3 week old and lots of explosive nappies!

[FuchsiaG]

Hi, my baby is just over 3 weeks old and has become quite fussy at the breast over the last couple of weeks. He’s bunching his legs up and going red in the face a lot so I’m worried he’s uncomfortable in his tummy. He’s difficult to bring wind up but he is letting out loud farts and these are often accompanied by explosive poos.

I had been very constipated after the birth so had been eating a lot of prunes, grapes, dried fruit etc to try and get things moving so initially thought this may have affected my milk, however, I stopped eating these on Tuesday and we’re still getting the explosive nappies, red faced grunting and bunching his legs up.

Any ideas?

Many thanks.

Babies tummies are really immature at this age, so lots and lots have weird poos, wind etc whilst they get used to digesting food.

If baby is gaining weight, no signs of dehydration etc then all should be fine.

Do you have a fast let-down? And are you feeding from each breast till they’re as empty as possible? Lots of foremilk can cause explosive poos, and a fast-let down could mean baby is gulping air with the milk leading to wind. You can express off a bit beforehand if this is the case, and wind baby a couple of times during each feed to try and combat the wind.

They usually settle down when they’re a few weeks older and their digestive system is a bit more mature.

Thanks for the reply Teddy. I do seem to have a very fast let down and he is very noisy and gulping when he feeds. How much do you think I should express off before a feed. To be honest as he’s not feeding for very long I don’t think he will be emptying each breast. Should I stick with the same breast for a few feeds in a row rather than alternating if he’s only on for 5-10 minutes?

Yes block feeding can be really useful if you do have an over supply to make sure he gets plenty of hindmilk.

I would express for a couple of minutes, until you feel letdown and then pop baby on. That initial gush should then calm down a bit and he’ll hopefully take in less air.

Kelly Mom website has loads of really useful info, so give it a browse while you’re feeding. Helped me loads!

Thanks so much, this is really helpful :) ok this is probably a stupid question but how do you know when you feel the let down? Do I express until it’s a trickle rather than it squirting out? I assume that have fast let down because the baby dribbles milk out of his mouth whilst feeding and is gulping and gasping a lot.

I didn't feel my own letdown for a few weeks. For me it's like pins and needles. I have fast letdown on one side and used to hand express until it slowed from a fountain to a trickle. Have had some embarrassing moments feeding out and about where baby has unlatched and a spray of milk goes all over the place!

As your baby gets bigger he will cope better with the flow. Feeding while you are fairly reclined or in the Biological Nurturing position will also help slow the flow naturally for him. www.lllusa.org/lie-back-and-relax-a-look-at-laid-back-breastfeeding/

BF babies are notorious for explosive and farty nappies. My general rule is if baby fed for under 5 mins I offer the same breast next time. Best to run this past your HV or call one of the BF helplines this early on though as I'm not sure how this works when your supply is still being established. Good luck!

Thanks @Firesidetreats. I really don’t think I have felt my let down :/ I’ve just had a go at the laidback breastfeeding position and found I couldn’t do it with vertically as his nose was too squashed into my boob (I have quite big boobs), however I managed it with him horizontally across me which seemed to work quite well :) Hiwever, it’s also quite difficult though as my boobs are quite droopy so my nipples point downwards (or outwards if I’m laid down) so it’s hard to stop him sliding off.

The first time I felt my letdown was in Wilko, in the queue, with no breast pads in 🤣. Felt a prickly sensation in my nipples then had to leg it from the shop. I think my baby was about 2-3 weeks old at this point. Prior to that I had felt nothing!

As he gets bigger and stronger he will be able to latch himself easier - we struggled at first but now I just wave his face somewhere in the general direction of the boob and he sorts himself out.

There is lots of info on this page kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supply-worries/fast-letdown/ - I wouldn't worry too much about the oversupply section yet as your supply will still be being established. There are some other positions to try on there as well.