Marshmallow Root for fat increase

CoastieWife08

has anyone used this?

We're dealing with a hindmilk/foremilk issue and I'm doing everything my LC and kellymom suggest, but it doesn't seem to be getting any better.  Someone suggested I use marshmallow root to "thicken" my milk, and I figured it can't hurt.  I'm hoping it really does work, but I'm skeptical.

CoastieWife08

I have been block nursing (2 or more sessions per side depending on the length of time in between feedings, only feeding on one side per feeding) for 4 days now.  I also do massage before the feeding and during the feeding to try and work the fat into the milk, no pumping, and letting him nurse and nurse and nurse if he wants.  This is all per my LC.  He has green, slimy stools and excess gas and extreme discomfort from the gas.

I've already eliminated dairy from my diet (I'm over a week into this, and I've cut everything, including hidden dairy) and I eat very little soy, so I am fairly certain it isn't an allergy.  Also, this started once I went from EPing to nursing.  From the first day he latched, the stools got greener and greener and slimier and slimier until they turned totally green and slimy.

CoastieWife08

How often does baby nurse now and for how long? If baby is going longer than 2 hours between nursings during the day, try to get it closer to 2 hours.  frequent nursing keeps the milk more at all the same % of fat. 

During the day, every 2 hours.  At night, he goes 3-4 hours in one stretch and then back to 2.  He goes anywhere from 15-45 minutes.

How is baby's weight gain pattern? 

His weight gain is fine as of his last check up.  He's almost 2 pounds above his birth weight. BUT, he hasn't been weighed since I started nursing.  I was EPing and never had these issues, and I haven't been to the Dr with him since he started nursing.

if it's dairy, it may take 3 weeks to get all the cow's milk protein out of your system.  Did he ever have blood in stool? or red ring around the anus? excema? Those would lead more toward allergy than hindmilk/foremilk imbalance. 

We cut out the dairy before I started nursing him.  His sister had a dairy intolerance as well, and his symptoms were improving greatly before we moved to nursing.  All of the symptoms he has now started once the nursing started and I didn't change my diet since then.

 

I hate to tell you that it could be something besides dairy and soy.  Wheat, eggs, nuts are all fairly common allergens lately it seems.  I would probably try to wait out the next 2 weeks off dairy and soy and if there is not a noticeable change, I would consider a full elimination diet, but in the meantime, keep a food diary and look for any patterns. Is there anything in particular that you eat or drink a lot of?  Is there anything in particular that your family members find tummy upsetting, or causes a lot of gas? you could remove those items from your diet. Caffeine in sodas does a number on a lot of babies for the fussy/gassiness.

No, I eat a very varied diet.  I don't drink caffeine at all, and there's nothing anyone in my family finds upsetting other than dairy and sometime soy.

 

For block nursing, it is possible to block nurse for longer periods of time.  that is one option, nurse on one side for every feeding within 2 hours, then bump it to 3, 4 or more hours in a row on the same side.  It's kind of weird to think of, but it does help when nothing else does.  

My LC told me to try this only if we saw no improvement with 2 feedings in a row after a week.  

 

If you give block nursing a try for another 3 or 4 days and don't see any difference, then you could bump it up for how long you feed on the same side.  If that doesn't show relief, then you could consider just pumping off the extra foremilk before a few feedings a day to see if that helps.  Of course, pumping off the foremilk will keep your body from getting the message to lower the supply, so only do that if you have tried the other options and it's not working.

  

You can try adding more healthy fats to your own diet.  It usually doesn't make a lot of difference in the % of fat in breastmilk, but it can't really hurt to try.  Of course trying all these things at once you don't know which one really is working.