Pumping every 6hours/Baby getting diaper rash

[@llli*ramya241]

Hi

My baby is 7weeks old, he is both on breastmilk and formula. I started work last week, couldn't spend much time pumping, so I pump every 6hours. I express about 6oz, every session. When my baby drinks this milk, he is pooping everytime he fart, resulting in diaper rash. Anyone having this problem? is it ok to pump every 6hrs and feed my baby that milk ? I want to continue to give him my milk atleast 4times a day, but if the diaperrash continues I am think of switching completely to Formula. Please help.

Thanks

[@llli*mommal]

Welcome to the forum!

I think that one of the most common errors that moms make is thinking that when their baby has a problem, the cause must be what the baby is eating. This is especially hard for breastfeeding moms because they are taking so much responsibility for their babies' diet and health.

It is entirely normal for a baby to poop every time he eats, and for a baby to get diaper rash. Live in diapers and diaper rash is just one of those things that's going to happen. So instead of trying to change your baby's poop pattern by switching him entirely to a suboptimal food (formula), I would suggest trying different diaper management. Use more barrier cream. Change him more often. If he's in cloth diapers, try disposables, or vice versa. Avoid scented products- they can have chemicals which are very harsh on the baby's skin. Instead of using wipes to clean him after a poop, cleanse his bum with some warm water- my mom swears by giving a baby a nice rinse in the sink.

It's fine to pump every 6 hours and feed that milk to your baby. But please be aware that such long intervals between pump sessions are very likely to result in reduced supply.

[@llli*lllmeg]

I agree with mommal. Especially about the commercial wipes. Even the most gentle can be very irritating. There is no need to stop using them entirely, as of course they are convenient, but when you are home it is just as easy (and cheaper) to gently soak baby's bottom clean with a soft cloth dipped in warm water, (or water with a tiny bit of very mild soap added if you think it is needed.) I love the rinse in the sink idea, I have done that many times.

The poops of an exclusively breastfed baby are actually very mild and unlikely to cause a rash even if left in the diaper for a bit. IF what a baby is eating is causing a rash, it would not be the breastmilk.

If you would like to pump more often, you can see if your employer is able to accommodate you. In many places there are laws that protect a mothers right to pump. For your own health and comfort and for keeping milk production in good shape, pumping every 6 hours when at work is way better than not pumping at all, but the typically recommended frequency would be every 3-4 hours.

[@llli*pianosinger]

The poops of an exclusively breastfed baby are actually very mild and unlikely to cause a rash even if left in the diaper for a bit. IF what a baby is eating is causing a rash, it would not be the breastmilk.

I must beg to differ on the thought that bf poop could not be causing a rash. DS3 had a constant rash on his bum for the first three months that only went away when I stopped drinking milk- it had been the traces of cows milk in my breastmilk that had been causing the rash...though since your baby is also drinking formula it could just as easily be the formula that is the culprit, but then when your baby has a runnier poop (which is very normal when bfing) it leads to a worse rash than a more solid poop would.

In any case, another thing you could try is to cut dairy from your diet for a few days and see if that makes a difference...

[@llli*sassypants]

My son pooped constant little poops for the first few months of his life and his pediatrician said it was totally fine. Yes, it is annoying to have to clean up dirty diapers every hour, but he probably doesn't have a lot of blowouts, right?

We found that he could only tolerate Pampers disposables (he was in daycare 9-10 hours a day and they only did disposables, so cloth wasn't an option for most of the day). The cheap diapers, even though they changed them every 1-2 hours throughout the day, would cause rashes immediately. My SIL also had diaper rash issues with her son (formula fed, BTW) and swore Huggies were the best. So maybe try another brand of diapers.

Another huge help is to give his butt some air every day. We would do diaper free time for about 30 minutes or more every day on an old blanket that could quickly get thrown in the wash. My MIL used to spread out cloth diapers and let her kids roll around on those for diaper free time. The more time we could be out of diapers the better his skin was.