Colostrum = tandem nursing craziness?!?

[phaedra13]

I am 23 weeks pregnant and still nursing my 20 month old about 3-4 times a day. My colostrum came in about a week ago and, right at the same time, my toddler started having about 4-5 poopy diapers a day (he used to poop once a day or maybe every other day - never more than twice a day). He now has a horrible red rash on his bum that is making him absolutely miserable (even though we change him promptly). I am wondering if other tandem nursing mamas have gone through something like this with colostrum. I guess it could be something else, but my gut is telling me it's the the colostrum. I definitely don't want to wean him right now, but I also can't imagine changing 5 poopy diapers a day for the next five months or having him be miserable with this rash. Please help!

[PseudoDiva]

That sounds terrible! :-( I just gave birth to our second DS and am now tandem nursing. How often are you nursing during the day and how old is your son? Can you cut back?

I'd also take a look at the rest of his diet. Does he eat a lot of fruit or cereal? Cut back on other things that will make him have loose stools since he's getting plenty of stimulation from the colostrum.

Good luck!

[PseudoDiva]

Whoops, I didn't realize you already gave his age and number of times nursing. Sorry! You could try cutting number of feelings by distracting him, but I'd definitely try to modify his diet to exclude things that would induce loose stools. Again, good luck!

[HappyMonkey]

Colostrum is designed to clear out the bowels of a newborn, so loose stools in other tandem nursing kids is totally normal. I don't think you want to deal with that for months though! Good luck!

[phaedra13]

Two weeks in to the colostrum (now almost 25 wks pregnant) and things are looking a little better. Our ped suggested doing some probiotics, just to help regulate things. She said that it wouldn't be a food allergy, given the symptoms, but could either be the colostrum or a stomach virus. The rash was really more of what she called a "burn" from the acidic nature of the many poops. She suggested putting an antacid (like Mylanta) on there with each change and then covering it in vaseline. That took care of the painful diaper changes overnight. 

He's down to more like 2 poops a day now, sometimes three. So I think that may be just how it is until the colostrum is gone in a few months. I can live with that. Would still love to hear anyone else's experiences....