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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Need some advice about fore and hind milk and green poo

23 replies

littletime · 29/07/2011 07:09

I've a question - how long does hind milk stay around for? Can my dd have a 20 minute break then go back on and will she get hind or fore milk?
Does hind milk stay around for two hours?

The problem is that she is eating only for ten minute bursts and then refusing point blank to eat anymore...then I'm getting many green poo (splat like) and only a few properly good large yellow ones per day.

I seem to be offering her my breast and getting a full refusal more enough than not.
I am following Gina Ford in terms of the hours of feeds/sleeps but offering her more feeds than she suggests so slowly falling out of routine too.

HV suggested making sure she'd had more hind milk as green poo is connected with not getting enough hind milk - but how do I know?!!?

Would love sensible advice please as going stir crazy trying to guess how to make her drink my hind milk.

Thanks,

OP posts:
Alibabaandthe80nappies · 29/07/2011 07:14

You are worrying far too much. Ditch the GF, it really is not compatible with BF on demand.

The green poo is possibly to do with poor latch at some feeds, so that is what I would focus on. Fore and hind milk is a bit of a myth, just feed her when she is hungry.

Tortoiseonthehalfshell · 29/07/2011 07:15

I really wouldn't worry too much about fore and hind milk. If you're getting lots of poos and wees it's usually all good. There's no way to make a baby feed for longer than it wants to. Don't overthink; I think if tiktok comes along she'll say that the whole fore/hind thing is not really that important and no point focusing on it if everything else is going well.

All of that said, are you block feeding? I found that it worked well to do several feeds on one boob rather than switching each time, because it emptied (well, they never empty, but, you know) the boob better. If you're putting her back on the same side after 20 minutes that's great.

How old is your daughter?

GreenTeapot · 29/07/2011 07:26

Intermittent green poo plus a happy baby isn't a problem. If she was unsettled and miserable it would be, but as she isn't, there isn't a problem therefore you need do nothing to fix it. Relax :)

While hind milk and foremilk certainly do exist, most breastfeeding mums need do nothing to engineer feeds to balance the baby's intake. If the baby's fine you can carry on exactly as you are. Block feeding may reduce supply so it would probably be best to get advice from a counsellor before embarking on it.

Original poster
littletime · 29/07/2011 07:47

Oh thank you all so much - ok, I'm going to stop worrying - she's completly happy and normal other than the million poo's I seem to be doing - 3 already and she's only been up two hours!

I'll stick with normal and just try to tweak the feeding position as that could be it.
She's 3 months and is quite large too! There seem to be enough wet nappies not to be overly concerned, I've just myself into a massive tizz about the fore/hind milk!

OP posts:
Original poster
littletime · 29/07/2011 07:56

Oh thank you all so much - ok, I'm going to stop worrying - she's completly happy and normal other than the million poo's I seem to be doing - 3 already and she's only been up two hours!

I'll stick with normal and just try to tweak the feeding position as that could be it.
She's 3 months and is quite large too! There seem to be enough wet nappies not to be overly concerned, I've just myself into a massive tizz about the fore/hind milk!

OP posts:
RitaMorgan · 29/07/2011 08:11

There's a really good explanation of foremilk/hindmilk here: www.analyticalarmadillo.co.uk/2010/07/foremilkhindmilk-and-lot-of-confusion.html

I think some HCPs get a bit hung up on it without really understanding what it means Hmm

SnarkHunt · 29/07/2011 12:01

And here: thefunnyshapedwoman.blogspot.com/2011/05/foremilk-and-hindmilk-in-quest-of.html I just put it on another thread too. Green poo can also be tummy upset, vaccinations, or in my case eating too many cherries! Relax and feed your baby :0)

TimeWasting · 29/07/2011 18:24

Don't block feed if her weight gain isn't great though.

Tryharder · 29/07/2011 18:43

I would ditch the book as well. Sounds like you are doing fantastically well without it. Smile If your baby is refusing to eat, then she must be full.

The concept of spaced out, timed feeds is very much a Western idea and is why, IMO, so many women end up giving up bf.

tamararama · 29/07/2011 20:12

This from the Armadillo might help too:
www.analyticalarmadillo.co.uk/2010/11/green-nappies-what-do-they-mean-when.html

Tammy

Original poster
littletime · 29/07/2011 20:42

how many days of green poo's do I wait before going to the doctors?

Admittedly it could be a reaction to me, as we've been in France on holiday for a while now....I know I'm fussing but dh is away with work and got no one to talk me into sensibility!

OP posts:
RitaMorgan · 29/07/2011 20:49

Are you feeding her on demand or to a schedule?

If you're demand feeding and she seems content/alert between feeds and is gaining weight, I wouldn't worry.

Original poster
littletime · 29/07/2011 21:02

I feed her every 3/4 hours throughout the day, I do go with dear old Gina as the sleeping pattern is working a treat and I can foresee when she needs to be fed and offer it up. But then is she does start rooting around, I give her a feed. Which I didn't do with my ds and he never had green poo - hence why 3 months in, I'm suddenly having a wobble and concerntraing on the latch and getting her to drain.
I also broke my medela pump today as I was pumping to make sure gave a full feed from one breast - it overflowed and came up the tube and then started pumping itself out of the machnical bit - it was like something from a horror film - milk everywhere and the pump with a life of it's own! I can't get the milk out of the tube so no more pump for the foreseeable future!

She's undemanding, happy little baby and is alert/content.

OP posts:
RitaMorgan · 29/07/2011 21:07

Does she only feed for 10 minutes every 3/4 hours? Maybe she's getting lots of thinner milk as your breasts are very full each feed - you could try offering feeds more frequently and see if that helps.

But, if she's happy and healthy I wouldn't give too much worry to green poo.

Original poster
littletime · 31/07/2011 21:49

Ah! I have been offering her feeds every two/three hours all weekend and to say that she's getting crosser with me and the sight of my breast is an understatement. Poo's are still green and other than my trying to make her eat more often I seem to be not winning.

What would my giving her formula for a feed a day do to her? Help? I'm up for anything and happy to do one formula a day if so!

OP posts:
RitaMorgan · 31/07/2011 21:53

What do you want the formula to help with though? Is it just to change the colour of her poo Confused

ilovemountains · 31/07/2011 22:01

I've done GF with both my babies, and breast fed them. Are you adding extra feeds into the routine because the baby is hungry? I always found my babies didn't move 'up' the routines as fast as her average baby so just used earlier routines. Using these meant that the feeds were still nicely spaced and fitted around nap times. My babies also did an entire feed in ten minutes at that stage, just very efficient. Down to about five minutes at six months!
Not sure if any of that is helpful.

Alibabaandthe80nappies · 31/07/2011 22:01

Why do you care what colour her poo is if she is fine? Seriously, you are worrying about a non-problem.

ilovemountains · 31/07/2011 22:05

And I block fed when I had too much milk. So always made sure a breast was floppyish before swapping. This could mean not feeding off a side for six hours or so, although occasionally slightly uncomfortable it never caused a problem.

GreenTeapot · 31/07/2011 22:05

littletime, what exactly is the problem here? Green poo is on the normal spectrum.

TimeWasting · 31/07/2011 22:17

I thought DS was getting too much foremilk and block-fed and it screwed us up. Green mucousy poo can be a sign of not getting enough milk.
Don't go on poo colour alone when considering block-feeding.

GreenTeapot · 31/07/2011 22:33

Agree Time, block feeding is a technique which reduces supply. I don't think it's advisable without some input from a counsellor.

In fact, littletime, what about you phone one of the helplines eg NCT 0300 330 0771, or email for support if you're abroad (LLL Helpform here). Then you can tell a counsellor what you've told us and see if they are more able to reassure you than we are.

SnarkHunt · 01/08/2011 01:34

Good advice from Greenteapot - sounds like you need to talk to a real life person and get some reassurance and info on what is and isn't normal.

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