Ask My Little Buddha

March 23, 2007 | Print

Does my diet affect my nursing newborn?

Yes. A nursing baby develops a taste for a variety of foods through his mother’s diet. The challenge is that for the first 6-12 weeks, certain foods can make babies gassy and uncomfortable.

Every one of our babies has been sensitive to our diets. So when we’re nursing newborns, our approach is to avoid certain foods from the start, no matter what, and others when we make a connection between eating the food and a gassy baby.

We try to avoid the following foods:

Common allergens: dairy, soy, wheat, corn, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, fish, shellfish and citrus (citrus is a common allergen for infants though not on the usual allergen lists).

Gassy foods: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, raw onions, cooked tomatoes, caffeine (that means chocolate), spicy foods and sometimes strawberries.

What do we eat? Green tea (but not too much) and goat milk products; spelt, kamut, millet and oat cereals and breads. We try eggs and see whether our newborns have a reaction as eggs are a good protein source in the morning.

Lyndsey is more disciplined than Kelly (who indulges with almond butter and the occasional lasagna or Diamond Organic’s chocolate chip macadamia nut spelt cookie).

Avoiding the common allergens listed above also can reduce the congestion that newborns often get around 4-6 weeks. The congestion does seem to clear on its own by 10-12 weeks.

We tend to avoid the gassy foods, specifically broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and spicy foods past the 12 week mark. We try them again in small amounts when our babies are six months or older.

If you’re avoiding the above listed foods and still suspect your baby is sensitive to something your eating, but you don’t know what, we recommend Dr. Sear’s elimination diet.

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