Smelly green poo..

A MACH lactation nurse recently told me that green poo can indicate overfeeding, something about excess lactose not being digested?
DD has been difficult to settle last few days & did the smelliest huge green poo tonight.
Are they really linked & how can I tell if she's had enough milk if she keeps drinking? I tend to give her a comfort feed if she isn't settling but she's started to guzzling even that down. I suspect because she is overtired she drinks for comfort or because she doesn't know what else to do but I can't be sure.

I find the whole 'how much is enough' very difficult to read with BF!

Will be interested to see what others have to say as we get this at times too. I'm going to MCH today so will also ask.

My boys did green poos when teething..... Never heard of that sorrry I'm no help...

There are many normal variations in poo colour - generally nothing to worry about. The main thing is, watch the baby - and use the poo as a secondary tool if there is a problem.
Generally you can't overfeed a breastfed baby and it is never the wrong thing to use the breast to comfort and settle a baby. Babies are hardwired to suck. If you tend to have an over-abundant milk supply (common in the early days)then yu might find it helps to give her the top-ups or comfort feeds on the same breast she just fed from - that way she will get a lower quantity of milk, and that might allow her to settle better. When babies suckle they release hormones in their body that help them wind down and sleep - and the cool thing is these same hormones are released in your body, making you feel tired and sleepy too.
You can tell your baby has enough milk when they wee and poo frequently - if it's come out it has to have gone in, and if they grow over time - usually 150 plus g per week after they regain their birthweight. It's not such a mystery!

One of our girls does regular browny/yellow jobs (ie. a couple a day), and the other girl holds on to hers for an eon, then releases a fetid, thick, green mess upon the world. They are both fed the same, so I can't figure it. There's a wide range of normal I guess.

Thanks Barb I think this is the 2nd time you've had to answer this question from me ;) I appreciate it.

Slyder glad to see your girls are doing well icky poo & all!


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Dusty, you're asking all the questions I had only a few weeks ago! DS had green poos for a few weeks, now he's a regular yellow/brown man. I didn't like the look of the green, but of course everything is fine.

Also, I had a few people giving me their opinions of what caused the green poo. I agree with Barb - watch the baby. DS was happy, content, feeding regularly, lots of wet nappies. The green poo didn't indicate anything was wrong because he was so obviously doing fine.

My personal favourite reason why DS had green poo was that he was sucking on the dummy too much. Not sure of the logic on that one...

My son had a mild lactose intolerance and his poo was green from about a month or 2 onwards for a while. But it was also "whipped" and very frothy, and that is what made my Dr think that it was lactose (that and my hubby also has mild lactose intolerance. I eased up on the milk, and the green went away.