My son Julian is a little over a month old and I'm breastfeeding, and sometimes his poops are yellow and seedy, which I think of as normal, but sometimes they're exactly the same consistancy, but they're green. And I mean really green? Is it something I'm eating. He seems healthy and happy, so I'm mainly just curious....Thanks!
Its normal. It happened when I was BFing my little one. I definately think it something that you are eating. As long as he is happy and healthy its okay.
It's possible that he's not getting the hindmilk sometimes. He will be when he had the yellowish poops with the seeds, which are very normal. But yeah, the green usually means he's only getting the foremilk. Most of the time, though, the babies aren't happy if they're just getting the foremilk, as it's the hindmilk that fills them up. I'd ask Maggiesugar about this.
My kiddies had that whenever I ate tons of spinach. Maybe something you ate??? It seemed that just about any change to my diet impacted them. I'd eat pizza, they'd get gas. I'd drink a soda, they'd be up all night... and if I ate tons of green leafy veggies, their poo turned green. love, mom
Well, he's the most UN-fussy baby there is. He was born 3 weeks early and so he was VERY sleepy from day 1. I had to wake him up to eat (sometimes I still do now) EVERY time he ate. It has been such a different experience than nursing my older son, who ate every five minutes and was always wanting more . Julian never seems to get hungry - maybe because I feed him before he gets really hungry, or maybe he's a much more chilled out baby than Danny was. So it's hard for me to tell if his belly is upset, because I'm not sure he would let me know if it did. Ya know how your pee gets really bright yellow/green when you eat asparagus, from all the B vitamins?? Maybe its from that, the daily vitamin I take has a lot of B vitamins (more than 100%).....I wonder if babies poop out there excess vitamins, the way we pee them out....
Doubtful it is something you ate (with the exception of an Iron Supplement, and with that the baby would be crying.) Probably Foremilk Hindmilk imbalance. I posted my entire article on this issue just a few weeks ago. I can post it again.
Here's an article from my now defunct website, which may or may not be published by LLL in the coming year or so. A shorter version was published about 10 years ago, but this has more info. Overactive Ejection Reflex (Letdown) and Foremilk Hindmilk Imbalance By maggie IBCLC LLL Leader, AAPL, Diana thought there might be something wrong with her milk. Her 4 week old baby often choked and sputtered when her milk let down, her baby had frequent large stools that often squirted out with force making loud almost comical noises. They were sometimes green and had curds of undigested milk in them. The baby seems to often be “gassy” in pain after nursing and was starting to cry and pull away when put to the breast. Diana herself found that her letdown (or ejection reflex) was sometimes painful and if the baby came off the breast during it her milk would spray forcefully. She had also experienced a few painful episodes of plugged ducts. She was told that her baby must be lactose intolerant, or she was eating something the baby was “allergic” to, or must be allergic to her milk. Diana sought help from her lactation specialist and learned that she was experiencing Over active Ejection Reflex (or OER) and that there were management techniques that could help both her and the baby and allow them to continue nursing and benefiting from the breastfeeding relationship. Human milk contains a large quantity of lactose. Lactose is a milk sugar that not only is the perfect food for a growing baby’s brain, but also helps the baby absorb other nutrients in her mama’s milk. It is almost unheard of for a human infant under the age of two years to be truly lactose intolerant. Most cases of perceived lactose intolerance in a baby this age are really OER or Foremilk/Hindmilk Imbalance. Foremilk is the watery milk produced at the beginning of a feeding to quench a baby’s thirst. It is high in lactose to be sweet and keep the baby interested in continuing the feeding while waiting for the hindmilk. Hindmilk is the milk that is produced at the later part of a feeding. It is high in fat and helps a baby to feel full and satisfied. Both Fore and Hind milk are needed for a balanced feeding yet sometimes either the mother’s body or improper breastfeeding management can cause problems with this balance. In OER the mama may have a very strong letdown, accompanied by discomfort and spraying. Some mamas say they can hear very loud gulping in the baby and sometimes even hear the milk hitting the baby’s stomach. Symptoms in Mom: · Strong painful letdown · Often frequent plugged ducts · Lots of leaking · Spraying of milk, some mama’s can spray several feet during ejection Symptoms in baby: · Gasping, choking, gulping or trouble “keeping up” with letdown · Green frequent stools · Pain and “gassiness” · Loud “tummy” noises · Sometimes a rejection of the breast · Rapid weight gain, conversely babies who get only foremilk and then are taken off the breast too early in the feeding may have low weight gain · Spitting up large quantities of milk · Lack of comfort nursing · Some babies may appear to want to wean in the late first or early second year because of discomfort and lack of comfort nursing The goal is to “tame” the letdown and allow the baby to ingest a better balance of hindmilk in each feeding. You may use a technique where the baby feeds as often as she likes, but only offer one side for a three to four hour period. The baby may nurse 2 or 6 times or more, but she is only given the breast for all the nursings in the time period. Also, the baby is taken off of the breast during the first letdown (or ejection) in each nursing. The milk can be allowed to flow into a clean cloth diaper or burp rag. After the letdown has subsided (usually around 20 to 50 seconds) the baby is put back on the breast and allowed to remain there as long as she likes. There should be no timing or scheduling of feeds. These instructions are not written in stone. A mama with engorged breasts may choose to relieve the engorgement by switching to the other side sooner than the prescribed time. Switching when very uncomfortable can help avoid plugged ducts. If mama feels discomfort she should do what she needs to to relieve the pain. The baby should be observed to make sure she is wetting at least 6 wet diaper in every 24 hour period. A baby over a month old may actually start to stool less frequently than before. This is normal and fine. The stools will probably be larger if less frequent. The green color should no longer occur if the balance is working. Some mamas find nursing “uphill” to be helpful. The mama can lie or sit reclined propped up with pillows or a bed sitting pillow (the author found this type of pillow to be the easiest way to use this position.) The baby lies on top of her and can then push away easily if the flow of milk becomes too forceful. Gravity is also believed to help stem the flow in this position. These techniques should help to promote a gentler letdown and also allow the baby to gain the advantage of receiving all the hindmilk she needs in each feeding. Some mamas can abandon the 4 hour per breast prescription after the problem seems resolved,(usually at least 2 weeks) some may need to continue it for a longer period of time or even use it for the entire months or years of nursing. This should only be practiced after a mama’s milk supply is established when the baby is at least 3 weeks old. If mama has these problems in a younger baby nursing longer on each side and not being obsessive about using each breast at every feeding will help. She can always take the baby off the breast during letdown to reduce the lactose load and forceful filling of the newborn’s stomach. One breast per feeding is fine if the baby is wetting at least 6 wet diapers and having at least 3 stools in 24 hours and seems happy and satisfied. Foremilk Hindmilk Imbalance Foremilk Hindmilk Imbalance is a very similar problem, but instead of the condition being caused by the mother’s unique physiology, it is often caused by improper breastfeeding management. Timing feeds, scheduling feeds and switching sides too frequently can all cause a baby to not ingest enough Hindmilk. One may be so religious about trying to use each breast in each feeding and/or so tied to a set amount of time when one feels the feeding must end that the feeding is ended before the baby has had a chance to get to the hindmilk. The baby then only gets foremilk, gets a lactose overload leading to tummy aches, green stools and often very frequent hunger. This may happen because the feeding was ended before the baby got to the fat containing hindmilk, leaving the baby hungry and frustrated. The symptoms are very similar to OER in the baby, but usually the mother herself does not have the symptoms listed above and may have a history of rigid feeding patterns or be following a “baby training” type program. The best piece of advice in this situation is to let the baby finish the first breast first. Be in no hurry to switch to the other breast or end the feeding. Some newborn babies may take 20 minutes to even get to the hind milk. The information that “the baby gets all the milk in the breast in 10 minutes” is a complete fallacy! Most babies need a good deal more time than that at most feedings. The baby will let you know when to take her off the breast. Most babies will fall into a satisfied sleep and detach from the breast naturally or show the “drunken sailor” look when they are done. Keeping records of wet and stooled diapers and adequate weight gain (average is 4 to 7 oz a week during the first 4 months) will ensure that the baby is getting enough milk. (See the tear off sheet number00 Is My Baby Getting Enough Milk?) Following the above suggestions can help keep both mother and baby comfortable and satisfied. See also Overactive Letdown:It’s Symptoms and Consequences and Finish the First Breast First, both published in Leaven October/November 1995
Thanks everyone for the advice and Maggie for the article. Its really interesting to me because literally, EVERY time Julian nurses he "chokes" while nursing and he is constantly gasping for air and gulping. I thought I was just making lots and lots of milk (which I thought was a good thing...) but after reading that article, maybe its not such a good thing....I'm going to try allowing only one breast for a 4 hour period, but my question is what about the other breast? WHen I nurse him and my milk lets down, the other breast sprays like crazy, so if I only nurse on one breast for a 4 hour period, should I just let my milk spray out? It just seems like if milk is being "wasted" he won't be getting enough? I'm going to try that anyway, though thanks again for the advice!
if you don't want to 'waste' the milk, why don't you put a container under your beast to catch the milk? i had the same problem, and wasn't even able to bf leane because of it (and the stupiditty of some moron docs and LCs)....but when that would happen, i would catch it in a cup or something. that stuff stays good frozen in a deep freeze for about 6 months!
My friends and I call breastmilk "liquid gold", Julian already seems to be doing better, no more choking and spitting up. My clothes are all covered with milk, but they can be washed...
