What to expect when you're expecting (176 page)

Calcium: 5 servings (that’s up 1 serving from your pregnancy requirement of 4)

Iron-rich foods: 1 or more servings

Vitamin C: 2 servings

Green leafy and yellow vegetables, yellow fruits: 3 to 4 servings

Other fruits and veggies: 1 or more servings

Whole-grain and other complex carbohydrates: 3 or more servings

High-fat foods: moderate amounts—you don’t need as much as you did during pregnancy

At least 8 glasses of water, juice, or other noncaffeinated, nonalcoholic beverages

DHA-rich foods to promote baby’s brain growth (look for this fabulous fat in wild salmon, sardines, walnuts, flaxseed oil, as well as DHA-enriched eggs)

Prenatal vitamin daily

You may need to increase your caloric intake as your baby grows bigger and hungrier, or decrease it if you supplement nursing with formula and/or solids, or if you have considerable fat reserves you’d like to begin burning.

What not to eat.
When you’re breastfeeding, you have a lot more menu options than you did while you were expecting—served up with some caveats. It’s fine to pop open the cork on that pinot noir you’ve been pining for (or flip the top on that ale you’ve been aching for). But drink within limits (a couple of glasses a week, preferably taken right after you nurse, rather than before, to allow a few hours for the alcohol to metabolize). You can use Milkscreen—simple test strips that detect the volume of alcohol in your breast milk, available at any drugstore—to know if it’s safe for your baby. Time to pick up your coffee habit where you left off? Depends on how hefty your habit was. More than a cup or two of joe can make junior jittery and keep you both from getting any sleep. And though it’s safe to reel in the sushi again, continue to avoid high-mercury fish, such as shark, tilefish, and mackerel, and to limit those that may contain moderate amounts of that heavy metal.

What to watch out for.
If you have a family history of allergies, check with the doctor to see if you should avoid peanuts and foods that contain them (and possibly other highly allergic foods). Also watch out for herbs, even some seemingly innocuous herbal teas. Stick to reliable brands and choose flavors that are considered safe during lactation, including orange spice, peppermint, raspberry, red bush, chamomile, and rosehip. Read labels carefully to make sure other herbs haven’t been added to the brew, and drink them only in moderation. And when it comes to sugar substitutes, sucralose (Splenda) or aspartame are considered better bets than saccharine.

What to watch for in your baby.
A few moms find that their own diet affects their babies’ tummies and temperaments. While what you eat does indeed change the taste and smell of your milk (that happens for all mothers), this is actually a good thing since it exposes your baby to many different flavors. But some babies can occasionally be sensitive to certain foods that end up in mom’s milk. If you suspect that something in your diet is turning baby off his or her feed (or turning his or her tummy), try eliminating the food for a few days to gauge the response. Some of the more common troublemakers are cow’s milk, eggs, fish, citrus fruits, nuts, and wheat.

For more information on eating while breastfeeding, see
What to Expect: Eating Well When You’re Expecting.

Take matters into your own hands. Hand-express a bit of milk from each breast before nursing to lessen the engorgement. This will get your milk flowing, and soften the nipple so your baby can get a better hold on it.