Breasfeeding and Diet

Make sure your baby is latched well - he may be sucking in air when nursing. You should be able to see his tongue over his bottom lip when he is nursing. If you here a "click-click" sound, he isn't latched right and is sucking in air.

Make sure you also know his hunger cues - crying is a late stage hunger cue and babies who get to upset before the nurse sometimes gulp air and get frantic at the breast. These babies often put their tongue to the roof of their mouth, which prevents them from nursing well. Again, look for that little tongue peeking out under your nipple area. Nurse him as soon as he shows the turning head / rooting behavior.

You can tell a baby that is nursing well but the suck-swallow rhythm. Babies will initially suck vigorously, a 3 to 4 sucks to 1 swallow ratio. As the milk starts to flow and the hind-milk starts to come down, they will start to suck slower and deeper. You will see them slow to a 1 deep suck to 1 good swallow ratio.

You also should not switch the baby until he comes off the breast on his own. Babies who are switched between breast too quickly can get a fore-milk / hind-milk imbalance (basically they are not being given a chance to drink the fattier hind-milk and are just getting the fore-milk). This can make a baby very very gassy and fussy.

If you need anything, feel free to contact me.

Peace-Love-Boobies!

Here is what my Dr said to cut out: milk/milk products, spicy foods, chocolate, caffene. Milk was the culprit. Noticed a difference in 1 week, fully improved in two weeks. The fist food I added back in (to test for reaction ) was chocolate after 1 month. Whew, I was glad it wasn't chocolate! I now have found out many babies cannot digest milk proteins (casein) until they are 1 year old.

Just read the answer below. Just so you know, I tried the "healthy sleep habits" recomendations for a month before I went to the dr and we started working on my diet. There are so many things that can lead to gas or colic. Look for streaks of mucous in your babies' poop, or does your baby have daiharrea (can't spell tonight!), those are indicators of food issues.

I suggest documenting what you are doing, that way you can look back after a few weeks, evaluate and maybe change tack if necessary.

If you're worried about your diet, have your baby tested for food sensitivities. My baby had a lot of gas-like pain and was colicky but he had no food issues. Buy a copy of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child... it explains that because a baby's Seratonin and Melatonin levels don't balance out until between 3 and 4 months old, the Seratonin levels can cause painful intestinal cramping that actually has nothing to do with what they eat or how frequently they eat. Good luck!

Oddly enough, your green veggies can cause a lot of gas. Broccoli and beans and such. Anything that could cause gas in you, could irritate their bellies! Some moms have found their babies don't like a lot of dairy either. If you eat a lot of yogurt or drink a large amount of milk you could cut that back. Lastly would be anything that is spicy.
The best thing to do is keep a journal for a few days of all the foods you eat and what time. Keep a journal of what time the baby eats and what he does after each feeding. I can't remember though how long it takes for what you eat to get into the milk. So what you had for breakfast may affect his night time breasting, instead of his breakfast or lunch. Hopefully someone will have that answer for you!
Best of Luck with your new little one!!

Hi, Ivana.
My son was also VERY colicky. We found out that he has a sensitivity to wheat (gluten). When I went gluten-free we saw a huge improvement right away. (2-3 days) My son was happier during the day and slept better at night. I was suprised to learn how common this is in babies and that they usually outgrow it. He is now 6 mos old and for the last two days I've had half a sandwich at lunch and it hasn't seemed to bother him. There is light at the end of the tunnel! I am grateful that someone told me about this; I hope this helps you. If you are interested, please message me for my favorite gluten free meals and snacks.- J..

Same things that make you gasy gassy gasey?, sigh, will make the baby gasy, broccoli, beans, dairy, the usual offenders...i'm sorry about the colici-ness, fussy baby is not fun, makes you feel incompetent to not be able to sooth him/her, try eliminating certain staples for a day or two and see what effect that has.........also babies movement can help, try different posititions, a tender jiggle, a pat here and there, massaging tummy and back gently.......not much comfort but if you're exhausted to the point of being a crazy woman, don't worry, this too shall pass....