# Foremilk/Hindmilk imbalance? I'm still so confused...



## CawMama (Nov 4, 2005)

Have any of you ever had this happen? I'm not sure if it's what's going on or not. DS's poops have been pretty green for about 4 days now, not frothy though. He doesn't have any other symptoms, so I don't think he's sick.


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## Lisoula (Jan 9, 2006)

nak-sorry

Happened with my 1st son....I just hand expressed for about 5 minutes before nursing....it really helped. Good luck!


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## doula mary (Aug 28, 2002)

How old is baby?

Foremilk/hindmilk imbalance is very common....I personally produce allot of milk...expressing some before a feed can help as well as nursing on one side for several feeds.

If it is frequent and extra smelly...it is probably a bug

If he is 4-6 weeks it might be a milk protein intolerance..but you would be seeing other symtoms... with that like a unhappy baby.

Mary


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Block feed. Stay on each side at least 2 hours. At one point I had to do 5-6 hour blocks to balance out. I would NOT express, that's going to make the problem worse.

-Angela


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## doula mary (Aug 28, 2002)

I respectfully disagree, I have had wonderful results with "over production" with expressing or pumping once a day for a period of time.

I base this recommendation, not only as a nursing mom...with LOADS OF MILK.. (10.3 years straight...different babes) but a Breastfeeding Educator working at a Lactation Center..where I hear what works from many moms! Over abundance can be tricky...but what a wonderful thing...to have lots of MILK!

Mary


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## crazydiamond (May 31, 2005)

I'm a low-supply mama and when I started taking domperidone to increase my supply, I suddently got the foremilk/hindmilk imbalance as well!

I actually did a combination of the above two suggestions: express for a few minutes before hand and block feed. I did one or the other, depending on which feeding it was.

Typically, if it was the first feed of the morning and thus _both_ breasts were quite full, I expressed a few minutes to reduce the amount of foremilk. Otherwise, babe would get filled up too soon and not get much hindmilk. At that age, she was a one-boob-per-feeding type of gal. Later in the day, however, I'd nurse on the same side several feedings in a row because the feedings weren't too far apart and there hadn't been enough time for a lot of foremilk to develop. Then, since it had been several hours since I had fed on the other side, I'd express a few minutes again before nursing that side. Worked well enough for me!


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## KKmama (Dec 6, 2001)

With my first two, the green poop was due to dairy allergy... just wanted to chime in on that. (Mine weren't particularly gassy or unhappy, either...) The timing was the same, too--right around 1-2 mos. If you want to test this one, eliminate *all* dairy from your diet (and dairy hides in lots of foods, so be careful if you want this to be a valid "test"). I saw results within a few days, but for some, it takes longer.


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## Peppamint (Oct 19, 2002)

Block feedings work wonders for those green poopies IMO!


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## CawMama (Nov 4, 2005)

What other symptoms besides green poop come with the imbalance? He's not really gassy or irritable. Just the green. Last night he did have some really liquidy poop...I wonder if it is some type of virus then? If it is intolerance to dairy or something like that, would there be other symptoms besides green? This is just such a mystery to me.

With dairy intolerance, does that come on as the baby gets older like this, around 5 weeks?

Confused....


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Our only sign was green poop- she was fine besides that.

As far as pumping/expressing to cause an oversupply







Whatever floats your boat. Personally I didn't want to be tied into that. I wanted my body to regulate to my baby the way it was designed to.

-Angela


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## CawMama (Nov 4, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna*
Our only sign was green poop- she was fine besides that.

As far as pumping/expressing to cause an oversupply







Whatever floats your boat. Personally I didn't want to be tied into that. I wanted my body to regulate to my baby the way it was designed to.

-Angela

So it's possible for this to happen and the baby to gain weight normally still? I thought low weight gain was one of the signs. I'm wondering now if it's dairy products that I eat. I'm going to research that now and see what the symptoms are. I'm still stumped. I don't mind the green poops if it's not something that is harming him. But,I am determined to figure it out!!!


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Yeah, she gained like crazy- born at 8lbs 12 oz, over birthweight by 6 days old. By 7 weeks she was nearly 13 lbs.

-Angela


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## CawMama (Nov 4, 2005)

I've been working hard the last 2 days at making sure he stays on one breast for a REALLY long time. I've noticed now, at least, a second let down happening. At what point can I rule out that it might be a lack of hindmilk? Does it take a couple days to turn his poop back to normal, or is this something that might take a while. I want to cut dairy, to see if that's the problem, but first I'm trying to make sure it just isn't FM/HM imbalance.

This morning, his poop was mucusy for the first time. He spits up quite a bit in the morning, and maybe a couple times during the day...but nothing crazy. He's not really gassy or fussy.

ARRRGGGHHHHHHHH from this control freak!!!!!


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

First off- relax. Being a control freak is way too stressful as a parent









That said, try blockfeeding- stay on one boob for 2 hours- no matter how many feeds. Poop still green? Try 3 hours, 4 hours. If you don't notice ANY difference in poop at 4 hours, I'd try the dairy. I noticed a difference within a day or so.

-Angela


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## CawMama (Nov 4, 2005)

Thanks, I'll try that.


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## CawMama (Nov 4, 2005)

I've been trying the block feeding, and now his poop is brownish. Still gooey and runny, but at least the neon green is gone (for now). So maybe I can rule out the allergy stuff. I read a lot about hyerlactation, and started pulling him off at my first let down...I didn't realize I was spraying like that, even shot him in the face twice....Guess I do have tons of foremilk. I'll have to keep tweeking this!


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## doula mary (Aug 28, 2002)

yea....try nursing him with a hand towel on your lap, and compress the breast you are not nursing on, while he nurses on the other...this helped me....and eventually my supply calmed down.

Mary


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## shanesmama (May 11, 2005)

Green, stringy, mucasy poo w/ no other symptoms is a good sign of a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. Also having an over supply or abundant supply is associated w/ it alot.

I didn't really do anything, I just figured, that it would be okay in the end, and it was, it regulated all on its own. The only thing different I did was instead of switch side, I made sure he had one breast per feeding instead of switching back and forth.

I figured, he was still growing, and real good might I add, so aparently he just needed more of my foremilk for awhile for some reason.


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## turniptruk (Apr 26, 2006)

Hi,
I too have been dealing with this problem. I've been pumping & block feeding. Both seem to have helped make Evan less miserable. He was in agony with gas before I met with the lactation consultant. He still has some issues with gas, but not so much. Every once in a while, like today he's had some green poops, but hasnt been too bad in the gas department -- hes managed to fart most of it out.
I have also cut out milk for the past 3 weeks. I'm dreaming of bowls of cereal, and banana splits at night. On Monday I will have a piece of cheese & hopefully Evan doesnt have a reaction. I'm not a big milk drinker, but I never knew how much I would miss it!~
While I have alot of foremilk, I dont feel a let down, and I for sure dont spray milk. I also hardly ever leak, and really haven't since Evan was about 2 weeks old. -he's seven weeks now. Is that strange? Seems like most of you have a big let down and spray.

Pam


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## turniptruk (Apr 26, 2006)

I forgot to add this...

When might this imbalance sort itself out? I hate sitting on the couch at 3am, baby on one breast and the pump on the other.

Will things get easier when my body figures things out, or when he gets bigger and can handle the foremilk better? Is pumping making things worse?

thanks!
Pam


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Pumping is making things worse.

-Angela


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## Little Bear's Mama (Mar 20, 2003)

Not all green poop signifies a problem.









It's important to note, too, that any removal of milk above and beyond what your baby needs will keep your milk levels higher. If you're trying to *reduce* production, it's important to reduce the amount of milk that is being removed from the breast.

I think you'll find the info in these links especially helpful:
http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/oversupply.html
http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/foremilk.html
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html
http://www.lalecheleague.org/NB/NBmilksupplyissues.html


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## obnurse (May 18, 2004)

I had the same thing happen with DS. All of a suden he started having bright green poops. I was (and still am) a control freak, and wondered if it was something I ate, a virus..yada yada. I asked our pedi and she had no clue. She said 'poop comes in all colors'. I however knew better from reading here.

I really didn't think I had an oversupply, but now know I did at the time. I was EXTREMELY full all of the time and did alot of spray with letdown. I started weight watchers for nursing mothers soon after and noticed a decrease in supply (to more normal levels). Right away I noticed the poops changed back to musturd color.

Certainly not advocating dieting to reduce supply LOL, just seconding the oversupply notion. The above ladies have tons of advice for fixing the FM/HM imbalance. I didn't think I had one since I always nursed the first side till it was sofened, but obviously not soft enough!


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