Rules for breastfeeding?

[Faith48]

I am new to breastfeeding my baby boy as I couldn't with DS1 so I am desperate to feed for as long as possible and so far so good! :)

What I am confused with though is what I am allowed/not allowed to eat, obviously I know about alcohol and drugs etc. Are the guidelines the same when I was pregnant? Can I eat soft cheese etc?

Sorry if its a silly question, I am just desperate to get it right!

You can eat what you like as far as I know. Alcohol isn't actually all that bad as it doesn't pass to the baby the sane way when bfing. But obviously that is completely personal choice.

Try and enjoy it. :)

Apart from not getting pissed or stoned and being careful to check any medicine you take (ask here for the web link, talk to the Whatsit lac league etc. GPs aren't always very helpful)

I don't think there are any rules except stay with it during the difficult early days it really is a beautiful thing to do.

Two schools of thought. There is no way that the food you eat crosses over into BM..... but no booze or drugs
Or those of us that have learned that a seriously spicy dish results in some baaaaad nappy rash.

No real advice but I did read that whatever you ate a lot of in your pregnancy will be a flavour the baby is used to. For instance I was worried about spicy food while breastfeeding, but the flavours would have been present in the amniotic fluid so my baby will be used to it. I've had no problems so far, but then again I haven't dared a SERIOUSLY spicy dish yet! Also I am drinking the occasional glass of wine and it doesn't affect my baby at all. Sorry if this is long and rambling, I'm doing a feed at 4am and half asleep!

People will tell you that one glass of wine makes the baby sleepy. LIES. Mine was a party animal and one glass of wine meant up all night. Everything else, I ate, drank as normal. Of course, no crack or crystal meth.

No reason not to have a drink now and then.

You can eat anything. Some say that breast milk varies in taste from day to day depending on what the mother has eaten which can make breastfed babies less fussy when it comes to weaning.

I eat a lot of spicy food and have noticed no difference in nappies etc.

Eat what you like, don't get drunk, don't take drugs, don't feed and smoke at the same time.

oscarwilde - some things will pass into your milk, basically anything that gets into the bloodstream. Where it becomes a bit of a myth is things that for example break down in your digestive system (like the fibre in beans) giving you wind, the fibre cannot get into your bloodstream, into the milk, into the baby's digestive system and break down there giving them wind too. So advice to avoid certain foods to avoid giving the baby wind are usually rubbish.

Eat whatever you want.

Here is a guide about ALL medicine from the breastfeeding network.

www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/drugs-in-breastmilk-information-and-factsheets

Eat whatever you want, and a lot of it! This is the time you're eating for two. If you're hungry, eat. Don't worry about losing weight just yet.

Completely agree with the science Hettienne. My DD1 seemed to have a reaction if I had a lot of chilli though. Only when v small so it could just have been coincidence but there always seemed to be a correlation so I just backed off for a bit. As a fully weaned toddler, she still has a bad reaction to spicy food but no evidence of any allergy, just digestive upset.

Back to the OP. I have a doctor friend who blithely told me I would have to be bfing unconscious on the floor before I would have consumed enough alcohol to affect my child. She was clearly taking the p*ss but I took a lot of store out of it and enjoyed a glass or wine. In any case, most of us post preg find that we are limited to 1 or 2 glasses of anything before a cracking hangover kicks in. Something about the chronic sleep deprivation I expect.

Otherwise at present I generally avoid anything with a high risk of food poisoning. Oysters, unpasturised food etc as I can't bear the thought of trying to look after a child while being as sick as a dog.

When you eat blueberries and express, the following day your milk is a lovely pastel shade of purple.
DS loved curry flavoured weaning foods probably because I made up for the lack of curries during pregnancy (completely went off them) after I had him. My breast milk always smelt of coriander & garlic.

Chocolate can relax the sphincter muscle at the top of the stomach and cause vomiting. If you have a problem baby between 3 and 6 months they can probably cope with you eating chocolate