BREASTFEEDING

WARNING:  Before starting any diet contact your health care physician first.  The following information has been compiled from personal experiences.  WE are NOT doctors nor nutritionists.
 
Here are some of the links and pointers that our moms have put together regarding breastfeeding and elimination diets.  Please check back often as we update this information.
Total Elimination Diet (TED) Basics: http://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_topics.asp?FID=43
 
Total Elimination Diet (TED) Recipes: http://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_topics.asp?FID=44
 
Dr. Sears TED Link: http://askdrsears.com/html/4/T041200.asp
 
Here's a few mom tips.  
  • One of the greatest tools for successful breastfeeding is the food diary. It is absolutely essential in correlating symptoms with Mom's diet. I'm attaching the one that I used as an example. There's a column for calories to help Mom determine if she's eating enough. For "Feeding" I would record the time of day. For "Sleeping" I would record length of naps and length of night-time sleep. For poops I would give a description of each poop. 
  • Don't start solids until you feel like babies symptoms are stabilized on Mom's diet. Then hold Mom's diet as steady as possible as you introduce new solids so that you can properly determine if the solid is being tolerated.
  • The same is true if trying to expand Mom's diet, hold babies diet as steady as possible while adding new foods to Mom's diet.
  • Don't forget the importance of sleep, water intake, quality food intake. In order to make breastfeeding successful Mom needs to be healthy and providing healthy milk for the child. Even on an extremely restricted diet it is still possible to eat very balanced. Be sure to add plenty of "healthy" fats to Mom's diet, and be sure that Mom is getting the proper amount of essential fatty acids as these are crucial for baby brain development.
  • For emergencies or special occasions be sure to have some EBM stored in the freezer. Mark this milk with the date so you can go back to food diary if needed to see what Mom's diet contained at the time.
  • When switching from breastmilk to something else, such as formula, alternative milk, or milk (if intolerance is outgrown), please be sure to maintain your milk supply for a period of time to be absolutely sure your baby is tolerating the new feedings. I would recommend 3-4 weeks just to be sure that a honeymoon period isn't occurring where baby initially does well then symptoms start appearing a few weeks into the change.