Nutrition for the Breastfed Infant

Baby is fussy - should I give up milk and orange juice?

Lately my baby has been very fussy in the late morning and into the afternoon. He seems to have painful gas.  He also has been spitting up quite frequently.  This varies from a small amount to a larger amount.

I usually have milk with bran cereal at breakfast which is at 7:00 - 8:00 a.m..  I really want to keep eating the bran cereal to maintain regularity, but should I give up the milk?  I also drink a glass of orange juice in the morning.  Should I give that up as well?  Thanks for your help.





To answer your questions, it would be helpful to know whether there is a history of allergies in your family?  If so, your baby may be responding to the proteins in your breastmilk, and you may want to be a little more modest about your milk intake during the day.

However, if there is not a history of allergies in the family, it is likely that your son's fussiness during the late morning and into the afternoon has nothing to do with the composition of your breastmilk.  His spitting up is not a big issue and can be normal for a baby of this age (3 weeks).  It probably is not compromising his growth, though you should mention it to your pediatrician during your next visit so that he can monitor your baby's growth. You might try nursing from just one breast at a time during the pre-noon hours.  At three weeks postpartum, your milk supply is not stabilized yet, and his spitting up may be the result of a copious milk supply.  Your milk supply during this time of day may be too much for your baby to handle yet, and he may not be able to cope.

It is unlikely that the milk in your diet is causing your son's gas. Baby's can usually handle lactose in very large amounts.  However, there is no real harm in trying to reduce the milk in your diet and observing whether your baby seems more comfortable. If this does seem to help your son, make sure that you increase your intake of other calcium-rich foods (cheese, yogurt, tofu, calcium-fortified orange juice, etc.) or take calcium supplements (preferably calcium carbonate).  You might also try to putting yogurt on your cereal instead of milk.  Yogurt is less gas forming in the mother than milk, since the lactose in yogurt is already partially digested. Mothers sometimes claim that this makes a difference in their baby's behavior, although there is no scientific evidence to back this up.  Don't give up your orange juice intake.  This should have no effect on your baby. You might try a different cereal and a stool softener, however, and you should drink plenty of water.




 

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