hindmilk/foremilk imbalance? help!

[mommaJ]

DS has had green "frothy" poops for a while now. at first i figured it was just a little virus or something. he is happy and gaining weight, etc. Today I was looking up info on this sort of poop and a lot of different sites said that it could be a hindmilk/foremilk imbalance, that the baby may not be getting enough hindmilk. i only nurse on one side at each feeding, so i think he should be getting plenty of hindmilk. the poops definitely do not look normal, though. they are also slimy looking.

also, i do not eat dairy which was also listed as a possible cause.

help! i'm a little concerned.

[DancingOtter]

Definitely an imbalance. You need to try block nursing. Nurse on the same side for about 4 hours. Don't switch with each feeding. You block off a chunk of time per side. If after about 24 hours there is no difference in poops, try 6 hours instead. Feel free to pump off a bit from the neglected side if it gets engorged during the transition.

[DancingOtter]

Oh, and you can also try pumping for about 5 minutes on the side that you're currently using before nursing the babe to siphon off a bit of the foremilk.

[mommaJ]

thanks. i'll try block nursing. i hope it helps!

[mommaJ]

another question though.....

he has only been nursing every 3 hours or so during the day (sometimes less) but thats only feeding twice on one side. is that still considered block nursing?
he spits up a lot too and i've been noticing that even his spit-up seems thin and watery sometimes. ??

he is teething as well, could it all be from that?

oh so confused.

[mija y mijo]

Both the spitting up and the green poop sound like an hindmilk/foremilk imbalance to me. We went through the same thing with DS and the block nursing definitely helped. Like the PP said, you may need to go as long as 4 or 6 hours on one side before switching, then as your milk supply adjusts you can switch more frequently. It took me a few days for us to get it balanced out, and he continued to spit up (just not as much and not as frequently) until more solids were introduced to his diet. I definitely don't miss all the burp cloths lying around the house!

[MotheringBliss]

Try extra vitamin C...

About 1-3000 mg or so should help to dry up some of the excess foremilk. I had that problem extensively until this time, I took the vit C to prevent my waters from breaking so early (which it did!) Then, as an added bonus, I did not get the usual deluge of foremilk!

[mommaJ]

okay, one more question......i block nursed for the last 24 hours and already his poop is back to normal--yay! so do i keep block nursing? if so, for how long?

[DancingOtter]

Yes, keep doing it. You can gradually cut back the blocks as time goes on to see if things are going okay. You may need to keep the blocks for a few months, though.

[mommaJ]

DancingOtter-
Thanks for your help! one site i looked at said to beware because block nursing can decrease supply. is this something i should worry about? maybe take some fenugreek?

[menow]

I don't think I'd worry too much about losing your supply. It sounds like you have an oversupply to begin with. I had to feed my DD in 8 hour blocks because of foremilk/hindmilk/oversupply issues. Once DD's poops returned to normal I block feed her in 3 hour blocks (although she is eating every 3-4 hours now) during the day and 2 hour blocks at night. It sounds like you are doing everything right. Just follow your DS's lead and you should be Ok.