Breastfeed Baby with Green Poop!

Have you tried eliminating dairy from your diet? That could be the cause of the green poop as he may not be breaking down the sugar and protein in the milk. My daughter's poop was green for a long time until we figured out that she was allergic to dairy. Now I eat very little dairy and it cleared up pretty quickly. Try completely elimating all dairy from your diet for two weeks and see if the green stools go away. Then slowly start reintroducing one type of dairy product at a time and see if comes back. If it does, that would be a clue that he's allergic to dairy. I find that if I eat some dairy like cheese in moderation, she's fine, but if I eat ice cream every day for a week or eat a bowl of macaroni and cheese, she'll be up all night screaming from gas pains. So if is allergic, you still may be able to eat some dairy. If it doesn't seem to be the dairy, I would try other foods to rule out allergies, then talk to your doctor if that doesn't work. Good luck!

S.,

It sounds to me like an imbalance of hindmilk and foremilk. Get in touch with the lactation consultant at your delivering hospital and maybe make a visit so your feeding can be observed.

It sounds like he is just simply not emptying one breast before moving on to the next. I would suggest asking your lactation consultant for a good book for you to reference in the future. Mine a number of years ago suggested 'The Nursing Mother's Companion' - though for multiple reasons I was not successful with breastfeeding exclusively.

Good luck to you :)

No no your baby is just fine. Poop comes in all different colors, even BF poop. It's probably that your baby's intestines are becoming colonized with bacteria (when they're first born, they really don't have anything living in there). You'll see all shades of the rainbow at some point, probably. As long as he seems happy I wouldn't worry about it at all. If he seems upset (and remember, babies are VERY gassy, so by "upset" I mean more than usual) you can start thinking about whether you've changed YOUR diet in any way. Sometimes moms eat something that disagrees with the baby.

Even if he is nursing for a long time it could still be a foremilk hindmilk imbalance. At seven weeks length weeks babies are not efficient eaters so it takes them a while and does not guarantee they are getting the perfect balance of hindmilk v. foremilk. Keep nursing on the same side so he really drains the breast.

Isnt it crazy the things we get anxious about ...poop of all things:) Try nursing on one side longer, instead of switching. When my little girl was an infant... she had the same issue. Also try going Le Leche League meeting - it helped me a lot.. and there are veteran moms and new moms with great insight!!
Good luck!!

Stacy_

my first question would be how is he acting? if everything else is "normal" his stool could be colored by something you are eating... if you are feeling that maybe all is not well with him I would contact a board certified lactation consultant to come see both of you.

P., RLC, IBCLC
International Board Certified Lactation Consultant
www.breastfeedingandparentingsolutions.com