Help - I'm a skeleton!

[FlipMom23]

I'm really stressing over whether or not to wean my dd at one year. I know all the benefis of extended breastfeeding and I was really hoping to make it two years like I did with my son, but I just don't know if I'll make it.

The problem is that I'm 5'6" and 102 lbs and I'm STILL losing. Normal for me is around 120-125. My clothes won't stay on and I feel weak and sickly. I know it's from bf'ing because I got this way with my son too, although my thinnest with him was 108. As soon as he started weaning around 2 I slowly started gaining back.

Part of the problem is that my dd is dairy, peanut, and egg intolerant (through my milk), so I can't eat any of the good stuff.

So I guess my question is, how do I decide what's more important - my health, or dd's? Is there something super high fat I can easily eat (no time for complex meals!) to put on some lbs?

Please help!

[pbjmama]

You can eat avocados and dress everything in evoo. Have you had your thyroid tested?

[PatioGardener]

This may not be applicable, but have you had your thyroid checked? After pregnancy women are more likely to have hyperthyroid issues, which can make it really hard to keep any weight on.

As far as nutrient/fat dense foods, do you like avocado? That's great. Also there are some yummy oils that can be easily added to foods - names escape me right now (pregnancy brain). Hopefully someone else can join in.

[Megan73]

How about toast slathered with another nut butter and honey, pasta with olive oil and herbs, hummus made with lots of tahini, dried fruit, canned salmon with all the skin if you're not a vegetarian?. Real granola with oil, honey or maple syrup and dried fruit and nuts has tons of calories and is super easy to make.
And congratulations, Patio

[FlipMom23]

Those are some great suggestions, thanks a ton!

I haven't had my thyroid tested lately (no health insurance), but I did when I was losing while bf'ing my son and it was fine. So I would think it'd be ok now, too.

[MaryMarg]

I am sorry that you have such a decision to make and commiserate with you. At 5'9 and 106 lb., I, too, am at my lowest weight and nursing 14mo DS. I lost weight rapidly while breastfeeding DD 4 years ago and never gained back to pre-preg weight, so I understand your thoughts completely. DS does not have allergies, though, so your situation is especially hard. Healthy fats might help, like olive oil, canola oil, and avocado. If you try simply adding oils to your food, remember they can become rancid quickly and should be kept in the fridge. Quinoa is a source of good protein with some fat and wheat germ also is a fair fat source. If other nut butters don't cause allergy problems, this may be the biggest help. Tahini and almond butter are great choices. Other nuts and seeds (pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds) may also help as tolerated. Are goat's milk products tolerated (cheese and milk)? For me, eating frequently is a must, as often as every 2 hours or I too feel "weak." I encourage you whatever your decision to feel positive that you have done such a wonderful thing for your child for the last year! Best wishes!

[bean-e]

You might want to try going over to the allergy forum to ask for suggestions. Those mamas over there have lots of good advice because many of them have had to eliminated lots of foods due to the LOs allergies.

[4Blessings]

I extended bf a toddler with allergies to milk, egg, peanut and treenuts.

I was a good 50 lbs overweight at the time Sub soy or rice milk for dairy. Eat Soybutter or Sunbutter in place of peanuts. Use ground flax seed or applesauce to replace eggs in recipes.

Don't let your child's intolerances keep you from breastfeeding or keep you from being healthy! It can be done s

[blessedwithboys]

garden of life raw meal replacement in the blender with juice or milk alternative and a big dollop of coconut oil and some raw honey, sugar, maple syrup, etc.

[briome]

A friend also loses weight when she cuts out diary. She had to while nursing both her kids because they are allergic to dairy. She does start losing weight untill she eats her nursing diet that includes some bacon (quality bacon!) and lots of other good fats. I think she has to eat MORE then she would normally too.

It CAN be done, but takes some fat eating dedication! Good luck with that!

I don't lose weight while nursing *sigh*

[CoBabyMaker]

DD has a laundry list of allergies too, I feel ya! It sounds like madness but I just ate all the time and eat as much fat as you want, maybe more. I love avocado and when we were figuring things out I would eat an entire avocado almost everyday. Put EVOO on EVERYTHING. Bake with palm shortening (spectrum organics) or coconut oil. I love coconut milk too, lots of fat. You can make ice cream from it or buy coconut ice cream. Use it in smoothies, as your liquid in pancakes, wherever you can put it! You can make a dairy-free "mac-n-cheese" with hemp milk, too(I am trying to find the link but having a hard time tracking it down). Hemp milk has a decent amount of fat.
Here are a few of my favorite dairy-free things(some might have your other allergens, sorry, ours are different): BLOG

[Blueone]

Try making smoothies with the rich canned coconut milk. Can you do alternative milks like Almond Milk? The Vanilla flavor has more calories than plain. Do you eat meat? You could try making fish with really good sauces. Like others have said avocado and olive oil too.

Otherwise, do get your thyroid tested. Pregnancy can cause problems with it and make it hypo or hyper.

[To-Fu]

Coconut milk/oil is great! It helped my friend who was struggling like you. EVOO is amazing, too, and so are avocados.

[lunarlady]

I lost weight when nursing DD too. I got crazy skinny and didn't feel very healthy. We started her on solids at 1 year, and that helped the strain on my body, but I still had trouble. What I found helped quite a bit was making sure to take plenty of vitamins and supplements, and to eat regularly. This meant a lot of snacks since I'm a working mom. I eat quite a bit of granola and protein bars, dried fruit, nuts, fresh fruit, and whole milk. With your child's allergies, it gets a bit harder, but just try to think of ways to sneak calories into your food. This is the one time in your life you HAVE to indulge! So supersize that soy latte, get that sandwhich with mayo, chow down on the fries, and remember that you need calories! Obviously it is best to make healthy choices, but you also need to make sure you are eating enough to take care of yourself.

[FlipMom23]

Thanks so much for all the tips! I went to Super Target and stocked up on all sorts of healthy fattening stuff mentioned above. I also found some Sunflower seed butter - had no idea they made such stuff! I've been eating about 3000 calories a day and have actually put on about 5 lbs in the past few days. Yay me!

Thanks again for all the advice, and baby Emily thanks you too.

[Megan73]

Awesome

[Abismommy]

Oh goodness! I sympathize! I am 5ft 1in and I also lose lose lose while nursing! I am only 92 lbs
Anyways lots of pasta, EVOO, peanut or almond butter, bacon, sausage, avocados, ham, buffalo meat ( it has higher iron and less saturated fats ), and most people thinks this sounds disgusting...pop corn popped in bacon grease. No it's not as unhealthy as it sounds, you can actually google some things about it! Apparently it's high in Vit D! Your iron could be low too, mine was/is now I take Floradix Herbal Iron...it is AMAZING! You can get a vegan version of this. I always eat high quality meats, I always get mine from Whole Foods or Fresh Market. They have a great selection Oh when I make pasta, I always add EVOO and garlic to my plain noodles then add the sauce. I also make sure I keep up on my calcium my eating lots and lots of leafy greens. I had actually thought of weaning a few weeks ago, my body was becoming SO weak! I still kind of am actually. I just did a MAJOR diet change.

[kittywitty]

After I had #3 this is how I was, too. I could not keep up my weight or stop losing. I have a hearty appetite anyways, but being dairy free and vegetarian really took it's toll on my body. I like the recommendations above. FWIW, my weight started evening out and I got to about...115 at 5'5" when she was 2 years old. It just took awhile.

[leigh09]

Can I donate my extra pounds to you ladies and that would solve all our problems????

[JHopesMomma]

Originally Posted by kittywitty

After I had #3 this is how I was, too. I could not keep up my weight or stop losing. I have a hearty appetite anyways, but being dairy free and vegetarian really took it's toll on my body. I like the recommendations above. FWIW, my weight started evening out and I got to about...115 at 5'5" when she was 2 years old. It just took awhile.

I had to cut out dairy for almost the whole first year, and I'm vegetarian too, so I lost about 30 lbs more than my pre-preg weight. I've stopped pumping at work though, and even though DD still nurses when she's with me I finally have started feeling like I can go more than an hour without eating! I gained back about 5 lbs, so I'm feeling a lot better and am not all bony anymore. A lot of the foods mentioned above are great suggestions!! Especially avacado .