First time bf'er: Green Poo, straining/grunting baby; fast let down; no getting the hind milk - help!

[Cyee]

First of all - thanks for reading this I have done my best to look for info on old/similar threads.

I have a 3 week old daughter who is really great - quite serene, sleeps for 3 hour stretches mostly. BF'ing is going fine (hurrah!) in that my nipples are intact.. however I'm not totally convinced the latch is great nor that she's getting the right balance of food. Nappies are wet, poo has been brown/mustard until last few days. Have had the odd 'normal' nappy in amongst the green ones.

The last few days her poo has gone green and she has also been grunting/straining a lot for what seems like nothing. She hasn't bee crying though... just very red of face. So far I have read that:

• She could be getting too much foremilk: I've therefore concentrated on feeding her from the same side, but only over a few hours/couple of feeds. This has been ok, however towards the end of a feed I'm not even sure if she's feeding (can't really hear a swallow) but don't want to stop her in case she's at/near the hind milk, even if she's only getting a little bit
• The reasons for getting too much foremilk could (I've read) either be because of oversupply or because she's not feeding long enough on one side.
• The grunting/straining could be wind or related to the foremilk issue. She's definitely not constipated and the straining doesn't always result in explosive/noisy farts/poos

Her feeding habits are not great (I think). She tends not to feed for long stretches and I have changed side to keep her interest/awake (though interestingly I had sort of stopped doing that before the poo went green). She can go through phases of fussing and grabbing at the nipple, which can occasionally be sorted by winding her, taking her away from the boob or expressing a little. My let down seems pretty impressive, in that I can have a continuous spray for a good few seconds (by itself, no squeezing!). So last night and this morning I have expressed about 1oz or until the spray seems to calm down. She seems to have responded ok to this.

So.. I would LOVE some help with:

• How do I know if it's oversupply or that she's not feeding long enough to get hind milk?.. or indeed if there's any other reason for the poo/grunting
• How long do babies normally need to feed on a full side in order to reach the hind milk?
• If I do have an oversupply of foremilk, any tips as to how I ensure she gets a good balance?
• Any tips on keeping her awake/interested/feeding in order for her to reach the good stuff?
• Should I keep expressing the start of each side?
• Does the breast operate a queuing system, in that the foremilk-hindmilk make-up stays for a certain period of time? Or does the breast recalibrate after each feed so that foremilk goes back to the top of the queue, even if the baby has just taken all the foremilk at the last feed but falls asleep before the hind milk? Does this make any sense?!
• Should I try her on something like Infacol to test the wind argument?

Sorry for the MASSIVE essay... and millions of thanks if you've made it this far And additional thanks if you have any advice.

Hi can't be much help but I'm sure an expert will be on her way.

I would say though that they dont necessarily need to feed for a long time to be getting enough milk. My dd now almost 6 months has never fed for any longer than 10/15 mins max, and she settles for about 4 hours between feeds. The become more efficient and feeds take less time. Sorry cant help on anything else but it does sound like your doing a great job!

It all sounds normal to me. My let-down was like an industrial strength garden sprinkler for the first couple of months. DD also had alot of green poo but I think that is normal for BF babies. Until DD was about 12 weeks it was very hard to keep her feeding for more than 10mins - I was constantly tickling her feet and blowing on her to keep her awake. Also when they are tiny they do squirm and yell at times - their little intestines are still learning how to cope. Make sure you wind her well but don't worry about it.

I would trust your body. Don't swap sides too often to make sure she gets the hindmilk from one side. If one feed was short I would feed from the same side next time. I would not express the first part of the feed as it is that bit that quenches her thirst etc. Also if you express and then feed your body will make even more milk thinking that your baby is taking more than she is.

Cyee,

It sounds to me like you're doing just fine and worrying unnecessarily!! TBH I wouldn't get hung up on foremilk and hindmilk unless your baby is losing weight/not feeding enough etc. which doesn't seem to be the case as you don't mention a problem with weight gain.

Babies nappies are a constsnt source of amazement and change colour for no apparent reason. The wind does often become an issue and for some babies infacol does make a difference. For my windy firstborn I found vigorous winding worked better -try lying her across your knee with her belly down and rubbing her back quite hard.

How long is she feeding for at each feed and how long is she going between feeds?

You sound as though you're doing really well!

My Ds was only ever offered one side to try to ensure that he got hind milk as well as fore (recommendation from a friend) - there was a change as he fed from the 'aggghhh I'm drowning, need to swallow lots and often' to the really needing to put a bit of effort in, possibly two or more sucks before a swallow.

I think that if you feed from the same side a second time, the baby will get more fore milk again, but possibly not so much before hind milk starts.

Re grunting - sounds normal to me! Don't worry too much unless it gets excessive - most babies I've met have a tendency to do this and ours certainly did.

Keep at it and good luck

Try not to over analyse - sounds like you're doing well and baby is only 3 weeks old!

I always had loads of milk & fast let down. Both my babies only ever fed for 10 mins one breast per feed - they also had a phase of green poo (normal with bf babies). As long as baby is gaining weight just relax and trust your body.

enjoy your newborn

Thank you all Would you believe that all day she's done longer feeds and poo is brown!

Going to get her weighed on Thurs, so will know then if there's any weight issue.

Will relax and trust myself. Thank you for the reassurance!

That's good news Cyee - I bet she's really grown when you get her weighed....let us know!

Just a quickie to say thanks again.

She gained 14oz over 10 days... so hoping that is a sign that she's doing well. Poo still fairly green, but hey I'm Irish... I like green

Thanks a million again for your reassurances!