Are you a breastfeeding mother or mother-to-be and want to learn more about breastfeeding tips? Do you have a Breastfeeding Food List to use for it? I’m going to share what I learned and experienced as a breastfeeding mother about Breastfeeding Food List.

What are the best foods to use for a higher and better breast milk quality and quantity? 

What food category to use in this significant process of feeding and raising the baby?

What food and beverage categories to avoid?

These are some of the questions that every new breastfeeding mother wants to know and learn more about them. I try to give a helpful answer for each of them, sharing my experience as a breastfeeding mother and what I learned in more than two years of breastfeeding my daughter.

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Being a new mother means having the information you need to take every step you take in raising and caring for your baby. Breastfeeding is one of the processes that accompany us from the birth of our baby to six months or more if you so choose.

Based on a question asked in the comments left in the article on Breastfeeding For The First 24 Hours, I decided to write this informative article on breastfeeding nutrition.

The question is about the types of foods that can improve the quantity and quality of milk in new mothers. 

I want to clarify that I am not a nutritionist. I want to share helpful information based on my knowledge and experience as a breastfeeding mother.

What are the best tips to follow by a mother during the Breastfeeding process?

First of all, I want to encourage every new mother that it is not the place to stress. Try to stay comfortable, warm, loved, and enjoy your breastfeeding time.
Try to eat in the healthiest way possible. My recommendation is to continue to eat following the best tips and rules you applied during your pregnancy nutrition.

Here I refer to the cases when you followed a diet as controlled as possible, with vegetables, fruits, protein and carbohydrate balance, and sugars in moderate amounts.

If your pregnancy nutrition was by cravings or the desire to eat unhealthy foods, do not worry. Start to eat healthy food during the breastfeeding period.

I want to share below some of my rules for breastfeeding nutrition.

• First of all, follow a balanced nutritional diet. Eat a variety of healthy foods, riched in vitamins, minerals, proteins, and calcium.

It is better to avoid eating an added quantity of food. Just eat one serving and not two or more. You need to consume daily 500 kcal more than an adult woman who does not breastfeed or is pregnant. So never think that by eating as much food as possible, you will get a lot of breast milk.

On the other hand, we should not apply various nutritional diets to lose gained weight during pregnancy. You will lose 60-70% of the gained weight after giving birth to your baby and in the first weeks after that. All that weight was the baby’s weight, water, and the amount of blood added to your body to cope with pregnancy. Everything will balance after the birth process.

If you are going to breastfeed your baby, do not go on a diet, as the breastfeeding process is a good ally for losing extra pounds, making you return to your pre-pregnancy weight within 4-5 months.

After giving birth to my daughter, I continued to stay in lines close to the last trimester of my pregnancy. In that period, I had to eat in an even more controlled way due to gestational diabetes.

My nutritional diet was rich in proteins, greens, and moderate amounts of carbohydrates and sugars. This type of nutrition helped me keep my glycemic values ​​in the norm. I never used insulin medication, and it also had a good effect on the breastfeeding period.

In my opinion, the breastfeeding nutritional diet should be rich in protein, a variety of fruits and vegetables of the season, and balancing and moderate sugars and carbohydrates.

• Rule number two to follow. During the breastfeeding period, we should continue to be hydrated all day. Have many liquids, such as water, fruit juices, milk or buttermilk, kefir, or diluted yogurt. 

Being hydrated and having many liquids during your day is a habitude that you gain during your pregnancy. Continue in the same direction, having as much natural water as you feel good with your body and breast milk production.

We must help our organism to be able to produce the necessary amount of breast milk for our baby and at the same time to have a hydrated body and organism for ourselves. Try to drink two-three-liters of water and other juices during the day. Drink one or two glasses of water or other healthy juices every time that you will breastfeed your baby.

• The third rule that I followed and inherited from pregnancy was continuing to have breastfeeding supplements.

I prefer going with the same brand choosing the breastfeeding supplements for a better quality of my breast milk during the first six months.

Every pregnant woman, in addition to a nutritional diet, needs to take pregnancy supplements. In the same way, we need to continue breastfeeding. 

Likewise, after giving birth to your baby, it is good to continue for a few months to nourish your body with the right supplements. You can also take supplements for hair loss, hydration, and skin nutrition.

Regardless of how you will nourish, these supplements can fill in your body any vitamins or minerals deficiency that may derive from not taking or not properly absorbing from the food. 

I can say that I was pleased with the results. My daughter was only breastfed for the first five months, as she was getting full and gaining weight very well, and only after the fifth month did we start with fruit purees to prepare for the start of solid meals in the sixth month.

I want to emphasize that every experience is personal. Every mother should investigate her body and organism as approached by different foods or supplements. You must investigate their impact on your baby’s development, too. 

I recommend breastfeeding and pregnancy supplements, as far as I am concerned, and based on the evidence of the other breastfeeding mothers.

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Is There A Breastfeeding Food List That Prevails In Our Nutritional Diet?

I think that the best way to increase your breast milk is to breastfeed your baby. However, a healthy mindset and lifestyle are significant. 

What to eat during the breastfeeding period?

• Fruits

Variety of fruits of all kinds according to the season in fresh, cold, compote, juices, etc. From different personal experiences, various fruit juices can impact breast milk. I can list here Orange or other Citrus juices as good sources of Vitamin C. Some mothers think that Citrus juices impact positively on breast milk quantity. If you notice that these one or other fruit juices impact positively on your breast milk, continue to increase the amount of daily consumption for each of them.

• Vegetables

All kinds of vegetables consuming according to the season in salads, soups, juices, etc. What I used most were Greens. I gave birth to my daughter in January and before I had the spring season rich in greens and wild cabbages of all kinds. Some of them are chicory, radishes, various salads, Dock, Nettles, etc. Try greens in your daily diet.

• Cereals 

The next category to consider in your daily diet are Cereals. You can take cereals from bread, pasta, rice, oatmeal, etc. They are a good source of energy you will need during your breastfeeding days. However, I try to eat cereals in more moderate amounts by consuming enough and not more.

• Poultry and Fish

Lean meat, poultry, and fish are some of your proteins, vitamins, and minerals sources to eat. It recommends most eat poultry and fish than other meats. Try to use fresh and organic grown poultry meat. Eat fish about two times a week.

•  Dairies

Dairies with high amounts of protein and calcium are more advisable to consume. Protein foods, like milk, yogurt, buttermilk, are foods I have used.

Cow’s milk not highly recommends because of the colic and excess gas it can bring to the baby. I think that is all personal. I used a lot of cow’s milk both during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. I think it positively affected me for increasing the amount of breast milk.

You need to test the foods you consume and how they approach your body. You can always reduce the amount of the cow’s milk taken if you notice that the baby does not respond well to your breast milk after that. You can drink more diluted yogurt in the form of buttermilk.

• Traditional foods

Another drink that our grannies recommend drink is Boza, which is a drink produced by fermented corn. It has its roots in the Ottoman Empire, and it used for centuries in Balcan countries. Boza is rich in vitamins C, B, E, and iron.

It produces without preservatives or chemicals. In our country, many think that it can improve the amount of milk in breastfeeding mothers.

In my opinion, it is a healthy and refreshing drink for the summer season. You have to try it and judge by yourself if it increases your breast milk.

What are the foods we should not use while breastfeeding?

We have to stop consuming several foods during the breastfeeding period. Most of them interrupted to consume since our pregnancy time. 

• Coffee or strong teas should not be drink.

Caffeine and theine will be present in your breast milk and will affect the baby’s nervous system, causing disorders and sleep problems for your little one.

Remember that sleep is just as important as feeding babies. Babies in the first weeks need to feed, change, and sleep most of the time. Sleep helps a better and healthier development.

• Alcoholic beverages

Alcoholic beverages are another category to avoid during your breastfeeding time. Alcohol is transmitted through breast milk to the baby and severely damages the development and health of the baby.

• Smoking

Smoking is another category to stop. Like drugs, alcohol, it impacts negatively on your breast milk quantity.

• Medications

You can not take meditation, except the medication that your doctor recommended, and permit you to use. 

• Drugs

Drugs should not use categorically. If you are a drug user, you have to stop since you are pregnant. If you can not give up drugs, then do not breastfeed your baby at all. All drugs transmit from your breast milk to the baby. 

• Foods that cause allergies

Foods that you are allergic to or intolerant such as dried fruits, nuts, almonds, hazelnuts, eggs, fish, cow’s milk, etc. You have to test one by one and notice if any of them disturb your baby, too.

I didn’t have problems with these foods and my daughter too. Every experience is personal. I tried to eat everything in the right amount and in a healthy way. 

• Spicy foods

Another category that you can limit but should not ban is spices. Spicy food will make your breast milk strong in flavors. Your baby may refuse your milk or provoke vomiting.

You have to test and select what to use from this category. I did not avoid vegetables with aromas like onions, garlic, broccoli, etc. Vegetables that have no aroma at all are just zucchini, carrots, and potatoes. I choose to eat a little from everything permissible and good for the health of my daughter.

• Foods that cause colic and gauze for the baby

Foods like legumes, beans, lentils, broccoli, tomatoes, chocolates, etc., can be a source of colic and gauze for your baby. In this regard, it is not that there is a scientific basis, but rather it is valid from the personal experience of other mothers.

I recommend you to try by yourself each food and talk to your doctor about every worry.

My Last Thought On Breastfeeding Food List

At the end of this article, I can say that suctions of your baby, his love, and continuing to breastfeed him much often is much helpful than a specific type of food. Anyway, the best thing is to follow a balanced nutritional way. Learn to know your body and your baby, too.

For me, breastfeeding my daughter was a beautiful period. I faced a lot of challenges, too. I didn’t know everything, and most of them I learned living them.

I hope that you like and find this article helpful. Please feel free to share your experience with me. Did you have any specific food that improved your breast milk quantity and quality? 

I will be glad to hear your comments and questions below. Thank you for sharing too. I appreciate it.

Alketa

“As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.” ”Full disclosure.