Diary Free Breastfeeding Diet Ideas - For babies with sensitives tummies

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Let me just start off by saying I love cheese. I could live on cheese. But I'm nursing and my son's little belly just can't handle dairy. Around 2 months old, when we got his reflux under control we realized his stomach issues weren't over yet. That's when we realized that dairy seemed to be upsetting his stomach. He'd have out of control gas and he was in obvious pain.

The pediatrician recommended I cut out dairy from my diet since the most common food allergy in kids is to an antibody in cow's milk.  Diary can pass through breastmilk to babies. However, it's not really possible to 'pump and dump' because dairy can last in your system for up to two weeks. The suggested giving it two weeks and then have a 'big dairy day'-to see if that was the reason Blake was so fussy.

I gave up the dairy and was very strict about it at first - I saw a noticeable change in Blake after about a week. Then on that big dairy day he was back to Mr. Fussy Pants. So I'm back to my dairy free breastfeeding diet.

In the three months I've been dairy free I've found the hardest part is remembering to check labels.
When you have two kids you tend to just eat whatever is fast, convenient, and in front of you - thank you to all of those who've suggested I check and make vegan recipes, but honestly that's just not practical when I'm trying to get lunch on the table between preschool and naptime.) But if I can't eat cheese, yogurt (my go-to breakfast), pizza (my go-to dinner), put milk in my tea (my go to morning drink), cream cheese..yada yada yada..what do I eat?

Ending the Dream Feed - An Update on my success (and stress)

Just wanted to let you know that I have updated the post on ending the dream feed. We are officially done. It was painless (well for him)...not for my boobs.

Anyway - here's the update and my main takeaways for knowing when a baby is ready to end the dream feed.

How to stop the Dream Feed...ouch

So I've decided it's about time to stop the dream feed. If you're not familiar with the dream feed it's the 10 or 11pm feed (either bottle or breastfeeding) that some people offer their babies to help them sleep through the night.

But how do you know when it's time to eliminate the dream feed and exactly how do you stop the dream feed when you decide it is time to phase it out? I couldn't remember when my daughter stopped the dream feed so I checked the trusty blog and it turns out she was about 5 months....which is about the same age my son is now.

But how exactly do I go from giving him a 5 or 6 ounce bottle or nursing on both sides to nothing and expect him to sleep 3 more hours? Here's the thing I nurse him at 7pm and then usually the dream feed at 10...then he doesn't get up again until 7am to eat. So as you can see cutting out the dream feed is expecting him to sleep 3 additional hours without eating. But I think he's ready because he's been eating solids for a good solid two weeks and he's getting plenty of calories during the day.

The last thing I wanted was for him to wake up at 3 or 4am hungry and demanding to be fed b/c that would likely start his middle of the night wakings again. So instead of stopping the dream feed cold turkey I decided I'd gradually wean him. Instead of nursing him on both sides at 10pm last night - I just nursed him on one side. I picked the left side where I always get less milk when I pump.

Bye Bye Breastfeeding: Completely Weaning (Pt 2)

It's been 36 hours since I last pumped and 48 hours since I last breastfed my daughter. Sounds like I'm in an AA meeting, doesn't it? But no...I've just weaned my daughter after a year of nursing.

As I blogged about last week, weaning from 4 to 2 nursings a day wasn't as difficult as I thought. But as I also wrote, and expected, dropping the last two (morning and night) was definitely more of a challenge. But as they say: the deed is done.


Before I continue...for all those breastfeeding moms who are deadset against weaning until their child does it on their own (hello, 8 year old!), please don't bombard me with your hate mail. I am, by no means advocating for early weaning. I am simply trying to help mothers who are already planning on weaning their breastfed children, by sharing my own experiences...all of which were a combination of trial and error and pediatrician recommendations.

Since I've already written, in detail, about my experience getting down to these two last feedings, I won't repeat all that. If you'd like help on starting the weaning process by cutting all feedings except for the morning and bedtime, I suggest you read the post on "Bye Bye Breastfeeding Pt. 1" before continuing further.

So to pick up from where I left off...about a week ago I was only nursing my daughter in the morning and in the evening. I decided, since she seemed slightly more attached to the bedtime nursing I would leave that as the last to cut out completely. Before I can explain who I cut out the morning I need to explain our normal morning routine.

Olivia would wake up around 6am. I would go into her room and nurse her immediately in the rocking chair in her room. I would then bring her into our bedroom and let her play on the "big bed" while my husband got ready for work. Around 7 we'd all go downstairs and within a half an hour I would start her on breakfast. I would then put her down for her first nap around 9:15 or 9:30. When she woke up from the first nap (around 11) I would give her a snack and then feed her lunch around 12 or 12:30.

I knew that cutting out the morning breastfeeding session would mean that I would have to give her breakfast pretty much as soon as she woke up. But my husband brought up the point that we should probably change things significantly enough that she realized things were now going to be different. The biggest thing we did, is had my husband get her out of her crib in the morning. Instead of bringing her into our bed to play, we went downstairs. My husband would occupy her for a few minutes until I could get breakfast ready...usually fruit and a waffle, pancakes, or toast and a sippy cup of whole milk. (I tried to include something kind of dry so she would be more likely to drink the milk. But remember, by this point she was already a fan of milk, which made it easier.) Around the same time, she's also been slowly extending her morning wake time. Because she eats so early now, she needs a snack (usually some yogurt and apple sauce or half a banana) before her morning nap. This actually works out well because it's allowing me to slowly push her nap back closer to 10am. By the time she wakes up around 11:30 we play for a little while and then I feed her lunch around noon. I give an afternoon snack before the second nap which holds her over until dinner. I followed this routine for about three days before weaning from the last and final feeding.

Actually, the opportunity kind of feel in my lap. My husband and I were going out to dinner and my neighbor, girlfriend, and the mother of my daughter's same-age playmate babysat for us. (We do a baby swap so we can all have a couple's date every few weeks.) Anyway, I knew that when offered a bottle or sippy cup, before bed, my daughter usually refused it...but still went to bed fine and slept through the night. So, I told my girlfriend to offer her expressed milk in a sippy cup and/or a bottle. Olivia refused both, as I thought, but went right off to sleep. That was my opening (and it's now your excuse for a night out sans the baby!). I told my husband while at dinner, that if she didn't take the bottle/sippy cup that would be the end of breastfeeding. Even though she went to sleep without the milk, I wasn't sure how well she'd take it when I was there...ya know, boobs bulging with 24+ hours worth of milk. So tonight was our big night. Instead of nursing my daughter, I used that same time to read her a few books and snuggle in the chair where I normally breastfeed her. My husband and I laid her down did the normal routine and left. She didn't like that too much. In fact, she cried for about 10 minutes. I thought she might need a little extra snuggling tonight, it was her first night of non-nursing. So I rocked her and rubbed her sweet little face for a few minutes. I laid her down, awake and she drifted off to sleep.

It was tough not to nurse her...that precious little baby doing the baby sign for milk, not to mention I forgot what engorgement felt like...but we're done. With each day it will get easier for both of us. While I already miss the closeness and the special breastfeeding bond we shared, I think we're both ready. For us...it's time.


Recommended Links

Weaning 101: Tips for Breastfeeding Moms
More Breastfeeding Resources

And just to leave you on a high note...that's my girl (and the son of my wonderful friend, Christie!)

Bye-Bye Breastfeeding: My Weaning Experience (pt 1)

From what I've found there's no exact science to weaning. You basically slowly cut back on breastfeeding sessions one at a time and replace each with whole milk, formula, a sippy cup, a bottle - or a combination of them depending on when you wean a baby. I have been breastfeeding my daughter from day 7 (more on that later) until now, just shy of a year. Our breastfeeding journey has been a wonderful one, although I have to admit it's a miracle it's lasted this long. It's been filled with nipple shields, finger feeds, 24 hour a day pumpings, a brief return to overnight work, a week apart (with 100+ ounces of milk pumped and dumped), a nursing strike and a few bites. But as my milk supply slowly dwindles, due in part to my daughter's increasing appetite for solid foods, I'm slowly weaning her from breastmilk directly to whole milk in a cup. Am I doing it the "right" way? I don't know. Am I doing it the way it works for us? Yes!


Why am I getting teary-eyed writing this? To be completely honest I was never emotional about breastfeeding. Sure, I loved the bond that my daughter and I shared. She needed me to survive, even more so than a child who gets a bottle. She needed me. I was happy to provide a boob and a meal, but now the time has come. My husband might tell you it's been too long. About six months ago he was afraid my daughter would soon look up while nursing and say, "I'm done." That's when I reminded him that he was breastfed for a full year and when I added...some moms breastfeed their children far longer...like 8 years!

When I started I was nursing Olivia about 8-12 times a day, every 2 to 3 hours. It took forever...nearly 45 minutes per meal. It felt like as soon as she was done nursing she was ready to start again. But for the last two or three months it's been down to four times a day and now the last week or so I've cut out all breastfeeding except the morning and bedtime feeding. I'll need to back up a bit to explain exactly how I got from 12 to 2...so bear with me.

When I envisioned breastfeeding my daughter I imagined it would start a few minutes after she was born, in my hospital bed. Everyone kept telling me the sucking reflex is natural and is strongest in the first 20 minutes after birth. Well, for me and her it wasn't so smooth. Not only did she not nurse right away, it wasn't until about 3 hours later that we even tried..and we weren't in the delivery room anymore, we were in my post-partum room. The first few attempts didn't go so well. So much so that the nurses insisted we supplement with formula. I pumped and got a small amount of milk which the nurses then saved so we could finger feed. That was only supposed to last while we were in the hospital, but as you can see in the picture, that's my husband feeding my daughter expressed milk with a syringe and feeding tube...10 cc's at a time.

I tried constantly, but for nearly two weeks she couldn't or wouldn't latch on. Finally, frustrated and about to give up on nursing altogether I called a lactation specialist at the hospital where I delivered and she recommended a nipple shield. It's a silicone cover that goes over your nipple making it somehow easier for the baby to latch on. It worked instantly and from there our breastfeeding journey began.

At two months and after constantly being told by the pediatrician that my daughter had an enormous amount of gas and her stomach was always bloated, I put two and two together. I did a little investigating and realized that perhaps she was getting too much air while she was nursing because of the nipple shield. I took the shield off while nursing and she latched right on. At this point I was still nursing her at least once or twice through the night. That continued until she was about 4 months old when she started sleeping through the night. I did continue to give her a "dream feed" or an 10pm feeding which carried her through 6am. I knew she was ready to stop that feeding around 5 months when she stopped sleeping through it and started waking up and resisting it. I stopped offering it, but she still slept through the night. Around the same time we cut back on a few daytime nursings as well when she started solid foods. This was a complicated time for me. I wasn't sure exactly how to merge breastfeeding and solid foods. Doctors will tell you different things: nurse before the meal so the child gets the breastmilk, or nurse after the meal so the child gets used to eating and doesn't fill up on breastmilk. I tried several different methods and eventually found what worked for us. As the solids started to more closely resemble meals here's how I integrated both breastfeeding and solids: breakfast, lunch and dinner the nursing took on a different role.

Breastfeed at 6am when she woke up
Breakfast at 8am
Breastfeed after the first nap (10:30 or 11)
Lunch at 12:30 or 1pm
Breastfeed after the second nap (3:30 or 4)
Dinner at 5:30
Nurse at 7pm before bed.

This was our routine from about 7.5 months until 11.5 months. Around 11 months I started to sense that Olivia was getting hungrier earlier and earlier after nursing. She could no longer make it until 1pm for lunch or 5:30 until dinner. I was starting to feed her lunch closer to 12:30 or even noon and dinner around 5pm. I believe two factors played into this: she's more active so she's burning more calories and requiring more food and she's not nursing as long because of both the solids and a lack of interest in sitting still long enough to wait for a second letdown.

That brings us to now, when I decided to make a conscious effort to wean her. Here's how I'm starting to cut out the last four feedings. About a week ago (11.25 months) I replaced the post-nap 1 breastfeeding with a small, healthy snack such as half a banana or crackers with cream cheese AND a sippy cup of whole milk. (Introducing milk deserves it's own post, but I will say my trick was to offer it when she had something dry to eat so she wouldn't refuse it, which she did at first. You can also mix it with expressed breastmilk if you have any, I did not.) I then pushed lunch up to 12pm. (If she got up from her first nap close to noon I would feed her lunch and then offer the same type of snack as mentioned around 2pm, before her second nap). I did the same thing in the afternoon, offering a sippy cup and small snack to replace the post-#2 nap breastfeeding. At times I was so tempted to lift my first and offer her what she really wanted...afterall, how can you refuse a little baby pointing at your breast and giving you the baby sign language sign for milk (especially after working so hard to get her to use the sign)??? It was difficult, but after a few days she started to really accept cow's milk.

Now we're down to breastfeeding twice a day and I'm still torn on which I'm going to let go of first. The morning seems the most logical, but I think that's one the she's most attached to. There are nights she goes to sleep without having the breast or bottle first, so that seems the easiest to give up next. I guess we'll see what works for both of us. Until then...I'll continue to update you on our weaning breastfeeding journey.

As promised, here's your update (8/10/09) with more on how I've successfully completely weaned my daughter after a year of nursing.

More Breastfeeding Resources

Increasing Breastmilk Supply

Tips for Breastfeeding Moms When Returning to Work

Breastfeeding & A Baby-Free Vacation

Donate Unused & Sample Formulas

TSA Rules for Traveling with Breastmilk (with and without baby)

Pumping & Dumping

Nursing Strike??? My Baby Won't Breastfeed

The Real Smart Pill: Breastmilk

Why Milk Products, But No Milk?

There Really is a Smart Pill (Okay, It's a Drink)

OMG!!! I just realized my daughter is 10 months old today. Where has the time gone? Wow!

She's become so curious about the world. I think it's so cute. But I'm wondering if her curiosity is getting in the way of mealtime. Olivia doesn't seem to be too interested in breastfeeding anymore. The last month or two she's refused to nurse before bed. I'm afraid if she doesn't take it she won't make it through the night. I've been giving her a small bottle (3 oz) sometimes she finishes it, sometimes she doesn't. So other than that she's down to three nursings throughout the day. Most of her calories now are coming from solid food. It's a little stressful for me since I KNOW it's important for her to get either breast milk or formula until she hits the one year mark.

This morning I got a little extra incentive to stick with the breastfeeding through the first year (my goal all along). I stumbled upon this article which links breastfeeding to a higher gpa and a greater chance that she'll go to college. What will they think to study next??? Anyway, I thought you'd be interested.

Recommended Reading:
Breastfeeding Linked to Higher GPA, Higher Education

General Breastfeeding Help

Increasing Breastmilk Supply

Why Milk Products, But No Milk?

Why Milk Products, But No Milk?

If you have a baby under one year, it's pretty common knowledge that milk is one of those off limit foods. It's in the same category as most berries, nuts, honey and egg whites. Why then, can babies eat cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, and in my daughter's case...ice cream? Hey, I wanted to celebrate her first tooth as a sweet tooth. But I digress...


Back to the milk issue. From everything I've read there are several reasons why babies can have cow's milk products but not cow's milk. For one, the lactose is taken out of milk products as they are made into other products. (Forgive me, I don't know all the technical terms.) Milk, on the other hand, obviously still has the lactose in it. Lactose can be tough on little bellies to digest and therefore it's recommended babies under one year of age avoid cow's milk.

The other major reason to steer clear of cow's milk is so it doesn't replace breastmilk or formula. Breastmilk is widely considered the top nutritional choice, but formula also has the right nutrients in it. Cow's milk is for...well, the cows. It can't properly support the fast rate of growth and development in human babies. The fear is that if a child is given cow's milk before a year, it will replace the necessary breastmilk and/or formula.

Recommended Reading:

Baby's First Solids: How to Introduce Cereal

Time & Money Saving Baby Food Tips: From My Kitchen to Yours

Homemade vs Jarred Baby Food

General Breastfeeding Help

Increasing Breastmilk Supply

Nursing Strike???

I think I spoke too soon when I expressed (no pun intended) my excitement over my daughter picking up breastfeeding where she left off, after a week apart. She seems to be in a bit of a nursing strike right now. It's going to take all I have to continue nursing her and I sure hope I can get to the year mark.



In just two days my little Olivia will be nine months old. With more than eight months of breastfeeding, two weeks of finger feeding (oh that was fun), two months with a nipple shield, and a week of exclusive pumping behind us, I hate to see it end like this. I'm hoping she's just on a nursing strike...dare I say "teething?" I feel like teeth are the answer to everything these days. She's cranky - teething. She's waking up at night - teething. She won't nurse - teething. She prefers dog toys, to her own - teething. You get the point. (By the way, she is still all gums!)

I've been doing a lot of reading on this and it seems that around this age many nursing strikes are blamed on teething...but I'm not sure if that's my little girl's problem or not. Here's how it started: for about two months now (since she started 3 solid meals a day) she's only been nursing 4 times a day, typically 6:30 am, 11 am, 3-3:30pm, 7pm. I would also pump at 10pm just to get a little extra milk in the freezer. Then about two weeks ago she all the sudden refused to nurse at 7pm. I thought it was possibly because she had just eaten dinner around 5:30 and perhaps she wasn't hungry. I pumped and offered her that milk and she took it right away. For a week this went on; all the while she was nursing fine the other three times during the day. Then I went away for a week without her and her grandparents gave her bottles of breastmilk the entire week. I returned and she went back to her old routine, still refusing the 7pm nursing. Then I figured out every time I nurse her during the day, with the exception of the last feeding, it's immediately after she wakes up. That's when I realized she's probably tired at the end of the day and she doesn't feel like working for the milk. So last night I decided, I'm not going to force her to eat. The last thing I want is to force-feed my daughter. I skipped it altogether and didn't even offer her a bottle. She slept until 6am. At that time she woke up, nursed like a mad woman and then went back to sleep until 8:40!!!! I then tried to get back into our routine of nursing at 11 and 3 but she refused both times. I should point out that since she slept so late this morning her schedule was thrown off and 11 and 3 are usually when she wakes up from naps, but today it was when she was about to go down for her naps.

I realize this all sound very confusing, but it is a confusing matter. While I like breastfeeding and want my daughter to have the benefits of breastmilk as long as she can, I am not so dedicated that I will exclusively pump and give her expressed breastmilk for the long term. For me, breastfeeding has a convenience factor along with all the other benefits.

So is this a nursing strike or is this a sleepy baby? Is this a baby who's eating too much solids or a baby who is just too curious about the world to spend 10 minutes breastfeeding?

I guess I'll just chalk it up to...just another challenge of newmamahood. And in the meantime, I'll ask the pediatrician what he thinks when we go for our 5th visit in 3 weeks tomorrow.

Recommended Reading:

Increasing Breastmilk Supply

Tips for Breastfeeding Moms When Returning to Work

Breastfeeding & A Baby-Free Vacation

Donate Unused & Sample Formulas

TSA Rules for Traveling with Breastmilk (with and without baby)

Pumping & Dumping

TSA Rules for Traveling with Breastmilk

I swear I think I'm the first mom on earth to leave her 8 month old for a whole week. Okay, maybe not...but I maybe the craziest for doing it while I'm still breastfeeding. (On top of that worry, now I'm trying to figure out how to avoid swine flu while traveling.) As you know the TSA has restrictions on what you can take as a carry-on when you fly. I had a few unanswered questions even after reading TSA's policy's. I contacted the agency by email to clear a few things up and I thought I'd pass the information along to you.


My main questions were: Can the breastmilk be frozen and how much can I bring? (The TSA restrictions just say "reasonable"...well, to who??) Reasonable to me would be to bring the week's-worth of liquid gold back home for my daughter, but somehow I don't think that's included in their definition.

Anyway, here's their response:

"Thank you for your e-mail regarding the permitted amounts of breast milk and other liquid items necessary during travel for infants and young children.

Passengers flying with or without an infant or young child may bring more than 3.4 ounces of breast milk (in a liquid or frozen state) into the security checkpoint. The breast milk must be declared to the Transportation Security Officer (TSO) prior to entering the screening checkpoint and be separated from other liquids, gels, and aerosols.

Although TSA does not specifically limit the amount of breast milk or other items a passenger may bring in their carry-on bags, TSA encourages travelers to be practical about these amounts. The amount should be reasonable and consistent with the traveler's itinerary. TSO's have discretion in determining whether the amount of breast milk and other items carried by an individual constitutes a "reasonable amount." All passengers are encouraged to ask to speak with a supervisor at the security checkpoint if they have any questions or concerns with these procedures.

Individuals are also allowed to bring more than 3.4 ounces of pre-mixed baby formula (in a liquid or frozen state), milk products, juice, gel or liquid-filled teethers, canned, jarred, or processed baby food into the screening checkpoint. These items must be declared to the TSO's prior to entering the screening checkpoint and be separated from other liquids, gels, and aerosols.

Please note, the recent modifications also allow bottled water that is presented as an infant/child or medical exemption is allowed into the secured area after it receives additional screening. Passengers traveling with bottled water necessary for medical reasons and/or intended for their child's use through the security checkpoint must:

declare it to the TSO prior to entering the screening checkpoint and prior to x-ray examination;
inform the TSO that the bottled water is necessary for medical reasons and/or intended for an infant or young child; and
open the bottle for additional screening, if required by a .
Frozen gels and liquids are permitted if required to cool medical and infant/child exemptions.
TSA recognizes that the information on our website is not all inclusive and that many passengers have additional concerns regarding traveling with items intended for use by infants and young children. Many of these concerns include how the current screening procedures accommodate the handling of essential food items passengers must carry onboard the plane for their children, such as breast milk, milk products, formula (to include related mixing products), baby food, and juice.

Breast milk and other liquids and gels intended for infants or young children are in the same category as medical liquid exemptions and are normally x-rayed. However, as a customer service, allows a passenger the option of a visual inspection of these items. A passenger must request a visual inspection before screening begins; otherwise, all of the items must undergo x-ray inspection and might be subject to additional screening. It is important to note that if breast milk or other items cannot be cleared visually, they must be submitted for x-ray screening. In addition to a visual inspection of the items, TSOs will test these items for explosives, including breast milk. Passengers may be required to open the containers but will never be asked to test or taste any of these items.

TSA continues to explore opportunities to further modify screening procedures to minimize the concerns of passengers without compromising aviation security. The most current processes in place for bringing breast milk and other food-related items intended for infants and young children safely through the security screening checkpoint can be found at www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/children/formula.shtm.

Passengers are also invited to contact their airline in advance to request any special accommodations for their flight. In addition, please visit our website regularly for updates to special screening procedures.

We hope this information is helpful."

Recommended Reading:

Preparing for a Baby-Free Vacation

Tips for Avoiding Swine Flu While Traveling

Breastfeeding Help

Breastfeeding & Weaning 101

How to Stop Breastfeeding and Wean to Milk

Increasing Breastmilk Supply

Tips for Breastfeeding Moms When Returning to Work

Breastfeeding & A Baby-Free Vacation

Donate Unused & Sample Formulas

TSA Rules for Traveling with Breastmilk (with and without baby)

Travel Tips for Breastfeeding Moms

Pumping & Dumping

Nursing Strike??? My Baby Won't Breastfeed

The Real Smart Pill: Breastmilk

Why Milk Products, But No Milk?