grunting baby, green poop, gas....probiotics????

[Jodie8]

Since she was 2 weeks old Evie has had green poops and grunts ALL the time. When she is especially uncomfortable she grunts every couple of minutes and will sleep really short periods (5-20 minutes) at a time. She is 5 1/2 weeks old now and I have tried eliminating allergenic foods, block feeding -for 2 weeks, 4-10 hour blocks, and other than the occasional yellow poop (when she has these she is so much more relaxed and sleeps awesome), things are the same. I am considering probiotics, but I don't want to wreck her  pristine gut, but I want my baby to feel better. Can anyone shed any light on this mystery???? Please!!! Have you given probiotics to your babe? which ones and does it help????

[cagirlintexas]

My midwife kept telling me to at least try probotics and so we finally did.  We have noticed a remarkable change in Jayden.  He is sleeping so much better.  He now sleeps around 22 hours a day and is even sleeping well at night. Wakes up to eat and goes right back to sleep.   He wasn't having green poop before but his stomach was gurgly, he sounded like he was bringing milk back up after eating, kinda of refluxy, and really wasn't sleeping well.  I think its totally worth a try.  It has made such a difference. 

[karen1968]

We have probiotics, but are only giving them sporadically. I think we need to be doing it regularly, as Paige sounds a lot like Jayden - gurgly tummy, refulx-y sounding at times, and grunting. Lots of grunting! And other strange noises in her sleep.

If you get probiotics, get the refrigerated kind, and make sure it has B. Infantis. I think the one we have is Nature's Way, and Udi (?) makes one, too. Not all  the infant/kid probiotics have B. Infantis, so check. And good luck!

[Jodie8]

Thank you so much for the response!!! What kind did you try?? How old is your baby???

[LadyCatherine185]

We started Probiotics for Ian at about a week old. I give him 1/2 dose of Udo's Choice Infant Probiotics and 1/2 dose of Nature's Way Reuteri... like a PP mentioned, it is most important to stay consistent with giving the probiotics.

[HeatherB]

I haven't been consistent but need to be. Eliana is having mucousy stools and they're getting more green in the last few days. I haven't tried elimination (figuring I'll start after the holidays) but she did seem better when I gave her some probiotics. My MW (same as cagirl's) didn't think it had to be an infant variety and I sent my DH out to get it. So, he got PB8 capsules. I haven't studied probiotics that much so I'm not sure how important the various varieties are.

[FarrenSquare]

How did the probiotics work for you, Jodie? Where did you get them?

[Jodie8]

I haven't gotten any yet-I'm to scared to introduce anything  to her gut. My son has allergies and when he was a babe we gave him gripe water, ovol, formula etc and I think it wrecked his gut, so I am really scared to do the wrong thing. She had some blood in her poop the other day-but the poop was yellow, not green. I've been off dairy and soy since before she was born, so I'm pretty confused about the blood. I did go off wheat to see if it helps because she is SO gassy. Seriously, she farts like my husband , but the poor little thing is so gassy, grunting all the time. But she is so happy.

Farren-have you given Desmond a probiotic yet???

[RomanGoddess]

Crashing your DDC to add a comment.  If eliminating allergenic foods has not worked, you might want to try just pumping a bit and before offering your baby the breast at each feed.  Some moms have too much sugar in their foremilk, resulting in baby having green poop, gas and discomfort.  

Just a thought.  Good luck!

[HeatherB]

Another thought... The concept behind probiotics is that it's the stuff that *should* be living in our guts, anyway. My MW referred to us living "too clean" a life these days, where don't have all of these "bugs" because we kill them off. The baby probiotics (get allergen free ones) shouldn't do anything negative, though I do also understand the hesitance to give a newbie anything!

[Jodie8]

Thanks Everyone!!

Heather-I totally understand-I'm just worried I'll screw up the balance or something.  Also, I'm concerned about the other ingredients, like rice malodextrin etc. It is looking like I will get some for her this week. Poor muffin is not sleeping well at all:( So gassy and frothy poops. But she is still so happy! Just tired, and even then she is all smiles and coos. My heart is melting:)

[NewBeginnings1]

This may be totally off topic, but it is another idea. My son had green stools for over 2 weeks. He did not exhibit the grunting and gas that you mentioned. However, I learned that if the baby is getting too much foremilk (due to too much supply), it can cause their stomach to become irritated and produce green stools. Babies need a balance of the foremilk and the fatty hind milk. I cut back on the pumping I had been doing for a trip and exclusively nursed him until we got back in sync, and we're back to brown poos again. 

Best of luck.