i need HELP ive been taking fenugreek fussy baby

[janguiano]

I am a full time student and needed help with milk supply so I decided to take feungreek. I have noticed that my 4 week old has became very fussy and gassy some what like colic..she's not pooping like she used to, she now poops once a day or she will even miss a day. When she does use the bathroom its an explosion. Has any one had this side affect with fenugreek.. please help me thank you for ur time.

[sunwise]

Hi there,

I think the two issues you are describing may not be related. First, regarding the fenugreek - fussiness and gassiness are known side effects (check kellymom.com) and I did experience both of those with my baby. I stopped taking fenugreek because the fussiness was not worth it. You could try other herbs like blessed thistle, or try incorporating galactagogues into your diet - I tried to eat oatmeal every day, and usually made myself a snack of popcorn with brewer's yeast every afternoon.

About the pooping - around 4 weeks of age my DS went 13 days without pooping. Then when he did go, it was totally normal EBF baby poop but HUGE.  It was just the start of a cycle of infrequent poops for him. That lasted until he was about 4 months old. In retrospect, it was nice, now that we never go a day without at least one poop! It is very common for some EBF babies to slow down their pooping and not poop daily at that age. As long as the poops look normal, your DD is not constipated.

If I were you, I would stop the fenugreek and see if the fussiness and gassiness improves. If your baby's poop looks normal and the other symptoms resolve after ending the fenugreek, then she is probably just experiencing the normal poop slow-down that happens at that age!

[abelitz]

I agree with sunwise.  My DD started have less frequent bm's around 4 weeks.  The first day she didn't poop, I was a little freaked out, but then I realized that this was normal.  It's kind of nice to not have to change a poopy diaper every time we eat now, even though when she does poop, it means a new outfit :)

Blessed thistle worked really well for me to keep my milk supply up as a tea.  Unfortunately, it is extremely BITTER (well, fenugreek is too), so if you use it as a tea, I would mix it with another yummy tea and sweeten it a little.  I do think drinking galactogogues is the best way to go (as opposed to taking herbs in capsules), because staying hydrated is also quite important for milk production.  You could also mix some fennel seed tea with the fenugreek to help cut down on gassiness...that way you'd be getting your galactogogue and helping relieve baby's gassiness at the same time.  I agree with sunwise, too, that incorporating galactogogues into your diet is great.

Ooh, Susan Weed has a little recipe for Fennel/Barley Water in Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year.  "Prepare barley water by soaking 1/2 cup pearled (regular) barley in 3 cups cold water overnight or by boiling for 25 minutes.  Strain out barley and discard or add to a soup.  Heat a cup or two of the barley water to boiling as needed, store the rest in the refigerator.  Pour 1 cup boiling barley water over 1 teaspoon Fennel seeds and steep for no longer than 30 minutes.  This combination not only increases the breast milk, but eases after-pains and settles the digestion of mom and babe."

Regarding galactogogue foods she writes, "Apricots, asparagus, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, pecans, and all leafy greens (the bolding is hers, too) such as beet greens, parsley, watercress, and dandelion leaves are considered helpful in increasing and sustaining lactation."

I hope some of this may be helpful :)

Edited by abelitz - 11/17/11 at 10:45am