Q: I typically take my prenatal vitamin at night when the baby goes down to sleep. I have been noticing that after the baby’s next feeding he seems to be rather uncomfortable when he is sleeping—grunting, moaning, fidgeting—a lot. Could my prenatal vitamin be upsetting my nursing baby’s stomach?
A: There have been anecdotal stories of babies who are affected by something in the prenatal vitamins who seem uncomfortable after mom has taken them. You may want to omit the vitamin for a week or so to see if the baby is more comfortable. Or try taking the vitamin in the morning with breakfast and see if the baby is fussy at a different time. Sometimes we have to be detectives to try and find what may be causing the baby to fidget!
The most common culprit in fidgety babies is dairy products in mom’s diet. Do you eat a bowl of ice cream in the evenings? Sometimes soy, wheat, nuts, citrus, or eggs may be the culprit.
You don’t say how old the baby is. Could he be teething? Could he be too hot? There are many different possibilities to consider. Hopefully you will figure it out soon, and he will be a happy little guy all the time. One good book to read about fussiness in babies, with a lot of loving tips, is Keys to Calming the Fussy Baby by Dr. William Sears. This book has wonderful ideas to help moms and dads that many parents have loved.
By Ann Calandro
BSN, RNC, IBCLC Lactation Consultant
