Food to avoid when bf - esp if want to prevent colic

[rachelleling]

Hi ladies,

I have been reading about the food to avoid when bf and thought perhaps you may have some things to share. My 5 weeks old baby seems to have colic and will pass out a lot of gas. I am trying to look at my diet and avoid food that may cause colic. Below are some food I read that may cause colic

1) Cocoa (that includes chocolate! Oh man!)
2) caffeine
3) citrus food like orange
4) cabbage, broccoli
5) Wheat
6) chilli/curry

Other food that may cause allergic reaction includes
1) eggs
2) shellfish
3)peanut

I have been trying to avoid the above food but then I also read that bf mummies should eat a variety of food and expose our babies to the diff kinds of food. Any comments on this?

 

[msck]

I think if amount is moderate should be ok! I am eating almost all items. Lol. Esp egg n fish.

But my mom did tell me before some food will reduce supply. Eg chili. So dun take too spicy. Abit is ok. Fried food will reduce the quality of milk also. Cabbage will induce wind in stomach, so take only after confinement. Too much caffeine may cause tinge of residue to bm, then bb may not be able to zzz also.


Basically eat healthily. Not too much of a particular food should be ok.

 

[lyra]

I eat everything when breastfeeding, except ginger n food with with carotene for the first few months as baby had jaundice. I read on Kelly mom that it's not necessary to abstain from any food while breastfeeding. Fully breastfed (latched on) babies seldom get colic. The suction between baby's mouth n breast did not leave openings for air to enter. My baby didn't get any colic at all. If baby cried non stop in the evening before bed time, it's mostly likely fussy evenings n cluster feedings, not colic. Passing out gas is pretty normal. If breastfed babies get colic, perhaps it's bcoz babies are introduced bottles and they accidentally sucked in air while drinking or if mom has over supply n babies gulped in air while struggling with the flow.

 

[germac]

Hi rachelleling!

Oh my, i ate everything on ur list, thrown in with anything under the sun!!
Especially chocolate!
Have no issues with my three mth old darling so far wrt colic problems.
poops average twice a day, explosive episodes if i might add, and she does farts like her daddy. Lol...

I reckon its more about a balanced n healthy diet that truly counts.
Like wat msck commented, not too much of a particular food!

Gd luck!

 

[rachelleling]

Sigh, my baby is fully latched on but she's very gassy. Pass out a Lot of gas n often curl up her legs n grunts in pain. Very heartpain to see her like tat. I think she gulp down milk very fast as my milk flow is fast. I could hear her go gulp gulp gulp n sometimes she choked cos of the high pressure of my milk squirts. I thought I want to reduce the anount of gas in her thru diet since I hv tried all means to prevent it during latching but in vain .
Very tiring to hv a gassy baby . Is really killing me!

 

[diza]

Thx for the list! I rmbr drinking coffee in the first few weeks and it's so hard to get baby to sleep at night. He didnt fuss but he just refused to sleep. I only drink one big mug, abt 300 ml. Then I stopped. Now baby sleeps peacefully at night.

 

[rachelleling]

My MIL told me i should not take cold drinks/food cos will pass wind to baby. scientifically speaking, this is not possible cos when we drink cold water, it would be warmed up by our body and by the time it goes into the bm, it;s body temp. so, why cant we take cold drinks/food? I try to follow what she said but then sometimes, i really want to eat that cone of ice cream!

 

[germac]

My MIL told me i should not take cold drinks/food cos will pass wind to baby. scientifically speaking, this is not possible cos when we drink cold water, it would be warmed up by our body and by the time it goes into the bm, it;s body temp. so, why cant we take cold drinks/food? I try to follow what she said but then sometimes, i really want to eat that cone of ice cream!

Yeah, rationally, its not really possible. I believe in medical facts too. So unless there are randomized controlled trials or research articles that says cold drinks/food will cos baby to be gassy thru bf, i will not restrict myself.. especially when that ice cream cone u r talkin about is calling out to me to eat it too! Haha...

Btw, hv u tried giving ur baby gripe water? Apply ru yi oil? I also have fast milk flow, with quick letdowns and my milk also can go squirting out of my nips n spray all over my girl's face when my nipple comes out accidentally when she latches. So i doubt that is what is causing ur girl to be gassy. But then again, every baby is different. U try to burp her alot aft a feed too? Maybe that mght help?

 

[msck]

Hey rachelleling, i think u may try feeding her in lying on side position! Somehow, without the gravitational pull, my bb dun get choked anymore. I have been feeding her in lying side by side. She got so comfortable suckling them, sometimes she would suckle for 20min. Very long compared to when i carry her in the standard bf way.

 

[germac]

I wish i can bf side lying!! Jst cant seem to grasp the techique well.. My nipple always slips out.
saw youtube videos to try to learn also cannot.
so i can only bf with my brest friend pillow in cradle or cross cradle position. Baby doesnt like football.

 

[rachelleling]

ya! i also duno how to bf while lying down. i tried and is so awkward! i am also using the cradle position but i was thinking as they grow bigger, how to cradle? wonder how to bf a bigger child. let them sit in front of the boobs and drink?

germac, i tried giving gripe water at 9pm, apply ru yi oil, burp everytime after feed but she's still gassy. she will kek sai like tat and then gass will come out. it seems painful for her to force out the gas. and she usu will grunt and look uncomfy early morns from 5am - 8am like tat. i see also heartpain.

But my gal poo like evry 4 days. could this be a reason for the colic cos she keep passing wind and not poo?

 

[germac]

ya! i also duno how to bf while lying down. i tried and is so awkward! i am also using the cradle position but i was thinking as they grow bigger, how to cradle? wonder how to bf a bigger child. let them sit in front of the boobs and drink?

germac, i tried giving gripe water at 9pm, apply ru yi oil, burp everytime after feed but she's still gassy. she will kek sai like tat and then gass will come out. it seems painful for her to force out the gas. and she usu will grunt and look uncomfy early morns from 5am - 8am like tat. i see also heartpain.

But my gal poo like evry 4 days. could this be a reason for the colic cos she keep passing wind and not poo?

Haha rachelle, i burst out laughing when i saw "let them sit infront of the boobs n drink?", cos i tried to picture the scene in my head n it was so funny! (facing mummy, sitting open legged and strapped mummy's waist with legs n suck on boobies)... Lol... I think it wil stil be cradle, cos for bottling, it wil be cradle too.. What do u think? Or any mummies here that stil bf their tods can share?

Did u bring this up to the PD when u bring her for checks?

 

[rachelleling]

hahaha, seriously, i was thinking about it when i was latching my gal on the other day. she's becoming heavier and i realise is heavy for me to carry her in cradle position if she gets heavier.

Ya, anyone knows can share? hahah i haven been to PD yet. Actually will it be embarassing to ask such a qn?

 

[germac]

hahaha, seriously, i was thinking about it when i was latching my gal on the other day. she's becoming heavier and i realise is heavy for me to carry her in cradle position if she gets heavier.

Ya, anyone knows can share? hahah i haven been to PD yet. Actually will it be embarassing to ask such a qn?

We r gonna get biceps from this then! Gd training! Hahaha...
actually i meant to bring up to the PD abt ur girl's gasiness.. Dbl hahaha.. So cute la u...

 

[rachelleling]

hhhahahaahha. wasn;t thinking properly!

my baby's colic prob is quite bad at night. I was praying that she feed every 3 hourly at night. in the end, last night, she really did feed 3 hourly but then in between the 3 hours, she kept waking and cry when she wants to pass gas. in the end, i had to wake up more often and only got like half hour blocks of sleep. I have to bring this up to PD when I see him nx week. I was wondering if it is the "tou gua" like the beancurd and the peanuts that I took that caused the gas. that;s the only food which i took differently. sigh..... looks like it is so difficult to calm a baby with colic!

 

[germac]

hhhahahaahha. wasn;t thinking properly!

my baby's colic prob is quite bad at night. I was praying that she feed every 3 hourly at night. in the end, last night, she really did feed 3 hourly but then in between the 3 hours, she kept waking and cry when she wants to pass gas. in the end, i had to wake up more often and only got like half hour blocks of sleep. I have to bring this up to PD when I see him nx week. I was wondering if it is the "tou gua" like the beancurd and the peanuts that I took that caused the gas. that;s the only food which i took differently. sigh..... looks like it is so difficult to calm a baby with colic!

i can only imagine... especially if u had already exhaust all means to comfort your girl. :embarrassed:
hopefully the PD visit next week can offer you some useful advice!

 

[PRINCESSES]

Hello mummies,
Thumbs up for bumping this thread lol
I used to be like some, so paranoid and clueless as to what we can eat and wat can't.. And it gets so depressing haha especially if mum cooked spicy Asam pedas dish and the thought of ," oh wld love to eat that but I dun want baby to get affected!" and a few other dishes.. End up, have to avoid totally and yearned for it hehe...
Currently pregnant at 31 weeks and I'm so looking forward to bf my child ..

Breastfeeding is hardwork yeah.. Thumbs up for all the perseverance that we had to go thru
But it's totally rewarding experience )

Hope to learn and share more tips and advices from all mummies...

 

[lyra]

Hi! You mean sharing about breastfeeding a heavier child?

My boy's weight is always at 50th percentile, so about average boy's growth. When he's tiny, its difficult to use the lying down method. Like what one of the mummies say here, he kept slipping off my nipple. I use a lot of help from pillows and bolsters, it helps to put a bolster at my back to support and a small pillow at baby's back to support. As baby grow older and gains more control of his muscles, he will master the lying down feeding position better. In fact it is the most relaxing and enjoyable position. My baby and I fell asleep like that all the time.

As for cradle hold for breastfeeding, when I cradle, I sit down and put a pillow between my lap and elbow for support. His head is super heavy. Definitely need that pillow! When baby is very small, he's sometimes cranky and wants to be cradled, breastfed and walked around. But when he gets older, this phase will pass and that's when he's heavier too. But because the cranky phase passed, its easier to sit down and feed him so there's no worry there.

When baby can crawl, sit, stand, sometimes he will crawl to me, pull at my shirt and giggle which means he wants milk milk, and I'll let him suck as he sit on my lap, and if I'm lying down, he will suck as he lie on top of me, or sit at my side, he's got all kind of creative ways to drink milk, and he sometimes crawl all around me and drink milk, very acrobatic. So, feeding older child, heavier child is actually easier, not more tiring!

hahaha, seriously, i was thinking about it when i was latching my gal on the other day. she's becoming heavier and i realise is heavy for me to carry her in cradle position if she gets heavier.

Ya, anyone knows can share? hahah i haven been to PD yet. Actually will it be embarassing to ask such a qn?

 

[rachelleling]

lyra, thanks for sharing!i suppose the feeding position will just come in place as time goes. I can imagine myself as the tree and my gal as the koala hugging me and suckle! haha

so, will there be an issue when babyis teething?

 

[diza]

I have a fren who BF her baby till 1yr plus.. I ask her what if ur boy bites ur nipple.. She said she will squeeze his nose forcing him to let go. Quite scary too! Now if my boy didn't latch properly, I can still pull my breast away from him but if he start to have teeth and he bites me, no way to pull right? Lol..

And yes, once baby a bit bigger, lying down position is not difficult anymore..