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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Persistently green poo ....

12 replies

WildStrawberries · 02/09/2010 22:25

DS is 16 weeks and exclusively BF.

I've searched the archives and it seems (and I hope I'm not over simplifying matters...) that green poo is not a cause for concern if the baby is obviously well, thriving and gaining weight?

I know about the foremilk/hindmilk thing.... and I admit, I find it a little hard to understand properly (is it just that the milk could be lower in calories, resulting in the baby needing to feed more often to take in enough calories?)

My question is... do I actually have to do anything about it? ie. is it harmful to him to drink a lot of milk that's low in calories? Yes, he does feed a lot during the day, but I'm ok with that and I'd prefer to let it just sort itself out if poss. But on the other hand he has about 4-5 green/stringy nappies per day along with some more 'normal' yellow ones - very different from my DD and it seems to have been going on a long time.

Thanks v. much for any advice.

OP posts:
emsyj · 02/09/2010 22:28

My DD is 14 weeks and EBF. She doesn't produce the same number of poos as your DS - she's pretty much down to about 2 big poos a week now - but they are always green. The other day there was a small, stringy green poo - almost like a giant bogey in her nappy. Very odd. But then I don't have anything to compare with as she is my first baby.

Marjee · 02/09/2010 22:39

My ds had the exact same thing at around that age! The hv said it was probably a tummy bug and advised me to eat lots of natural live yoghurt, I did and it cleared up within about 2 days.

HTH

cerealqueen · 02/09/2010 22:50

DD kept getting green poo at that age, she was exclusively breast fed. It was like spinach, would come and go. GP said nothing to worry about and was probably related to teething. I didn't do anything and eventually it stopped. HTH too!

harverina · 02/09/2010 23:19

I have read that its a sign that your DC is not feding for long enough on the one breast and, therefore, not getting the hind milk. My DD has recently been quite fussy at the breast and will only feed for 5 minutes on one side before wanting to go over the the other side - there have been a mix of yellow and green poos and I had assumed this was why?

resistanceisfutile · 02/09/2010 23:49

DD often had runny green poo. She would also poo ridiculously frequently (as in a few times an hour). She was on the 91st percentile so I had no concerns about her weight what so ever. I wouldn't worry about it at all, useless you have other causes for concern.

tiktok · 03/09/2010 00:06

Green poo not a sign of anything significant in a baby who is well and thriving.

There is nothing wrong with a baby who takes in proportionately more foremilk than another baby who might take in proportionately more hindmilk. There is huge unnecessary fuss made about foremilk and hindmilk in books and by HCPs. Babies sort out what they need for themselves - there is no need to engineer timings or frequency or swappings over - unless the baby is showing signs of being overwhelmed by an over-generous milk supply or feeding repeatedly ineffectively and not thriving. Most babies are fine without any jiggling of times, freq, or swaps. In fact, jiggling is actively unhelpful to happy bf :)

As ever, if anyone's worried about whether green poo is a symptom of illness (and it can be in a baby who's showing other indications things are not right), ask HV or doc.

harverina · 03/09/2010 00:21

tiktok, I am so glad that you posted this - I ahve been worried about my DD having much shorter feeds and, therefore, not getting the hindmilk. I have been trying to get my DD to stay on the same breast for longer but she completely refuses and will make such a fuss until I swap her over.

Original poster
WildStrawberries · 03/09/2010 11:40

Tiktok thank you so much for your reply.

As DS is obviously very well with great weight gain, (bar the green nappies) I shall continue as we are!

Speaking as a naturally lazy laid back person, one of the many things I love about BF is not having to think too much about it...

OP posts:
MumNWLondon · 03/09/2010 13:32

DS2 has had green poo, started 3 weeks ago at 16 weeks when he cut down the length of time he fed for to around 10 mins in total - at this time he started to wake up in the night again having slept through from 8 weeks.

I read the foremilk hindmilk thing, not totally convinced, but always now start from the emptier side, this makes the feed slightly longer as he has to work a bit harder initially. Poos seem to have gone back to normal with just occasional green one. Has also had side effect of me having lots of milk.

TBH care more about the night wakings than the green poo!

cerealqueen · 03/09/2010 20:33

Shorter feeds more likely to mean that your baby is a very efficient feeder? My DD was also on 90th percentile with green poos and we never had any issues about her putting on weight. Around this time DD would concentrate on anything other than feeding so I wore baby beads around my neck and she loved playing with them, really helped keep feed times focused.

harverina · 03/09/2010 21:52

Think its a combination of her being more efficient and also being easily distracted. The beads sound like a great idea will give them a go. Where did you buy them? Haven't seen them anywhere before. Some feeds are much longer than others. She only gained 6oz in three weeks but I have been told that this is ok for a 5 month old baby?

cerealqueen · 06/09/2010 22:18

Haverina, I got mine from www.lactivistbling.co.uk

If your DD is on her line on the growth chart I wouldn't worry, but speak to the HV or GP if you are at all worried. Smile

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