anyway. I picked up some mullein and garlic ear drops to see if they make a difference. Just wanted to update for anyone reading this thread.

BTW, I also think she has whatever cold/cough her brother had. So the fever may or may not be due to the ear infection.

[mom61508]

Originally Posted by noobmom

Just for an update: DD didn't have a fever when she woke up in the morning. I called the doc and talked to a nurse, telling her that I'd rather avoid going in if possible. Since it was a one-time temp spike and no other real symptoms, she said it would be fine to just monitor the sitation. Two days later (last night) DD had another fever (only 100.7 this time) in the middle of the night. I took her to the doc this morning and she has an ear infection in one ear. Still, her mood is pretty good (slightly fussier than normal). I was given an Rx for amoxicillin. I'm debating whether to give her the antibiotics or not since she doesn't appear to be in much pain and from what I've read antibiotics don't help much anyway. I picked up some mullein and garlic ear drops to see if they make a difference. Just wanted to update for anyone reading this thread.

BTW, I also think she has whatever cold/cough her brother had. So the fever may or may not be due to the ear infection.

I would avoid antibiotics. Those herbal drops work so well! I hope she's feeling better!