If you see bright green and frothy poop in your baby's diaper that almost looks like algae, they're probably getting too much foremilk – the low-calorie milk that comes first in a feeding – and not enough hindmilk, the higher-fat, super-nutritious stuff that comes near the end.
Light green: Consistent green stools in a breastfed baby can indicate an imbalance of foremilk/hindmilk. Foremilk is the low-calorie milk that comes first in a feeding.
Babies with lactose overload can appear like they're suffering from a digestive disorder. They may have a lot of flatulence/gassiness (wind), green, foamy or frothy, explosive stools and pain which will usually be noticeable with lots of screaming, not just grumbling or occasional complaining.
This out-of-balance amount of foremilk causes a lactose overload for your baby. The undigested lactose has nowhere to go but the large intestine, where it gets fermented and creates a lot of gas. This gas is the root of your baby's foremilk/hindmilk imbalance symptoms.
How long should a baby nurse to get hindmilk? After about 10 to 15 minutes of breastfeeding, the milk flow slows and transitions to the sweet and creamy hindmilk, which contains vitamins A and E, and has more fat and calories than foremilk.
If your breasts are really heavy and full before your baby breastfeeds, hand express or pump for 1-2 minutes and discard your foremilk. Foremilk flows at the beginning of the feed and if your breasts are really full…. this milk can flow fast and furiously!
Pump or express some foremilk out of your breasts for a minute or two before you begin breastfeeding. By removing some of the foremilk in advance, you can help your baby get to your hindmilk during the feeding. Pumping before breastfeeding also helps to soften the breasts and slow down a fast flow of breast milk.
If you are concerned that the milk you're pumping doesn't have enough hindmilk, one way to increase it is to pump for longer so that you're pumping when your breasts are emptier. (Remember, the emptier the breast, the fattier the breast milk.)
The Haakaa breast pump helps you collect both foremilk and rich hindmilk. Because it's only a piece of silicone, there's no electricity nor any cords required, making it so easy to integrate into your daily routine!
The total milk consumed daily—not the hindmilk—determines baby's weight gain. Whether babies breastfeed often for shorter periods or go for hours between feedings and feed longer, the total daily fat consumption does not actually vary. Foremilk is not always low-fat.
Lactose overload, or foremilk and hindmilk imbalance, is a rare condition causing green, frothy poops, stomach pain, and insufficient weight gain in babies. To fix an imbalance, try laid-back feeding, nursing on one side until the baby stops, ensuring a good latch, and hand expressing a little milk before nursing.
If your breast milk fed baby is waking up constantly hungry during the night, make sure that they are actively feeding at the breast for enough time for them to get foremilk and hindmilk. Hind milk tends to contain more fat, which will keep babies satisfied, and asleep, for longer.
That can lead to lactose overload, a condition marked by digestive discomfort and changes to your baby's stool. As for how often it actually occurs? Despite how common it is for breastfeeding moms to worry about having a foremilk and hindmilk imbalance, lactose overload doesn't occur that often.
Usually blueish or clear, watery breast milk is indicative of “foremilk.” Foremilk is the first milk that flows at the start of a pumping (or nursing) session and is thinner and lower in fat than the creamier, whiter milk you see at the end of a session.
A forceful letdown and oversupply of milk can also result in foremilk/hindmilk imbalance and its sequelae, mimicking reflux.
If you consume more protein, it can help to increase your breast milk supply. This means more milk and more protein for your baby, which can then help to make your breast milk fattier. The best way to incorporate protein into your diet is through chicken, lean meats, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, and seeds.
The first explanation is that you're not pumping long enough to get to the "hindmilk." Balanced Breastfeeding noted that since hindmilk sits further back in the duct, it's harder to draw out.
Newborns may nurse for up to 20 minutes or longer on one or both breasts. As babies get older and more skilled at breastfeeding, they may take about 5–10 minutes on each side.
However, if there is an overabundance of foremilk, the baby can consume it before receiving enough hindmilk. This is known as a foremilk-hindmilk imbalance, and it can result in gas, loose green bowel movements, and colic symptoms.
Babies who receive too much foremilk suffer with excess gas (farting, belching, hiccups, etc.), hunger, and even colic, because foremilk can digest too quickly, resulting in malabsorption and intestinal distress. Because of this, baby generally has to feed more frequently, leading to sore breasts.
Consequently, foremilk was described as thin and runny, and hindmilk was described as thick and creamy. When you compare samples of foremilk and hindmilk expressed during the same feeding, it's true that the foremilk usually has less fat and fewer calories than the hindmilk.
The increased caloric need for women who are breastfeeding is about 450 to 500 calories per day. Women who are not trying to lose weight following pregnancy should supplement the above DGA calories per day by 450 to 500 calories.