My son was born 10/13, he weighed 7lbs 10oz. He latched on well and nursed well while in the hospital, he weighed 7lbs 1oz when we discharged on the 15th. I assume my mature milk came in the next day, my breasts got really full and hard, he nurses frequently, usually every hour. When he's awake, he wants to be nursing. He did not have a poop since we left the hospital and only had 2 or 3 wets of pretty dark urine a day. On Monday, I called the ped and they wanted to see him. When I took him in, he weight 6lbs 14oz. They weren't concerned about the color of his urine because he didn't look that jaundiced. The ped also said it wasn't a dangerous level of weight loss and to increase my nursing from 15 minutes each side to 20 minutes each side. He told me not to supplement with formula and to come back for a weight check Wednesday. When we went Wednesday, he weighed 6lbs 7oz. The ped was again not concerned with the weight loss because he said he looked healthy for losing that much weight, he expected him to look worse. His mouth was wet and soft spot is good and the jaundice is mild. He still hadn't had a "poop", just smears. The ped did a rectal and found that his sphincter was tight and said he should start pooping now. He told me to keep breastfeeding like I was doing and come back Monday for another weight check but that he's confident he'll start gaining weight cause everything seems to be going the way it should. Well, the baby had 2 poopy diapers after the appointment and they were dark brown/yellowish in color but not seedy as I'm used to breastfed baby poop to be. He was wet every time I fed him. Now today, he's only had 3 wet diapers and no poop at all, except for a smear. He's been nursing frequently with only 2 hours being the longest he goes between feedings. I have not felt my breasts fill up today, is this because he's nursing so frequently? I'm concerned about his lack of voids, is he getting enough milk? When I squeeze some milk out, it's pretty milky in color and some of it's yellow, is this my mature milk or is that still a mixture of colostrum and maybe that's why he's not voiding like he should? I have so many concerns and I'm concerned about everything even though the ped seems to be ok with his weight and everything. I just would think that he would be wetting and pooping more. Please help me figure this out, my next step is to call my local lactation consultant. I just thought I could get your ladies input first:) Thanks in advance and sorry this is so long!
I don't a lot of answers for you, but I know someone will be along who does.
I just want to let you know that you don't need to limit his time at the breast at all. If he wants to nurse for 15, 20, 45 minutes or longer then let him. He is establishing your milk supply, your breasts make milk based on how much milk he is taking. Limiting time at the breast can derail the entire process. In the first 6 weeks, it will seem that he nurses constantly, that's okay.
Thanks for your reply, I guess I wasn't very clear. I don't limit his time nursing, I just try to make sure that he nurses for atleast 20 minutes. I let him nurse till he falls off, which is usually alot longer than 20 minutes. I know breast milk is a supply/demand thing, it just seems that he's demanding and I'm not supplying. I don't know if it's because he's keeping my breasts empty because of the constant nursing or if I'm not producing. Any advice or suggestions are appreciated!
Hi! When it comes to poop, anything goes. The only colors you want to watch out for are red and white. And they can be any consistency from solid to liquid, from yellow to dark brown. BFd babies don't need to poop as often because breast milk is the perfect food and they use all of it. Now, as for the wet diapers, there might be a concern if he continues to not have them. Keep an eye on that and make sure you're drinking enough water. And also, if your ped isn't concerned, then you don't need to be concerned. It sounds like your ped is pretty BFing friendly (that's awesome!). Good luck!
Thank you for your reply! My ped is VERY bfing friendly, very encouraging and everything, we're lucky to have him. I know I shouldn't be concerned if he's not, but I guess it's the mom in me worrying about my new baby. And he's just so skinny right now, I really want him to put some weight on! He has had 2 wet diapers today so that's better than he did yesterday already. I called a lactation consultant and she said that he might be doing non nutritive sucking, because he's had a passifier. I've only given him a passifier a few times, in the car, and he wouldn't even keep it in his mouth. Plus, if he was hungry, wouldn't he be drinking, no matter what kind of sucking he was doing? When I'm nursing him, I don't hear him constantly drinking. He falls asleep alot and he does suck without swallowing. I just thought that was because he's nursing so often there's not always something for him to drink. This is my 5th baby I've breastfed, you'd think I'd know a little more, but it turns out I don't. I feel so helpless, my baby's not gaining weight and I just want him to be healthy, even if it means I can't breast feed him.
