BabyUniversity.com › Forums › Ages & Stages › Breastfeeding › BM Question (long)
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

BM Question (long)

post #1 of 4
11/1/01 at 7:01pm
Thread Starter 
My dd is now 2 weeks old, and we're still working on bf, but things are getting a little easier. The day we were leaving the hospital, the pediatrician discovered she had elevated bilirubin levels due to weight loss. She went from 7lbs13oz to 7lbs1oz in 3 days. At that point, it was suggested I begin to supplement. The following week was a very difficult week for us. She would fall to sleep while bf, and it was almost impossible to wake her. She also became lazy at suckling due to the bottle being much easier for her. I ended up having to buy an electric pump to build my supply. At this point we are still having to supplement, but only at every other feeding. In these 2 weeks, she is now at 7lbs15oz. I know bf babies have 2 to 3 bowel movements a day, but mine is having only 1 very large bm every 24 to 48 hours. Should this be of concern? Pediatrician says weight gain is of most concern, and we will phase out supplementing next week, but is something I'm eating or doing causing this? She does receive maybe 2 oz of formula with the breastmilk per day. Any advice is appreciated. Sorry so long.
Reply
post #2 of 4
11/2/01 at 3:07pm
It sounds like you have been through a lot the past couple of weeks, but congratulations for hanging in there - you should be "over the hump" by now, and nursing should be much easier from now on.

Jaundice is a very common, benign condition that affects at least half of all babies to one degree or another. One of the worst things about it is that it makes babies extremely sleepy until the bilirubin levels go back down to normal, and this doesn't happen overnight. Since the best treatment for jaundice is to get milk in the baby and get him stooling, it can be very difficult to get your sleepy, jaundiced baby interested in eating. You did exactly the right thing by supplementing, and investing in an electric pump so that you could stimulate your milk supply.

As far as the bowel movements go, I wouldn't worry about it as long as the baby is gaining weight. It's true that the average newborn will stool several times a day, but not every baby is 'average'. As long as the weight gain is good, the urine output is adeqate (6-8 wet diapers in 24 hours), the baby's abdomen stays soft, and the stool is soft and plentiful when it does come out (not hard and dry) then everything should be fine.
Reply
post #3 of 4
11/9/01 at 12:49am
Martinte~
I have breastfed 3 children and with my first two boys they pooped like 3-5x a day as newborns. I was totally shocked and scared when Emily only had one giganitic sized poop every other day. And this was with breastmilk only! I was very concerned. I had never heard of such a thing. Once i started her on some solids she became 'normal' with her daily stools. I read on the internet that some babies just have larger bowels and can hold more for a longer amount of time so then i didn't worry any more. So, find comfort in knowing that your child is not the only one!LOL! Congratulations on breastfeeding your baby this long. Expecially since you were told to supplement. A lot of mothers would have gone straight to the bottle. WTG for hanging in there!!
Reply
post #4 of 4
11/9/01 at 1:50pm
Hailey was the same way with her BM's. She was like clock-work every night---9:45 and we would have to change her! She would sometimes go only every other day but she never seemed to have any discomfort.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Breastfeeding
BabyUniversity.com › Forums › Ages & Stages › Breastfeeding › BM Question (long)