bf and formula top ups but still wont settle

Replies

• Astraad

  Dec 18, 2009 11:47AM

  Really? My hubby looked this up when our baby had green poo and he found it can sometimes be a result of too much lactose in the diet. The foremilk (more watery stuff that comes in the early minutes of the feed) has a higher lactose content than the rich hindmilk. So it's possible that if you are swapping sides frequently or she is getting fretful and cutting feeds short that she is getting a higher proportion of foremilk than is ideal.
  
  Having said that though, my baby always fed from just one boob at a time so he definitely got to the hindmilk. I was never convinced that it was really what caused his green poo, I thought it might have been a tummy bug. My mum even warned me in advance that is he ever had green poo, not to worry about it or look too hard for reasons as he would be fine. She said they never figured out why I had green poo sometimes as a baby, but I was totally fine.
  
  I would guess that your daughter's tummy is just not used to formula and not all brands suit all babies anyway. Personally, I would stop the formula and just make sure she gets nice long feeds if she'll take them. But if you want to persevere with it, maybe try a different brand? And don't beat yourself up honey, giving her a little formula hasn't done her any harm at all *hugs*.

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• millysmum_naomi

  Dec 18, 2009 4:34PM

  hiya!
  if she wont settle after the formula, then it prob isnt cos she is hungry. The green poo could be a number of things, but like Astaad said, it sounds most likely cos she is getting lots of foremilk and not enough hindmilk which is the real calorific, fatty, filling stuff.
  so, a few q's: are you offering both boobs at a feed? how long does she feed per boob? can you hear her gulping and swallowing for quite a while? how long between feeds int he day and night? is she gaining weight? does she have wind probs?
  if her weight gain is ok, then she IS getting enough, and if she is happy and content MOST of the time, then she is getting enough. It may be that she is unsettles in the evening cos she wants to cluster feed to stock up for the night. bf babies do this, its normal. they also do it, to stimulate your boobs to make more milk for the next day- very clever.
  Also remember there is a growth spurt around 3 weeks so she may still be going through that and be wanting more milk, so being fretful in the evenings because of this.
  another possibility could be colic? this occurs at its worst in the evenings and unfortunately hangs around til about 12 weeks or so but can be treated with things like gripe water/colief/infacol etc.
  have a think about if there are actual symptoms, or if she's just a bit unsettled. if she wants to be ont he boob, then i would say let her do it. At around 8 weeks, it will all change again and she will prob settle down.
  hth xxx

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• Astraad

  Dec 18, 2009 4:48PM

  Sorry, just re-read your post and realised she was unsettled from before you gave her the formula! In which case, my last paragraph about her tummy not being used to it is irrelevant ops:. I would second what Naomi said about cluster feeding in the evening - lots of babies do this between 1 and 3 months ish. Jason did, and would cry and cry until he finally fell asleep on my boob. That kind of behaviour is often called colic but it doesn't always have much to do with wind. It is totally normal though and they do grow out of it at around 12 weeks normally as Naomi said.
  
  I meant to say about her weight but totally forgot! Yeah, if she is gaining weight fine then I really wouldn't worry about her not getting enough and topping up with formula. At such a young age it's probably more likely to cause you problems with your milk supply as she will take less from you so your boobs will make less. Mind you, there are mums around who do mixed feeding who might have ways round that, I'm not sure. Your body can adjust amazingly to make the right amount of milk if your baby gives it the right cues - after all it's possible to breastfeed twins!

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• libranaster

  Dec 26, 2009 9:23PM

  Yeah my eldest daughter had infantile lactose intolerance and her pooh was green and sometimes frothy and she would just vomit and vomit poor bub. Ended up having to just feed her on lactose free formula until she out grew it.

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