Breastfeeding Diet Tips: What Should You Eat?

So you appetite to breastfeed, but you don’t apperceive area to start. What kinds of foods should you be eating? How abounding calories should you absorb per day? Are there foods you should abstain entirely? What are the breastfeeding rules anyway? The afterward breastfeeding diet tips and tricks will advice you get a bigger compassionate of how you should be bistro to accept optimal breastfeeding success.

Did you know?

Even women who aren’t able-bodied fed (themselves), can augment their babies well. But alike so, you should STILL aim to eat affluence of nutrient-dense foods, and beacon bright of the not so advantageous being (like candy aliment aerial in amoroso and abandoned calories.) With a breastfeeding diet, array is important—researchers say it may alike advice babyish accept a added varied, adventuresome diet back he (or she) gets older. No captious eaters here, please!

Milk assembly burns 500 CALORIES A DAY, basically a bristles mile run. Accept it or not, you may alike charge to up your caloric assimilation by 250 to 500 calories per day. Now THAT’S bistro for two! Allocution to your doctor about your weight accretion during pregnancy, and appropriate calories for breastfeeding. He or she can accord you a added exact number.

So what should you (really) be eating?

According to scientists, physicians, and added super-smart bodies who accept spent an astronomic bulk of time researching this exact topic, here’s what a sample “idyllic” diet for the modern, breastfeeding woman looks like (plus a few things to avoid):

You need…

Five servings of calcium per day.
One or added servings of iron-rich aliment per day. These accommodate items like beans, aphotic green, abounding vegetables, broiled fruits, and iron-fortified cereals, breads, and pastas.
Two servings of Vitamin C per day.
Three to four servings of fruits and vegetables per day (leafy blooming and yellow.) You should additionally accept one added confined of added fruits and/or vegetables. That’s a lot of fruits and vegetables!
Three or added servings of accomplished grains and circuitous carbohydrates.
Two to three servings of Omega 3s per week to advance baby’s academician growth. Anticipate eight to twelve ounces of low mercury fish, like agrarian apricot and sardines.
Three servings of (healthy) protein every day. Hitting up the fast-food craven drive through apparently won’t cut it.
You should abide demography your daily prenatal vitamins, and should aim to drink eight cups of baptize every distinct day—especially in the weeks anon afterward bearing (this will advice with your recovery). A acceptable aphorism of thumb? Alcohol a alpine bottle of baptize every time you nurse. This should advice you to remember. Abortion to alcohol abundant baptize can account bloom issues like urinary amplitude infections, constipation, and fatigue. And cipher has time for that!

Try to avoid…

On the added hand, you should avoid boundless caffeine. I know, I know. Don’t shoot the messenger! One or two cups of coffee, soda, or tea should be fine, and shouldn’t affect baby—and may alike be necessary! Any added than that could accomplish you both jittery, irritable, and sleepless. Scientists say boundless caffeine has been affiliated to colic and acerbic abatement in some babies.
You should (still) avoid high-mercury fish. The aforementioned EPA guidelines for abundant women administer for breastfeeding women (shark, tilefish, and mackerel). You should additionally (try) to avoid high-fat dairy and meat.

Wow. That’s a lot to booty in–mentally and physically!

Ideally, you would get all these capital nutrients from a whole-food-based breastfeeding diet. Unfortunately, moms, abnormally new, breastfeeding moms, accept little time for aliment prep. Back it can be difficult to acquisition the time to adapt these affection commons already your little one is here, I capital to acquisition a quick but appropriately acceptable another that I could about-face to that would accord me the all-important protein and added nutrients I need.

Happily, I begin Protiva New Mom. Protiva New Mom can advice you advance accustomed protein levels during the analytical aboriginal few months afterward delivery. Protiva New Mom is a clinically proven, all-natural protein supplement that provides 15 grams of protein in a circadian drink. It contains no preservatives or bogus colors, and is lactose-free, gluten-free, soy-free, and non-GMO. It additionally contains clinically accurate levels of Vitamins C and E to advice with healing. Did I mention it’s delicious? (This Blogger Banty loves it attenuated with milk and arctic strawberries. Actively yum!) Why not accept a babble with your doctor or lactation adviser to see if Protiva New Mom ability be aloof the comestible addition you and your new little asset so badly need?

Protiva New Mom, Breastfeeding essentials — Blended with ice, or beeline outta the protein shaker, Protiva New Mom is adorable and nutritious!

Side note: Protiva additionally makes a protein agitate for abundant moms. It’s appropriately amazing! As always, we animate you guys to analysis it out for yourselves, and let us apperceive what you think! We ADULATION accepting to apperceive our readers and audition from you!

A final allotment (or pieces) of advice…

1. From one accomplished astronomic to another, alpha stocking your freezer with breastfeeding-friendly commons for the absolute ancestors about a ages afore your accepted due date. In the beginning, accompany will apparently battery you with buffet and bootleg desserts—but assurance me, this won’t aftermost forever. And again that ancestors of castigation will still apprehend to eat at atomic three commons a day (the nerve), so you’re activity to appetite to be prepared. Anticipate of it this way: baker now, so you can nap later.

2. Nipple chrism is a absolute thing, and should be activated liberally. Nursing pads are no joke.

3. Accumulate an eye on your (breastfed) babyish for any ache or acutely allergic reactions to something(s) you’re eating. Allocution to your pediatrician about any apropos you ability have. Signs could include: gassiness, common spitting up and vomiting, abnegation the breast, loose, adulterated stools, abridgement of weight gain, eczema, hives, wheezing, and/or nasal drainage. Yikes! That’s a continued (and frightening) list. Don’t worry, best babies are aloof fine. But it’s bigger to be prepared, and to apperceive what to attending out for—sticking your arch in the beach is about never the ideal parenting strategy.

Got any must-share tips for advancing for breastfeeding success? We’d adulation to hear! Feel chargeless to allotment in the comments area below. Acceptable luck, mamas! You can do this. Sometimes it takes a village. So don’t be abashed to ask for help. Nursing can be HARD. But it’s additionally INCREDIBLE. Flavor these appropriate moments, they are gone in a flash. And consistently backpack an added change of clothes! (For you and for baby.)