now green poop (x-posted)

[StrongFeather]

ok.
the breastfeeding saga never ends for me...

so I have been slowly transitioning to more "regular" feedings with Sam, as in I am not longer block feeding and offering both breast at each feeding if we get that far. I also think (thank you ladies) that Sam is definitely going through his 3 month growth spurt and wants to be eating/on the breast as much as he can lately. So I was worried about undersupply, b/c I wasn't used to NOT leaking, and I can't really pump much more than 1 oz at any given time lately (and most of the time much less). I used to pump between 3-4 oz whenever I pumped.. but this was before my supply settled down and I think i had over supply issues and i pumped all the time. Since starting to block feed i had stopped pumping all together.

Do I make sense? (b/c my breastfeeding journey is confusing I know!!)

Anyway, Sam is nursing a lot. And I am offering both breast, and I was eating oatmeal and taking 2 tablets of Fenugreek 3 times a day. I hadn't noticed much of a change, except that Sam seemd like he was getting more milk with more ease.

So you ready for this..since doing this for the past 4 days..
Ta-da.. GREEN poop..
I know this is classic of oversupply, and not enough hindmilk.. (though he never had green poop before when I thought I had over supply..now I guess maybe I was normal?? Like I said I am so confused)

Now what do I do??

I am so confused! I don't have a LC b/c I gave birth over an hour away in hospital that is really a pain to get to. I am not sure my insurance will pay for one now, I mean I am 13 week pp, y/k? I have asked and gone to LLL meetings, but I hate to say it, they don't really give me answers I can't get from the Mothering site or Kellymom. They are not LC's or nurses y/k? Not knocking them, they just don't have the knowledge to help me it seems.

any words of wisdom. I ask you ladies b/c you have for the most part been following me in all this..(at least a few of you

[bright_eyes]

I'm in the same boat. Every now and then ds2's poop looks a little green and I have a hard time getting answers. I remember when ds1 was born, I had read that green poop is okay but if it is green and really liquidy/frothy than it is not. But at the LLL meeting, she said just said that green could be too much foremilk, so I'm confused as well. I was block feeding, too, and getting really yellow poops most of the time and now I'm not. I'm not doing both sides at a feed, though. Ds doesn't nurse enough at once to need both sides.

Have you tried just doing one side at a time and then switching sides each feed?

[rockdoctor]

COuld also be iron in your diet or completely normal. My babe has had green poop for 4 weeks now and is growing fine. But I would try offering just one breast per feeding to make sure Sam is getting the hindmilk.

[saffrongirl]

My baby's poop is sometimes green tinged and we got really worked up about it in the beginning. She was a slow gainer and I was told I had undersupply issues. It was really demoralizing. I added alfalfa and fenugreek and when she was weighed next she had gained and was doing well. When I finally spoke to our NP (who rocks), she told me I was doing great and that she doesn't get worried about poop color unless there is blood in the stool. There are just so many factors that can contribute to poop color. As long as your LO is gaining and pooping/peeing, I wouldn't get too worked up about it. And make sure you are getting rest and water.

[kismetbaby]

I have had this same issue this week (my LO is 6 weeks). All this time of perfect yellow poops and suddenly green. I immediate thought of the foremilk/hindmilk issues and have been trying to get him to nurse longer on one side, but he gets really annoyed when the milk stops flowing and squawks to be switched to the other breast. He has been really gassy also, but otherwise he seems happy and healthy. So I am not too worried about it. He does seem to have about one yellow poop in every 24 hours.

Its a mystery. . .I wondered if it was something in my diet affecting color? But I have read that babies poop can have a wide range of color and still be normal and not worriesome.

[dosergirl]

if there is regular poop i don't worry. no one ever told me to think about it after the first few weeks. so i didn't even know green was different then yellow til just now.

cora has always been a great eater though. i always do just one breast at a time, this way she totally drains it and gets hindmilk. i started doing that early on because my nipples hurt so badly i could not endure 2 hour feedings on each side, this way there was 4 hours in between sides. we just got into that routine and it works well for us.

i do have an over production problem on one side, which could account for her green poops apparently.
hmm

[Lovinmum]

NAKing... Could be a food sensitivity. Try to cut out or back on dairy.

[MichelleAnnette]

My guess is oversupply. I don't remember your whole story, but why are you taking fenugreek? It is normal not to get much out with the pump - many moms can't pump well. It doesn't mean you don't have enough milk. It's okay not to leak, too - I don't leak because my baby and toddler nurse all the time and keep me from getting super full. I just feed from whichever breast feels fuller - never keep track. You might have better luck with LLL if you call the leader outside the meeting and talk more about your specific situation. Sometimes its hard to give a mom the time she needs during a busy meeting.

[2boyzmama]

nak...

my lc says greeen poop with no other symptoms isn't a problem. but if baby isn't gaining well, or is really gassy/fussy, it could be fore/hind imbalance. if baby has a rash or the poop is really runny (soaks into diaper instead of sitting on top) or smelly or frothy it could be a food sensitivity.

if his feeding habits have changed because of the growth spurt, it might take his digestive tract a few days to catch up to it, you know?

so try not to worry yet, just feed on demand and ride out the growth spurt. if you notice other symptoms with the green poop, you can start looking into other causes.

some LLLs have LCs, there's an LC that's a leader in my area, so try calling one of the leaders and ask if they know of an LC that will do a phone consult. if you want to talk to an LC and can't find one, PM me and I'll give you the name and number of the LC/LLL leader in my area, she'll gladly help you over the phone, and she's wonderful! she's a grandma who has been through it all and helped moms with every problem imaginable (including helping me exclusively breastfeed connor with a cleft palate, airway malformation, failure to thrive, 4 surgeries, food allergies, etc etc etc. if she got me through that, she can get anyone through anything!!)

[StrongFeather]

I am happy to report we are back to yellow poop! I decided that I didn't need to take the Fenugreek anymore. I also think that I maybe didn't let him empty my breast fully a couple of times and he missed out on some hindmilk.

I need to calm my Momma-worried mind and just **relax**.

thanks for all the ideas!