BF and huge appetite!!

[SunSoakedStone]

currently BF 4 month old, and feeling ravenous ALL DAY.

i read you need about 500 extra calories on top of pre-preg intake when BF, but im eating way more than that.

im eating about 2800 a day atm.

only put on 8kg during pregnancy, and at pre-preg weight now.

22 years old, go for half hour walk every day. really dont want to get overweight... do i really need to be eating as much as i am??

Are you, perhaps, also absolutely exhausted and craving sugar? Sounds familiar. I am still in the same boat, though sadly have a good ten years on you, and while not diabetic I do find I need to be careful to keep my blood sugar levels stable. You probably don't need quite as many calories, but you do need to keep going...

Hope the following isn't patronising, but;
I find that a good oat-based breakfast (porridge, oatibix) at least keeps me off the bad stuff until lunchtime, and I ususally try to bulk out with vegetables in the evening. Cheese and wholemeal crackers to tide me over while cooking dinner, and probably half the carrots if I am cooking them too. Uncle Ben's do a 10 minute boil in the bag brown rice if you eat lots of rice and haven't the patience or energy to wait 35 minutes for brown rice to cook. This is all slow-burning fodder, so should mean you aren't also starving if you have to feed in the middle of the night.

We will draw a veil over lunchtime / afternoon snacks.

thanks for advice, not patronising at all! iv had a test for diabetes (thirsty all the time as well) but that came out ok.

could well be exhaustion

do follow a good diet, just lots of it!! will def try your tips though

I could eat and eat and eat too! (but I've always been a --pig had a good appetite!)

I've found grazing helps, because then if I have a meal abit later then planned (ie because DS needed feed, hard to settle etc), I'm not ravenous and so dont eat loads and loads IYSWIM
Ryvitas are good and I try and have 'easy' fruit to hand (doesn't need peeling/not messy to eat). Easy to eat whist dealing with baby at same time!!

when DD was that age I ate and ate and ate. If you aren't putting on weight then you are fine. Just eat nice healthy stuff and enjoy being able to eat and not get fat

You're at your pre-pregnancy weight. If you're not putting weight on, just go with it.

Everyone's different. I don't often say this on MN because it will just annoy people but (whisper) I eat VAST amounts while BF and am lighter than I've ever been! In fact, I struggle to keep the weight on! Don't look a gift horse in the mouth - eat it. Or at least, buy yourself a large cake or two and tuck in

I put on nearly a stone in the first six months or so of BF

It was mostly Marks and Spencers cakes, caramel and hazelnut. Back to normal now at 16m, still feeding but don't get that hunger.

Worry about it if you get fatter. Or don't. I ate a belgian bun every day when I was BFing and I lost (my 4st! of) preg weight ok. I think that it is just a perk that some very lucky people can.

lol ok i will definitely just go with it then and not worry about putting on any! perk of BF i guess

moaningminnie- hilarious that you mention M&S cakes, ate an ENTIRE M&S carrot cake to myself the other day. slice by slice
usually make much more sensible choices honest!

should mention DS already 2 1/2 times his birthweight, clearly needs fuel from somewhere.

Yep, I've done that too. And got away with it. It's a brief period in your life where you are able to stuff your face with impunity. Go for it.

I ate loads when mine was that age, and I ended up 10lb under my pre-preg weight. It was so much fun I cannot tell you.

Just make sure you stop eating when you stop breastfeeding

i have never been so hungry, or even greedy as the early days of bf. however i was so ravenous i put on lots of weight. when i tried to cut down/skip meals i had a few episodes of fainting due to low blood sugars i think, not a good experience. It lasted probably 6-9 months for me, then i carried on feeding but didn't have the all consuming hunger and managed to loose weight fine.

it sounds like you are eating appropriately if your weight is steady. if you start losing weight despite eating lots you might want to visit the GP and get your thyroid function checked as you can become hyperthyroid post-pregnancy.

If you are not gaining weight, then don't worry about it. You say that DS is 2 1/2 times his birth weight- that is pretty quick growth isn't it? (I think DD wasn't quite 3 times her bw at a year). So it would stand to reason that you would need more calories than another bf mum whose child is gaining more slowly. I would say listen to what you body is telling you, eat as much as you need but just try to choose healthy foods. And enjoy it!

he was v tiny when he was born, but it is quick

Sounds like you're both doing fine

I was exactly the same, came as quite s shock as I hadn't been able to eat much when I was pg. I was also very aware of having to eat well to lookafter myself so my top tip is to roast a chicken at the beginning of the week to ensure you get a nice lunch each day/ have something to pick at.

MY tip is - enjoy it but don't think the same thing will happen 5 years laer when you have your second child [bitter laugh]!

thanks

enjoy it i will