What Are The Main Food "Offenders" in Breastmilk That Cause Gas in Baby?

[beansavi]

Even though this is my third, I just can't remember the main ones...my newest babe is seeming kind of gassy and he poops all day long like 6 to 8 times a day --and a couple times at night--my others never did that. Is this normal?

[jeanine123]

Could be normal for him. I know my son would have days when he'd poop tons and others were it wasn't quite so much when he was little. Here's a link to what may be the cause of gas in babies. Have you heard of infant massage? It really helped my son with his gas troubles.

Gassy baby

[TanyaS]

Babies younger than 4 months can be gassy by nature, no matter what you eat. Dairy is the most common culprit, followed by wheat and corn. It takes at least two weeks without dairy in your diet to see if it is the cause. Be careful...it's disguised in many processed foods.

Many babies benefit from getting more hindmilk from a feeding. I have no idea what your nursing pattern is, but if you can encourage baby to finish the first breast first or switch to one breast per feeding you might see improvement. One study showed 75% of babies were relieved of the discomfort when increasing the hindmilk for the baby.

[scatterbrainedmom]

cucumbers, broccoli. thats all i can think of off the top of my head. oh, caffienne too.

[quaz]

I know things that can cause potential issues (and we had issues with ALL of these)

dairy
cabbage family (broccoli, cauliflower)
chocolate
spicy
peanuts/nuts
soy
acidic foods (tomatos, oranges, etc)


I'm not sure if all these cause gas issues, but know these are some of the main food issue culprits. (I do know dairy, and cabbage family definitely 'can' cause gas)

Tammy

[Yulia_R]

Originally Posted by quaz

I know things that can cause potential issues (and we had issues with ALL of these)

dairy
cabbage family (broccoli, cauliflower)
chocolate
spicy
peanuts/nuts
soy
acidic foods (tomatos, oranges, etc)

: for my baby it was
#1 milk and soy

Look for any presence of dairy or soy in other products, as this where moms often get into troubles (try to eat home-made food, so you know for sure the ingredients). Some spicies may cause problems too.

[Lil'M]

I was told by an LC that prenatal vitamins can cause problems sometimes.

[beansavi]

Thanks, everybody. I have definitely been craving organic, whole milk and drink two or more glasses a day lately.

I think what my body is really craving is more protein, so I'll try and get more of that from whole foods to see if that cuts back my milk craving.

I just feel hungry all the time lately, and produce tons of breastmilk. Even though my four week old is already 14 pounds, I have enough milk right now to nurse two of him...

I know that is actually a blessing, but I am grazing all day long lately and feel like I am "missing" some unidentified food/vitamin/mineral that I can't put my finger on.

Thanks for your help,

[Yulia_R]

Originally Posted by beansavi

Thanks, everybody. I have definitely been craving organic, whole milk and drink two or more glasses a day lately.

I think what my body is really craving is more protein, so I'll try and get more of that from whole foods to see if that cuts back my milk craving.

I just feel hungry all the time lately, and produce tons of breastmilk. Even though my four week old is already 14 pounds, I have enough milk right now to nurse two of him...

I know that is actually a blessing, but I am grazing all day long lately and feel like I am "missing" some unidentified food/vitamin/mineral that I can't put my finger on.

Thanks for your help,

Keep in mind that it's not just milk, it's all dairy. And also that it takes about 3 weeks for the body to clear up from the dairy once you quit eating/drinking it.

I also had TONS of milk. I thought I could exclusively bf at least 3-4 babies ! It was hard! My boobs were ready to blow up 24/7 for at least 4 months. My baby was constantly chocking. I was advised to express some milk before bfing my baby, so he wouldn't chock, but this was such a bad advice at least for my body; it freaked out completely, probably thinking that the baby began suddenly consuming that much more milk and my body started producing few TONS more milk then before. It was NASTY ...Then it got better… and better .
Good luck !

[LadyMarmalade]

Cabbage was the worst offender for me. Tomatoes, garlic and onion in the first couple of weeks as well. LOL I was so relieved that one didn't last long - I would have starved! The thought of going without 3 of my favourites for more than a few weeks was heartbreaking!

[ryleeee]

dairy for sure.
brocolli, onions, garlic, fast food

[MuesliMama]

Definitely noticed a reaction in DD to raw onions! I've been told by experienced bfers and my lc also to stay away from garlic, beans, lentils, peas, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and stonefruit. Don't know if there's any scientific evidence to support this, but it seems there's plenty of anecdotal evidence.

By the way, try avocados to satisfy your hunger when you're eliminating dairy!

[wendy1221]

Read my sig and you'll find most of the top offenders. Brocolli, cabbage, beans, etc, are an old wive's tale. They cause gas when you eat them directly b/c of the undigested fiber. Fiber definitely does not make it into your milk. Proteins do. The top 8 food protein offenders are milk, soy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, fish, and shellfish. But milk is #1 by a huge huge lead, so that's the place to start. followed by soy and eggs.

to the pp, there was actually a study that showed that most babies PREFERRED milk that tasted like onions and garlic. My ds1 was an exception, he's always hated onions, but it's true.

[quaz]

" Brocolli, cabbage, beans, etc, are an old wive's tale."

???

I don't know that it's completely an old wive's tale... they might not cause gas, but may cause other issues for the child.

I found I couldn't eat anything from the cabbage family. Broccoli was the one thing that my sis could not eat. When she forgot her dd was up screaming at night. Caused some issue...


And yah... dairy is in everything, and takes a while to get out of your system (3weeks)... milk, cheese, butter, ice cream....and tons of food. Just looking for milk in the ingredients of items doesn't catch all dairy either.

Tammy

[beansavi]

Originally Posted by MuesliMama

By the way, try avocados to satisfy your hunger when you're eliminating dairy!

Yes! After I posted I ate two whole avocados sprinkled with sea salt-and that was a great answer to m persistent hunger/cravings while nursing this baby-who at 4 weeks now weighs 14 pounds on pure breast milk!

[beansavi]

Originally Posted by Yulia_R

Keep in mind that it's not just milk, it's all dairy. And also that it takes about 3 weeks for the body to clear up from the dairy once you quit eating/drinking it.

I also had TONS of milk. I thought I could exclusively bf at least 3-4 babies ! It was hard! My boobs were ready to blow up 24/7 for at least 4 months. My baby was constantly chocking. I was advised to express some milk before bfing my baby, so he wouldn't chock, but this was such a bad advice at least for my body; it freaked out completely, probably thinking that the baby began suddenly consuming that much more milk and my body started producing few TONS more milk then before. It was NASTY ...Then it got better… and better .
Good luck !

Thanks, Yulia! Me (and my boobs) are hanging in there!