After writing this frivolous post, several people emailed me or commented that, unlike me, they regrettably can’t eat whatever they want they’re breastfeeding. I hear of so many moms who cut breastfeeding short because they’re miserable subsisting on a limited diet. One of my mini missions in life is to support breastfeeding moms – in particular those ones who face challenges. I know I wouldn’t love nursing nearly as much as I do if I had to give up all of my favorite foods or severely restrict the variety of things I could eat.
Now before I go any further, two things: I do have moments when I’m not a fan of nursing like, for example, when I’ve just finished feeding my baby in the middle of the night and then my toddler wanders in and finds me and asks for mama’s milk and throws a tantrum when I gently tell her the shop’s closed and it’s time for her to go to sleep. I also am writing this post to help moms who suspect their nurslings may have food sensitivities and am, by no means, suggesting that it’s in your head if you think your baby gets extra fussy or gassy when you eat a particular food.
That said, food sensitivity in infants is actually quite rare. I know this from my own personal research, and I verified it with my mother-in-law who is a certified lactation consultant at a pediatric hospital.
Many of my fellow nursing moms are amazed that I can nosh in tikka masala, spicy lentils, and pop jalapenos into my mouth as if they were candy. I eat cruciferous vegetables like broccoli as well without any fear they’ll cause distress in my baby. He seems to not only tolerate but even thrive whether his breastmilk is spiked with curry, cayenne pepper, or chocolate. However, I have had babies that have had been gassy and/or have seemed uncomfortable. In fact, I wondered if Mary Elizabeth might be sensitive to dairy and did ultimately decide to eliminate it from my diet for a two week trial to see if it made a difference. When many of her symptoms seemed to disappear after I cut out all dairy, I assumed we were on to something. But my mother-in-law suggested I slowly reintroduce dairy back to see if any of the symptoms appeared once again. This would offer further proof that the dairy was the culprit behind her fussiness. Lo and behold, her symptoms did not surface again. I started eating dairy again, and everything was fine.
So many moms jump to an elimination diet or even just assume they can’t eat spicy food or other specific foods that have gotten a bad rap. Food made with cow’s milk are the most common to cause problems in babies and are about the only food group that research has conclusively shown to negatively affect some breastfed babies. Most moms can eat whatever they want without worrying about it bothering babies. This doesn’t mean your baby won’t get fussy; it just means your wee one’s fussiness probably has nothing to do with what you’re putting in to your mouth.
“Most infant fussiness is normal for a young baby, and is not related to foods in mom’s diet. If your baby is sensitive to something you are eating, you will most likely notice other symptoms in addition to fussiness, such as excessive spitting up or vomiting, colic, rash or persistent congestion. Fussiness that is not accompanied by other symptoms and calms with more frequent nursing is probably not food-related.
Food sensitivities in breastfed babies are not nearly as common as many breastfeeding mothers have been led to think, however.”
There are a lot of misconceptions out there about this topic of food sensitivity, and I hate to see nursing moms eliminate some of their favorite food from their diet when it might very well be completely unnecessary. I make tons of milk, and I learned quickly that if I tried to nurse as recommended and nurse for about 10 minutes on one side and then switch, my poor baby would get nothing but the foremilk that’s basically skim milk containing tons of lactose. This would cause discomfort in my infant and also result in green stool (rather than that lovely, bright yellow mustard-colored goop). So what I’ve always done ever since I learned this with second baby is to nurse on one side per session and to not switch sides until the next feeding. This ensures my baby is getting plenty of the rich hindmilk.
My mom-in-law has also reminded me that it’s not as if what you eat goes directly to your breast. In other words, you don’t need to steer clear of a particular food just because it gives you gas. But let’s say your baby is gassy. Do his bubbles and toots seem to bother him? If not, there’s no need to change anything. A happy baby is all that matters; prepare for her bum music to occasionally embarrass you, however. I’ll never forget the time Madeline expressed herself very loudly as an infant during Mass. Several people turned around and looked at us, and I know they were thinking that a baby that small could not have made a noise like that. I swear it was her!
More recently, I was giving a speech to an intimate group of women when Thomas “expressed” himself. Then he sighed contentedly, and his face broke into a big grin. Nice.
Keep in mind, too, that different cultures don’t swear off their regular cuisine simply because they are breastfeeding. So many American women think they can’t eat ethnic cuisine when they’re nursing, but there are women across the globe who eat the flavorful stuff all of the time.
Now if you really do suspect your diet might be contributing to your baby’s fussiness, you may need to consider an elimination diet. Start first with dairy products since, as I mentioned above, problems with cow’s milk problems are the most common. You need to eliminate all dairy for at least two weeks. If your baby’s symptoms disappear, then try doing what I did and slowly re-introduce the dairy again. So often we think that there’s a correlation between what we eat or what we’ve eliminated from our diet when, in fact, a baby has just outgrown a fussy period. I use the analogy of someone with a cold that persists for longer than a few days. This person might be convinced she needs antibiotics even though her cold is very likely a stubborn virus. She goes in to her doctor, demands antibiotics (which puts us all at risk for antibiotic resistance, but that’s another post for another day), and then when her symptoms magically disappear over the next day or two, she says, “See? I knew I needed antibiotics!” The reality is the cold probably had run its course, and she was going to get better in that time frame regardless. (This isn’t to say some colds turn into sinus infections or other bacterial infections that would benefit from antibiotic treatment.)
I just always hate to see breastfeeding mamas made miserable because of what they think they cannot eat for the sake of their babies. The website Kelly Mom has great information on this topic if you’re interested in learning more. I’m sure the La Leche League site has resources as well.
Here’s to happy eating for both mom and baby!
Thank you so much for this! I was told time and time again my second child had a food intolerance because of what I was eating when it was, in fact, just a fussy period. I didn’t give up the suspected culprit and he improved on his own after a couple of weeks. We, as mothers, don’t want to see our children upset and/or uncomfortable and we, as humans, want everything to be cause and effect in plain black and white. Rarely is anything that concrete or deliberate, so why should breastfeeding/food intolerance be the same.
I’m sorry I can’t cite my sources, but I know that there are studies showing that the wider the variety of foods mothers eat during pregnancy, the fewer sensitivities their babies have. The studies were done cross-culturally, and tend to indicate that if mom didn’t eat outside her ethnic repertoire while pregnant, babies were SLIGHTLY more likely to be sensitive to foods outside that cultural spectrum. The differences were significant, but not maor.
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What I have found to be the biggest contributor to my babes having gas, is the balance of foremilk/hindmilk. I have major oversupply in the early months especially, and on the days it’s not under control, I have noticed that my babies have been super gassy, green stools, etc. My current little one is a spitter, and I have noticed that this affects how much he spits up, as well. This is, of course, from my personal experience, but I feel the need to spread the word. I went to a LLL meeting when my oldest was about 6 weeks and they gave me advice about this and how to deal with it – priceless!
I completely agree, Katie. Nursing on one side per session makes a big difference with my babies and ensures they don’t gulp down too much foremilk.
I fully agree here. I am terribly oversupplied in the beginning especially and block nursing is the only way I can manage it. But it works beautifully.
Where there is a will, there is a way:)
Happy Nursing to all!
PS– Thomas is positively adorable. Squishable.
Though I am 5 years since breast feeding my darling daughter, this post made me smile. I miss it still! I used to refer to myself as the “Dairy Queen” when I was still nursing. And the story about the fart during Mass made me giggle in remembrance of a time when once we were all kneeling in silence during a vigil mass for Ash Wednesday and my DD farted so loud My 7 year old (at the time) son nearly died from trying not to laugh aloud. Good Times! We still laugh about it to this day. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Aww… this makes me miss nursing. We just fully weaned a couple weeks ago.
I do love this post, however! I remember when Joe was really gassy and fussy and I was sooooooooooooo afraid that I would have to give up certain foods. I don’t do well with that. Thankfully Joe’s doc eased my fears. Just a little reflux and with some Zantac all was right again. I would have given up these foods if need be, but I am just VERY glad I didn’t! Things also seemed to ease up when I realized that one breast was enough for Joe… I never did the switching sides.
I’m really interested in seeing how breastfeeding goes with this next blessing. I keep thinking that since I was so blessed in having a great start and relationship with Joe that I’ll be jinxed and it won’t work out so well for this one.
Maggie recently posted…The End of Breastfeeding
Maggie, other than producing mucho leche and having one baby with bad reflux like Joe, I’ve had beautiful and rather effortless (aside from nocturnal nurslings) breastfeeding experiences with all my babies. I hope the same holds true for you! God bless.
My first son did have a hard time digesting dairy, so I stopped eating dairy for the 15 months we were nursing. I’m so glad I continued!
Later, he ended up with food allergies, and one of them was dairy (which he has since outgrown). He was always plagued with eczema as a baby, though — and thankfully, our pediatrician told us it might be related to food allergies and advised caution when introducing new foods. Our son was also allergic to eggs, which we discovered when he was 10 months old. Then our doctor advised us to avoid nuts until he was old enough to be tested, and he turned out to be allergic to peanuts too. No one in our families has food allergies, so we were really surprised.
All that to say, your baby is the best indicator of food intolerances. If he’s happy and gassy, fine! But if he’s gassy and in pain, it’s worth excluding some of the major culprits and reintroducing them. Now, 9 years later, I wonder if his baby eczema was a reaction to the eggs and peanut products I ate while nursing — but there’s no way to know for sure.
I loved nursing, and miss it! Our first two were breastfed, but now we are building our family through adoption because of some medical issues, and the children are/were too old to begin nursing.
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Thanks for this post, Kate! I totally agree with all you’ve said. My kids have had gassy and colicky periods, and long periods with green stool. But they’ve been overall happy and haven’t exhibited any other reason for me to suspect food allergies. I do feel bad for moms who are desperately taking all sorts of foods out of their diets to try to help their babies. It seems like there is a lot more research going on about food allergies and even introducing some of those allergic-tending foods earlier to help prevent allergies. I hope more research can clear some of the misconceptions that are common these days.
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I think I was one of the people you wrote this article for, so thank you! While I know food allergies are rare in babies, my second son had tons of ear problems and was very fussy and the doctor suggested I give up dairy because that is linked to ear troubles. I did it for 4 months, and once his intestines were more fully developed, slowly reintroduced them back in, and we were good to go.
My third baby was super colicy and threw up all the time, and I was told to cut all dairy and soy from my diet. I did, and was starving, and I don’t think it even helped him at all. He was still very colicy until a year old.
My fifth baby was just super sensitive to whenever I ate spicy or gassy foods. He would writhe in pain and when I cut them out, he was a happy baby. So I did just that.
Now maybe it’s all in my mind that I couldn’t eat gassy foods, or maybe he was just getting too much foremilk because I ALWAYS feed both sides while nursing (nobody ever told me not too, in fact I was always told to empty both breasts to reduce risk of engorgement and infection), but either way it led me to stop nursing him at 4 months old. Working full-time and pumping did create a supply issue as well. I wish I would have known to try feeding from one side at a time, but at least now I know for the future babies. Even after nursing five babies (first and fourth nursed without any problems), I still have much to learn!! And if I don’t jump to the conclusion that I need to eliminate foods, maybe I can figure out another solution :)
I was one of the ones who had to eliminate foods. My son would refuse to eat, arching away from me in pain, and was losing weight. It was very upsetting and terrifying, and we tried EVERYTHING for about two months. Then I tried a very strict elimination diet, and it did help. Eventually I was able to add things back in, but even now he has kind of a sensitive tummy.
I have heard that sometimes the problem isn’t the baby, but the mom. If the mom has a leaky gut or food intolerance, she may pass proteins to her baby that aren’t completely broken down. Since I’m beginning to suspect I may have a gluten intolerance (sad day!), maybe this was why we had so much trouble. For the next baby, an elimination diet will be the first thing I try. I don’t really mind them, and it always seems worth a shot to me. You can always add things back in later once the situation’s improved.
I have food intolerances myself and it definitely seemed like my son was much gassier after I ate things I couldn’t process well. It makes sense, since as you point out Kate, it’s not like a jalapeno is going to be in the milk, that a gassy mom might produce gassy milk, but it isn’t because the baby is sensitive to what she’s eating. It’s just because she is. Very interesting theory Sheila!
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Oh my goodness, that is the cutest picture! That smile is infectious and that hair is hilarious!
Sorry, Kate, I’m going to be a bit of a naysayer. While I’ve never avoided spicy foods or ethnic foods– bring on the curry!– I’ve always found a strong correlation with my babies’ gas and cruciferous vegetables. All four of them have had middle of the night back-arching, screaming gas and it always seems to correlate with the brussles sprouts or cabbage or broccoli or cauliflower or my beloved collard greens. To the point where we’ll have had months of no gas and I’ll have just a bit of cabbage and then the next two nights are a terror with extreme fussing punctuated by extreme farting and then after that we’ll be back to life as normal for weeks and weeks until the next time I get experimental.
And it bears out even when I’m not looking for the correlation. For example we went out for Indian recently, as I’ve said I have no problems with spice, but I had some Mulligatawny soup that had cabbage and cauliflower and that night Anthony was having major gas and screaming for hours that nursing just would not calm. He didn’t have that kind of fussy gas at all for weeks before or since.
I’m willing to be convinced otherwise; but my theory is based on quite a few observations. And I don’t just eliminate and not go back. I reintroduce only to find the gas comes back only to go away when I avoid. If it ain’t the cruciferous veggies, then both Dom and I are cracked because they are the only clear variable in a strange pattern of gassiness. Nothing changes in my nursing habits and the gassy periods aren’t long enough for me to write them off as just fussy periods. They are just one or two nights immediately after the offending food. I’m not blaming all baby fussiness on foods. My kids have plenty of fussiness that I don’t attribute to gas and plenty of gas that I don’t attribute to my diet but the crazy painful nighttime gassies go away when I avoid my cruciferous friends.
I would actually love to be convinced otherwise because I hate cutting them out. I actually bought some Brussels sprouts today and I will eat them in the hopes that my theory will be disproved. But I’m going to eat them on a night that I go to bed early and don’t have to get up in the morning just in case the gassies return.
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Melanie, you aren’t being a naysayer at all. I wasn’t suggesting that food sensitivities never happen as they clearly do in your little nurslings’ case: however, it is far less common than a lot of us nursing mamas have been led to believe. My MIL said she definitely noticed fussiness with her second child whenever she ate corn, so she eliminated it.
I’m glad you commented because I certainly don’t want moms to think there’s something wrong with them for noticing a correlation between what they eat and their baby’s contentment, or that eliminating certain food is never effective in leading to a happier baby.
Also, when I mentioned about the food you eating not going directly into your breast, I was trying to imply that just because a certain food gives you gas, it doesn’t mean it will automatically lead to a gassy baby.
My little guy does toot quite a bit, but he’s smiling when he does it. :-)
I’m so sorry you have to miss out on some good eats. It’s another example of a mother’s sacrificial love, no?
That Image of a little girl is really adorable, I remember also wishing to become a “Queen” but I can be always a queen at all time in the heart of my family…
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Thanks Kate,
It was such a huge relief to me when I discovered that cruciferous vegetable were a possible culprit and when eliminating them helped so much with Bella’s extreme gastric distress that I wouldn’t want mothers who are having a similar struggle to completely discount the possibility of food issues. I’ve never had gas from them myself so it was rather a surprise. And yes, a huge sacrifice; but thanks for the reminder that it is a chance to show my love.
I should add too that Anthony does seem to be sensitive to beans as well, which none of my others were. It’s making Lent even more challenging than usual because many of default meals involve beans and lentils. I miss having refried beans with my Tex-Mex too.
On a rather unrelated note, but since we’re talking breastfeeding here, has anyone dealt with having a very grabby baby? All of my older babies have had wandering hands that like to grab and pinch while nursing to some extent; but Anthony does it to an alarming extent. I have black and blue marks on my upper arm where he loves to grab and pinch. I finally, I think, convinced him not to pinch; but he still loves to reach up under my shirt to grab my bra straps and he pulls and twists at my clothes and well, “gropes” would not be too strong a word. This is incredibly annoying during the day but rises to absolutely hellish at night when I can’t sleep while nursing him because of his wandering hands. Last night he woke up and wanted to nurse right after I’d come back to bed after spending an hour snuggling with an insomniac Ben in the freezing cold armchair. I was in tears because all I wanted to do was go to sleep, I was so exhausted and the options were to listen to him cry because I refused him milk or to be grabbed and groped and pinched while he nursed. I nursed him for a long time and when he seemed to be getting no closer to sleep I handed him over to Dom who took him to the living room where he fell asleep on Dom’s chest. (Only to have Ben wake me up again about half an hour after I fell asleep, demanding breakfast at 5:30.)
Sorry for rambling. I’m obviously tired and cranky. Anyway, I’ve been trying to gently remove his hand every time it wanders but we both get very frustrated with that dance and he doesn’t seem to learn. Any suggestions for a gentle way to train him out of it?
Melanie B recently posted…Blessed Isabella of France: the Princes Who Refused to Be a Queen
One thing that worked well for me was to say no CALMLY and then remove him, The first couple of times I reacted strongly and my son thought it was hilarious, which only made him want to do it more! Teething necklaces could be good for redirection if he just needs to be doing something with his hands-just move his hands from your skin to the necklace and let him explore it.
Also, my son tended to be grabbier when I had low supply (like when I’m on my period, strangely)or he was hungry-apparently twiddling naturally increases supply and may be instinctive. I don’t remember where I read that though-maybe on the Hobo Mama blog? So it might be time to start feeding him more solids if he is old enough, or try to increase your supply a litle (at the very least, stay hydrated and eat whole grains.) Anyway hang in there and good luck!
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Melanie, I haven’t had this specific problem either, but I was going to give similar advice as was shared from Dionna since I have had a biter.
Good luck with this, and hang in there.
God bless!
Melanie – perhaps this post will help with your pinching problem: http://naturalparentsnetwork.com/how-to-discourage-biting-while-breastfeeding/
Good luck!!