Now You’re Really Eating for Two
By Jenn Director Knudsen
Katy Lebbing couldn’t figure out why she was so weak. “I was just lightheaded,” says Lebbing. “I mean, I could barely walk.” As it turns out, she wasn’t getting enough to eat while she was nursing her first baby.
Today Lebbing, now 55 and mother of four children (all breastfed), is manager of the Center for Breastfeeding Information and a member of the Education and Member Services Department of La Leche League International, based in Schaumburg, Illinois.
But decades ago, she found herself in the same postpartum shoes many newbie nursing moms find themselves in. Because she was no longer pregnant, she believed she was no longer eating for two. She had no idea why she was so hungry, thirsty and fatigued all the time. Nor did she know why her new son was so fussy and always wanted to nurse.
A nursing mother needs up to twice as many calories a day.
The fact is, a nursing mother needs up to twice as many calories a day as a woman in her second and third trimesters of pregnancy. It’s necessary to help her recover from birth and to generate an adequate milk supply for her baby.
“Most of us think of giving birth as the end of pregnancy, but nursing is actually a continuation of the whole process,” says Lisa Tartamella Kimmel, a registered dietitian and outpatient nutrition coordinator at Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut.
Experts and veteran nursing moms agree: Listen to your lactating body and feed it when it tells you to. By doing so, you’ll be feeding your baby just what he needs and—sooner than you think—you’ll be able to wiggle back into your pre-pregnancy jeans.
Extra Calories
Most expectant mothers need up to 300 additional calories a day during the last half of pregnancy. A breastfeeding mom needs about 500 extra calories daily to produce as much milk as her baby needs. And some lactating women even need 800 more calories than they did before becoming pregnant, according to Lebbing.
Dr. James Sears, co-author of The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two and a board-certified pediatrician in private practice in Southern California, says you can roughly calculate your pre-pregnancy calorie needs by taking your weight in pounds and multiplying it by 11. So, a 120-pound woman needs about 1,320 calories a day to be healthy. As a nursing mom, she’ll need close to 2,000 calories daily. Up to 150 calories come from fat stores accumulated during pregnancy, says Kimmel, who nursed her 18-month-old son Max. The rest comes from what you eat and drink.
“I was shocked at how hungry I could get,” says Christie Naze, a registered dietitian at Oregon Health Science University’s Center for Women’s Health. “I enjoyed the freedom of being able to eat healthy and, you know, eat!” Naze breastfed her son, now 5, for more than two years. She emphasizes that women who can and want to breastfeed should take this time to worry more about promoting a good milk supply “than fitting into your jeans tomorrow.”
Without enough carbohydrates or protein, a nursing mom can easily get shaky, which is one sign of low blood sugar. “It can really catch you off guard,” Naze says, adding that the condition can be avoided with regular, well-balanced meals, healthful snacks and lots of fluids, including milk, water, or fruit juice.
Nursing moms need so many fluids due to breast milk’s high water content. “Now’s the time to fill the water bottle and attach it to your hip,” Kimmel says. “Drink, drink and drink some more.”
“Your milk is 87 percent water, and that’s why you’re so thirsty,” Lebbing adds.
Years ago, when she was having problems maintaining her equilibrium and was confused about her infant’s seeming insatiable appetite, Lebbing went to La Leche League for help. A lactation consultant recognized immediately that Lebbing had to bump up her food and fluid intake for her and her baby’s sake.
She quickly added nutritious foods to her diet and got herself and her son on track. She says a nursing mother with any questions should seek guidance and recommends visiting a lactation consultant, attending a support group, or visiting websites such as the La Leche League’s.
Don’t Forget About Exercise
Lebbing says nursing “is a wonderful time to lose weight” and is done most healthfully when paired with exercise. Julie Valvo, mother of 18-month-old Greta, says between nursing—which she’s still doing—and getting back into cycling, her weight eventually came off. “I started walking consistently when Greta was 3 months old, about three or four times a week, and I quickly saw my baby weight disappear,” says Valvo.
Naze cautions against dieting and says to focus instead on eating well and being active. While restricting calories can negatively affect your milk supply, lactic acid—produced by the exercising body—does not. “Exercise has no adverse effects on breastfeeding,” she says, even though lactic acid can be tasted by a baby.
Your Breast Milk is What You Eat
“Our milk changes flavors based on what we eat,” Lebbing says. This adds variety to your baby’s food her first 4 to 6 months of life (before starting solids). Yet some find certain foods that Mom eats can bother a baby’s delicate tummy, leading to an unhappy baby.
A popular culprit is cow’s milk, the most common food allergen in the general population, according to La Leche League International. And cruciferous vegetables, which include broccoli, cauliflower, onions, and Brussels sprouts, can wreak havoc on immature digestive systems.
Other food sensitivities may be less obvious. “My daughter was sensitive to bananas—it took a while to figure that one out!” says Dr. Sears.
Mothers can eliminate foods to try to find the bothersome ingredient. But Dr. Sears cautions against eliminating to the point of not getting enough yourself. “Most importantly, don’t let the fear of food restrictions discourage breastfeeding,” says Dr. Sears. “For most breastfeeding pairs, what mother eats does not upset baby.”
“Fussy periods (in babies) are normal for the first three months of life,” Lebbing adds. “Most babies are fine, but some are more sensitive [to the content of breast milk].”
Take Care of You
As with many other aspects of motherhood, it is important to take good care of yourself. Eat whole grains and avoid refined sugars. Reach for fresh fruits and veggies. Get adequate protein, either through meat or nuts and legumes. And be sure to drink plenty of fluids.
“You’re the sole source of food for your baby,” so make it great stuff, Naze says. But even with that in mind, an occasional indulgence is certainly all right, including coffee (up to two 8-ounce cups a day) or black tea, chocolate, or even one alcoholic beverage (5 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer, and 1.5 ounces of liquor) a day, Lebbing says. “Think of that mother in Italy” who drinks wine every night with dinner, she says. “This is compatible with nursing.”
“My best advice is to just focus on what’s truly important,” says Valvo. “The weight will go. If you are hungry, then feed your hunger. Having a baby made me respect my body for the amazing things it can do.”
“Just be at your physical peak if you can,” says Lebbing. “Because it does take a lot of energy to care for children.”
