Green Poop - Chandler,AZ

The doctor Sears family of pediatricians have an amazing wealth of knowledge, on all matters baby and are great at explaining things.

http://askdrsears.com/html/8/t081500.asp

Did you give him any of the mylicon drops? I remember glow in the dark green poop whenever my son had those...I assumed it was the cause at the time...though the hindmilk solution sounds plausible as well - I always had too much milk with my first.

The same thing happened with my little girl. She is now 6 months. Rest assured this is very normal.

Hi S.,
Let me just put your mind at ease: I've seen... brick red, orange, mustard, ochre, pale green, spinach green, brown with blue polka-dots, purple, black...

Ha, ha! The wonders of motherhood :)

Happy baby.
T

My 3 month old's poop goes from green to yellow too. As long as its still seedy it's not a problem. Good luck with your little one!

Google Baby411 and their website actually has pictures of normal yet strange looking baby poop. And it also explains what could cause it. Green food actually does not cause your poop to be green, what gives you green poop is purple dye. Or purple Kool-aid or grape juice, Anything that has a purple dye/food color will turn your poop green. We actually did a chemistry trial in highschool on that, its true! HA :) Blue colored yogurt (kids versions) will also make them have neon green poop.

So it could possibly be something you ate that transferred to the baby :)

Howdy S.

Sorry, but I had to laugh! The main time that I have found my son having green poop is when he had some beetroot. Is there a possibility that you have had any?

If this isn't the case, maybe go and see your GP.

J.

Agree with the foremilk/hindmilk "imbalance." Kellymom.com talks a lot more about it. I had it with my son...it made him gassy and unhappy so I would have my milk "let down" for a bit before latching him on. In the long run it made him happier until my body balanced itself out.

Almost guaranteed it's oversupply - google that. :) Too much foremilk, not enough hind milk, makes baby poo green. (mom eating green foods does not). In most cases it's harmless and will resolve itself as your supply adjusts to your babies needs. (and if it's a one-time thing or occasional, it may just be that babe went longer then normal between two feedings.) If it's ongoing however, over a longer period of time and at every feeding, then baby will not get enough fat for brain development.
Since it sounds like you just noticed it a first time, I wouldn't worry...I think all breastfeeding moms have a few green-poo diapers to deal with ...often in the early weeks when your supply isn't set yet...and sometimes later, when baby misses a feeding or goes awhile between them. Nothing to worry about unless the green poo is every change for an extended period of time.

Hi, My baby is also breast fed and is 3 months. At about a month it turned from yellow to green and i called her dr and he said no biggie. So i don't think its anything to worry about.

Hi S.,

Don't worry "Green Poop" is totally normal when you are Breast Feeding. Green and Yellowish Brown is what it is suppose to look like. I am really surprised your Ped. didn't tell you that.

Get connected with a Lactation Specialist (that is what I did with both of my kids because there was a 4 1/2 yr. span between the two) they are so helpful. There are just so many things you need to know and be aware of when your breast feeding especially when it seems most just do the bottle. Also, you need the support because it is definitely not as easy as some people have made it out to be.

I had lots of problems breast feeding but I can happily say I nursed both of my children to just past a year old thanks to the support and consult of my Lactation Specialist!

God Bless You and Your Baby,
A.

S.,
I breastfed both of mine (a little boy who is now 3 and a little girl who is almost 5). From my understanding when it turns from the seedy mustard color to green it's b/c they're not getting the hind milk; the fatty milk that comes last. Make sure you're completely emptying one side before proceeding to the next. It's not a big worry. Good luck.

D.

He is probably getting too much foremilk and not enough hindmilk. Do you think you have an over supply of milk?

Some babies react to what you eat when you breastfeed. Have you had spinach? Lots of crackers? Anything that turns your own poop green? Eat normal and see what happens...

A couple of things to consider:
1) has he been sick lately and maybe have a case of "booger belly" where they have swallowed too much mucus? or
2) is he getting enough hind milk? If a baby is given breast A to start a feed and then 10 minutes or so into the feed is taken off and given breast B, the baby may be getting too much of the watery milk that is first in a nursing and not enough of the fatty milk near the end of the feeding. The solution to that is to keep him on one breast for the entire feeding. The breasts eventually figure out what's going on and adjust the rate at which they make milk so you won't walk around forever with one boob bigger than the other. ;)

Those are the first things that I look at when a breastfed baby has green poops.