To ask what I can't eat when breastfeeding?

[CustardCreamLover]

My husband has decided he has a medical degree and is now trying to dictate what I can and can't eat while breastfeeding. According to him I definitely can't eat chocolate and all vegetables have to be cooked to a mush. I think this is all crap especially reading advice from NHS and such like.
And to be honest reading the internet I shouldn't eat anything apart from air 🙄

So maybe if there are some medical professionals out there who can tell me what I can't eat I can take it to him (although multiple midwives in the hospital told us that there isn't anything off limits just in moderation and apparently he still knows better because it's what his mother and sister have done). Because otherwise I think I'm going to divorce him.

Just tell him you’ll take advice from your midwife and genuine sources like LLL. And he can stick his google Med degree up his arse

Also disagree with the foremilk/hindmilk malarkey. It was a thing when my eldest was born 6 years ago and most definitely wasn’t a thing when my youngest was born a year ago. It’s believed by most HCPs with specialism in BFing that a pump is nowhere near as effective as a baby at extracting milk.

I know it’s stressful. I had a terrible time feeding mine at the beginning but trust yourself, your body and your baby boy. If there’s sufficient wet and dirty nappies, he’s gaining weight well and he’s a happy chap, then he’s absolutely fine, just let him take what he needs as often as he needs.

He believes the earth is flat?!?!? What!? Are you sure you want to raise a child with him?

To be honest if he believes the earth is flat I don't think providing him with breastfeeding information from a reputable source like the NHS or LLL will do the trick in this case.

@PCohle

Got it in one! I'm struggling to look at him at the moment

Baby is still very young and only has a small stomach. Some babies are much more efficient than others and some like to suck for comfort. Do you get him weighed? As long as he is putting on weight I wouldn't be concerned. Also definitely eat the chocolate!

He’s a flat earther?! Please tell us OP, that you won’t be back in a few weeks with ‘AIBU my husband won’t let me vaccinate my child’

hard hat well and truly glued on

Don’t eat the baby (I once kicked DH awake in the night to tell him earnestly that I now understood what Winnicott meant when he said the mother both loves & hates the baby & wants to eat it. Despite looking momentarily startled, he went back to sleep. PFB now 15 and none the worse.)

I used to put mine back into the same breast a couple of times in a row if they were feeding very quickly. But I never felt pumping did anything other than make me stressed out unnecessarily.

Your husband isnt looking up baby feeding advice & getting it confused with weaning advice, is he? The mashed veg thing is weird.

For trying to stop a breastfeeding mother from eating chocolate he should be shot!
OP I have never avoided any food at all and even drink wine whilst breastfeeding.
The only thing I would say is think about carrying on taking a pregnancy vitamin - for your own health rather than your baby’s (all your nutrients will be diverted to them!)
And the other thing I tried to do was eat a couple of portions of oily fish per week. But that was my choice as I thought it’d help with EFAs

OP, another doctor here advising to be wary of that advice from your midwife. Babies don't get 'lazy' at around the six week mark, they get very efficient and can often take what they need in 5 minutes. They may feed for longer at night when half asleep. Introducing a bottle at this stage is unlikely to help and is a lot more faff for you. Watch the nappies, trust your body and feed on demand. And eat ALL the chocolate!

He believes the earth is flat?!

Did you know he a friend flat rather before marriage??

Food luck OP, if he think carrots are VAD food and that Proffesor Brian Cox is wrong, chocolate is the least of your issues

Supplementing your milk with formula will reduce your supply - your body produces milk on a demand basis. If the demand is being met with formula, then supply will drop. Great if you want to mix feed long term, not so great if you want to to ebf.

Have you a local bf support group? Your children's centre or HV should be able to sogn post - even if it's just to find some other sane adults

When I was breast feeding I ate all of the everything.
How have you not killed your DH yet?

Spaghetti bolognese. It’s really difficult to eat with one hand without dropping it all over the baby.

Corn on the cob has its challenges too.

He isn't an antivaxxer but that would result in divorce. No he's not getting confused with weaning advice he just believes everything on the internet that sounds like crap and follows all advice from his sister and mother. I'm worried that the baby is starting to reject me for breastfeeding and will only take a bottle. He was 5 weeks early that's why he's had a bottle because he wouldn't breastfeed to start with.

Actually yeah, soup is a pain in the arse. Hard to eat while feeding, lethal ifvdropped on baby, not calorific enough anyway.

Avoid soup at all costs

Medical professional
Currently breastfeeding
I eat everything! Also seconding Cel982.

I advise you tell your husband you can only eat a very specific diet that he must get for you in person. Preferably very far away.

Seriously though if he is a flat earther you are unlikely to change his opinion.

He's a fucking idiot!!!!!

Veg needs to be al dente or even raw for max nutrition with VERY few exceptions eg lycopene in tomatoes. Also the extra fibre is good for you as bf can reduce your hydration slightly which can slow bowels down. I ate lots of carrot sticks, celery and sliced peppers when bf as quick & nutritious no cooking involved.

Dark chocolate is a source of iron and calcium as well as energy

Eating common allergens (peanut butter, eggs, dairy, strawberries, soy, fish, shellfish) is now believed to REDUCE allergies occurring.

A wide, varied and balanced diet with plenty of fluids is what's ideal for bf.

SOME babies are negatively affected by things like onions, spicy food, caffeine (and even there it's more a problem for the parents as the main effect is keeping them awake! 😂)

But you just observe and if you notice something like that adjust accordingly.

I bf for 1st 9 months only thing I couldn't eat was garlic as that gave dd wind that stank!! Ironically she loves it now and loads her food with it no problem. Similar to damntheman I also found "lightly sparkling" drinks were a no go as dd got wind with that too, but funnily enough ok with properly carbonated drinks (she'd fart a bit more often but didn't seem in discomfort)

I'm an ex nurse but not paediatrics, geriatrics which can be very similar in dietary advice weirdly.

"But then he believes the earth is flat so why am I surprised....." Wtf! I genuinely couldn't be with someone this stupid!

I’ve never met a flat earther in real life! I honestly hoped they were trolls that only existed inside the t’interweb

What did you say/think/do when he told you? Were you too far into the relationship to run for the hills?

Do loads of skin to skin with your baby. It helps with so many things.

My DS became very efficient very quickly and only fed for about five minutes at that age. Never latched properly and gave me months of worry but his weight increased steadily. I just shouldn’t have worried. If he poos, wees and gains weight you have nothing to worry about.

OP it's called Glow Baby Newborn Tracker App by Glowhttps://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/glow-baby-newborn-tracker-app/id1077177456?mt=8

Very American but really helpful at reminding me it really has been an hour since I fed her and she's definitely hungry and you can have multiple carers on it so DH can add things in. Much better than the medela app that was Mum only.

Just saw that you had a baby with a flat earther, you're stronger than I, my head would have exploded long ago.

Do us a favour- for your babies first birthday, get them a globe.

My midwife told me chocolate was good for breastfeeding mums...as well as oats and other things. I mainly followed the chocolate advice though!