Any foods to avoid when breast feeding?

[RuthChan]

My one month old dd seemed to have bad tummy pains all through last night. I was wondering if something I'd eaten may have disagreed with her.
Has anyone identified any foods that are best avoided while breast feeding?

Lots of people talk about foods to avoid, ranging from alcohol and caffeine to cabbage and spicy foods.

But odds are, your DD was just having a rough night. Their digestive system is pretty new, and can go off easily. My DS2 struggled a bit at night, and I dropped cabbage as a result (I love cabbage!). When I tried it again a few weeks later, it didn't upset him at all, it was clearly unrelated.

I've heard about avoiding spicy foods, but I hadn't eaten any.
I think you're probably right that she was just having a bad night. It just came as a surprise because she's usually such a quiet easy baby and she really seemed to be uncomfortable and in pain.

They often have a hard time pushing poo out, as the poo is so liquid. I remember DS2 being really quite cranky, but it was just how he was.

(I have a friend whose baby did react to what she ate, but they baby would puke the breastmilk up copiously, if the friend had eaten anything off the "unapproved" list. Not fun!)

Yes, I agree about the hard time pushing out poo.
DD really seems to struggle at times and kicks a lot. It stops as soon as she poos or farts.
It sounds like your friend had a really hard time. I wonder what was on the list?!!

Agree with NQC. Don't think it's anything to do with what you've eaten, it's their teenie digestive systemsgrowing and maturing.

Thanks mamijacacalys. I appreciate your reply.
I hope her digestive system matures soon. It's hard watching her little face in so much pain.
I can't wait to see her first smile instead!

I think all babies react differently to different foods, but I definitely found that acidic foods produced a bad reaction in my ds after breastfeeding - so citrus fruits or juices, raw tomatoes, etc were better left off the menu. Also, once after I drank a cup of real coffee he refused to feed at all, so I switched to decaffeinated after that.

I found that ds is really bad when I eat tomatoes, onions and chocolate. He is really unsettled after I have eaten these foods. As it was on more than one occasion I put it down to those foods and avoid them as best as possible at the moment.

RC- A bit of advice that worked with my DD (now 5 months so doesn't really happen anymore) - put her flat on the playmat or changing mat, undo nappy and do the cycling thing with the legs and/or rub belly. DD would immediately perk up after this.

HTH

Too much coffee or Diet Coke was def a prob for my two. Used to limit myself to one cup of coffee a day, preferably in the morning ! My GP also said de-caff not much better cos it's acid.
There are a load of old wives tales, you'll prob have to work it out by trial and error. Rx