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Striking a Balance
Healthy Eating Habits for the Nursing Mother
By Shel Franco
As for snacks, McCarthy has these suggestions: "Go for good quality snacks, like cheese, yogurt, pretzels, rice cakes with peanut butter, fruits, vegetables, and beef or turkey or ahi jerky."
While McCarthy says it's best to limit your intake of caffeine, for example, she also warns that many of the ideas about foods and gassy babies are overrated. "Usually spices, beans, cruciferous veggies (like broccoli and cauliflower) aren't problems," she says. "Statistically, the biggest allergen is dairy, so if you're having problems with the baby after eating pizza, chances are it isn't the spices -- but the cheese!"
Mary Tyler of Clarksville, Tenn. had to drop milk from her diet while breastfeeding her daughter. "Little by little I was able to reintroduce milk into my diet as she got older and better able to handle it," she says.
If you suspect your baby is allergic to a food you are eating, start looking for concrete signs. "Difficult latch, a fussy baby 20 minutes after a feed, hair standing on end, eczema (especially on the face and ears), green or mucousy poop, poor sleep, biting at the nipple, arching at the breast, and extreme gassiness," McCarthy says. "These things have other causes as well, but ae much more likely to be allergy symptoms."
