eating & drinking whilst breastfeeding

[mustardtomango]

I'm sure there are recommendations out there, what wouldn't you suggest eating / drinking more or less of? Thinking caffeine, dairy etc, but not read up on it before

(What would, not wouldn't)

More cake. Some people avoid alcohol, but I think the jury is out on whether it's a problem.

Anything else is fine.

I'd go easy on the caffeine but you don't have to give it up! Otherwise carry on as usual.

How could I forget more cake

I agree, with the cake part, but as to alcohol- it is very easy ( assuming you have the relevant tech) to measure the amount of alcohol in breast milk.

While the jury may be out as the to amount of alcohol a foetus would be exposed to if its mother drank- it is clear that drinking in moderation while breast feeding posses no threat to a baby/ toddler/ child. Cheers!

Jury gave its verdict long ago on alcohol, happily - it's fine as long as you are sober enough to care for the baby. Google for more info. But it's a personal thing - some people freak at the idea of even the merest theoretical smidgin getting anywhere near the breastmilk. Up to them.

No evidence against caffeine except in some cases where the baby was fussy and the caffeine intake was very high.

No need to avoid anything - for most people, anyway.

Oats have a reputation for making more milk, but there's not much science to it.

You'll start to notice for some foods if your baby seems to be uncomfortable after a feed - I ended up giving up citrus juice as a result and also cutting down on dairy but I wouldn't remove foods such as citrus and dairy without knowing it will make a difference as they can be really important nutritionally (especially dairy for calcium).

I used to have a 'feeding station' for quite literally eating whilst feeding. I always found BF made me hungry.

I made up a snack mix of dried fruit, nuts and cereals (and some veggie marshmallows), a small plate of cheese & crackers, and a huge glass of water.

I didn't avoid anything but made sure alcohol and caffeine were in moderation.

Cows milk does not make you make human milk. (Does anyone tell cows to drink the milk of another species to make their own?! )

DD was fussy after I had a spicy curry at 4 weeks. The only one who suffered was me as she fed every two bloody hours.

I've found caffeine aggravates my DD's reflux. I was skeptical about this but discovered by chance (was with my Dad and he spent the day giving me decaf tea!) and she was loads better. I've read that if you don't take in much caffeine when pregnant - I didn't because it made me sick - then they can be more sensitive to it in breast milk.

I found pizza crumbs difficult to get out of her hair and anything with jam should be avoided over their head. Travel and I have the same idea! :)

Yeah I looked down while I was eating and feeding yesterday and ds had a piece of pesto covered pasta on his head, poor boy

I ate and drank completely normally with no noticeable effect on the baby.

Same here with both kids.

I found large quantities of onions - things like French onion quiche - made DD1 very windy so am avoiding same with DD2 but don't know if that was coincidence.

My problem now is that my 25th percentile DD pooed lots and lots. DD2 doesn't. And on day three of not, turns into cross, Velcro baby. Any ideas of how to help her shift stuff?? I drink loads of water and am still taking lactulose as I need it.

I don't drink caffeine anyway, as it doesn't agree with me and I haven't been able to face alcohol at all (prob something to do with spending the best part of 9 months feeling like I had a horrendous hangover).

However, I have eaten and drunk everything else completely normally, including lots of dairy and chillies. Dd hasn't reacted to any of it.

I second the advice to always have a drink to hand and make sure you eat plenty. I've stained a couple of her babygros with pasta sauce and have wiped chutney off her cheek. Dd was completely oblivious to it all.

Biscuit and cake crumbs are a bugger, as they get everywhere, so I recommend a big box of choccies!

Yes things which make lots of crumbs can be a problem, as they get into the baby's ear - which is what makes Maryland Cookies so amazing because you can fit them in in one bite

Wine is excellent consumed while BFing, because you have the cast iron excuse of staying put while someone else refills your glass.

On a more serious note, I actually find it quite misogynistic when people suggest that nursing mothers should eat xyx and avoid abc. There are quite enough attempts to control women in society without this being one of them.

Agree with AliBaba - eat what you want. Anything that can be done one-handed, so chop up roasts etc before putting on fridge for assembling lunch next day.

And seconding warning on croissants - I confessed once that I hadn't noticed flaky scalp on dc2 as I thought it was just bits of croissant. Other mum said it was better than assuming flakes were croissant and eating them...

Couscous/quinoa can get in baby's mouth at tea time. I actually find baby is hungriest at my meal times and end up eating everything over her.

I have increased pulses, green veg etc for Iron but that's all.

Crumbs solved easily with a muslin draped over child! Although I have also dropped sauce onto babygros and cardigans

I ate and drank what I wanted, although had alcohol only in moderation. I don't think there's any evidence that the mother's diet affects the breast milk with the exception of alcohol, but even that, I seem to remember reading you'd be too drunk to look after a baby if you'd had enough to affect the milk. I think many people go on exclusion diets when the baby goes through a fussy/ windy period, and these phases normally pass after a few weeks anyway, at which point the mother becomes convinced the exclusion diet helped. I had so much advice about what not to eat if I had taken it I wouldn't have been able to eat most vegetables, dairy, soya, or wheat.

I know my dd's caffeine limit - 1 coffee and 1 tea a day, plus a small chocolate bar. Any more and she refuses to nap and is v unsettled. The day I drank a wjole can of coke was NOT fun.

Things that get into your bloodstream - like caffeine, alcohol, drugs - get into your milk in varying degrees. Strongly flavoured food can apparently also give your milk a slight flavour. However, the bubbles in fizzy drinks or the fibre in beans/veg cannot