Food sensitivities and Breastfeeding
August 1, 2011 4:03 PM Subscribe
Do you have food sensitivities? Does/did your breastfed child have food sensitivities? I need to get up to speed quickly on how to eliminate dairy and wheat/gluten from my diet. Help!
At this time I *suspect* that my 10 week old is sensitive to dairy and/or wheat/gluten. From just about day one he has had a lot of gassiness, although not so much that anyone would have called him colicky. But he's obviously really uncomfortable.
I eliminated dairy from my diet almost immediately, because his father's entire family are lactose intolerant. Unfortunately that hasn't eliminated his problems. So now I am moving on to eliminating wheat/gluten to see if that will help.
Not knowing much about *how* to eliminate suspect food from my diet, I have eliminated all obvious sources of wheat (breads, pastas, etc), but I understand that gluten is in many foods that I wouldn't even think of.
I need to educate myself about this topic quickly, for the baby's sake. Can you recommend good resources that a new parent can absorb & put into action quickly? I don't want to read something that is akin to a textbook, giving me the science of why the chemicals/substances are interacting with his system in a harmful way, I'll save learning that stuff for later, I just need a concise reference for what to look for in labels, and maybe some good pointers for what I CAN eat while nursing. My favorite, easy, go-to food is sandwiches, so I'm hurting here while not having a lot of time to be creative about our menu. Appreciate any help that you can offer.
At this time I *suspect* that my 10 week old is sensitive to dairy and/or wheat/gluten. From just about day one he has had a lot of gassiness, although not so much that anyone would have called him colicky. But he's obviously really uncomfortable.
I eliminated dairy from my diet almost immediately, because his father's entire family are lactose intolerant. Unfortunately that hasn't eliminated his problems. So now I am moving on to eliminating wheat/gluten to see if that will help.
Not knowing much about *how* to eliminate suspect food from my diet, I have eliminated all obvious sources of wheat (breads, pastas, etc), but I understand that gluten is in many foods that I wouldn't even think of.
I need to educate myself about this topic quickly, for the baby's sake. Can you recommend good resources that a new parent can absorb & put into action quickly? I don't want to read something that is akin to a textbook, giving me the science of why the chemicals/substances are interacting with his system in a harmful way, I'll save learning that stuff for later, I just need a concise reference for what to look for in labels, and maybe some good pointers for what I CAN eat while nursing. My favorite, easy, go-to food is sandwiches, so I'm hurting here while not having a lot of time to be creative about our menu. Appreciate any help that you can offer.
Info including label-reading.
Even shorter LIVESTRONG guide.
Celiacdisease.about.com label guide
posted by Lyn Never at 4:14 PM on August 1, 2011
Even shorter LIVESTRONG guide.
Celiacdisease.about.com label guide
posted by Lyn Never at 4:14 PM on August 1, 2011
At this time I *suspect* that my 10 week old is sensitive to dairy and/or wheat/gluten.
Worrying about gluten, or dairy, or nightshade alkaloids, or what have you, is in vogue right now. People use certain food groups or substances as proxies for worries about their diet generally or other things they can't control, and then regurgitate all sorts of bad advice to others. You should speak with your physician and your child's pediatrician and get an informed, evidence-based perspective on any potential allergies.
I eliminated dairy from my diet almost immediately, because his father's entire family are lactose intolerant.
Breast milk contains lactose regardless of what you eat. A baby who lives on breast milk alone is likely going to have a host of obvious problems beyond gas if he or she cannot digest lactose.
This perfectly illustrates the problem with popular medical "knowledge" and attempts at self-diagnosis. Again, you should consult and rely on the advice of your physician and your child's pediatrician. Livestrong, for example, is consistently one of the worst offenders in the "Get on this new diet, brah!" category that sums up what's wrong with most medical and dietary advice on the internet. Don't waste your time reading what uninformed people say, and definitely don't make decisions based on "medical" analyses delivered by people without the requisite education.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 4:21 PM on August 1, 2011 [36 favorites]
Worrying about gluten, or dairy, or nightshade alkaloids, or what have you, is in vogue right now. People use certain food groups or substances as proxies for worries about their diet generally or other things they can't control, and then regurgitate all sorts of bad advice to others. You should speak with your physician and your child's pediatrician and get an informed, evidence-based perspective on any potential allergies.
I eliminated dairy from my diet almost immediately, because his father's entire family are lactose intolerant.
Breast milk contains lactose regardless of what you eat. A baby who lives on breast milk alone is likely going to have a host of obvious problems beyond gas if he or she cannot digest lactose.
This perfectly illustrates the problem with popular medical "knowledge" and attempts at self-diagnosis. Again, you should consult and rely on the advice of your physician and your child's pediatrician. Livestrong, for example, is consistently one of the worst offenders in the "Get on this new diet, brah!" category that sums up what's wrong with most medical and dietary advice on the internet. Don't waste your time reading what uninformed people say, and definitely don't make decisions based on "medical" analyses delivered by people without the requisite education.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 4:21 PM on August 1, 2011 [36 favorites]
Just in case you are not aware, barley, rye, farro and spelt also contain gluten. For other grains, you'll have to check for any cross-contamination. Luckily, there are a lot of resources out there for gluten-free diets. You can also ask for a test from your pediatrician.
posted by Gilbert at 4:24 PM on August 1, 2011
posted by Gilbert at 4:24 PM on August 1, 2011
I have to agree with Inspector.Gadget.
If it were me, I would definitely talk to lots of other moms and my ped before deciding the little one was gassy -- although truthfully, it never occurred to me that an infant WOULDN'T be gassy. The joke is that all they do is sleep and cry and poop and eat, and it's pretty accurate. If *everyone* was surprised at how colicky my infant was, then I might be concerned -- but frankly your job as a nursing mom to a 10 week old is hard enough without trying to eliminate foods on top of it. Sometimes I wonder if newborns are hard in part because you've been waiting to parent for so long and there's just not much to *do* -- no trips to the zoo or museums or explaining the bird and the bees. You get to cuddle and play pacifier and that gets a little boring (for me, anyway).
Just something to consider . . .
posted by MeiraV at 4:34 PM on August 1, 2011
If it were me, I would definitely talk to lots of other moms and my ped before deciding the little one was gassy -- although truthfully, it never occurred to me that an infant WOULDN'T be gassy. The joke is that all they do is sleep and cry and poop and eat, and it's pretty accurate. If *everyone* was surprised at how colicky my infant was, then I might be concerned -- but frankly your job as a nursing mom to a 10 week old is hard enough without trying to eliminate foods on top of it. Sometimes I wonder if newborns are hard in part because you've been waiting to parent for so long and there's just not much to *do* -- no trips to the zoo or museums or explaining the bird and the bees. You get to cuddle and play pacifier and that gets a little boring (for me, anyway).
Just something to consider . . .
posted by MeiraV at 4:34 PM on August 1, 2011
Is your baby having weird poops, or weird skin issues? Crankiness and gas would not in themselves make me think that there was a food sensitivity going on.
Kellymom has a pretty comprehensive page on this: http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/food-sensitivity.html
I generally trust Kellymom's info to be evidence-based. They're skeptical of the widespread "My baby is allergic to the broccoli in my milk" thing that was really popular among my recent new-mom cohort, but explain how to proceed if you have that problem. And this article (linked from the page above) is also pretty good: http://www.breastfeedingbasics.com/html/ask/milkcontent.shtml
Your baby may be among the very few babies who have a bad response to the proteins in their mother's milk after the mother eats a certain food, but it is really uncommon, MUCH more uncommon than women talking about it on the internet would lead you to believe. And per the women in my mom's group I've watched do this, it's really easy to end up convinced that your child is sensitive to everything and all you can eat is white rice and lamb and sweet potato... meanwhile the child appears to show no improvement. On account of how they were not actually having a problem to begin with.
What I think is often actually happening is something else entirely. My baby went through a few phases of intestinal grumpiness, but I am a nerd and observed carefully and after some time concluded that he was not actually responding to something I had eaten but instead was just developing a new awareness of his body as his brain came online more and more. You know, "Holy shit, my stomach feels weird!!!" These phases passed without me making a single change to my diet. I think they're developmental and very common.
/just one person's theory
posted by thehmsbeagle at 4:35 PM on August 1, 2011 [6 favorites]
Kellymom has a pretty comprehensive page on this: http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/food-sensitivity.html
I generally trust Kellymom's info to be evidence-based. They're skeptical of the widespread "My baby is allergic to the broccoli in my milk" thing that was really popular among my recent new-mom cohort, but explain how to proceed if you have that problem. And this article (linked from the page above) is also pretty good: http://www.breastfeedingbasics.com/html/ask/milkcontent.shtml
Your baby may be among the very few babies who have a bad response to the proteins in their mother's milk after the mother eats a certain food, but it is really uncommon, MUCH more uncommon than women talking about it on the internet would lead you to believe. And per the women in my mom's group I've watched do this, it's really easy to end up convinced that your child is sensitive to everything and all you can eat is white rice and lamb and sweet potato... meanwhile the child appears to show no improvement. On account of how they were not actually having a problem to begin with.
What I think is often actually happening is something else entirely. My baby went through a few phases of intestinal grumpiness, but I am a nerd and observed carefully and after some time concluded that he was not actually responding to something I had eaten but instead was just developing a new awareness of his body as his brain came online more and more. You know, "Holy shit, my stomach feels weird!!!" These phases passed without me making a single change to my diet. I think they're developmental and very common.
/just one person's theory
posted by thehmsbeagle at 4:35 PM on August 1, 2011 [6 favorites]
Oh, and if you haven't been to Kellymom.com, check it out. Extremely useful for breastfeeding moms.
posted by MeiraV at 4:36 PM on August 1, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by MeiraV at 4:36 PM on August 1, 2011 [2 favorites]
I didn't eat wheat or milk for most of my childhood, which is a good thing, because if I eat enough of them now my tonsils swell up and bleed.
If you end up going this route, make sure this kid is getting enough saturated fat and calcium, which he would not be getting if not eating milk. Red meat: saturated fat, vitamin K2, vitamin D, etc.
I had a lot of hairline fractures as a kid, I was too thin, and my younger brother is several inches taller than me.
posted by zeek321 at 4:40 PM on August 1, 2011
If you end up going this route, make sure this kid is getting enough saturated fat and calcium, which he would not be getting if not eating milk. Red meat: saturated fat, vitamin K2, vitamin D, etc.
I had a lot of hairline fractures as a kid, I was too thin, and my younger brother is several inches taller than me.
posted by zeek321 at 4:40 PM on August 1, 2011
Yes, please check kellymom.com for extremely well-reasoned and sound information about breast feeding, then discuss your concerns with the baby's pediatrician and possibly a lactation consultant. I had a small freak-out about a period of weird poops when my son was very small, and the problem actually ended up being related to milk oversupply rather than any sensitivities. Check out other possibilities before starting on an elimination diet and then do so with the guidance of your/your baby's physician.
posted by goggie at 4:43 PM on August 1, 2011
posted by goggie at 4:43 PM on August 1, 2011
(The indicator for me was not digestive issues--I'm not lactose intolerant--but, instead, never-ending ear infections. So this kid may not fit my pattern. Oh yeah, eggs gave me a rash around my mouth, too. Be careful with them as well.)
posted by zeek321 at 4:44 PM on August 1, 2011
posted by zeek321 at 4:44 PM on August 1, 2011
Mom of gassy 4 month old and am in the "it's not what you eat camp". For most mom's who have had success with an elimination diet it took about a month to see any results. A month in a newborn is a huge span of time where many issues would have gone away on their own through the normal course of development.
My baby turned out to have pretty bad reflux after eating so baby zantac and holding him up right did wonders for him, as did offering him the breast that he finished with first on the next feeding. Kelly Mom is the go to site for great advice.
Also I went through hell and back with breastfeeding and would be happy to chat about your issues anytime.
posted by saradarlin at 4:58 PM on August 1, 2011
My baby turned out to have pretty bad reflux after eating so baby zantac and holding him up right did wonders for him, as did offering him the breast that he finished with first on the next feeding. Kelly Mom is the go to site for great advice.
Also I went through hell and back with breastfeeding and would be happy to chat about your issues anytime.
posted by saradarlin at 4:58 PM on August 1, 2011
zeek she's talking about the dairy/wheat passing through the breastmilk, not feeding these super common allergy causing foods directly to the baby (which is generally delayed until the baby is a year old when allergies run in the family).
posted by saradarlin at 5:02 PM on August 1, 2011
posted by saradarlin at 5:02 PM on August 1, 2011
Eating Without Casein: A Practical Primer for People with Allergies to Milk
This was my go-to reference when I had to change my diet due to my daughter's suspected milk protein allergy. It lists all sorts of ingredients and food products that you wouldn't suspect to have milk products (did you know that casein is used to clarify wine?!), as well as products that are free of milk.
posted by ellenaim at 5:42 PM on August 1, 2011
This was my go-to reference when I had to change my diet due to my daughter's suspected milk protein allergy. It lists all sorts of ingredients and food products that you wouldn't suspect to have milk products (did you know that casein is used to clarify wine?!), as well as products that are free of milk.
posted by ellenaim at 5:42 PM on August 1, 2011
- Nthing kellymom.com
- Nthing gas is a symptom of infancy, not allergies.
- Nthing 10-week-olds change quickly. It'll pass (no pun intended).
- Nthing it is almost impossible for you to successfully eliminate potential sensitive foods from your diet long enough and completely enough for you to be able to self-diagnose anything about a 10-week-old's "food sensitivities" or allergies. There are also some studies that show "mothers who withheld allergenic foods from their diet later showed an increase in food allergies."
Signed,
Exclusively breastfed two for two years, very severe allergies in family, RAST tests, reflux tests, skin tests galore: no allergies in kids.
posted by cocoagirl at 5:43 PM on August 1, 2011
- Nthing gas is a symptom of infancy, not allergies.
- Nthing 10-week-olds change quickly. It'll pass (no pun intended).
- Nthing it is almost impossible for you to successfully eliminate potential sensitive foods from your diet long enough and completely enough for you to be able to self-diagnose anything about a 10-week-old's "food sensitivities" or allergies. There are also some studies that show "mothers who withheld allergenic foods from their diet later showed an increase in food allergies."
Signed,
Exclusively breastfed two for two years, very severe allergies in family, RAST tests, reflux tests, skin tests galore: no allergies in kids.
posted by cocoagirl at 5:43 PM on August 1, 2011
I am the mother of a 5-month-old with a dairy intolerance, and I'm going out of my way not to be fighty and grar at some of the responses you're getting here.
Short answer: Kellymom is the best resource. Lots of good info on her site, plus links to sites that will help you figure out the restricted diet thing.
Long answer:
Dairy intolerance in breastfed infants is usually a sensitivity to cow's milk proteins(which are transmitted through your breast milk to the baby), rather than lactose intolerance. I'm not sure how long you attempted dairy elimination before deciding it didn't work, but it can take around two weeks for the proteins to leave your milk.
Is your baby having any symptoms other than gas? Kellymom lists several others, including eczema, wheezing, vomiting, diarrhea (including bloody diarrhea), constipation, hives, and/or a stuffy, itchy nose. The confirmation of dairy intolerance for my smurflet was when, after I had eliminated dairy for a couple of weeks, I had a relatively small amount of dairy one morning that caused him to have bloody mucus in his diaper before the day was done. Went back off the dairy, no more bloody mucus. Confirmed with his pediatrician the next day that yes, the dairy was the likely culprit. (So forgive me if I'm a little grumpy at people who try to tell you that food sensitivities are a fad.)
Also per kellymom, a significant percentage of babies with cow's milk protein allergy will also react to soy. Honestly, if you want to keep experimenting, I would try eliminating soy before gluten.
Keep in mind that gas, reflux, and food sensitivities are all different (admittedly related) things. I notice that some of the responses above seem to mix and match. I will say that my baby has dealt with all three, and the gas got better largely on its own, while the reflux and the dairy sensitivity have lingered. Both the reflux and the dairy sensitivity have improved with changes in my diet (caffeine being the worst culprit for the reflux), and both get worse when I fall off the wagon. YMMV.
And not being judgy towards how anyone else chooses to deal with their infant's gastrointestinal issues, but I think you're a really great mom for trying to figure this out, so cheers.
posted by somanyamys at 5:46 PM on August 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
Short answer: Kellymom is the best resource. Lots of good info on her site, plus links to sites that will help you figure out the restricted diet thing.
Long answer:
Dairy intolerance in breastfed infants is usually a sensitivity to cow's milk proteins(which are transmitted through your breast milk to the baby), rather than lactose intolerance. I'm not sure how long you attempted dairy elimination before deciding it didn't work, but it can take around two weeks for the proteins to leave your milk.
Is your baby having any symptoms other than gas? Kellymom lists several others, including eczema, wheezing, vomiting, diarrhea (including bloody diarrhea), constipation, hives, and/or a stuffy, itchy nose. The confirmation of dairy intolerance for my smurflet was when, after I had eliminated dairy for a couple of weeks, I had a relatively small amount of dairy one morning that caused him to have bloody mucus in his diaper before the day was done. Went back off the dairy, no more bloody mucus. Confirmed with his pediatrician the next day that yes, the dairy was the likely culprit. (So forgive me if I'm a little grumpy at people who try to tell you that food sensitivities are a fad.)
Also per kellymom, a significant percentage of babies with cow's milk protein allergy will also react to soy. Honestly, if you want to keep experimenting, I would try eliminating soy before gluten.
Keep in mind that gas, reflux, and food sensitivities are all different (admittedly related) things. I notice that some of the responses above seem to mix and match. I will say that my baby has dealt with all three, and the gas got better largely on its own, while the reflux and the dairy sensitivity have lingered. Both the reflux and the dairy sensitivity have improved with changes in my diet (caffeine being the worst culprit for the reflux), and both get worse when I fall off the wagon. YMMV.
And not being judgy towards how anyone else chooses to deal with their infant's gastrointestinal issues, but I think you're a really great mom for trying to figure this out, so cheers.
posted by somanyamys at 5:46 PM on August 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
Self-diagnosing your baby with dairy and wheat and gluten allergies on the basis of him being gassy is really a bad idea and I fear it could lead to poor decisionmaking about his or her diet down the line. Really, you gotta talk to your doctor about these things because a baby can't be a self-advocate if his or her diet gets muffed up.
posted by Justinian at 5:54 PM on August 1, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Justinian at 5:54 PM on August 1, 2011 [3 favorites]
Somanyamys could be me. I have two kids, both with milk protein allergies (one was also soy sensitive). Please, please, please check with your pediatrician before embarking on an unnecessarily restrictive diet. It's hard enough to have a newborn without depriving yourself of everything and making yourself crazy with guessing. Eliminating milk and soy proteins for at least two to three weeks will give you a good idea if your babe is sensitive, but before eliminating more I'd check to see if your babe has an issue or is just fussy.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 5:58 PM on August 1, 2011
posted by PorcineWithMe at 5:58 PM on August 1, 2011
My baby had a cow's milk protein sensitivity (which is completely unrelated to lactose intolerance, by the way) and he was a lot less reflux-y after I stopped consuming dairy, something I did at the suggestion of our pediatrician, who thought there was a chance it might help. It passed completely in a few months: by the time he was 12 months old, he was drinking cow's milk with no problems and still is. I think it took a few weeks of my stopping for it to make a difference to him. But by all means consult with a pediatrician before making dietary changes, especially drastic ones like cutting out all wheat, which are difficult and might not help.
posted by agent99 at 6:11 PM on August 1, 2011
posted by agent99 at 6:11 PM on August 1, 2011
My first child was gassy, colicky and uncomfortable as a young infant. On the advice of our pediatrician and lactation consultant I tried a number of different elimination diets, including the dreaded turkey/rice/zucchini/pears only one. There was no obvious culprit -- some things seemed to affect him mmmaybe, but I was never 100% sure. By about 7 months all symptoms disappeared and he was a happy camper. In retrospect, I am convinced that nothing I was doing had any effect on him at all -- he was just a fussy infant, and he needed 7 months to get over that.
There was nothing vague about my second child's symptoms: explosive bloody diarrhea and eczema covering her face and legs. And there was no question about what caused it: everything cleared up within three days of cutting dairy from my diet.
If my dairy-allergic child had been born first, I never would have even bothered with the elimination diet for my son's fussiness -- after seeing a true allergic reaction, I would not have mistaken gassiness/discomfort for it.
tl;dr -- talk to your doctor and/or lactation consultant, maybe bring a video of your child experiencing symptoms. They'll be able to advise on whether this is garden variety fussiness or something you need to take further.
posted by apparently at 7:41 PM on August 1, 2011 [2 favorites]
There was nothing vague about my second child's symptoms: explosive bloody diarrhea and eczema covering her face and legs. And there was no question about what caused it: everything cleared up within three days of cutting dairy from my diet.
If my dairy-allergic child had been born first, I never would have even bothered with the elimination diet for my son's fussiness -- after seeing a true allergic reaction, I would not have mistaken gassiness/discomfort for it.
tl;dr -- talk to your doctor and/or lactation consultant, maybe bring a video of your child experiencing symptoms. They'll be able to advise on whether this is garden variety fussiness or something you need to take further.
posted by apparently at 7:41 PM on August 1, 2011 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks all for the answers so far.
Silly me, with all of the YANMD posts, I should have stated that we have been working with our pediatrician and lactation consultant (and local La Leche League group leaders) since he was about 2 weeks old. At the latest ped visit we were told that if it doesn't resolve itself in the next couple of weeks we will be referred to a pediatric gastroenterologist... But I highly doubt there is some major problem here and I don't want to put him through all of that. Maybe it's just that his system is immature... or maybe there's something I can do to help him. That's what I'm exploring right now.
posted by vignettist at 8:21 PM on August 1, 2011
Silly me, with all of the YANMD posts, I should have stated that we have been working with our pediatrician and lactation consultant (and local La Leche League group leaders) since he was about 2 weeks old. At the latest ped visit we were told that if it doesn't resolve itself in the next couple of weeks we will be referred to a pediatric gastroenterologist... But I highly doubt there is some major problem here and I don't want to put him through all of that. Maybe it's just that his system is immature... or maybe there's something I can do to help him. That's what I'm exploring right now.
posted by vignettist at 8:21 PM on August 1, 2011
Two things that seemed to help with my fussy son as an infant were colic massage, and placing him on his tummy over my knee and very gently bouncing him. Good luck!
posted by apparently at 8:34 PM on August 1, 2011
posted by apparently at 8:34 PM on August 1, 2011
How is he latching? He may just be gulping a lot of air, and that's making him gassy. A lactation consultant is going to help you amazingly.
How are you sleeping? You may be overreacting to his discomfort because you're exhausted -- a completely normal, natural reaction for a new mother to have. Ask yourself if his discomfort bothers you more at certain times of the day, or if you've had minimal sleep, or not enough food. It's so very hard to do, but as his sole source of nutrition, you have to put your own health at the top of the priority list: eat well, sleep well, hand off the baby whenever you can, accept any help that anyone offers (and ask for help that you need that's not offered). Follow your own body's instincts.
My daughter goes to a school where almost everyone is intolerant of something, and talking to the mothers, it's clear that they went through elimination diets of every flavor possible while nursing. I'm persuaded from this sample, and from general common sense, that nursing mothers should increase, not decrease, the variety of foods in their diet, in order to prep the baby's digestive tract for all the amazing (and hidden) foods to come. Spending a whole life reading the fine print for the code to knowing what's in a food is limiting, maddening, and isolating.
Best of luck, and take care of yourself. Your baby will benefit from that.
posted by Capri at 8:42 PM on August 1, 2011
How are you sleeping? You may be overreacting to his discomfort because you're exhausted -- a completely normal, natural reaction for a new mother to have. Ask yourself if his discomfort bothers you more at certain times of the day, or if you've had minimal sleep, or not enough food. It's so very hard to do, but as his sole source of nutrition, you have to put your own health at the top of the priority list: eat well, sleep well, hand off the baby whenever you can, accept any help that anyone offers (and ask for help that you need that's not offered). Follow your own body's instincts.
My daughter goes to a school where almost everyone is intolerant of something, and talking to the mothers, it's clear that they went through elimination diets of every flavor possible while nursing. I'm persuaded from this sample, and from general common sense, that nursing mothers should increase, not decrease, the variety of foods in their diet, in order to prep the baby's digestive tract for all the amazing (and hidden) foods to come. Spending a whole life reading the fine print for the code to knowing what's in a food is limiting, maddening, and isolating.
Best of luck, and take care of yourself. Your baby will benefit from that.
posted by Capri at 8:42 PM on August 1, 2011
You need a GOOD lactation consultant stat.
Why not start tomorrow morning like this: do not eat anything processed. If you only eat unprocessed fruits, vegetables, proteins, you don't have to think about if you are getting some gluten. If I were you I would eat brown rice. I have a lot of food sensitivities but I can always eat brown rice. But it is possible to have a healthy diet without eating grains.
Buy one processed thing for the week: gluten free bread. Try different kinds. Some bother me some don't. But that is my splurge budget-wise. I don't think you have to go without sandwiches.
If you eat like this, if you have one "bad" thing a week like a cupcake or a scoop of ice cream it should not bother you because you will be strong and healthy.
posted by cda at 10:08 PM on August 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
Why not start tomorrow morning like this: do not eat anything processed. If you only eat unprocessed fruits, vegetables, proteins, you don't have to think about if you are getting some gluten. If I were you I would eat brown rice. I have a lot of food sensitivities but I can always eat brown rice. But it is possible to have a healthy diet without eating grains.
Buy one processed thing for the week: gluten free bread. Try different kinds. Some bother me some don't. But that is my splurge budget-wise. I don't think you have to go without sandwiches.
If you eat like this, if you have one "bad" thing a week like a cupcake or a scoop of ice cream it should not bother you because you will be strong and healthy.
posted by cda at 10:08 PM on August 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
Nthing the good lactation consultant. Please find one soon. Pediatricians are notoriously woefully under informed on breastfeeding issues. An IBCLC can help you determine the real cause of your baby's discomfort, whatever it may be. (in my son's case, a weird upper lip tie!). It is truly worth every single penny and they will come to you.
posted by LyndsayMW at 11:03 PM on August 1, 2011
posted by LyndsayMW at 11:03 PM on August 1, 2011
Just wanted to add that the reason that I am in the its not what your eat camp is because the allergic reaction to something like milk protein is pretty dramatic in a newborn and not as common as it may seem in new mommy land although VERY real.
posted by saradarlin at 2:02 AM on August 2, 2011
posted by saradarlin at 2:02 AM on August 2, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Carol Anne at 4:09 PM on August 1, 2011 [5 favorites]