When Doodle was about 2 ½ weeks old I realized something was not right with our breastfeeding relationship. He had been having green, explosive poos (yes, explosive, like shot across the room if he went during a diaper change) which I vaguely remembered being mentioned in my previous breastfeeding reading so I did what any mommy would do, I googled it! What I discovered was the green poos are an indication that baby isn’t getting enough of the fatty hindmilk. The main suggestion for combating the issue is to block feed meaning feeding baby only on one side for a few hours or multiple feeds to ensure baby is fully draining each breast before switching. Block feeding worked and his stools went back to the normal yellow, seedy which is expected of exclusively breastfed infants.
Then a few days ago I got really sore nipples. I’d noticed that from the start Doodle was clicking while feeding and I knew this was the cause of my pain but I wasn’t sure of the cause of the clicking so again, I took to google and had my “AHA!” moment and finally feel like I “get” Doodle.
I came across this list typical symptoms of an oversupply and forceful letdown from http://www.lactationconsultant.info/osscolic.html:
- Appears colicky, fussy, gassy. [yes]
- Burps “like an adult” or burps poorly. [yes]
- Passes large amounts of flatus. [yes]
- Spits up frequently, often appears to be large amounts. [Yes]
- Gulps with feedings or appears to choke with letdown. [Yes]
- Pulls off the breast frequently or chews at the breast. [Yes]
- Grunts frequently between feedings [Yes]
- Abdomen appears full and distended especially after feedings. May have hyperactive bowel sounds. [Yes!]
- Will latch on only to the nipple or pinches nipple during feedings. [Yes!]
- Wants to nurse very frequently.[Yes!]
- Has short feedings (5-7 minutes). [Yes!]
- Nurses minimally on the second breast or refuses to take the second breast after nursing well on the first breast. [YES!]
- Has a stuffy nose after feedings. [YES!]
- Early or frequent ear and/or sinus infections. [not yet…]
- 10-15 wet diapers per day. [YES!]
- Wants to suck hands or pacifier frequently. [YES!]
- If nursed lying down, may leave a “puddle of milk in the bed,” choke or gulp less frequently. [YES!]
And got much more detail at http://overactiveletdown.com/documents/files/EffectsOfOAM.pdf:
- A noticeably strong suck, and appears to breastfeed hurriedly [hurried, yes]
- Baby gulps, chokes, sputters, and swallows loudly when the let-down reflex occurs. The mother may identify a sound that is suggestive of milk hitting the bottom of the baby’s stomach [chokes when gets drowsy]
- At the strongest phase of let-down reflex baby arches and pulls of the breast, periodically breaks suction or improperly latches [breaks suction, yes. Improperly latches, yes]
- Despite a recent breastfeed, wakes up soon after falling asleep as if very hungry [YES!]
- Baby “colicky”, often crying for long periods, but sometimes calmed at least temporarily by breastfeeding [Yes]
- Baby has frequent, very wet diapers (6 to 8 wet cloth diapers or 3-5 disposable diapers in 24 hours) [ummm…more like 10+ disposable a day]
- Frequent bowel movements that are mucousy, watery, green and may contain curds of undigested milk OR profuse bowel movements of normal consistency [color corrected but still occurring frequently]
- Good, sometimes rapid weight gain, at the high end or exceeding the expected 4-8 ounces per week, average 6 ox per week [yeah, we’re doing about 1.2 ounces a DAY]
- Baby is alert, active and developing well [Yep!]
- Baby has strong muscle tone, supporting his weight on his legs and holding his head steady at a few weeks of age [weird, but YES! Doodle is already sitting in the bumbo chair on his own]
- Baby breastfeeds frequently and invites or even demands to be fed while being carried, rocked or bounced [he’s okay when slinged but wants to feed otherwise]
- Baby is sensitive to over-stimulation such as loud noises or handling by persons other than the mother [yes and Yes! Poor daddy…]
- Baby is especially hungry at times, rooting for the nipple and coming to the breast frantically. At such times the baby may squirm and fuss at the breast, leading the mother to believe that she has lost her milk [yes! But I know there is still plenty of milk]
- Alternatively, the frantic need to suckle, but fussing and turning away from the breast may lead the mother to believe that the baby does not want her milk or that there is something wrong with her milk [not an issue]
- Feeds may be short, sometimes as short as 2-3 minutes [YES!]
- Baby has a frequent need to suckle for long periods, and may try to meet this need by sucking on a thumb or finger. The mother may use a pacifier to give the baby extra suckling because of the baby’s discomfort at the breast. Baby’s fussy periods may last several hours, usually in the evening, or the mother may have decided not to use a pacifier because she has noticed that the baby loses interest in the breast altogether if he has something else to suck, and she is concerned that he will not get enough to eat [yes to frequent sucking and trying to suck everything else. We don’t do pacifiers so can’t say]
- Baby’s fussy periods may last for several hours, usually in the evening [YES!}
- Baby spits up frequently, sometimes vomiting up what appears like a large amount of milk after a feed [Yes and YES!}]
- Baby passes a great deal of gas (flatulence) [Like you wouldn’t believe!]
- Baby often has a longer period of sleep once or twice a day [or sometimes 3 or 4 times a day though he still manages to nurse more than the recommended 8 times in 24 hours]
My research also led me to a few worrying facts: Babies dealing an oversupply and/or forceful let down often self-wean early and they are prime candidates for loving a bottle over mommy and refusing the breast after being introduced to the bottle. They also tend to gain weight rapidly at the beginning then may stop gaining (usually around 4 months) and can be diagnosed with failure to thrive (Sugarplum had this pattern as well as some of the other symptoms though not as extreme as Doodle has shown).
So where does all this research leave us? Block feeding has helped the stools but the rest of the issues are still there. And now I have the added worry of attaining my goal of getting him to a year with exclusive breastfeeding. It’s also made it easier for me to make the decision of what to do when I go back to work tomorrow: he has to come with me, bottles right now are not a choice. I’m trying to combat the frequent and quick feed, sleep, wake, fuss, feed, cycle by feeding, burping and going back to the breast before saying “we’re done.” Basically, I’m trying to force him to nurse longer each time to get him to not only get the fattier hindmilk but to hopefully help him to be a happier, healthier guy overall.
Only time will tell where all this leads us but hopefully we get it under control and can happily continue our breastfeeding relationship.
