Need some help from the bf gurus - a little long, sorry

maestra wrote: Ok, bf Giselle is going well. She had some latch problems at first, as she is one of those babies that likes to roll their tongue out of their mouth a lot, and she would push my nipple right out of her mouth. I had the LC at the hospital stay with me for awhile, and we got it down and her latch is great. She is gaining weight, I can see it in her hands and feel especially.

I was still sore at first, but the LC told me I will probably always have some soreness when I start to bf a new baby because my nipples are very large, and they have trouble sucking without rubbing on them with the roof of their mouth. I had been told something similar with Jaci- I have to use the extra large breast shields with the medela pump, as I am too big for the regular sized ones. The pain is all but gone too, and no cracked nipples this time!

So to get to my problem. I have been noticing that Giselle seems to spit up at every feeding. I thought that bf babies didn't spit up this often? She poops a lot- we are constantly changing diapers. Her stools are the typical mustard color, with the seedy texture (sorry tmi!), but they seem pretty thin. She did have one diaper that had a green tint to it today, but other than that they are yellow. It seems like she constantly wants to nurse (typical, I know). She usually nurses for about 20 minutes on a side, releases on her own, takes a break (during which lately she has been spitting up a bit) then wants to nurse again on the other side. But the other night, she nursed on the left, then the right, then the left again, about 20 minutes each time, with about a 10 minute break in between. Then she spit up (I would have described it as vomiting, only it wasn't projectile) a ton of bm. I not only had to change her clothes, as they were soaked, but mine as well.

So my question is- I know I should be bf on demand, but am I maybe letting her nurse too much, especially when she wants to go back to the first side for a second time? Or could it be an oversupply issue? Or maybe I am just paranoid? She has an appt with the ped in the am, so I will ask her too.

Thanks guys- I could call the LC that helped me a lot with Jaci, but I don't want to bother her unless I can't find the answer anywhere else. Other than her, I really don't have anyone that's really supportive of bf (especially extended bf) irl. Especially not my mother, who thinks that bf stools are diarhea and they should be changed as soon as possible because they are acidic and will burn baby's bottom.

MomToMany replied: Not sure what might be going on. Sorry I don't have any answers for you. But I looked on kellymom.com and found this page.

I'm sure one of the experts will have an answer for you.

amynicole21 replied: That sounds a lot like Sophia's nursing pattern in the beginning. She spit up after nearly every feeding (a tsp or two) until she was maybe 6 months old. It doesn't sound like there is anything to really worry about in my opinion, but it will help to hear that from a doctor. The LC or doc can also have you weigh her before and after a single side feeding to see how much she's getting and put your mind at ease about oversupply issues.

I'm so glad it seems to be going well for you! Gives me hope

kimberley replied: sounds like the way it was for me too. do you have a really strong letdown? my ped told me that often the bm comes so fast that it just shoots through their bodies and that is why the poops are green. James used to projectile spit up too . again, it was air getting in with a really forceful letdown. maybe nurse for 10 minutes, then burp her, then continue? i am sure karen will have a ton of great advice for you. i wouldn't be too worried tho.

coasterqueen replied: Sounds like to me a normal pattern. Kylie spit up TONS and I do mean TONS! I had to keep a bib on her 24/7 til she was at least 9 months old. We went through spit rags like crazy. I would just try to give her a few seconds or so before burping her maybe. It's normal, some spit up more than others.

Do you have oversupply? That could account for the green diaper...as long as you aren't having many of those sounds fine. Kylie had those lovely runny looking diapers too. As long as they aren't watery looking you are fine.

Sounds like everything is going perfect to me .

Editing to add one of my favorite links . It's a reflux link but it talks about when spitting up is normal and when it becomes NOT normal. HTH! http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/reflux.html

Taiyou no Koe replied: Hmm... from everything I've gleaned so far, I was under the impression that BF babies spit up less, and pooped less (for that matter).

maestra replied: I think I do have a strong let down- I always feel a lot of pressure in the bbs when I do.

Of course, I say that she's latching well, and wouldn't you know it, during the night and this morning she keeps letting go during a feeding.

I will be getting ready to take her to the ped soon- will let you know what she says. Thanks!

coasterqueen replied:
Nahh, I've never heard they spit up less or poop less. I've heard their poop smells less awful which is true. Every baby is different when it comes to both bodily functions....no matter what they are intaking .

maestra replied:
I think I am going to try this, espec. after reading the links about forceful letfown. Maybe burping her more often will help.

maestra replied:
I was reading last night that the spit up of bf babies (in a bf pamphlet done by avent) doesn't smell bad and doesn't stain. We don't have trouble with the staining, but could someone tell Giselle about the stinking part? Her spit up smells terrible!

coasterqueen replied:
If you do have forceful letdown it could be that she's gulping and getting air, which would cause some of the spit-up. Your letdown will regulate over time of course, but if it's causing a problem now you can try to correct it by the extra burping etc. I totally agree .

Taiyou no Koe replied:
That's odd... because I'm on a couple e-mail lists for BF'ing, and I constantly read posts that say things such as "Hasn't pooped in 7+ days" and "It's normal because BM is usually completely digested", for example.

coasterqueen replied:
That is true. SOME can go I think up to 10 days (and it's normal) without pooping. Some do not do this though . My DD didn't. I know many babies who don't. Now there were times she'd go 5 or 6 days without a poop, but it wasn't constant. Like I said earlier, it all depends on the baby, really.

Jamison'smama replied: wow, my BF baby boy poops at LEAST every other feeding--so about 8 times a day--but that does slow down after the newborn stage. I also have strong let-downs and when he is really hungry and eats quickly and eats more---like on each breast--he spits up quite a bit. Jamison used to spit up a TON--I had more rapid let-downs with her so I would have to agree with all the others.

Glad she is eating well for you!!

jem0622 replied: Hopefully the tips you get from Kellymom's site will help. I got some good info there too.

My girls spit up sometimes (not all feedings). The only time their poop stunk was the few times they had to have formula. I'm glad that is behind us!