Breastfeeding Problems

My best suggestion is be to calm down.. it's ok. Don't stress the small stuff... and it's all small.. right? I know exactly how you feel. I'm a 1st time mom and my lil boy is now 4 months old. He is breastfed only. It's very hard work and I FREAKED out for the first couple of months. I thought I was doing it all wrong. Sometimes what I ate didn't agree with my son and it shows up in him way faster than in me. I didn't think he was getting enough to eat.. I thought he had runny poop. Questions for you. Is he gaining weight? Lightly run your fingers over his soft spot... is it sunk in? That's a sign of dehydration(I check my son daily) If you can.. try to spend maybe a day or weekend in bed with a ton of movies and nurse your baby as much as you possibly can. Like give him free access to nurse the whole day/weekend if possible. It'll help build up your milk supply. And help you feel more confident about the whole situation. Maybe try and go on a bland bland bland diet for a week or so and see if it helps. Maybe lightly or not seasoned grilled or boiled chicken and steamed veggies (boring, but might help) If your pediatrician is telling you to quit breastfeeding your son... I would get a new pediatrician. That is no answer at all. Your milk is made special just for him and know that your milk is all he needs to grow stong and healthy. I would try to cut everything from your diet that seems even remotely possible as something he might be reacting to and see if it changes. My son is 4 months old and still has runny poop. It doesn't have cottage cheese look to it. It looks almost like snot and he is healthy and growing bigger by the day. When he was little he would poop almost 3-4 times a day. And it was colored water looking too. Keep at it. It does get easier. I hope this helps.

I agree with the above (I'm still nursing my two year old). Breastfed babies have very watery, yellow poop!! The only thing I've heard of is babies having actual dairy allergies--even formula has dairy components, so IF nursing doesn't work (and please, please give it a go--it's the best!!), you may have to try a soy-based formula. And, yes, watch your own dairy intake--you may be the one who needs to switch to soy! :)

I would definitely contact La Leche League or a lactation consultant they could really help you. I had to cut spicy food when my son was little. His tummy could not handle it. There are some things you can take to bust up your supply. I can't remember the names of them right now. But I'm sure someone at LLL would know. And breastfed babies poop is really runny and mustard looking. As long as it's not mucusy it sounds normal. Good luck. Breastfeeding can be hard a times. At least you are trying. Don't feel guilty.

Bf babies poop is not supposed to be solid. Unless it is watery and mucousy then it isn't diarhea. If it is diarhea you could try going on an exclusionary diet. Try Dr Sears website for some good ideas on how to do this. My youngest had explosive diarhea, bad gas, cried all the time, and didn't sleep. It turns out that he is egg and milk protein intolerant. After I cut those out of my diet, all of the symptoms cleared up. It isn't that your milk isn't good for him, there may be something you are eating that bothers him. I would contact La Leche League or a lactation consultant for advice and maybe see another ped. for a second opinion.

Hi C.,

You might try cutting out dairy (which sucks) but if you really want to try breastfeeding it might be worth a shot. I know the dairy can sometimes mess with the little ones. Also, are you sure it is diahrea? When my daughters were 5 weeks everything looked like daihrea. One tme my second had the tummy bug and it really was diarhea it looked like snot mixed in with the poop. If your pediatrician can't help I would take him to another doctor and you might make an appointment with a lactation consultant. Hope you get this worked out and don't feel guilty!!! Breastfeeding is hard! :)

K.