Breast Fed Baby W/stinky Gas and Poop

Hey there! I also had the same problem with the soy milk. (I can't drink "cow milk" I get really sick) I think it may be the soy that's making y'all have the "stinky" gas. LOL..I actually had to switch from the soymilk because (I was breastfeeding and he had the same problem) so my sister told me about this "almond milk" it's actually pretty good. Not as thick as the "soy milk" but they have it in unsweetend or sweetened, regular, vanilla or chocolate. (I prefer the "sweetened" vanilla) It's pretty good. It has less calories than the soy milk and I noticed an immediate difference in the gassiness in both my son and I. They sell it at H-E-B in the diet isle..(blue diamond boxed almond breeze) like 2 for $3 usually. You can also find it at Sun Harvest for roughly the same price.(p.s. you can also try the "rice milk" it's slightly sweeter though and about the same price) Good luck!

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Hi! My breastfed son is now 8 months and he's always been pretty stinky! I wouldn't worry too much about that if she doesn't seem to be hurting from the gas. We have been using the Babywise system which I think is pretty similar to the baby whisperer, especially in the eat/play/sleep cycle. Another book you might look into is the 90 Minute Baby Sleep Program by Polly Moore. Basically, its that we all (even infants) have a 90 minute alertness cycle and we have to figure out when to put our kids down to maximize their sleep. Another very good point in that book is that kids are frequently OVER tired and therefore can't get themselves to sleep. It sounds to me like your little one is overtired. Against all advice from my mother, grandmother and older sister, I followed the 90 minute cycle to allow my son to sleep as much as HE needs and that works very well for us. Good luck! I know this can be a very frustrating stage for mothers but it sounds like you're doing a great job!

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Has your doctor ruled out reflux? Sounds like my daughter and it was due to reflux.

Hi N.! Have you had her checked for reflux? My daughter was having a terrible time sleeping, and was very gassy. We initially thought it was just colic or perhaps a dairy allergy ( I too cut out dairy, with minimal effect, and found that all the soy was actually increasing both our gas). Once she was diagnosed with reflux and put on medication to help her with it, as well as sleeping on a Tucker Sling, we saw an amazing improvement. She is 11 weeks old this week and now will sleep for 6-7 hours straight at night before waking up to feed, and typically goes back to sleep for at least another 4 hours. Before the sling and the reflux medication she would sleep for about 10-15 minutes before waking up crying. In order to get her to sleep longer than this, my husband or I had to sit upright for the night and keep her on our chest.She is such a different baby now that she can get a good nights sleep, and now easily goes down for naps during the day. Hope this helps, and good luck!

N.,

I breast-fed 4 babies and never changed my diet. I drank at least 3 beverages (coffee, Juice & Milk) with every meal to give plenty of milk. When my daughter was 2 months old, she had a bout with colic. After walking her for an hour draped over my arm, I decided to try something an old family doctor recommended for stomach upset, vomiting, and diarhea....Coke syrup. Yes, Coke syrup. You can get it at Walgreens with the Pepto or from an old fashioned soda fountain like they have at Thrifty's. In the old days, doctors recommended this before drugs. It is amazing. I gave her 1 teaspoon and within minutes, she stopped crying, relaxed and went to sleep. My doctor had recommended it for my son one time when he had the flu and couldn't even keep water down. It worked for that, too. It also worked for my Mother when she had Samonella poisoning. Don't worry, it won't hurt your baby. One thing I didn't do when I was breast feeding was drink soy milk and eat more than a small amount of chocolate. That might be the source of the stinky poop. Usually, breast fed babies have a sweet smelling poop. It is necessary for you to think "COW" and eat things like alfalpha in your sandwiches, lots of grains & veggies. My first son did fine on breast milk, but when I weaned him, I had to give him goats milk.

Do you feel like you have an abundance of milk? This was my experience with over-production. Usually stools will become looser (as if such a thing is possible with a bf baby), greenish, frothy...but my daughter's just got stinky and dark. Try single-side nursing sessions for a few days and see if it doesn't alleviate the issue--that ensures that your little one gets plenty of the nice, creamy hindmilk to counterbalance the foremilk which could cause the gassiness. When/if your little breaks off, burp, and put right back on the same side. Just use some system to keep track of where to start next time so you don't get lop-sided!

You could also be experiencing a mild stomach virus. Breastfeed on demand to avoid potential dehydration.

Yogurt.
The natural bacteria is needed in the digestive system! Make sure you are getting some.

My husband has lactose intolerance but even he can tolerate a carton of yogurt at a time. He feels much better when he has it---feels not so good when he doesn't for awhile.

You've received a lot of great advice already. My son also was colicky but for him it was acid reflux and gas issues so you may want to ask your pediatrician what they reccomend. Gas drops may help or changes in your diet may help. I know my pediatrician reccomended 1 tsp of mylanta for my son and it did work when he was gassy, but as I said check with your pediatrician first!

As far as the stinky poop, there isn't much you can do about that. Most breast fed babies have extremely stinky and nasty poop, it's completely normal and usually doesn't kick in for a few weeks. (After the new baby smell wears off lol!)

Keep up the good work breastfeeding!!

I breast fed my son until he was 2 1/2. At 9 weeks poop shouldn't be stinky! You may want to try another ped's opinion. It doesn't seem right that your baby should have to go through this for another 3 weeks. And if her poop is stinky there is something definitely not right. If giving up dairy hasn't had an effect and is making you more gassy, have you tried giving up soy? Maybe dairy isn't the problem.

My best advice is to go with your instincts. Mom's know their babies better than anyone else. If you are not getting help from her doctor, don't hesitate for another opinion. At 14 months my son was having horrible stools and his doctor blew me off. I sought another opinion and it turned out that my son had a serious intestinal problem that required surgery. If I had assumed his first pediatrician was right, he would have had internal bleeding and died.

Best of luck to you!

Hi N.,
Have you tried Humphries? It is a homeopathic treatment. I used it for all three of my kids and I think it works wonders. It is little, tiny pills that you dissolve in a about a teaspoon of water. It is recommended for various problems from sleeplessness to colic to teething. You can buy it at most stores that have pharmacies (it is OTC). There are also other OTC tablets for colic that you can buy that dissolve almost instantly with the babies saliva, I also tried those with my last one (who had bad colic) and they seemed to help. With my last one, I also altered my diet drastically (like you did). If you are eating veggies that make you gassy, then they will also be making your little one gassy. I also tried soy milk instead of cow milk, but my doctor said if the baby is sensitive to soy then it will also cause colic. Good luck, I know how hard it is with a baby with colic, remember this too will pass.

Hopefully this Kellymom article will help:
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/food-sensitivity.html

My guess would be the soy (many who are sensitive to dairy are also to soy), but I wouldn't be worried about the "gassy" foods you took out of your diet. Wheat is another of the top allergens, so if cutting soy doesn't help, maybe go there.

Here's another resource that should have good info:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/forumdisplay.php?f=307

I agree with your first poster, Amanda C. There could be a foremilk/hindmilk balance issue. How is your supply? Do you feel constantly full? Babies with too much of the thin foremilk have more gas, act uncomfortable and sometimes have frothy or green poops. Nursing on once side only and alternating sides for each nursing session will help. This will make sure the baby gets the thicker more calorie rich hindmilk Maybe you might want to pump the other side if you are uncomfortably full or want to begin building up a backup supply? Unfortunatly, there is not much info out there for those ladies with an over-supply.

Also, colic can also be a reaction to being overstimulated. Just a thought to consider!
Best wishes!

Dr. is right, after 3 months they settle down much more, her digestive tract should adjust and the stinky stuff will go away as she grows. Did your 4 year old have this problem? Just wondered, the soy could be effecting her and you a little. Hang in there this too shall pass.