Beginner vegan and breastfeeding

[Livingmagicallyagain]

Thank you in advance, excited to start this after reading How not to die.

I was vegetarian from age 16 to 30., I'm now 40. I had an Iron deficiency and heavy periods and reintroduced meat happily since then. My iron is OK but ferritin very low. I know which vegan foods are iron rich, and to eat with vitamin c rich foods. I've had baseline bloods taken so I'll monitor but any tips on supercharging iron much appreciated!

I'm 4 months post partum and intend to breastfeed to toddlerhood so do I need to take extra supplements?

How can I expect to feel? With three kids I hope to maintain good energy levels!

Any tips much appreciated!

Ps

Also, FODMAPS! I had issues after the birth of my DS 3 years ago and following the FODMAP diet solved them. All foods were successfully reintroduced. But lots of vegan protein is high in FODMAPS so should I expect an increase in those kinds of issues?

I was vegetarian for about 18 years and went vegan about 2 years ago. I was also breastfeeding at the time but my dd was already a toddler. Honestly I didn't notice any difference to anything from going vegan, no change in my energy, no change in my health, no change in my milk supply etc. Might be different if you're coming from eating meat but I think as long as you are aware of what your eating it should be fine. I take a multi vitamin which contains iron and also take extra iron on my period because I also tend towards anaemia. I log my meals occasionally with chronometer to make sure I've got everything covered, but when I first went vegan I logged them all the time just to be safe. Please also make sure you're getting enough calcium as I've noticed a lot of vegans seem to have a blind spot towards this. Eating dark leafy greens with your dinner won't cut it, you need to either be eating a huge amount of these with each meal or eating calcium fortified food like calcium set tofu or fortified plant milk, or take a calcium supplement. That's nothing to do with breastfeeding, I've just noticed a lot of vegans seem to think you can have some broccoli with your dinner and call it a day for calcium. Good luck, and congratulations on your new baby

You’ll want to take a B12 supplement and a vit D supplement (at least in winter) at a minimum, and a multivitamin might be good for breastfeeding. Consider an omega 3 supplement or eat a lot of foods rich in it (flaxseed, chia seeds, walnuts etc). Sounds like you’re on top of things as regards iron. All breastfed babies to age 1 should get a vitamin D supplement too. D3 is best, most of it comes from sheep wool but you can get a vegan version. Low FODMAP vegan is possible but will require research and careful planning. You might want to consult a dietician about that. Hopefully your energy levels will still be good, mine didn’t change when I went vegan. Best of luck!