green poo

Hi I am new to this forum and hoping someone can help I am breastfeeding my 4th child who is now 6 weeks old. She is becoming colicky and unsettled in the evenings and only poos every 4-5 days - when she does it is 5-6 times in a row - this doesnt concern me too much as she is feeding well every 3-4 hours during the day and going to 5-6 hours at night. What worries me is the colour - a really vivid green - not something I remember with my other children. She gets quite distressed when she poos and it sounds and smells horrendous. It is very watery and like green slime.

Hoping someone has experienced this and can reassure me it is normal. :please?:

Hiya hun and to the forum. Is she being exclusively breastfed? Is she draining your breast fully on one side? Because i no bethany has had green poo before because she werent getting enough of the hind milk. She's also had greenish poo's when she's been poorly :aww:

and welcome!

Coreys poo was always green when he had a cold - but it wasnt all the time, just when he was snuffly.
Helens tip on the fore/hind milk is good and worth checking.

sorry i cant be of any more help - there will be a resident expert along soon no doubt!

Helen wrote:Hiya hun and to the forum. Is she being exclusively breastfed? Is she draining your breast fully on one side? Because i no bethany has had green poo before because she werent getting enough of the hind milk. She's also had greenish poo's when she's been poorly :aww:

:cheer: Welcome to the forum,Emily has the most foul green nappies sometimes, & the tip from Helen is a good one (i didnt no so will be checking that one !)
Im sure you will find an answer , everyone here is very helpful x

Green poo is often a sign of a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance.

Your foremilk, the watery milk that comes at the beginning of the feed and is responsible for keeping your baby hydrated, contains a lot of lactose.

Your hindmilk, the denser milk that comes at the end of the feed that gives her nutrients and fats, contains the enzyme that digests the lactose in the foremilk.

If baby is getting too much foremilk and not enough hind, baby will cry and scream because they can't digest the lactose. The green poop is often the giveaway.

I found the best way to make sure babies got enough hind milk was to feed from that one side first and then on the next feed, offer that breast again before moving onto the other for the rest of the feed, and then do the same again on the other breast.

Also there maybe a possiblity your child has an intolerance to something your eating, but in most cases it milk (cows etc) lactose intolerance can occur in newborns so its just a case of elimination.

Cut out milk for two weeks and or others foods that you dont eat often, but thats only if the feeding suggestion doesn't solve it.

hi and welcome!
Great advice from Natasha

Thanks Natasha that makes a lot of sense - am not finding feeding particularly easy so may not be letting her get enough hindmilk - latching on is difficult and painful and I am exhausted with 3 other children to look after school runs etc - oldest is 6 and possibly autistic (we are in the early stages of referral) so life is pretty hectic. Will try what you have suggested re the feeding thanks again for the sensible advice

No problem at all.

As for the hetic life, I can imagine its very hard!

I would suggest you take a look at these videos if your having trouble latching

http://www.breastfeeding.com/helpme/helpme_video.html

Latching should never be painful, always when latching, its chin to breast, mouth opens and then its under and over. Mouth over areola and nipple.

I used to hold Olivias head with one hand, with a finger each side of her jaw to get her to open wide while supporting the back of the head with the palm.

But sometimes there can be other reasons like thrush etc, so make sure your looking out for those signs eg; white tongue.

The videos are very usefull, and if there are any other problems please let us know x

Green poo has settled feeding is still painful though - like pins and needles in the breast mainly on the outside - both sides. Nipples look fine. Meg doesnt seem to have any white spots in her mouth. Saw HV last week who wondered ?thrush but as Meg's mouth was fine she sugggested trying different feeding positions - find I can only feed comfortably in one position though so that hasnt helped. Been better on days I have expressed so wondering if it is positional and when pumping all breast gets emptied so less painful??

Yes it does sound like position.

Have you looked at the videos?

I used to get the pins and needles when I wasn't latching properly.

Do you have a bfing pillow? I found that realy helped x