Green poopy

[nut]

I hate to be so graphic, but over the last 5 days, my little Joe (2 months tomorros) has had some green poop. My lactation consultant says that it's probably either that he's fighting off some illness (although i wouldn't think it would last this long) or he is getting too much foremilk (which i can't believe, b/c I already switched to feeding him from one side only and he only feeds 7 times per day, so he isn't snacking). Any ideas?

[Bella923]

I notice Gabi gets green poop if I eat too much dairy or too much chocolate. When she was first born I couldn't eat chocolate at all. Now I can but only a little bit.

[nut]

I thought maybe a food intolerance too, but my diet has not changed recently, so that didn't seem too likely either. I only have milk once a day w/ my cereal. I eat some cheese, but not that often, and it's not like I had a bunch before he got the green poop. I do eat chocolate, but I haven't started having more of that either. What is strange is that he also started pooping more. He used to poop 1-3 times per day from 4-8 weeks. Last weekend he started pooping like 4-6 times/day. Also strange is that his night and early morning poop seem to be the normal color, but his poops during the day look green. How long do you think it is from consumption to poop for a baby?

[Holly]

Hi Nut- My doc told me normal breastmilk stools range in color anywhere from "mustard" yellow to bright "grass" green, and that the color can change from one diaper change to the next. I don't think you need to worry!

[texasred1]

Nut - I hadn't changed my diet either when Mason developed a cow's milk allergy. I even asked the allergist about it and he said that the allergy can develop over time or just over night. For Mason, he broke out in hives from head to toe after a bottle of formula (sometimes we would supplement) that's what sent us to the ER. His pedi said I didn't have to avoid dairy in my diet, but his allergist did.

Since I have cut out dairy (and it is in EVERYTHING) I can see a difference in Mason's bowel movements as well as his spitting up. If I have something dairy he probably spits up 10 times more a day, the spitting up is always a dead give away. And it does depend on how much I've had. But I started to notice (for example I had a casserole that had a lot of cream cheese in it) his poops would be more green. I'm guessing here that it takes about 2-3 days for consumption from mother to breast milk to get it all out. Did that make sense? I'm just guessing from what I've witnessed.

The other thing I've discovered is how many babies have a cow's milk allergy. It's incredible. I think stuff must be added to cow's milk and products 'cause you never heard about this so much say when we were babies.

[nut]

Interestingly, I cut Joe down to just 6 feedings yesterday (I hate to do it since he's not sleeping through the night yet, but....), and no green poop yesterday. I'm ramping back up to 7 feedings today, to compare. I don't want to definitely cut a feeding until I'm sure that's what it is, b/c once I cut it, I know my milk supply will re-adjust......So, maybe it really is related to him getting too much foremilk and not enough hindmilk.

[texasred1]

Mason's number of feedings are all over the place. I keep a daily record (have since we brought him home) and his sitter does too. Some days he's eaten as many times as 10 in a 24 hour period, then some as few as 5. I always worried about it affecting my supply too. I guess because I keep pumping during work the same # of times and I'll pump too if he goes for a very long stretch without eating (because he's taking an extra long nap) mainly for comfort, but also to ensure milk supply doesn't decrease.