11 June 2008- Stomach upset

Gerrard has been having loose stools for 2 weeks. The first time it happened was on 24 May morning and I thought it was just a one time incident. As he has been on FM since birth, other than the 1st month, his stools have been rather "pretty" in toothpaste texture and he has been "trained" by my mum to poo poo once a day. On 30 May 2008 during his scheduled 4 months vaccination, I mentioned his condition to Dr Ho. She told me that only the following 3 conditions are causes of worry:

1. Stools hard as "goh-lis" aka marbles
2. Stools liquid like water
3. Blood in stools

She explained that anything else in between is perfectly fine and it is not a case of diarrhoea as it is only once a day (diarrhoea occurs 3-4 times a day). As such, she gave him the go-ahead for the vaccination. Loose stools continued after that and I took the doctor's word that it is fine. Others shared with me that it may be a sign of teething and it's common for babies to have loose/runny stools. Both grandmas commented that Gerrard seemed thinner but the fact that it still occurs once a day and he was still active and happy caused us to not worry so much, thinking that it'll probably go away.

I waited to see if it improves but to no avail. I donno if it was Mother's instinct but his condition bothered me at the back of my mind. He doesn't seemed sick but somehow I feel that something is not right. Hence, finally I took him to Dr Ho again. She examined him and announced that Gerrard has a tummy upset. Perhaps he had a virus infection which affected his digestive system and he would have to change to FrisoSoy milk for at least 2 weeks since his condition has been so long. FrisoSoy is a type of soy milk which does not contains oil unlike other FM as oil may worsen his condition. He was also precribed a medication to recover his digestive system.

I have to admit that inside my heart, I was swearing. Didn't she tell me that it was ok when I told her the condition 1 week ago? It was based on her words that I kept telling myself Gerrard should be fine since the doctor said so. If she had diagnosed it earlier, he wouldn't need to go through the upset tummy. And indeed, Gerrard's weight maintained at 7.5kg. He has not gained any weight since his vaccination on 30 May 2008.

I feel upset when I see Gerrard on medication and stopping his usual Similac FM. Although he is not crying in pain but I know it can be uncomfortable for him overall. Adults experience discomfort during diarrhoea, what the more a young 4 months baby.

May Gerrard recover soon.