The Breastfeeding Diet

Hi again!

I wrote about colds in breastfeeding babies last time, and today was going to be about stomach aches, but I got a special request. The breastfeeding diet, what's allowed, what's not, and how to find a happy balance with your babe on those things that are a little iffy.

I want to start off by saying that no matter what you eat, as long as it sustains you, it will be turned into adequate milk for your baby. Be it a diet of McDonald's or completely raw and vegan, your milk is perfect for your baby. A lot of moms think that they can't have foods while nursing: dairy, wheat, cabbage, broccoli, garlic, onions, chocolate, and coffee are ones I hear all the time. Yes, those are common problem foods for nursing babies, but nothing says that YOUR nursing baby is going to have sensitivities to those foods.

Anything that you want to eat, eat. Basically, that's it. You should be around 2500 calories a day to make sure you and your baby are getting enough. If you find your baby has a reaction to something, think back 6-8 hours and try to remember what you ate/drank/took. Vitamins and medications can cause issues just as well as food, so don't forget about those.

For the longest time, I thought that baby Allie couldn't stand me drinking coffee. After discovering that she had a seafood sensitivity (sigh, no more sushi), I did an experiment of continuing to take my fish oil pills, but not drinking coffee for a few days, and she was just as fussy. Cut out the fish oil, and no more fussy baby (except for when those darn teeth start acting up)! When she's a few months older, I'll slowly introduce seafood again and see if she's outgrown the sensitivity. If not, we'll go another few months. All it takes is a bit of reading the labels and avoiding my favorite food (sushi). It is a sacrifice, but one I will absolutely make for my baby.

Some babes have fussiness from birth, and their mothers just toss and turn trying to diagnose the issue. Sometimes the simplest (and most trying, it seems) thing to do is an elimination diet: boiled chicken, white rice, and water. After that, you start adding back in ONE thing every few days. I'd start with a prenatal vitamin, so you're getting nutrients that you might be missing by not eating a large variety of food. Watch carefully as you reintroduce foods, keep a strict journal, and don't overdo anything. You'll likely find something in your daily menu that your baby can't stand, and all you have to do is cut it out. Everything else is a go! In my experience, it helps to focus on the things you can have (ice cream and coffee for me!) instead of the thing you can't (any kind of seafood or fish oil pills).

I mentioned once to a friend who was worried about her diet being "good enough" for her baby's milk that there are malnourished mothers in 3rd world countries that are able to breastfeed, and their babies LIVE because of that milk. If they were on formula, they would (and do) die.

Any breast milk is better than none, and breast milk is almost always better than formula (except for when mom has to be on a medication that has no lactation friendly alternative). As you work to find what ails your baby's tummy, just remember that you're doing this for your baby and for you. It might take a while to get things just perfect, and find that balance (I can have as much coffee as I want as long as I drink plenty of water to go along with it), but once you do, you're going to be able to truly enjoy your breastfeeding relationship as you deserve.

Happy breastfeeding!

Getting Back to Blogging (and Breastfeeding)

Hi all! I've missed writing, and I'm so sorry for skipping 6 months worth of blogging, but I've been a bit overwhelmed lately. What with the birth of my 3rd baby, having my husband home (he was away for the first 7 months of this year for military training) and wanting to spend every second with him, and then beginning to plan our World Breastfeeding Week celebrations... time has just slipped through my fingers. But I'm back now, so be prepared to have your noggins filled with breastfeeding knowledge!

I have a book called "Breastfeeding Answers Made Simple." I refer to it as my big book of answers, and it really covers EVERYTHING in its 864 pages (index not included). Starting now, I'm going to be flipping to a random page and writing about the issues printed. My goal is that by reading this blog, you'll learn everything you need to know to successfully breastfeed and get over any hurdles that may block your path.

The topic: Illness In the Breastfeeding Baby. Colds, flu, ear infections, and breathing problems. I'm obviously not a doctor, so take everything here and use some common sense. If your babe is sick for more than 3-5 days, and seems to get worse over time rather than better, go to your doctor. My solutions here are to get your baby to nurse, which should help him/her get better. If it doesn't, it might be more serious than just a cold.

With colds, flu, and ear infections, there's usually a lot of fluid build up in the sinuses, which may make nursing difficult. But don't worry! There are solutions to nurse your stuffed up baby. To start, keep baby upright in a sling or in your arms so the sinuses can drain a bit. If that doesn't quite do the trick, use a bulb syringe to suck out the ickies.

You can breastfeed in an upright or laid back position to facilitate breathing, and I've even found that nursing for a short while in a position where baby's head is tilting back slightly can cause the milk to come out the nose, thus clearing out some of that fluid build up. Looks gross, but it is quite effective.

If baby is refusing to nurse because (s)he is struggling to breathe, you might try pumping and feeding baby with either a bottle or a cup, and still frequently offer the breast. Squirting your breast milk up baby's nose can help clear it up, and squirting it in baby's ears (many times a day) can help kill the infection within.

A warm, steamy shower can help loosen up those fluids, and it's a lovely experience to sit in the shower and nurse a babe. One of my favorite things to do when my kiddos have gotten colds.

My next post will be on stomach illnesses, so stay tuned (and if I fall behind, somebody poke me!).

Happy breastfeeding!

The Father's Role in Breastfeeding

Once your baby is born, there seems to be a whirlwind of visitors, mixed in with several nursing sessions a day, and several diaper changes to go along with those feedings. In all of the craziness, you may feel like you need a break, or Dad may offer to do a feed so you can have a nap or shower.

If you're planning on going back to work or school after 6 weeks, and are going to leave baby with a sitter and some pumped milk (which we'll talk about in a future post), starting to give a small bottle of pumped milk around 3 weeks can be very beneficial. But if not, that occasional bottle can really do some damage.

Dads can be incredibly helpful in those first few weeks, even without doing any of the feeding. Bringing you snacks and water, helping out with the household chores while you're nursing, rocking the baby after s/he's finished feeding, changing diapers, holding a full or sleeping baby while you shower, and just giving you the support you need to continue breastfeeding if/when you face any hurdles.

Fathers have such important roles, and they don't need to involve bottles or milk. In those first weeks, if the mom can take care of the baby, and the dad take care of the mom, a household can run very smoothly.

Check out La Leche League to see if there are any father-friendly groups in your area!

Dads, along with the support and encouragement, one of the best things you can do for your nursing partner is to shower her with compliments. Sometimes, breastfeeding may make a mother feel "blah;" if you're there to tell her what an amazing mother she is, how breastfeeding makes her so beautiful, and that she's a goddess, you will raise her up so high. :)

Happy breastfeeding!

Breastfeeding's Not Just For Hippies

Many people think that breastfeeding is outdated... it's what the cave women did, after all. The hippies in the 70s picked it back up after a long time of formula being the norm, along with not shaving their armpits and letting their hair grow to their waists.

But not only is breastfeeding not outdated, it is timeless. Every mammal in the world nurses their offspring; Mammals... Mammary glands. Get it? We're designed to put our children to breast as soon as they're born, and let them keep coming back until the "milk" teeth (baby teeth) fall out and adult teeth start coming in (between 4-7 years old).

Society puts a lot of pressure on new moms to go with the flow, do what everyone else is doing... be a sheep and don't educate yourself at all. Well, starting now, quit that. Use your education, your common sense, and your instincts to parent. When the baby's born, what do your instincts say to do (when there's not a bottle of formula waved in your face)? They tell you to give that baby the milk you've been making for the past 6 months (breasts start to produce colostrum, the first milk, around 10-14 weeks gestation), straight from the tap, as soon as possible after birth.

Breastfeeding is just biologically normal. Not super serum, or liquid gold as it's often referred. Just normal. Human milk for human babies (and toddlers!), because it's designed specifically for them. Of course it's been shown to affect cancer rates, IQs, a slew of diseases and conditions; but the question to ask on that (and I'll come back to it in a different post) is, "Does breastfeeding reduce these rates, or does NOT breastfeeding RAISE the rates?"

There's an environmental aspect to nursing: no waste from packaging, no waste from manufacturing, no water being used to make the milk besides what you're already drinking. That probably catches the "green" eye, but for most breastfeeding mothers, it's just icing on the already awesome cake.

Whether you're doing it for the environment or for your (and your baby's) health, breast milk is still the best thing for your baby... because it's what we're designed to do.