Feeding Your Baby 101

There are so many things that new mothers stress about and no matter if it's your first, second, or third kid you will learn that breastfeeding is tough. And when I say tough, multiply that by 100!!! I don't think people know how hard it can be. It sounds easy. It looks easy. Why wouldn't it be easy?!?!?!? Hopefully I can share some tips that will make feeding your baby a much more pleasant experience.

Something that makes me really sad is the number of women that give up. I totally get how hard it is. I cried all day every day for the first 2 weeks of my oldest daughter’s life. I would dread when it was feeding time because I was already in so much pain. But hopefully with these tips, you won't suffer as much as I did.

First things first, about a month before your due date start to apply any kind of nipple cream every night before bed. I liked the Medela kind but Lanolin is also popular. Some people even use coconut oil. They will all do the job! Don't forget to do this!! Once your baby comes, you will be so glad you took the time to do it.

Learning to feed your baby is only a small part of the process. Taking care of your nipples, making sure the baby has a good latch, and a breastfeeding friendly diet all play a huge part in having a pleasant nursing experience. If you can make it through the first 2 weeks, you are golden!!! Even the first month can be hard, but hopefully if you do the cream 1 month prior, it will only be a few weeks of pain.

The first few weeks you can try to only feed the baby on one side at a time. That will give your other side a few extra hours to rest before its time to feed again. (They sell nipple shields at the store if the pain gets really bad. I used one with my first and it saved me!!!!!) Use an app on your phone to remember what side you are on or use a hair band on your wrist to keep track. The new apps are so nice because it even has a start and stop button so you know how long you are feeding. Another huge tip is to make sure you are not feeding longer than 20 minutes or so. Your baby will learn quickly that they like to sleep and suck and they will do that for as long as you let them! Use your pinky finger to break the seal before you pull your baby off. That will save your nipples as well! You will know when they are done. Once your baby is a little bigger, or if they are still really fussy and won't take a binky then go ahead and try the other side. Remember the eat, play, sleep pattern as well. After they eat try to keep them awake (this happens around 2 months...so don't stress about it the first few weeks!) then when they get fussy, that means they are tired and not hungry. Rock them to sleep and then feed once they wake up.

Ok, so now to the hardest part....your diet!!! No one will prepare you for a breastfeeding diet. If you are lucky, you will have a baby that isn't bothered at all by what you eat. But most people will find that the things they eat directly affect the baby! My mom was always nice and told me the basics to avoid; onions, garlic, chocolate and any gassy foods like beans, broccoli and anything spicy. I avoided those foods with my first and she seemed to do just fine. Looking back, she did have an upset tummy a lot! We used a lot of gas drops with her but I learned with my second that food has everything to do with their tummy issues. I should have avoided more foods with her, but I didn't know they were causing the pain. My son cried all day every day for over 9 months. We took him to the doctor at 1 month old because we thought there was something wrong; he just never stopped crying! The doctor put me on a crazy diet, no corn, no diary and no soy. It was the craziest diet but it helped a lot. The first 2 months I avoided what I could but he was still so fussy. So then I decided to hit it full force and I avoided all dairy for over 6 months. The first 3 I avoided milk, but the last 6 I cut it all! It was the hardest thing ever but it definitely helped so that made it worth it. On top of no diary, I couldn’t have anything spicy or gassy....so bland food it was. I ate a lot of plain pasta, plain tortilla chips, chicken and rice, carrots and fruit. It was so hard but I would do it again in a heartbeat!! Luckily, I was a pro with my third so I cut out dairy with her right off the bat. I also learned quickly with her that any tomato product were off limits. She has definitely been my happiest baby!

Here is my top list of things to avoid:

MILK!! There are so many good milk alternatives these days. My favorite is cashew milk.

Pasta/pizza sauce. I found olive oil and parmesan cheese to be my favorite topping.

Chocolate. The flavor is too strong for them and the caffeine (in dark) can keep them up!

Beans. Very gassy

Broccoli.

Onion. Too strong of a flavor

Ketchup. Tomato based and acidic

Spicy food, salsa, Mexican food.

It's funny how many people don't know about a breastfeeding friendly diet. The hospital cafeteria served me broccoli for dinner. My friends and family brought delicious meals but the popular meals, like spaghetti, pizza and chocolate chip cookies are good for my family but not good for me. I made sure I had a lot of handy snacks before the baby came because I don't expect people to cater to me. The meals they bring help feed my family and that is what's important!

When we went out I could find something most places. I ate at Chick-fil-a a lot. I could get a plain chicken sandwich. Or a plain cheese burger from In-n-Out. At home I would put chicken breasts in the crock pot and eat plain chicken burritos with a little cheese. For lunch I would do a sandwich. I ate a lot of peanut butter and jelly :) For breakfast I could have cereal with my milk alternative, or toast. Pancakes or muffins worked great as well. Hopefully you can get away with just cutting milk out. Some babies, like my son, required me to cut all dairy. It was so hard! But I survived. I don't have ice cream for a long time! But a lot of the frozen yogurt places usually have one diary free flavor. Or gelato has fruit flavors that are dairy free and delicious! It takes some time to get used to but a happy baby vs. a sad baby makes it easy to maintain. The time goes by too quickly!!! Before you know it you will be feeding your baby solid food and your world will open up again. It seems that once they start solids their tummies become used to the new flavors and the things you eat seem to bother them less and less. My daughter is 10 months and I eat whatever I want again. It’s wonderful!!!

So stick with it. Get through the pain, get through the schedule and then get through the diet! It will save you so much money on formula and it's the best thing for your baby. And if you do it right, you will have a happy and healthy little baby to love on.