Have you ever wondered what to eat when breastfeeding?
I worked as a Paediatric Dietitian for several years and would provide breastfeeding advice to mums. This was typically allergy and generic healthy eating advice. I knew the arbitrary figure of breastfeeding requires 500-600 extra calories a day but never really gave much attention to this, most mums were just pleased that they had lost weight post baby that they put down to the breastfeeding. This was and is the sad reality of the thin obsessive society that we live in.
Now as a mum of an almost 5-month-old I have lived experience of how hard breastfeeding can be. I know many women struggle with babies not latching, tongue ties, cracked nipples and limited supply, but never did I ever imagine how difficult breastfeeding can be at times. I have never felt hunger like I have in the last few months and the weeks when my son went through growth spurts. I literally cried walking home after a group one time as I was SO hungry and I had had a decent breakfast hours earlier!
In the first few weeks after birth, I didn’t experience the hunger but by week 6 it was real! I couldn’t stop thinking about food, I wanted to eat literally an hour after my dinner, and I would wake in the night and raid the fridge and cupboard for snacks. It’s not surprising when you think that when your little one is 3-6 months your body is producing a litre of milk a day!
Breastfeeding mamas you are amazing, cut yourself some slack like when you were pregnant , You are literally eating for two! Schedule/allow time for rest, a bath, and maybe some meditation and remember to connect with others (my local breastfeeding group and mums group always provides a cuppa and biscuits/cake!)
By Elaine Cleaver from https://www.instagram.com/customise_career_path