Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Infant feeding

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

Flip

Original poster

Ebf poo interpretation- help needed!

12 replies

sacgonflable · 30/07/2017 14:24

Right - had never understood parents' obsession with their children's bowel movements but NOW I get It!

My son is 5 weeks and exclusively breastfed on demand. It's pretty painless although sometimes latch on one side is a bit sore when I get lazy during night feeds. He feeds 5-10 minutes on each breast (15-20 mins in total) every 2-3 hours, bar cluster sessions which seem to happen most evenings for a couple of hours.

Ever since he was born I have noticed he doesn't poo in quite the same quantities or frequency as other EBF babies I have come across (HCP with a fair bit of experience). His poos have never had much substance, they have always been pretty watery and mucousy. They do have little seeds which I know is normal. He's very gassy and goes puce and strainy quite a lot, especially at night where he takes a good 30 minutes to settle post feed. I would say he has 3 poos a day. Tons of Wees. I showed a nappy to a health visitor who said it looked normal but it's been on my mind a bit.

ANYWAY yesterday I was desperate for a sleep and had left my pump at home. While I slept a family member gave him a bottle of formula (with my consent!!). This morning he had his first what I would call "proper" poo...curdy, thick, loads of it (delightful eh).

A bit of googling suggests mucousy stools can be inidicative of a food intolerance. I guess what I'm trying to ask is, has anyone else had similar? Could it be that my breast milk doesn't actually agree with him?

At 3 and a half weeks he had put on nearly 2lbs by the way so I don't think he's perishing...

Thank you, wise people of Mumsnet.

OP posts:

GreenGoblin0 · 30/07/2017 14:44

bf poo is different from formula poo so I don't think you can really compare the two.

if he is not distressed, doesn't have any rash etc and seems to be thriving then nothing you have said indicates that your milk doesn't agree with him. seeds in nappy are a good sign. personally I would feed from each breast for longer though

arbrighton · 30/07/2017 15:02

My DS (5 weeks) also has the gas/ going puce/ taking a while to settle thing.
But poos plenty- usually a bit in every nappy even if not a large quantity. My take on it is that he's taking in gas since i seem to produce a lot of milk at once but he is definitely thriving on it.

He doesn't feed on both breasts as I seem to have more than enough in one for him- it just ends up with a spectacular amount of vomit if he does, and he settles back down for a couple of hours after we do eventually get a burp up- we've been using infacol to help with that. It helps me as a placebo if nothing else!

Remember it does take a while for their digestive system to mature, like everything else about them. If he is producing fairly normal nappies, at that rate, and gaining weight, he's probably just a gassy baby. BUT, if concerned, speak to GP... Formula fed babies will have very different poo- it's much harder for them to digest so of course more comes out the other end

Original poster

sacgonflable · 30/07/2017 16:58

hmm, I know formula fed babies have different poos but weirdly the poo he did today looked like a normal bf poo (from my experience). guess it's the mucous paired with the straining that is making me think something could be a bit amiss.

Brighton I've been thinking about trying infacol but wondering if he is gassy "enough" if that makes sense! I will see how the next few days go. think it might be slowly getting better. I don't think he's distressed, just uncomfortable. And being very vocal about it.

And I find the same with offering both breasts. I reckon I've got a hell of a lot in there as he can be pukey if has 10 minutes on the second.

Thanks for the reassuring words. Just feel bad for the little chap.

OP posts:

arbrighton · 30/07/2017 18:05

We don't know how gassy is 'enough' but anything to help him...

Doesn't seem to even need to 10 min on 2nd breast for spewgate here but trial and error!

TeddyIsaHe · 30/07/2017 21:35

Are they green? He might be getting a lot of foremilk rather than hind-milk in his feeds. Dd still does greeny, mucousy poos now at 6 months if she snacks on boob rather than having a full feed.

Try feeding him on both boobs and then going back to the first one to make sure he's getting lots of hindmilk and see how you get on with that?

Greylilypad · 30/07/2017 21:39

My 7 weeks old does really watery poos as well. More than either of his older sisters.
But he has gained loads of weight and doesn't seem to bother him at all so I would say it's a variation of normal?!

NotTheCoolMum · 31/07/2017 07:39

What is your signal to move him to the second breast? Should be increasingly rapid nursing which indicates breast is empty. Sometimes baby will pop off and demand second breast because getting at the hindmilk is harder work.

If you give first breast a squeeze is there still milk in it? If so I would put LO back on the first breast to fully empty it and make sure the hindmilk is taken.

Too much foremilk will result in gas and discomfort.

You may not need to feed from both sides except perhaps during a growth spurt. This is normal depending on how your supply is.

Original poster

sacgonflable · 31/07/2017 08:24

interesting points about finishing the breast. His poos are yellow and never even slightly green, but he does get very uncomfortable after feeds.

I have to say I'm not the best at reading his cues so maybe am over-offering which is adding to the problem. I try to wait until he slows down and stops - only half of the time he does those weird twitchy sucks (do other people get that?!) which I've heard is him getting to the hind milk. Think I'll try putting him back on breast number 1 today rather than switching. Fingers crossed.

OP posts:

Greylilypad · 31/07/2017 08:45

Just to say my little one only ever takes one breast at a time. I have offered second side but he just refuses.
Their digestive system is still developing so doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong either. Plenty of babies grunt and strain etc for first few weeks.

TipTopTipTopClop · 31/07/2017 08:51

Sounds normal to me.

They are so gassy at this stage and I know you're desperate to figure out some solution, but their guts are changing at warp speed and every day is new and different.

Ohhshiney · 02/08/2017 15:51

I have twins (5weeks) both are breast fed with 1 bottle of formula each a day. My girl poos every few days maybe whereas my boy poos at least twice a day and her poo looks different to his but they are both getting the same milk and putting on weight so if I were u and they were putting on weight I wouldn't worry

Rockspin · 02/08/2017 16:00

Sounds perfectly normal. There's barely anything in breastmilk that is a waste product and not absorbed by the body, so you get less poo and mucousy is fine. Foamy and green is a sign of maybe not so fine. Dd2 is 10 weeks, EBF, and thriving but she has yellow mucousy poos with an occasional thicker 'blow out'. We switched to lactose free products with both dd1 and dd2 and both girls became much less gassy as a result so may be worth trying and i don't miss out on anything.

Flip