Avoiding Foods While Breast Feeding

Many women find that they can eat whatever they may

like during breast feeding. Even though it's true

that some stongly favored foods can change the

taste of your milk, many babies seem to enjoy the

varieties of breast milk flavors. Occasionally,

your baby may get cranky at the breast after you

eat certain foods. If you notice this happening,

simply avoid that particular food.

The most common offenders duing breast feeding

include chocolate, spices, citrus fruits, garlic,

chili, lime, gassy vegetables, and fruits with

laxative type effects, such as prunes and cherries.

You can have a cup or two of coffee a day, although

too much caffeine can interfere with your baby's

sleep and even make him or her cranky. Keep in

mind, caffeine is found in many soda's, tea, and

even over the counter type medicine as well.

It's okay to have an alcoholic beverage every now

and the, although having more than one drink can

increase your blood alcohol level, putting the

alcohol into your breast milk.

If you are planning to have more than one drink

at a time, it's best to wait two hours or more

per drink before you resume any type of nursing

or breast feeding. There is no need to pump

and dump unless your breasts are full and its

time to feed your baby. While breast feeding,

any type of heavy drinking should be avoided.

Before you actually omit any foods from your

diet, you should talk to your doctor. If you

avoid certain foods and it causes a nutritional

imbalance, you may need to see a nutritionist

for advice on taking other foods or getting

nutritional supplements.

Other Foods While Breast Feeding

Breast milk is actually the only food your baby

will need until 4 months of age, although most

babies do well on breast milk alone for 6 months

or better. There is really no advantage to

adding other foods or milks before 4 - 6 months,

except under unusual circumstances.

Water

Breast milk is over 90% water. Even in the

hottest days of summer, a baby won't require any

extra water. If a baby isn't feeding well, they

still don't require any extra water - although

they will need the breast feeding problems to

be fixed.

Vitamin D

Although breast milk doesn't contain much vitamin

D, it does have a little. The baby will store up

vitamin D during pregnancy, and remain healthy

without any vitamin D supplementation, unless you

yourself had a problem with vitamin D deficiency

when pregnant.

Exposure to the outside will give your baby

vitamin D, even in winter and when the sky is

covered. An hour or more exposure during the

week will give your baby more than enough vitamin

D.

Iron

Breast milk contains less iron than formulas do,

especially those that are iron enriched. Iron

will give the baby added protection against

infections, as many bacteria need iron in order

to multiply.

The iron found in breast milk is utilized well

by the baby, while not being available to

bacteria. The introduction of iron should

never be delayed beyond the age of 6 months.

Breast milk is the best that your can feed

your baby, as it provides everything he will

need for probably the first 6 months. After

the first 6 months, you can introduce solid

foods to your baby if he is taking an interest