gas and poop question

[Halfasianmomma]

I've posted this question in the Breastfeeding forum but I thought I'd also ask my fellow DDC mamas for input:

Alia is now 11 days old and though we didn't have major problems with breastfeeding initially, when my milk came in, things changed. For the past few days, she's developped a lot of gas. I've gotten better at reading the signs (she cramps and pulls away from the breast about 10 minutes after starting), and she's gotten better at unlatching her and burping her. There are times though when the gas seems to move into her intestine and I've seen her wake up with a cry after feeding. Is this normal? Am I doing something wrong?

I've given her gripe water a few times and it seemed to work but not reliably so.

Also, I'm not sure if the bowel movements she's having are "normal" for a breastfed baby. Twice in the past three days, she's become really crampy and cried for the first time since she came out of me...I changed her diaper and she pooped this REALLY liquidy yellow stuff, along with some gas. It wasn't like soft poop...this was just yellow liquid. Is this diarrhea? Should I be worried?

I just had her weighed today and she's gained an average of 51 grams per day, which I'm told is excellent, so I know she's getting enough milk.

I'm trying to think of what I've been eating lately that might have done this to her...

Any ideas?

[butterfly1001]

Originally Posted by Halfasianmomma

I've posted this question in the Breastfeeding forum but I thought I'd also ask my fellow DDC mamas for input:

Alia is now 11 days old and though we didn't have major problems with breastfeeding initially, when my milk came in, things changed. For the past few days, she's developped a lot of gas. I've gotten better at reading the signs (she cramps and pulls away from the breast about 10 minutes after starting), and she's gotten better at unlatching her and burping her. There are times though when the gas seems to move into her intestine and I've seen her wake up with a cry after feeding. Is this normal? Am I doing something wrong?

I've given her gripe water a few times and it seemed to work but not reliably so.

Also, I'm not sure if the bowel movements she's having are "normal" for a breastfed baby. Twice in the past three days, she's become
really crampy and cried for the first time since she came out of me...I changed her diaper and she pooped this REALLY liquidy yellow stuff, along with some gas. It wasn't like soft poop...this was just yellow liquid. Is this diarrhea? Should I be worried?

I just had her weighed today and she's gained an average of 51 grams per day, which I'm told is excellent, so I know she's getting enough milk.

I'm trying to think of what I've been eating lately that might have done this to her...

Any ideas?

nak
As far as the gas goes.... I think it's normal to a point... immature digestive systems...
The poop... is it seedy? If so, it's normal! Hudson's poop is yellow liquid with seedy things and it shoots out FAST. You can hear it across the room and feel it when he does it. If his diaper weren't on, it would probably shoot across the room. Lots of force behind it! Babies this age don't really get diarrhea. Loose poop is good!!!!

[ladyelms]

Her poop sounds perfectly normal to me. That's exactly how breastfed poop is. Weird, huh?

She may be popping off after ten minutes because she could be full. I know w/ my guy, the only reason he ever cries is because he wants to suck at the breast but is too full! It took me a bit to figure this out. (I too thought it was digestive related) And he usually nurses for about ten minutes too. As far as gas, it's normal the first couple of weeks until they perfect their suck/breath technique and learn to not swallow air. (as long as you have a good latch)

[PiesandAbrosmama]

Agree with ladyelms. My babes get there full by about 10 min into feeding, and want to suck to sooth but not eat more. I also always have gassy babes and it's so sad to see them in such pain and also hard on us. Hope you find something to work. Gripe water or gas drops never seem to work on my babies.

[*Karen*]

The poop thing is totally normal. The first time DS did it I FREAKED out. But it is totally normal.

As for the gas, most babies have gas and are unable to get it out.
Try this: Move her legs a lot, bicycle or what have you. Then pull her legs up in the air, towards her head. Then force her knees into her belly with a decent amount of force. You will get some nice air out. Repeat the two step cycle until no more comes out. It will make her feel sooooo much better. Once I learned to fart DS life was a lot easier.

[skg_7]

I can totally relate, HAM. Daniel is more or less coming out of this stage now, thankfully, but around 2 weeks of age he began having a lot of gassy episodes that were really difficult for all of us. I think it's just the immaturity of their digestive systems.

My advice would be to cut out dairy and soy and be careful with things like legumes and citris fruit. Make sure the latch is awesome, and try giving your little finger when you're pretty sure she's not hungry but needs to suck. She'll spit it out if she wants the breast instead.

Also, be careful with gripe water. It's unregulated. Certain brands contain things you don't want, as we found out.

Shoot -- Daniel is bawling...

[mamatosaskia]

nak

check out this link - helpful, perhaps

http://pregnancy.about.com/od/newbor...fdiapers_5.htm

[Minoh]

Dd is also really gassy and she only has a major poop once a week (she's 3.5wks old now). I was worried about that but saw a lactation consultant and she agreed with my midwife that it's probably just because she's very efficient at digesting the breastmilk (she does have little yellow stains with almost every diaper change).

About the gas, it's very normal. Ds was the same way and dd is even more gassy. We went to a chiropractor this week and for craniosacral treatment today to make sure things are aligned properly. We do "fart aerobics" (bicycling legs, bends, etc) and give her Hyland's colic tabs when it's painful.

The gas is a pain in the a$$ but does get better when their gut is matures somewhat at around 3months of age. Until then, try to find some things that make your lo more comfortable.

Part of our problem is that I have an oversupply of milk so dd is overwhelmed by it and also takes in more air because she's gulping it down. To compensate, I block nurse (stay on one side for several hours) and massage to ensure the fore and hindmilk are mixed. I would ask your LC about this and see if maybe you have lots of milk or a super strong letdown as potential gas causers. Kellymom.com is a really great resource for info, as is Jack Newman's website.

Good luck!