Breast Feeding Mom's Diet

Hi!
I breastfeed my son and at about 4 weeks old he began showing sensitivites to something in my diet. I eliminated all Dariy products from my diet and his sensitivites disappeared within 1 week. If however, I accidently ate something with dairy, he would have a reaction - as soon as his next feeding and in some cases for as long as a few days. Hope that helps. Good luck!

On average it takes 4-6 hours for food to get in there. In some cases as soon as one hour. My son was very sensitive to the foods I ate, especially dairy. Definitely see if there is a pattern to what you're eating and your sons fussiness. Also remember how new their digestive system is. What bothers him now could be fine in a couple of weeks. Good Luck!

Is your baby exclusive breastfed? Is there ANY supplementation at all by anyone else? If you are exclusive breastfeeding are you taking any supplements or vitamins?

Next try eliminating ALL dairy products from your diet for 3 days (ALL including cream in you coffee (if you drink any), yogurst, cheese (even cream cheese), etc). Observe the babies reaction and if there is improvement reintroduce dairy at day 4 if the aby goes back to the previous reaction then you will knwo fro certain taht it is a reaction to your dairy intake and will have to elliminate it completely from your diet while you breastfeed (you can try soy based alternatives now days they abound).

Also are there any food allergies in you rfamily or the babie's father's family? If one of you has a history there is a 30% chance it will be passed to your baby & if both of you have a history there is a 60%.By the way, unfortunately pediatricians are not always the best source of information for accurate breastfeeding information. A lactation onsultant or a group such as La Leche League have a wealth of accurate information on breastfeeding. Try askdrsears.com or Dr. Newman's The Ultimate Breastfeeding Book.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

The biggest 'aggravators' to breastfed babies are dairy, wheat , green leafy veggies, and soy products. The real question though is what do you mean 'SEEMS to have trouble digesting foods'? Some babies burp and fart like frat boys. But that kind of thing bothers US not THEM. If he is crying, squirmy, fussy, brings his knees into his chest and doesnt seem to be feel relief until after he burps or farts - (because then he is quiet and content) maybe he is sensitive to something you are eating...he could also just be sensitive to the weird things going on inside his tummy....it didnt work like this for him just one month ago!
Its probably worth it to rearrange your diet for a short period of time...no one has really done the research on how quickly different foods assimilate into breast milk...(except alcohol, which is right away) so I think three days is a good length of time to avoid the items in question. Start with dairy or whole grains (most adults have a hard time digesting these). Green leafy veggies like spinach and kale, can be erradicated too. You should know, that breastmilk is the easiest thing for your baby to digest and there is a good probability that it is just him getting used to his new system and will be over with in a month or two. Formula is even harder to digest and would not make this problem go away!
J.

Hi A.,

I'd just like to share my experience--hope it helps.

At about 1-2 mos, it became clear that my son had a serious reaction to something in my diet--he'd scream and scream and the ped was no help: "all babies cry", so I didn't do much at first. But the crying was so obviously because of gas/digestion pain and he was in so much pain, that I tried to track my diet and just couldn't figure it out. I'd eliminate things here and there and it just didn't help. We massaged him, pumped his legs etc. and it din't help, either.

To make a long story short, in my son's case it was all vegetables. Broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, onions and garlic were the worst, but it was all veggies. It was pretty gross, but for several months I was basically on the Atkins diet, plus potatoes and whole grains. I can't tell you how many nights I had mushroom cheeseburgers with tater tots!

But, the difference was amazing!! He went from non-stop screaming in pain for HOURS(while his dad and I held him and cried ourselves because it was so hard to watch) to the happiest baby ever! He just smiles and gurgles and is a delight! So, it's worth it!

At 7 mos, I can now eat salads and little bits of garlic and onions(like in pasta sauce), but no peppers still, and I am too afraid to even try broccoli and cauliflower.

Also, he's started on solids and we are havimg LOTS and LOTS of trouble with constipation. My mom is an RN and says that he just has a sensitive GI, and we are going to have to be very vigilant with him for several years.

It really only makes sense to me in terms of evolution--for the last several million years, our ancestors were primarily hunters, and so our babies are adapted to meat, much less so to a variety of plant foods--which hadn't been domesticated yet and so just weren't available.

My advice is to just narrow down your own diet to 2 or 3 items--meat and a starch like potatoes and see what happens. And give it several days after you reintroduce a food and do it one food at a time. It's not a fun way to eat, but it is sooooooo worth it. I wish I'd done it earlier and saved my son so much agony.

Oh, and the answer to your initial question, how long for a reaction? In my son's case, 18 hrs, almost exactly, from the time something passed my lips to his screaming.

This is a fixable problem--just eliminate everything and reintroduce one food at a time, only 2-3 per week. It's not a fun way to eat, but it's a much better way to be a mom, rather than crying as your child screams in agony for hours on end.

Good luck!

You metabolize food a lot quicker. A few weeks after my son was born, my husband and I got take-out and within an hour of me eating, my son became fussy and cranky(so unlike him). I realized it had to be the food I had eaten for dinner. I changed my diet immediately, elminiated all caffiene, including chocolate, cut back on anything really spicy/salty/sweet, etc., and stuck to fairly bland foods while I nursed, but it was worth it. Watch the veggies, too...stay away from cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, onions, garlic, as they can give the baby gas or diarreha. Best of luck, S.

My pedi. said 1 hour. If you eat anything spicy, or garlicy, and that seems to affect him, try pumping 1 hour after you eat those foods and see if that makes a difference. HTH

Hi A.,

I'm sorry that I don't know the exact answer to your question, but it seems that in most cases it's dairy that is the problem. Many babies can't digest cow's milk that Mommy is ingesting. I had to stop eating my yogurt and cold cereal with milk while I was breastfeeding my daughter who is now two years old (I just stopped nursing her three weeks ago -- thought I would only nurse until one years old). I noticed that once she was eating more solids at 6 mo., I could begin to add dairy back to my diet. Check out the American Academy of Ped.s site and KellyMom or ask a Cert. Lactation Consultant for a precise answer too. Also, congratulations on deciding to give your baby the best food ever! Good luck!

Have you tried talking to your pediatrician? Sometimes babies have a dissorder where the sphincter connecting their esophagus and their stomachs doesn't close after a meal and the food comes back out. I'm not sure what it is called, but I'm pretty sure it isn't life threatening.
K.

I've always been under the impression that it is right away. If you feel there is a particular food he seems to react to more, I'd cut it out or eat it 2 hours prior to nursing.
Keeping a record is the best way to determine!
Good luck

It takes a few minutes depending on when in the meal you ingest the particular thing. At most thirty. Your body only has to begin to digest the food for it to be assimilated (and metabolized) by your body which includes reinforcing the breastmilk supply. Have'nt you ever eaten refined sugar and gotten a "high". Or felt revived after eating a solid healthy meal. It goes through the body as fast as it takes to reach the first section of the small intestine. What do you mean by trouble digesting? Just go easy on,(but don't eliminate) harsh foods also maybe if you pick some specific foods to buy organic you'll be getting a better balanced intake of acid-alkaline production. Add this to the other stuff we wrote in here and you'll be right as rain.

hello A. i am not sure actually i think for a couple of hours i did breastfeed my twins...well maybe u need to try the bottle and see what happens

Have you talked to the baby's pediatrician. He/she may have some tips for you. I breastfed both my children (now 3 and 1) for about 6 months each. They didn't really have any problems unless i had spicy food (like tacos or buffalo chicken), or too much salad. As for how long does it take to go from mouth to breast....I'm not exactly sure. I am a cigarette smoker (bad for me and kids, i know) and my doctor told me don't smoke an hour before the feeding. so if i needed to feed at 2, i couldn't smoke after 1. I am guessing it's about the same amount of time for food, but just to be safe, i'd double check with the doctor. Good luck.

Hi A.,
I'm not sure where you are located but if you live near Providence, RI, there is a breastfeeding support group at Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket, RI. It is a great group!
My daughter who is 4 months old now had similar problems with gas when she was first born. I did a lot of massage and that helped alleviate it. I never changed anything in my diet and now she seems to be used to the foods I eat because she rarely gets gas that she can't get rid of herself!
Good luck!
S.

I recall my lacation consultant saying something about 6 hours. If you really want to know you should check with the hospital or your ped. to see if they have a lacation consultant on staff for you to ask questions like this too. Good luck with the breastfeeding!!

A.,
I would check with your ped. As long as your son is gaining weight and having enough wet/poopy diapers, he's probably fine. My son's ped told me that the baby is very effecient at taking what nutrients they need from you. The rest is just garbage and goes right out the other end. Also, it is not uncommon for a breastfed baby to poop a little with each diaper change or not at all for days on end. It just depends on the baby I suppose.
Don't give up on breastfeeding! It's a beautiful thing!

the truth is that such a small amount of what you digest is really getting through to your breastmilk.
if you were to go on an 'elimination' diet, keep in mind that it takes AT LEAST 3-4 weeks for a food/element to be completely out of your system.
i would suggest reading www.kellymom.com for some more info.
good luck!