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coldfish View Drop Down
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    Posted: 24 May 2009 at 3:02pm
Hi, the last couple of days my baby has had greenish poop, sometimes quite bright green even. Otherwise she is very healthy and doesn't seem sick at all.

I've just done a quick look on the net and I found info that it can be related to a milk supply problem - an imbalance between foremilk and hindmilk. That she may be getting to much foremilk (high volume low calorie) and not enough of the full fat hindmilk.

A recommendation was to fully empty a breast at a feed instead of switching to the other side if you are going to offer the other side, or if the breast hasn't been emptied at one feed then start the next feed on the same side to ensure it will get emptied. Even if it means expressing and wasting a little bit of milk on the other side to stop engorgement and mastitis until supply settles down.

My question, which may sound a bit basic, is how do I know when baby has emptied milk from one breast? Will she stop feeding automatically, because sometimes it seems as though she's just using the breast as a pacifier towards the end of a feed and it's hard to tell how much, if any, milk she is getting. Occasionally when she pulls away I squeeze the nipple/areola to see if there is any more milk and usually there is. Other than checking myself I was wondering if I would know when she is finished.

Sometimes she pulls away after 10 or 15 mins but I'm not sure if she had drained that side or just having a break, but after she has pulled away I offer the other side which she usually takes, and I think that may be where my problem is, that she hasn't finished with the hindmilk on the first breast yet and I'm switching sides.

Has anyone else encountered a problem like this? Thanks
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FreeSpirit View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote FreeSpirit Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 May 2009 at 4:37pm
At one month old, the milk off one breast should be enough for her - just let her feed as long as she wants off that side.
Use the other boob next feed (you may be a bit lopsided in the mornings).
I found the easiest way to judge when she was finished was her tummy - if it felt round and full, she had probably had enough. So if I was you, even if she pops off for a break, put her back on the same side.
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Chickoin View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Chickoin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 May 2009 at 6:58pm
You can't really completly empty a breast, because milk is being made all the time so you should be able to still squeaze a few drops out at the end.
When Jody was younger I got confused about when she was finished. I would let her get to the point where she would do butterfly sucks (sorta quivers her chin), then let her go for a little bit longer just to be sure. Then take her off.
She very rarely takes both sides, and I don't think she ever did before my supply dropped a bit at 3 months.
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cuppatea View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cuppatea Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 May 2009 at 7:07pm
I had oversupply issues and Kyle did a lot of green poos and when really bad he's poos were totally liquid with the fatty bits rather than the lovely creamy poos with fatty bits that they should do. What my mw advised was to express some of the foremilk off before a feed. I basically expressed till I didn't feel engorged and then put him on or sometimes I let him go on and then I would get a massive let down and he would pull off so I would have a cloth ready and let my boob just go off into that until it stopped spraying and then I would pop him back on.

Are you still under your mw? might be worth seeing what she suggests.

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pomikiwi View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pomikiwi Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 May 2009 at 9:19pm
I only ever feed off one side. Unless DS is really hungry which is usually int he evenings he'll have both.


DD-Carys Amelia 17.03.06
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whitewave View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote whitewave Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 May 2009 at 10:08pm
We've had the same problem!
I agree, try expressing off a bit before you put her on if you feel too full or engorged.
Then, if she pulls off before you think she's finished, try putting her back on a couple of times. If she keeps pulling off, then she may have finished. But be careful she's not being a lazy feeder - if she's used to an abundant, fast flow of foremilk, then she may not want to work at getting the slower-flowing, fattier hindmilk. My son used to do that a bit, and it resulted in green poos.
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coldfish View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote coldfish Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 May 2009 at 9:01am
Thanks for all your replies.
Yesterday I started feeding from just the one side again and the poos are changing colour back to normal again, still not 100% right but getting close. For some reason she did some longer feeds than usual on the one side, not sure why, and was very content after so that made it easier.
I see my MW today for my final discharge appointment so will mention it to her.
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