does the food you eat effect your baby?

Denise - posted on 01/26/2009

thank you everyone!

Alena - posted on 01/26/2009

It could be a number of things. My son had nothing but breastmilk and would cry for hours when he was that age. My doctor thought it was acid reflux and put him on zantac, which helped. There was a hugh difference if we forgot a dose. We also elevated one end of his crib so he slept on an incline and made sure he was upright for 15-30 min after eating. He outgrew it in a few months.  I also noticed that it was worse when I ate dairy or drank a lot of milk. As long as I kept my dairy consumption to a min. like one glass of milk a day or one serving of cheese or yogrut, he did a lot better. I also noticed that some foods, esp. peppers  or anything spicy made him really gassy. If you suspect it is something you are eating, you may try keeping a food vs mood diary for a day or two to see if there is a correlation. Hope this helps.

Anne - posted on 01/26/2009

3 month growth spurt. Totally normal. I could not disagree more that supplementing is worth it... it damages you supply, is a pain to deal with formula and bottles, and is not as good for your baby. Trust your instincts... if it is not hunger it is just a growing baby!

Julie - posted on 01/25/2009

Hi Denise, I had a similar situation. My daughter was fine up until about 6 weeks of age. Then she started crying a lot and seemed to be in pain, and was sometimes throwing up. The crying was mainly in the evenings, I'm not sure why. She seemed almost colicky, but didn't have all the right symptoms. It turned out she is allergic to cow's milk. I stopped drinking milk and after a few days the crying and pain stopped. I was still eating cheese and ice cream, etc, and she ended up with really bad ezcema all over her body, once I cut out all dairy that cleared up too.

Olivia - posted on 01/25/2009

She could have a gas bubble.  My doctor told me that excess drool sometimes caused from teething can lead to this.  I use tiny tummies with mine and it works very quickly.

Denise - posted on 01/25/2009

i don't think it has anything to do with her not getting enough to eat because i try to feed her and she just cries harder.  I have lots of milk and she eats every two or three hours except at night she'll go for like 8 hours!  When she cries she stifens her whole body up and just screams, if i had to guess i'd say it was a stomach ack but i just don't understand what would be causing it.  When babies teeth do they cry like that (she is my second but i don't remember)

Lorilynne - posted on 01/25/2009

Please, please do not start supplementing with formula.  As long as you continue to feed on demand you will be able to keep your supply steady.  If you ever start noticing a dip in your supply just nurse more frequently and get plenty of fluids and that will make your body start producing more.  Formula does not help the digestive system and can in fact make breastfed babies constipated.  Think about it this way, breastmilk is all natural.  Your baby takes almost everything that she needs from it and leaves very little waste which is why babies that only breastfeed don't poop very frequently.   What you eat can affect your baby if she is having some type of allergic reaction to what you are eating (ex: dairy or gluten) but if she's never had a problem before then that probably isn't the issue.  It could very well be early teething or like I said, a growth spurt.  Or she could just want more attention.  Does she stop crying when you pick her up?  When she starts crying do you nurse to soothe her?  Sorry for all the questions but the more information, the easier it is to figure out what the issue could be. 

Sarah - posted on 01/25/2009

Hi Denise,

I had the same problem with my son and it turned out he was no longer satisfied with the amount of breastmilk i was producing. I started off topping up his last feed at night with some formula after breastfeeding and now i am doing it for each feed during the day too. He is so much calmer because he is now satisfied. I make up more formula than he will take so that he can let m know when he has had enough, rather than the bottle running dry and him still not being satisfied. I felt like i was failing at first because my body wasn't producing what he needs but really it is just a transition. The firmula will do wonders for his digestive system (because he has only had breastmilk so far) so in theory he shouldn't struggle too much when it comes to feeding him solids.

I hope this helps, let us know how you get on xx

Danielle - posted on 01/25/2009

As a lactation counselor, no foods typically don't affect your baby. Some foods like garlic or even alcohol can flavor your milk and they might not like the taste. But it probably is either a growth spurt or teething. Even if the teeth don't break throught yet, they can be starting to move down, and causing pain. Good luck!

Alison - posted on 01/25/2009

have just had a quick look on line and cant find anything to back up the red and gassy food info i was given in holland. maybe opinion has changed in the last twelve years!!

Alison - posted on 01/25/2009

my first child was born in Holland.At birth i was given a list of food that could affect him. From what i remember (its been 12 years!!!) the list comprised of red foods, peppers,tomatoes etc. and gas causing foods such as sprouts. I followed the sheet and things went well. That said, ive since had two more children here in Ireland and no-one (health proffessional or friend) has ever said anything about this. I seem to be able to eat normally and feed my three month old with no problems.

I agree with the other two posts concerning teething and growth spurts. But if you feel it may be linked to your diet then try the dutch way and cut out red foods for a few days and see if it helps.



Its all a guessing game at this age!!! Such fun!!!

Lea - posted on 01/24/2009

I agree with the last two posts... teething would probably be the clincher. You can put a wet baby wash cloth in the freezer and rubbing her gums with it. Check her reaction...does she calm down, etc.. My son was teething when he was born, got two teeth at nine weeks which is when he turned into a peaceful, calm child. Go figure! Each child is so different.

Lorilynne - posted on 01/24/2009

3 months is growth spurt time so do you feed her when she crys?

Ashley - posted on 01/24/2009

could be teething , try rubbing her gums with a clean finger and see if that helps, other then that if you haven't eaten anything differnt it shoudln't be the milk, . if she is still eating for the same amount of time, and has the same amount of daipers then it shuldn't be the milk, . if it coninues then i would recommend taking her to the doctor,