Kefir and Breastfeeding - a few questions.

[MomTo3Blessings]

I have been reading for hours tonight : and it has only added to my concerns for my sons and dh and my health as well.

So I want to try kefir instead of taking expensive probiotics. I am going to try water kefir first.

I read a recommendation on here to do a colon cleanse first. But I cant do that when nursing right? is there a safe way to do it without hurting her (she is 6 mos)? I have been chronically constipated since I had her : and Im worried what may happen if I start the kefir without a cleanse?

Has anyone started on kefir while nursing? I have a feeling I have major issues so Im a little concerned what will be leaked to her. I plan to go really, really slowly.

For dh can anyone point me towards an inexpensive, natural cleanse for him to start with?

I already drink a ton of water but I dont eat grains that are soaked yet. I can hardly keep all our clothes and dishes clean right now as I adjust to having three!

TIA!

[Leilalu]

Boy, BTDT I can finally do a "real", bonefide, full cleanse soon now that ds is weaning himself. But I would never attempt one while nursing full time.

I think kefir is actually a rather gentle way of cleansing. It wil also protect you, and babe against thrush and illness. It should be okay to start drinking it to taste adn as much as you want. And you won't be able to drink too much anyway as you have to wait for it to brew between batches I personally prefer milk kefir, and I make kombucha (pretty much killed my water kefir as I had too many things brewing at once!)

I love the ZAND quick cleanse. I bought mine(2 times I have bought it) at Whole Foods on sale for around $25 I think. It's a big silver and blue box. It may have been $20 on sale, can't remember-it's been a long time.

HTH!

Don't beat yourself up about all this new info you are getting I know it can be overwhelming, but you will quickly settle into a new routine. And knowledge is power!

AND, brewing kefir helped me keep my kitchen cleaner-mostly. Because you have to brew it in a clean, prefferably sterilized container. So It helped me to be more aware of different kinds of bacteria.

Originally Posted by MomTo3Blessings

I have been reading for hours tonight : and it has only added to my concerns for my sons and dh and my health as well.

So I want to try kefir instead of taking expensive probiotics. I am going to try water kefir first.

I read a recommendation on here to do a colon cleanse first. But I cant do that when nursing right? is there a safe way to do it without hurting her (she is 6 mos)? I have been chronically constipated since I had her : and Im worried what may happen if I start the kefir without a cleanse?

Has anyone started on kefir while nursing? I have a feeling I have major issues so Im a little concerned what will be leaked to her. I plan to go really, really slowly.

For dh can anyone point me towards an inexpensive, natural cleanse for him to start with?

I already drink a ton of water but I dont eat grains that are soaked yet. I can hardly keep all our clothes and dishes clean right now as I adjust to having three!

TIA!

[cottontail]

I drink water kefir and I am nursing. As far as a leaky gut, she has a dairy sensitivity, so ???

When we started on the kefir, I had two batches going and was drinking about a quart a day. I have noticed no problems or adverse reactions in DD. I have been drinking kombucha for a few months and kefir for about a month. The only thing I am curious about is the smell of her poop since I finally was able to drink a batch of home brewed kombucha recently. Now it smells really wangy. But, she's still happy as a lark so I think it will subside.

And keeping the kitchen cleaner is an added benefit here, too . Especially since I am doing the kombucha and the kefir. The only thing though, I swore I read somewhere not to wash the kefir vessel because it has tiny crystals on the inside of the jar. I've just been switching out the vessel weekly. Hmmm.

It's alot of fun. Some batches are yummier than others based on what's in it. So every couple of days I have a surprise waiting for me!

[soliloquy72]

I drink kefir daily and I'm nursing two kids--no problems at all. I did not do a colon cleanse--I didn't find it to be necessary.

Also, to offer a different opinion, you don't need to sterilize anything to brew kefir. In fact, Dom, the "Kefir Papa," only cleans his jars weekly. It's known as "continuous fermentation" to leave some of the old batch when starting the new. I wash my jars about every 3rd day.

Here's two sites w/ info for when your head stops spinning.
http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/Mak...thod_for_kefir
http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/kef...ift-from-allah

Dom also has a yahoo! group to answer more questions you may have. He's super nice and and it's a friendly group.

HTH

[MomTo3Blessings]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experience and advice! Thank you for those links - I will read them tonight.

My son is having allergy testing done early Feb. So Im starting on water kefir instead of milk since I dont know whats causing his excema from the waist down

I do want to try milk kefir next though. And kombucha. How do you start this? does it use grains as well? I looked through one site but couldnt figure it out. We all love tea so Im guessing we'd like it?

Im so excited to find something that may really help all of us. I had thrush with ds#2 following a few months on antibiotics due to kidney stones : Now dd and I have mild thrush and I know its just living inside o fme and now Im so sad Ive passed it to her.

Both my sons have dark circles under their eyes and I read last night that can be from yeast/fungus as well as leaking gut. I feel so bad

thanks for the help!