Watery Milk

S., Please get in touch with La Leche League http://www.lllusa.org/web/NEMinnMN.html
They should be able to guide you through any breastfeeding issues to get you thru this tough time!
Cheers, L.

S., if your milk is green your breast milk is infected. You probably have mastitis. Go to your doctor and get treated for it right away.

To bring back healthy milk, eat rye bread and drink a small amount of beer every day.

Are you well enough to continue breast feeding right now?? If so, Keep pumping and keep up with drinking fluids so that you produce milk. Hopefully, you'll be stronger soon ~~do call your Dr. to find out why your milk is green~ I've never heard of that.
Good Luck S.,
JLO
ps. would you consider supplementing them with a bottle of formula every once in a while to make sure that they are getting what they need? They may be more content.

If you are really concerned, you should see a lactation specialist. Usually your ob/gyn or perhaps even the hospital where you gave birth can recommend one.

But here's my understanding of what our bodies do when we are lactating... (I nursed both of my children.)

Our bodies respond to our environment to give our babies what they need. For example, if it's hot outside, our milk tends to have more water in it.

Our milk is also "flavored" by our diet. Perhaps you are eating something that is giving the milk a flavor your girls aren't used to. Evaluate what you've been eating--anything new? Onions, broccoli, garlic, curry...?

Also, our bodies always rise to the challenge when our children need more milk--IF you give your body enough fuel to make milk. When you had the flu, perhaps your appetite was down--then it would be harder for your body to keep up with the milk demand.

Eat more (maybe an extra sandwich a day), rest more, pump/nurse more often and your body will catch up. Also, try to have the babies empty the breasts completely to get the hind milk--that also helps your body pick up the pace to make more milk.

Best of luck and hope you're feeling better!

I breast feed my twins for a year...

I do not know about the flu... but your milk will change as your baby grows and changes. As for the color, mine often appeared bluish tinged. I know my hospital has a lactation line. I found this resource very useful. If you have such a thing, give the nurse a call. I am sure she can chat with you and it would be helpful.

At seven weeks babies do get less sleepy, etc, as they grow and mature...

Breast feeding twins exclusively (which I did) requires mom to eat a HUGE amount of calaries. I also pumped for my babies as well as physical breast feeding. Are you eating enough???? and what is your diet? I ate a TON (really and trully) and especially those first few weeks. When I left the hospital my Dr said, "You can eat ten milkshakes a day - LITERALLY." In the middle of the night I sometimes practically ate another meal. I kept a very healthly snack mix around all the time with whole grain cereals, almonds, raisins, etc.

At the end of the year of breastfeeding (I also work full time), I had actually wasted away to VERY skinny (all the while working to eat a lot).

Good luck!

HI S.,

I've been breastfeeding for 12 years now. I basically nurse baby to baby. Two thoughts come to mind. First of all the watery milk is what comes first when you nurse or pump. After a few minutes your hind milk will come in - that is the fatty (meaty) milk with most of the nutrition. When you are nursing a baby you will notice a change in how they nurse when the hind milk comes in. You will also notice that the milk is whiter in substance. I suspect that you are not pumping long enough or possibly it is the type of pump you are using. I use an electric medela pump. That one is the highest recommended pump. It's quick and efficient.

I also recommend a supplement called fenugreek. It really helps your milk production, which you need with twins. You can get that at any health food store.

About the color, my guess is that it is something you're eating or possibly a vitamin or medicine you might be on. Sometime's my milk is yellow/blue looking and I can usually relate it to something I've taken. I wouldn't worry too much about the color unless you're getting other discharge that isn't milk.

I'm a registered nurse and have counseled a lot of women with breastfeeding. You can call Le LEache League or a lactation consultant and get some help too.

After reading a few of these posts I think they are missing one key thing- you said you are no longer nursing and only pumping then bottle feeding your milk. To me, that sounds like your biggest problem. First off, some people are just not great pumpers and cannot get all of the milk out when they pump. If you are not removing all of your milk you are leaving all the important fatty hindmilk in your breasts which will cause your milk to be watery and your babies to be hungry, fussy and want to eat more and also not gain weight like they should if they are not getting the fat they need. (I know this from experience, I nursed my daughter for 21 months but had to pump while at work and was a bad pumper. I eventually had to supplement with formula on the days she had to go to daycare.) Also, exclusively pumping will eventually cause your milk supply to decrease if your body thinks that it doesn't need to make that much. Also, the color of your milk isn't that important, it will change with your diet. However your body can't regulate it's milk to fit your babies' needs if they are not physically nursing from you, some of your babies' saliva leaches into your body when they nurse and that's how your body tailors the milk to fit their needs. If you are only putting a piece of plastic on your breast, your body won't be able to adapt your milk supply to a baby it doesn't know. The flu probably did affect your supply somewhat but I would again start to nurse them any chance you get and hopefully that will help your body catch up. My rule was that as long as I was with my daughter I nursed her, pumped whenever I could to get my freezer stocked and she only received a bottle if I wasn't around. Hope that helps. Also, like others have said, contact a lactation specialist or find other resources like other nursing moms or good websites. www.kellymom.com www.askdrsears.com

Hey S.. First I'd like to applaud you on breastfeeding not one, but two babies. It's wonderful! I think what you are seeing with your breastmilk is normal. Our breastmilk changes composition as the needs of our babies change. It starts out as colostrum, and eventually becomes "mature" milk which is thin and blueish/greenish in color. This "mature" milke changes several times as our babies get older. It's important to know that we produce foremilk and hindmilk. Foremilk is stored in the milk ducts near the nipple and is thin looking. Hindmilk is released after the "let-down" and contains the calorie rich milk. Maybe you don't let-down as well for the breast pump - thus you don't see the thicker milk in your bottles. Another thing to keep in mind is that babies go through one of thier biggest growth spurts at 6 weeks. Your twins were probably a bit early, so that means that they have a good chance of going through that growth spurt right now. If that's the case, they'll want to nurse... and nurse... and nurse some more. You'll need to get your rest (as much as that's possible), eat plenty of good things, and ask for help from anyone who's willing to fold clothes, run errands, or just give you a chance to walk around the block. Best of luck!

Completely normal for milk to look different over time. It also could be antibodies in your milk from when you had the flu which is a good thing. I would not worry about it at all, BM looks some pretty strange colors. Just keep doing what you are doing, you will never regret continuing to BF!
Brekka

You milk changes as your children grow and some people's milk is more fatty than others. Your babies don't need as much fat as they did 7 1/2 weeks ago so your milk will naturally have less fat. You milk can also change color as it changes it's content. My milk turned a blue/green tint look as the fat content decreased. As for not seeming as content, the girls could be going through a growth spurt and may want to eat more now. Make sure however that you are getting enough to eat! Breastfeeding twins is demanding both on you mentally and physically. I applaud you for doing it!!!

S.,

It sounds tome that you are not getting your hind milk when you are pumping. Continue pumping but also put the babies to breast after feeding. you will find that the babies will be more content, (sometimes it is an issue of being at the breast) this will also change your milk supply. If you have any additional questions please feel free to contact me I would be happy to help.

Blessings To you
S. Blevons
Langlade Co. WI.
www.lhdoula-service.com.

Call "MilkWorks" in Lincoln,NE. The next best lactation place is in Denver. These one stop breastfeeding support places are a godsend.

Pumping isn't as efficient as the baby actually sucking and your hind milk(the fatty milk) might not be getting pumped out but only the watery, foremilk is getting out. It can have a bluish hue to it, that might be the color you are seeing. Especially if only the watery milk is coming out and the more white creamy hind milk isn't getting added to it then the color might show up more. Could you try breastfeeding them for a while again and see if that satisfies them? I know it's hard, I can't imagine nursing twins! But in the big picture it's such a short time of life! I wish you all the best and to stick with the breastmilk as long as you can!

Hi S.:
Great job on breastfeeding twins. I only had one, but loved every second of our 21 months.
I breastfed and pumped for a year and found that the fat content decreased as my child aged. I remember the first couple weeks were almost a 60/40 mix (fat/water) to a 10/90 mix. The coloring of your milk changes over time and can be effected by what you eat also. I found that when I ate a lot of vegetables my milk had a bluish coloring and when I ate more meat it had a greenish coloring. If I ate carbs (pasta & breads) it was more white.
As for the girls being fussy I would say that you are going though a growth spurt. I sometimes wondered if I was producing enough because my son was nursing every 30 minutes sometimes. I felt like he was attached to me at the breast. He of course gained 4 lbs that month so it was worth it.
I would also suggest contacting your local Le Leche group for advice. They were a great resource for me. The hospital where you gave birth might also have a lactation consultant that can address any issues too. I have found though that it can be a hit or miss experience. One consultant was great and another one lacked any helpful knowledge for me.
Good luck with nursing.

Hi S....I'm not sure I can help you with your milk question. I would talk to your Doctor or a lactation consultant. If you are concerned with the quality of milk maybe you could supplement with formula for a feeding or two?!

I mostly just wanted to respond and say congrats on the twins. We have 3 month old twins and a 4 year old too!! I can relate to the long days (and nights)! Hang in there and hope your milk situation resolves itself soon!!

What has your nutrition been like since you got sick? You need plenty of protein, good fats, fluids calories and fiber in your diet to make milk. Also, breastmilk often appears watery, but if left to sit for awhile, a nice layer of "cream" will float up to the top, so it may be just fine even though it appears watery. It also changes as the baby gets older, and during growth spurts, so the change you are noticing in your milk might be completely normal.

Hi S. :)

Have you started taking any new medications recently? I went on a medication when my daughter was 6 months old which caused me to stop breastfeeding. I pumped a couple times after I had quit breastfeeding because I was so engorged. Before the medication, my breastmilk was always white and was never watery. It didn't matter what I ate or if I got sick... I even had mastitis and my breastmilk didn't change color or consistency. However, this medication made my breastmilk extremely watery and green. So I would think back to while you had the flu to see if you took any meds. As for it possibly being an infection because it's green...I've heard it's only an infection if green breastmilk is accompanied by some discharge, but maybe look into that to make sure. Good luck :)