My 5 Month Old Has Stinky Urine!

Hi E.,

What do you mean by "almost" ammonia-like? Does the urine have a musty smell, pungent smell, or a sweetish (like maple syrup) odor? Some metabolic disorders that are not evident at birth affect the smell of the urine. Most of these are very rare, but it's worth a trip to the doctor or at least a phone call to check out your concern. Other more likely possibilities include mild dehydration and, possibly, a UTI, although if this has been going on for months a UTI is not all that likely, since by this point your baby would be very distressed from the discomfort and would likely have much more severe symptoms from a long-standing infection.

I wonder if she is getting enough fluids? maybe her pee is too concentrated?

Dear E.:
Your baby needs to drink a bit moooooore water. I am the proud grandmother of an 8th month bouncing baby girl. She also never had a problem until about a month ago when she started also an solids. she started having food at six mos. and it included rice in her diet. the more solid the food the more water the baby needs in order to digest the food more properly. Try serving her four ounces of purified or bottled water, never from the faucet, always bottled. If this is the baby's first time to drink water, then have your baby taste and explore it. Let her drink as much as she needs without forcing the water on her. she will only drink what she needs. do not give her water that is cold out from the frige, since the body needs to heat it up in order to absorb it. My grandma said ( also the books) it is better to have your bottled water at room temperature since the body will asimilate right away. But he mos important thing to keep in mind is the summer heat. This requiresyou and all your loved ones to consume mor water since the body defends itself from the heat by sweating. Yes, when is hot, water comes out trough every pore of in our bodies and any slight breeze (or fan ) will cool us down right away. If we secreet more water in the form of sweat, then our bodies need to compensate drinking a litte bit more. This also means, Good bye to the stinky pee and as an added blessing; good by to ugly painful diaper rashes. God bless your baby as well as you and yours.
with love, ... T. N.

I haven't read the other responses...

When my daughter has strong smelling bowel movements, I stir some acidophilus into her yogurt (or some other food she is eating.) My mom is a pharmacist, and she suggests acidophilus mixed in about a 1/2-1 tsp. of cranberry juice concentrate...cranberry does help resolve urine issues...

I would take her in for a checkup.. The doctor can do a urine test (not fun though), but I think you want to be on the safe side. If she's not in pain, it probably isn't bladder infection, but take her in anyway.

I would call the doctor today. It is probably a sign of urinary tract infection and needs to be treated. They may need her to pee in the doctor's office to collect a sample, so she pees according to any sort of schedule, try to schedule the appointment around those times. Otherwise, you may be waiting a long time so they can get the sample.

K.
http://oc.citymommy.com - the ultimate girlfriends network for OC moms

I would call babies doctor to make sure it's not a urine infection or something. They should be able to tell you. I know my doctors nurses would give me lots of answers over the phone.
Sue

Check with the doctor - but my guess is she needs more water.
We were told to make a bottle of water every morning (distilled) with no more than 1 ounce of water per month of age. So, you need a 5 ounce bottle. Give it to her frequently throughout the day until it is gone.
We did this with all of our kids, and they are great water drinkers to this day!
Good luck.

My son had the same problem for a while (probably around the same age), and I think it had to do with the amount of liquids he was getting. He had no problems, and it went away, but I did breastfeed more often for a while. If your baby is breastfeeding, feed more (always on demand), if formula feeding, make sure you are getting the right mixture. Since you are doing food already, giving her water won't hurt. Just make sure that your baby is still getting enough breastmilk/formula. You may even want to cut back on solids for a little while and see if that helps.

CALL THE DR ASAP-it is prob a UTI-DO NOT GUESS! L.:)