Breastfeeding - Savannah,GA

Each baby is different as far as what you can and can't eat. Nothing I ate bothers my second daughter, but my first was sensitive to everything. Just kind of keep track of what you eat if you notice that the baby seems irritable or gassy. Just eat a normal diet unless you start to notice problems.

You can drink alcohol, just limit your consumption. It's ok to have a glass or two of wine, or one or two beers and still nurse. If you're going to have a drink, you should consume it shortly after nursing so that it will be out of your system by the next nursing session. HOWEVER, I wouldn't try that until the baby is about 3 or 4 months. Right now your baby needs to nurse on demand, so it might only be 30 mins between nursing sessions.

I drank caffeine while nursing both my girls. It never had any affect on them. I know lots of people that say it makes the baby irritable. If you want a coffee or a pop, go ahead and drink one. I'd stay away from the Red Bull though. Or maybe just drink a little bit at a time.

Absolutely keep taking your prenatals! You also need to eat like you're still pregnant. You should be consuming aroung 2400 healthy calories a day. You're providing nutrition to your little one, just like in the womb.

Freshly expressed breast milk can last up to 8 hours unrefrigerated. If it's refrigerated, then it's about 3 or 4 days. Frozen in a deep freeze in 12 months and in a regular freezer is about 6 months. If it's frozen and defrosted in the refrigerator I think it's 2 days. Once it's been warmed up, I think it's only good for a few hours.

A few good websites are La Leche League http://www.llli.org/resources.html and Kellymom http://www.kellymom.com/

Congratulations on your son and on you decision to breastfeed! :)

Congrats! Breastfeeding is not an easy task. That said, there are several good books out there on breastfeeding that will cover everything you need to know. Just about anything and everything you eat or drink will cross over into your breastmilk. Most books will list an ideal diet etc... that you can follow as well as basic storage recommendations. I continued to take my prenatal vitamins until my son was weaned off of breastmilk. It's good for both of you. I used Lansinoh products, so you could check out their site. http://www.lansinoh.com/breastfeeding Your pediatrician could probably recommend a consultant if necessary to answer your questions.

Your best bet is to get in touch with your local La Leche Leage. They can answer any question you have and give you all the support you need if problems ever do arise. Their website is http://www.llli.org/

Everything goes into your milk. You can have coffee, but I wouldn't drink Red Bull. Red Bull has taurine and glucuronolactone which are not good for you. Red Bull has been banned in France and Denmark already. If you have to drink energy drinks..try one that is natural. I don't drink them, but Verve is one that is healthy and actually has all of your vitamins and minerals in the drink as well as natural caffeine from Guranine. I hear it tastes better than Red Bull, but I have never had a Red Bull, so I don't know. http://purenutrition.vemma.com/ If you drink one a day it has all your vitamins in it..so you don't need a prenatal. I am pregnant now and my Doc has me taking Vemma.

You can drink, but in moderation. Alcohol will also go into your milk.

Milk can be stored at room temperature for 4 to 8 hours, at the back of a refrigerator for 3 to 8 days, and in the back of a freezer for up to 3 months.

You should never heat up the milk in a microwave.

Congrats on your baby and on nursing this time.

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/t026900.asp#T026901

You have enough input about the milk itself, but I LOVE this chart... i have it printed and on my fridge. :) It has how long you can store milk for, (room, fridge, freeze) what is good for re-use if thawed or if baby drank from it...

Mostly everything will cross over to breastmilk; whatever you eat, your baby will eat. I wouldn't worry about coffee (not sure about red bull and the caffeine content) unless you drink an excessive amount. 1-2 cups of coffee a day is not going to hurt; if you ate/drank it during pregnancy, it will probably not hurt. So, I would eat/drink whatever you want; just be aware of what you eat and pay attention to your baby and how he reacts. If it causes a problem for you, ie gassy foods/spicy foods, it might cause a problem with him. As for alcohol, I've actually heard having a beer/glass of wine every once in a while helps with milk prodution. If you want to go out and have more than that, just pump and dump until you no longer feel the effects of the alcohol. You do have to eat 500 more calories than you did while you were pregnant, too, so now is a good time to eat whatever you want, whenever you want, healthy choices, of course, for the baby's sake (and yours). If you are wondering why you are hungry all the time, this is why, so do not limit yourself. Drink lots of water, too, since he is taking a lot of liquids out of your body (you don't want to get constipated, either).
Yes, continue to take prenatals and omega 3, if you were taking that before, also.
Breatmilk lasts 3-4 hours room temp, 5-7 days in fridge. I think 3 months in the freezer (do not store in door of freezer) and 6 months in a deep freezer.
Try to breatfeed exclusively (no bottles, pacifiers, formula) for four weeks, then you can introduce a bottle, this way he will know how to do both AND your body will know how much milk to produce (it also makes receptors to continue to make milk when he begins to eat solids). When you introduce a bottle, have dad do it, so he knows breast comes from mommy and bottle comes from daddy; have him drink from a bottle once or twice a week, so he can practice, in case you ever want to leave him with a sitter or if you are going back to work. The best time to pump is in the morning, feed him first, of course, then pump and start your collection. Remember, breastfeeding is a supply and demand thing, so the more you do it, the more milk you will make; the less you do it, the less milk. So, if he takes a bottle and skips feeding from you, you will need to pump.
I'm so happy it is working for you both!!! I breastfed both of my kids for a little over a year (now 2 and 4yo) and it is awesome!!!
I know this a lot of info thrown at you at once, sorry. I am a newborn nursery nurse and most of my job is helping moms breasfeed, so this is my passion and love!
Good Luck! and ENJOY every moment!

I'm glad to hear that all is going well! Yay!

Everything you eat/drink passes through to your breatmilk. You should still limit your coffee, red bull, beer/wine as you did when you were pregnant and still take your vitamins. You will also notice your baby get fussy if you eat things spicy or that might be considered "gassy" foods. What you eat can change to taste of your milk.

I'm not sure on expressed breast milk as I never pumped.

Best wishes!!

If I were you I'd keep taking pre-natals. As far as storing breast milk goes, I don't remember the exact details, but I would check out http://www.llli.org/ and http://www.kellymom.com/.

My first I could eat or drink whatever I wanted (basically avoiding certain medications). With my second I had to limit my caffeine intake because if I had more than a couple caffeinated drinks she would become more fussy and urpy.

I did have a few drinks when my kiddos were older but I always waited until the next day to breastfeed again. Alcohol crosses over into breastmilk, so if you aren't sober enough to drive you aren't sober enough to breastfeed.

HTH, and kudos on breastfeeding!

Go to medellas website, you can chat for free with a lactation consultant. If you have to have a drink, have one right AFTER you nurse. Alcohol is absorbed quickly into your milk, but dissapates quickly also. Don't nurse until 2-3 hours afterwards... if you're feeling uncomfortable, pump and dump! One drink equals one glass of wine or one beer or 1 shot... Yes, take your prenatals. NO redbull, really really bad idea. One or two cups of coffee never effected my kids. Breast milk is good in the fridge for 5-7 days, in the freezer 2-3 months, even longer if you have a separate deep freezer. This is one of those subjects I happen to know a lot of 'short cuts' about, and you sound a lot like me soooo... if you have any further questions, feel free to shoot me a message! Congrats on the baby!

You've gotten plenty of good advice but I just wanted to offer my congratulations and thanks on your baby's behalf that you tried again and that this time it worked. I have a close friend who didn't even attempt it with her second after having a hard time with her first. You are a great mom for trying again and enjoy your breastfeeding experience!

Think you have all the answers. Yes you can have coffee. I have a cup a day- when I was pregnant and nursing. Yes- eat what you like. I have a glass of wine or a beer a few times a week. This can get into the milk but you don't need to pump and dump. Just do it in moderation. Yes- prenatal. Continue until you stop breastfeeding. I guess you have the other answers too. Glad it is going well.

So many questions -- here's a good site: http://www.breastmilk.com/ In the meantime, naturally, the better you eat the better your milk. I drank coffee while breast feeding but limited myself to one cup a day. Yes on the prenatals. As for drinking alcohol, if you go to a party one evening, say, I would pump and dump. Red Bull is a caffeine drink, I think, right? I would check the amount of caffeine -- maybe yes, maybe no. It may be that you treat it like you would coffee...

CONGRATULATIONS! Lots online RE breast milk, how to handle changes to you, your milk, your baby's changing-daily needs, and lots of encouragement if you look. BE PROUD OF YOURSELF! YOU ROCK!

You can drink, do one water to one drink, and no dump or worry. Yes caffeine/energy drinks, one in morning and one at night. Yes on prenatals:)

Anything you take in will be siphoned and filtered and back out to your baby -- more water, more filter. Keep a glass by your nursing area and glug while he does -- you need over a gallon a day to keep up with your body and your milk (it's the base for all that siphon:) ). I also upped my protein to help keep my milk strong. My only problem the first 6 weeks were tomatoe-products and garlic -- gave my girl colic.

YOU CAN DO THIS AND GOOD LUCK MAMA!

caffenine can make them irritable so try 1/2 decaf and regular coffee. broccoli can make them gassy. alcohol does go into breast milk so if you have one drink it would probably be ok to nurse after a few hours. breast milk pumped in fride last 48 hrs regular frezzer 3-6 months and deep freezer 6 mon to 1 yr.. i would stay away from red bull though. good luck with breast feeding.

You got lots of good advice, but I just wanted to say, YAY! Congratulations! Doesn't breastfeeding rock when it's easy? :)

Good for you mama for trying again after a tough first time. Lots of women wouldn't have even tried and you should be proud of yourself! It's a fun relationship with your kiddo and will give you such wonderful private moments with your new babe.

Enjoy your babymoon!

That is wonderful! Breastfeeding really is an amazing journey. My very best advice is to follow baby's lead and you will do well. Amazing how babies can be so different. Congratulations!

Kellymom.com is a great resource for all questions breastfeeding. And I always recommend to moms who want to be successful at breastfeeding to learn as much as they can about breastfeeding. Martha Sears has a great basic breastfeeding book.

You definitely want to continue prenatals the entire time you are nursing. Continue to eat well and drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and make milk. Your body is going thru a lot right now so eat all the good things for you.

Caffeine stays in breastmilk for quite a long time so it's not like you can drink a red bull and it will be out in an hour. I believe it's kellymom.com that has a list of how long things stay in breastmilk. I was able to indulge my Coke fix about once a day and it didn't bother my little one. But things like Red Bull and coffee have considerably more caffeine, i think.

As far as alcohol it will probably be some time before you would feel comfortable having a drink just because breastfed babies should be nursed on demand and right now your little one may want to nurse on a predictable time table or he could go all over the place because he is building and regulating your supply. But you can safely nurse 90 minutes after one drink.

Check kellymom for the latest guidelines on breastmilk storage. There have been recent updates for room temp, fridge and longer term freezer storage so I don't want to tell you old info. Also, if you were to offer baby a bottle of breast milk at some point and baby didn't finish it, you could refrigerate it and it would be ok to offer that milk at the next feeding only. You can do this with breastmilk because of the antibodies present. You can't do that with any form of formula.

As far as some foods making baby gassy-some babies are sensitive but most aren't. The only time I ever had to watch my diet was when my son was a preemie and still in the hospital. His little system couldn't handle it if I had spicy foods but other than that I never had to change a thing with either of my extended breastfed babies.

What you eat - the baby eats. I found that my baby didn't agree with some foods. I had to stop eating spicy food and potato chips for about 4 months, until his digestive system was more mature. I also stopped all caffiene. I have some friends that drank a glass of wine - but then pumped and dumped the milk. Not sure of the time frame on that though.
For milk storage guidleines - visit La Leche League website: http://www.llli.org/FAQ/milkstorage.html

Congrats on the new baby and success with BF!

You have some great advice on here! I just recently learned that before baby is 3 months their liver is not mature enough to handle any alcohol, so be careful in the beginning with drinks. Make sure you have at least an hour after your one drink before you need to breastfeed again, which can be hard in the beginning. No need to pump and dump as long as an hour or more has passed! Good Luck and enjoy, it goes fast...this time is soooo precious! : )