Green poo. Come and tell me all about it.

[OhGood]

DS, 14 weeks, EBF, greenish poo for a week now. Not frothy, just greenish, and not the brick orange-yellow it was before.

Theories I have had floated past me are: teething (he is a dribble factory at the moment), food intolerance, not getting enough hind milk (he has a bit of tongue tie and is not a very efficient feeder.) How do I know, and should I be worried, and when?

I would love to hear your experiences of similar and any words of wisdom.

Hi OhGood

I had a very similar experience to you when my ds was 11 weeks and posted a slightly more hysterical thread about it on mumsnet for advice.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/breast_and_bottle_feeding/a1612851-Ive-ruined-it-havent-I-Please-help

Essentially what I found out was that green poo is absolutely normal. Its not really known what causes it. It happens to most babies at some point or another and you shouldnt worry too much about it. My ds had green poos for a little while (cant remember how long but I think it was for a few weeks but not every dirty nappy). I took him to the gp who offered to test his poo to see if he had a baterial infection but you know what by that time the green poos had started to stop and I couldnt get a single green nappy to get a sample from. I didnt change anything as far as I can remember they just stopped by themselves. Im still breastfeeding my ds who is now 13 months and he does occasionally get green tinged nappies but they are not a cause for concern anymore I prefer them to his smellier darker poos and I dont think they should be to you either. Hope it clears up soon and your breastfeeding continues to go well.

Do you have a fast let down or n abundant mill supply? Green poo can often be caused by the milk hitting their tummies too quickly. Have you tried a Biological Nurturing? Where you lean back with them laying on you to feed (google for images). It slows the milk flow down for them

In my case it was chocolate. Every time.

This happened to us when ds was much younger - around 5 wks. It was a hind milk thing, and sorted out in a couple of days with block feeding. It wasn't just the poo that was a problem, but also that ds was agitated and restless - because he was so hungry.

Thanks all for responses.

Toklastennis DS is pretty chilled out so I don't think he's hungry, though he's such a pants feeder I am a bit worried about the hindmilk thing. I default to 'worry about feeding' because of the pants feeding thing. Ginger I don't think that's my problem, I think I have evened out now.

sitting that's just sooo unfortunate...

Will take to him GP maybe.

Please, please don't worry about fore/hindmilk in a baby of 14 weeks, unless there are other worrying symptoms.

Here's some info:

thefunnyshapedwoman.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/foremilk-and-hindmilk-in-quest-of.html explains it.

Fore/hindmilk causes so much unnecessary confusion. In a very few babies, feeding may need to be 'engineered' so the mum deliberately 'block feeds' which reduces supply but maintains the calorie intake of the baby (Toklas, your baby may have been overwhelmed by an over-generous supply and troubled by the overdose of lactose that comes with it). But by 14 weeks, this is rarely an issue, and doesn't spring out of the blue, anyway.

Sometimes, green poo is a touch of intestinal hurry (because poo stays green if it's not in the lower bowel long enough to turn yellow) and this could be the baby dealing with a mild infection. It does not usually need treatment.

By all means, speak to doc, but there's nothing in your post to suggest any health problem.

Oh tiktok thank you so much. I think he is absolutely fine. He is cheerful and contented and doing what he should be. Just the green poo. So I will keep an eye on him and wait and see.

Meant to say peaceful I feel your pain - there is nothing like the crushing anxiety that comes with breastfeeding.