Green poo...

[FlightofFancy]

Sorry about length of post...

Am EBF my nearly 3 week old DS, and generally going OK. However, have noticed his poo has gone from lovely pumpkin soup to more of a chopped parsley consistency over the last few days. Advice suggests that this might mean he's getting too much foremilk and not enough hindmilk? I realised I was probably not keeping him on each breast for long enough - so am trying to stick to one side for a couple of feeds, then the other IYSWIM (he's been quite sleepy as was born at 37 weeks and has been a bit jaundiced - so have had to wake for feeds in the early days and he still has tendency to drop off after about 15 mins!). How long is it likely to be before this will take affect if it does help?

Also, am going to try and get latch checked - he was great to start with, but as he starts to get more 'lively', he's lunging at me and particularly on LH side it's starting to hurt.

He's also had a bit of snuffly nose (using saline drops to keep it clear-ish at night), so wondered if being a bit under the weather might affect things as well?

Anything else I should try to change/look out for to try and get things back on track?

Am going to try and get to a local breastfeeding drop in, but they're not 'til later in the week and just wanted to get a bit of advice in the meantime as am typical panicky mother of PFB!

I will bump this for you. Ds did something similar a bit older and advice - Iirc (and it was long ago, I may be wrong) was that it could be a sign of dehydration. Think the fore/hind-milk malarky is a myth, too. But I have bad nappy-brain - sure someone knowledgeable will come along soon and kick my butt correct me.

(congratulations, btw!)

green poo i was told was normal its only a worry if white or has blood in it

i loved pumpkin soup, thanks for that analogy

dd2's poo goes green when she's under the weather

sorts itself out within a day or two of snottiness easing

no I'm sure I remember hunkermunker or tiktok saying it could be an issue, if baby is failing to gain weight, or...

sorry, FoF, memory is so patchy these days.

Cross fingers one of the experts will turn up soon!

thanks guys - am getting plenty of wet/dirty nappies, so think we're OK on dehydration.

Weight gain also OK (or was when weighed last week) - only lost 5% of birth weight and was back up over it within 10 days (put on 9oz in 5 days at one point!)

Is feeding a lot yesterday and today, so poss a growth spurt as well?

hi FoF - my DS has green poo when he's going down with a cold - BF counsellor (at my local bf clinic) has said this is totally normal, and not to worry. HOWEVER, if it's going on for a long time (like more than a day or two), and baby seems out of sorts/losing or not gaining weight, it's probably best to get it checked out. think she also rolled her eyes at the foremilk/hindmilk thing

also, my DS had what seemed like weekly growth spurts - he would have 1 or 2 days a week where he just fed non-stop. Still does (17 weeks now). enjoy your baby!

I think green poo can be normal but it can also signal a problem. When BF started to go wrong with ds one of the first signs was a bright green nappy that looked like digested grass. Coupled with no weight gain, peadiatrican said his nappy was a 'hungry baby nappy' so I'd suggest getting it checked.

my dd had green stinky poo when in hospital for dhydration

i started a thread about this a day or so ago as DD's nappies are always green

i am going to take her to the GP to get her checked out

she seems alert, happy and gaining weight so am not sure what the issue could be as she seems healthy but i do think it needs to be checked

My DS had more green nappies than not in the early days, but was otherwise healthy and happy. So I guess it can be normal too.

hello

this happened with my little girl when she was about 4 weeks. It lasted a few days then gradually returned to normal.

Congratulations on your DS!

I had a similar issue with mine at around 1 week. I spoke to one of the midwife team on the phone who told me that green poos were normal. However, they were asking questions like was he feeding well, producing wet nappies, gaining weight etc. He's now 3.5 weeks and

If your baby falls asleep / falls off the breast at the end of feeds, you may be able to tell whether he's getting the hind milk by looking at any which dribbles out of his mouth or is left on your nipple. When my DS falls off, or if I have to unlatch & reposition him, I can always judge how long he's been feeding for by whether the milk he dribbles looks white and watery or thick and creamy. You could always try offering the same breast again after he's had a brief 'power nap' and you've then woken him up again.

Sorry, the second paragraph should have finished with 'He's now 3.5 weeks and only has green poos very occasionally, although they lasted a day or two when they first happened'.

Blame it on the sleep deprivation.

Thanks again guys - we're heading back towards yellow today, so think it might have been the cold... he sneezed out a pea sized (and coloured!) lump of snot yesterday and seems much less snuffly!