Hi girls

I am pleased to say that breastfeeding my second baby is much easier then first.

I have a couple of questions.

1) During the night i seem to have MUCH more milk then during the day. In the night i can actually hear my lo gulping the milk down. But during the day it is more subtle.
And my lo also feeds during the day non stop, as in the night he is like clockwork every 2.5 hours.
Is there anything i can do to make him feed the same during the day. At the moment the longest he is going without a feed during the day is about an hour. And starting with the late afternoon his feeding pattern is like this: feeds for 5 minutes, sleeps for 15, feeds for 5 and so on. Is there anything i can do about it? Ohtherwise I have him as permanent attachment to my boob.

2) Is greenish poo ok? I always thought that fully breastfed babies are supposed to have yellowish poo? He is ok in himself and has gained weight since birth.

Thank you for your replies.

Hi hon

1. I think most women have more milk at night, something to do with the hormone prolactin being more active then. You'll also be more relaxed so your let down reflex may happen more often. I find LO is much less distracted at night so focuses on feeding more if she does wake.

The late afternoon feeding sounds like cluster feeding and is totally normal. It helps your body up your supply and helps LO fill up so they can go for longer without a feed at night.

2. The greenish poo could mean that LO is having too much foremilk and not enough hind milk. Try to make sure the breast is empty before switching to the other one. How long to feeds usually last?

your LO is still young so your milk supply is still regulating...mine didn't sort itself out til isabel was about 8-9 wks and up til then thought it was feeding triplets! particularly at night when i'd pour milk and end up soaked

even now, my supply has regulated but i still produce way more at night...its just when production is highest!

LO needs to drink for approx at least 10 mins to get a good balance of fore and hind milk (if you have a slow letdown they'd need to feed for longer though). If LO is falling asleep after five mins you need to try and wake him to carry on...such as blow on his face, poke your breast near his mouth (makes him think you're removing it and he'll panick and start drinking) or drip a little cold water on his cheek/forehead. If this doesn't work then make sure you put him back to the same breast after he's had a sleep so he pulls the hind milk out at the next sitting...this will fill him up longer and ensure he has enough energy and puts on weight (think of the fore milk as a drink and the hind milk as the meal)

If Isabel feeds on the left side, then an hour later wants more i put her back to the left, but if it's been 2 hours or more i switch her to the other side, or if i think one side is empty then i'll change her over (hope i make sense!)

For the 4-6 wks LO will feed very regularly, but stick with it and all of a sudden the feeds space out (isabel now feeds approx every 3-4 hours in the day and sleeps through the night so they do get there in the end )

as for the green poo...it can be down to a number of things. Can be an imbalance of fore and hind milk (too much fore can equal green poo) but if LO is putting on weight healthily then i doubt this is the case. It can also mean LO is not agreeing with something your eating or it can be a result of LO swallowing too much air (particularly the case if like me you have a fast letdown)

green poo can mean other things too though so if you're worried or if LO seems in pain or not putting weight on steadily then its best to get checked

Green poo after the first week or so (when it is quite common) can indicate problems. Here: http://www.babycentre.co.uk/baby/bre...g/greenstools/

Good luck with sorting out the issue; it may well resolve itself sponteanously but there are other possibilities.

Melanie

Thanks girls for your replies....

His feeds are all over the place. But he usually sucks on one boob for about 10-15 minutes and then falls asleep. And I tried everything apart from cold water on his cheek (will try today).

During first 2 weeks he put went from 8.5lbs to 9.88lbs. And health visitor told that it is an excellent weight gain. So he is gaining weight.

Maybe it is something I eat?.... I have no idea what though...