My 3 week old stool's are green now, sometimes with a yellowish tint. I have read it could be hindmilk/foremilk. I don't really understand this. does anyone else have this problem?
carly :angel:

A breastfed baby can have a hindmilk/formilk problem. The formilk is watery and higher in sugar, and can lead to green poops. The hindmilk comes in at the end of a feeding and is higher in fat.

Do you have an over active let down, abundant supply? If you have too much milk and switch breasts during a feeding your baby may not be emptying the breast and thus getting the hind milk. Always empty the first breast before moving on to the second, no matter how long it takes. Then, for the next feeding, start with the brest you left off on so they get even stimulation.

I let her pull off by herself, sometimes she will want the other and sometimes not, my right breast produces more, it sprays and she will choke sometimes. She sometimes will only feed for a short time and want more right away. I have tried formula and she get's fussy. I am losing my mind here.
carly :angel:

I would get rid of the formula that will only mess things up. Your breasts need time to adjust to BFing. You have only been doing it for 3 weeks. Nurse till she stops on one side, offer the other side. If she takes it great if not it's ok. Then start the next time on the other breast and alternate. Your milk will adjust and the overflowing one will start to produce less. The reason that one is producing more is you are tending to nurse more on that side. It's supply and demand so that one is making more. I had that happen a lot when nursing. I really had to pay attention and alternate sides if he did not finish both. It takes a couple of months to get everything to work well.

Good luck!! BFing is hard in the begining.

Thank you, I am hanging in there, I really want to continue with the bfing. She is gaining weight. I just want to do it right. I go to a bfing clinic, everytime I am there she gets about 3 ounces, but more on the one side. It is scary when she chokes and I feel bad so I don't want to feed her on that side, but the other is kinda low. I will give it time.
thanks again :angel:
carly

When my breasts would get uneven I would put my son on the lower side first everytime until they evened out. The more they nurse on one side the more milk it will produce. The side they start on is the one where they will nurse harder becasue they are just starting out. I would start her on the lower side and have her nurse until she pulls off, then have her finish on the fuller side until things even out a little. Maybe the next days worth of feedings. I know it seems weird to nurse on the side with the least milk but thats what you have to do to get that side producing more. She will not suck as hard on the 2nd side so give her the fuller one 2nd, so that one starts to produce less. Make sure she does nurse a little on that side so that you do not get too engorged.

Rouge is right on, after 3 weeks you guys are still learning...

I was right there with you concerning choking - have you tried switching positions? My let down was extremely hard in the beginning - spraying, overabudnace of milk, engorgement, pain, and DS choking.

A lactation consultant suggested using the football hold - You sitting up, place the baby laying beside you under your arm with the back of their head in your hand and their feet beside you closer to your back. Prop a pillow or two under them to help level their head to your breast but making them kinda sitting up with your arm and hand supporting the baby. With the head more level with the breast the flow tends to not be as strong, I personally saw a reduction in choking.

Great job keeping up with Breast feeding. I promised myself I would at least try till 6 weeks. We made it that far and it became easier than it was in the begining. 6 months later we still have morning and evening feedings. Good luck. Hope this helps.

Thanks, Last night I fed her on the lower side till she stopped, about 20 min. then I changed her and went to the other side, she only sucked for a short while, she went right back to sleep!! And I did the same thing when she woke again! I think I am getting the hang of it..I hope. I do the football hold sometimes, Also I noticed her poop wasn't as green as usuall, I hope that it what it is!!! I appreciate your advice all! it is helping a great deal!
Carly :angel:

Also, your babies poop will go through all kinds of interesting colours. It is completely normal. :)

I was just wondering how do you know when the breast is empty.

I feed my DD who is 10 weeks until she lets go, but I have squeezed my breast and more has come out. So I'll put her back on, she'll eat for a min then let go again.

I always feed her in the football hold because it's easier and more comfortable for me. Is it possible there are some milk ducts that aren't getting stimulated because I always use the football hold?

Just wondering,
Rochelle

Your breasts are never truely "empty", they are just drained of the milk that has built up from the last feeding. This is why it's important to drain that build up, because the hind milk, which is high in fat, "sticks", so when you get to the end of a feeding you get all fat out, plus stimulate more flow which also contains the high fat.

Hindmilk and formilk is really just the same thing, but in between feeds that fat sticks and builds up, and it takes actually expressing the breast to get it moving, so to speak. That's why the "hind" milk is higher in fat.

During cluster feedings, growth spurts, and comfort nursing this isn't such a problem because milk is always moving through out the breast. A hindmilk formilk imbalance is usually only a possibility when there are long periods between each feeding, like 2 or 3 hours.

Thanks, my little one does eat every 2-3 hours. Should I pump more?

Pumping after a feeding will help build up a good supply. Breast milk is a supply and demand thing, so as long as the milk is leaving your body, your body will continue to make it. But there in lies the problem - if you stop pumping and your baby is not needing your abundant supply, then your body will compensate by making less. Your body is perfectly suited to make exactly what your baby eats.

An abundant supply can, and will, cause a hindmilk/formilk imbalance because it can be impossible for Baby to "drain" your breast to get the hindmilk. Unless you are pumping to build up a freezer supply to return to work or for the odd EBM bottle, then I wouldn't pump. It's not necessary. Unless it has been determined by a doctor that you have a decreased supply, chances are your baby is getting plently. The best indication is the amount of wet diapers. If you are gettig 5 or 6 really wet diapers in a day, then you're doing good.