Baby seems to not get enough hindmilk + Green poop

[newDadES]

Hello All,

So our son is 8 weeks tomorrow and he has had some issues sleeping for long intervals for the past 1.5 weeks.... he will only sleep for an hour at most and wake up.. sometimes 20mins sometimes 45mins..

so i did some reading because it seems that he is very uncomfortable.. he not really colicy but he is very fidgity and doesn't seem to want to sleep until he can't handle being awake anymore and will cry at times.

the last two days he has gotten some greenish poop so i did some reading and it says that he could have lactose intolerance because he is only get a lot of foremilk and not enough hindmilk.

my wife lets him try and control the feed as much as possible so when he is latched (with no problems) he sucks slowly and you can hear him swallow..

the problem is that he unlatches after a short period of time and wants to go on the other breast... which my wife does.. then he unlatches again after a short time and he seems satisfied because he does come off the breast himself..

but then he sleeps and he wakes up hungry again in less then an hour... initially we thought it was cluster feeding or he was going through a growth spurt but the green poop the last few days makes us think other wise..

another issue is that he is soooooo tired that he falls asleep after feeding for less then 10mins so he doesn't get to the hindmilk.

are the things i have mention a possibility of lactose intolerance? as he is getting too much foremilk?

One more note.... initially my wife wasn't producing so she started taking fenugreek and blessed thistle and she has been taking it every since birth.. she reduced her intake of the two, but still continues to take it.. it seems like she doesn't produce enough without them...

i know with babies the variables are endless and the possible things that may be wrong are more then a handful, but i wanted to see if anyone had these issues before and how they got around to getting their babies to be happy ; >

[Megan73]

How is his weight gain?

[newDadES]

Originally Posted by Megan73 

How is his weight gain?

Its pretty good. He's just over 10lbs. Born at 7lbs 13oz. Lost 1lb in the first week.

[Megan73]

If he reached his lowest weight at one week old, his weight gain since then has been about seven ounces a week - which is average for breastfed babies.
I would not suspect a hindmilk/foremilk problem because it would typically occur with general oversupply and result in consistently frothy, green poops.
Six to eight weeks is typically the peak of newborn fussiness and many babies are going through a growth spurt, too. Most newborns can't be awake for more than two hours without needing to nap. Wanting to nurse very frequently is pretty normal unless you have some reason to suspect your baby isn't transferring milk well because of a bad latch or a tongue tie - such as your wife having painful nipples or baby not gaining.
Short feeds do not mean your baby isn't getting hindmilk. The current research shows that the babies who get the most milk aren't the ones who spend the most time at the breast, they're the ones who nurse most vigorously at the beginning of the nursing session.
In fact nursing frequently means your baby is getting more hindmilk - the emptier the breast the more fat in the milk.
Your wife is doing exactly the right thing by letting your baby come off the first breast himself then offering the other.
Bottom line - I wouldn't worry. The newborn period is tough. It does get better.
A great place for your wife to get hands-on breastfeeding support is your local La Leche League. The meetings are also a great place to make new friends with babies.