By Nancy Mohrbacher, IBCLC, FILCA
Fan Question:
“My 5 mo old is very distracted at the breast, even in a quiet room. Her dirty diapers are now green, sticky, and sour smelling. I have an overactive let down and lots of milk. Her lack of focus started about a week ago. Is she only getting foremilk leading to green poop? What can I do to keep her on track?”
Distractibility is a normal part of breastfeeding the older baby. Your best strategy is to minimize distractions as much as possible and keep your finger near her mouth in case you have to break suction quickly. Regarding your baby’s poops, green is in the normal color range. There are many possible causes for changes in color, including a stomach bug (which can also cause smelly poop) or a reaction to something in your diet. Green poops don’t necessarily mean baby is getting too much foremilk. Some even question whether foremilk/hindmilk imbalance exists. For more information click here. If you have oversupply, slowing your milk production may make feedings easier for you both. My blog post on “block feeding” explains how to know if this might be a good strategy and how to do it.
Nancy Mohrbacher, IBCLC, FILCA is a board-certified lactation consultant in the Chicago area who has been helping breastfeeding families since 1982. Her books for professionals are used worldwide. Her books for parents include Breastfeeding Made Simple: Seven Natural Laws for Nursing Mothers, which she co-authored with Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, and her tiny problem-solving guide, Breastfeeding Solutions In 2013, Nancy released her Breastfeeding Solutions smartphone app (available for Android and iPhones) to give mothers a quick, go-everywhere source of breastfeeding help. Nancy speaks at events around the world.
