Switching to Raw While Breastfeeding

[gettingskinny]

herbalgirl and avyb...glad to see you're here! Thanks for speaking up!

momma-rawma...i think that is awesome that you are getting to the point of not needing meds anymore! keep up what you are doing. how wonderful!

[gettingskinny]

So, I've been all raw for 4 days. Well, the last 4 nights, my baby has stopped sleeping thru the night. She wants to suck all the time, like she's not satisfied. I pump my extra milk for a friend. My supply has gone down. Also, my milk is usually really creamy, but it's more watery now.

I know I can up my calories, but I don't want to eat more. Today I dont' even feel like eating at all. I think I need grains/beans/lentils. I know I can sprout these right? One way or another I need them.

I love eating all raw, but it's not just about me right now. I have a husband, 2 children and a nursing baby to think about.

[momma-rawma]

I am only 66%....when baby comes in bed with me at night--he nurses quite a bit all night long.

Could be just a growth spurt.

Yes you can sprout the items you mention (not that I have tried). I do cooked grains in the evening though. I spend the day eating like a rabbit.


Today though--I had brazil nuts. I don't think they agreed with me at all. BLECK!

[jules88]

I am bf my 7 month old almost exclusively. I say almost exclusively because last week or the week before he started to eat some raw fruit. I don't think it really filled his tummy, rather gave him something to do at the dinner table other than play with toys and intentionally drop them on the floor. I never thought out the whole toxin issue. I didn't eat very well the 1st trimester, and to be honest I was to tired and sick to eat much. What I did eat was whatever my husband picked up on his way home from work. As soon as my sickness was over, I immediately started to drink my green juice almost every morning. I could seriously feel the energy. I wasn't tired when I got up every morning and was very energetic until the very end of the day. I wasn't 100% raw, but I'd say after the 1st trimester I was 95%. I dropped to about 75% raw after his birth and have been fighting to go 100%. I know I can do it as I have before. That being said, I don't recall experiencing detox, unless you call being crabby detoxing, but that ended after the sugar craving went away after 3-5 days. Anyway, enough rambling on. I am going for it 100 %, I'm not going to worry about the toxins from detox. They can't be as bad as the toxins from eatting SAD!!! Right?

[4forme]

It's so great to see so many mommas giving thier babies great milk! I have been here for about 6 mo on and off. My dd is almost 14 mo and nurses about 5 times a day and 1-3 times a night. My diet is anywhere from 75% and upwards of raw.
Boy, I notice a difference in her attitude (and mine) when I am not eating optimally! It's amazing, and I thought surely, it's got to be coincidence! NOT. It has happened 3 times so far, not eating great for one reason or another. She ends up not going poo very well, and being very grumpy and clingy. She will also not nurse as much, I am noticing this time.
So, I feel more committed to doing this not just for me, but for her as well!

[momma-rawma]

I have noticed my baby pooing better as well. He is on solids--but it just got better after I improved my eating. :)

I will be pumping this weekend as I am in a marathon and have to leave a stash for daddy. I admit, I am curious if the tint of my milk will change. Way long ago, when I pumped for my oldest...you could see shades of orange from the carrots. I was eating carrots like crazy.

[4forme]

After a short period of eating quite poorly, my poor daughter is not "going", and needless to say, super cranky!
So, I went high raw again Yesterday and low and behold, tonight she "went" ALOT!
Why am I so thick headed sometimes, I do not know. But one thing I do know is RAW IS THE BEST!

[tumaro]

I had a baby on spetember 21st 2008. through my entire pregnancy and now I have been battling bulimia. in my 8th month of pregnancy I was able to stop purging and go raw, but with the stress of finding out my 2 1/2 year old has autism, some how out of no where after a month raw I was back to binging and purging. I was in therapy for a short while, but it didnt help whatsoever, and cost me a fortune. I can no longer afford therapy now even if I were to try again. my weight has dropped from 150 since the birth to 116 this morning. I have had such a hard time Bfeeding today because my milk supply was vannishing. I'm under so much stress trying to patient and yet control my 2 year old, on top of caring for my infant who absolutley refuses to take a bottle. and if I werent ashamed enough, I have actually been smoking a few cigarettes a day after feedings.
I realised today how awful things are because I got lost in my disorder. I'm absolutely done with the cigarettes and i'm ready to eat raw and good again. I cant be cured of bulimia but I can eat a lot of raw food and keep it down. I just want to give my baby nutritious milk again.

intake so far:
3 apples
1 heart of romaine

[Moretta]

Wishing you luck on your rawness journey.

[elfinbaby]

I can relate to some of your problems tumaro. I had baby #4 in late June and I have a dd w/Rett Syndrome, which is on the autism spectrum. Some believe it is the most severe form of autism. I have developed a very unhealthy relationship with food. I'm still working on it. I'm eating a lot of crap right now and wallowing in my unhappiness/bordering on depression. I'm simply overwhelmed by a number of things.

I posted a long time ago on this thread about my concern of toxins going through breastmilk when going 100% raw but I have changed my mind. I look at what I'm eating now and believe it's 10X better for me to go raw and have nutrients in my breastmilk than eat crap with no nutritional value and less detox. My problem is all or nothing. I'm either raw or totally eating crap. There's no mid ground for me.

I don't have time to prepare raw goodies right now so, recently, I just drank green smoothies and nutmilks for a few weeks. Neither the baby nor I had any problems. I need to do that again. The further I sink, the more junk I eat, the worse I feel. It's a terrible cycle. I've never had food issues like this in my life! But the things I'm dealing with in life have never been so difficult either. Maybe you could try the green smoothies and mylks. You'll actually get a great deal of nutrients from those drinks alone. Plus, I supplement with fresh fruit in between.

I know your pain first hand of a child being diagnosed with autism. It can be quite a slippery slope followed by a wild roller coaster ride. When Ilah was dxed I LITERALLY felt like a rug had been pulled out from beneath me. I felt like the wind was knocked out of me, there was a weight on my chest and I couldn't breathe. I guess that's where the saying comes from.

I will keep you in my prayers. You really need to reach out and find a place of strength from within. Contact me if you wish. Although our food issues are different, they are both unhealthy and maybe I can offer some support. I am very unhappy with my current state of mind and dependence on junk food to make me "feel better." Although I have a supportive dh and family, I don't feel like I can lean on them right now. Dh hurts just like I do about dd and the rest of my family is dealing with other health issues.

Although my days are rough right now, I want to let you know that dd is doing great - seriously. The dx is extremely difficult to deal with but, most of the past few years I've done really well. It's just getting me down recently b/c I have a lot on my plate - new baby, homeschooling, $$, holidays, sick aunt, and on and on. You can come out of this a healthier, happier person. Be strong for yourself and your kiddos. I'd be happy to "talk" with you:)

April

[LauraPaulsen]

I'm a nursing mom too. My baby is almost 4 months and is EBF. I am hoping to EBF for her first year.

I've been 100% raw for 3 days now and I think we're both doing better. She has a sensitivity to dairy and certain wheat berries. I do too. So with eating Raw I don't have to worry about what I eat. I don't drink caffeine of any kind, so I haven't had much of a detox , at least not yet. other then an extra bm from my baby..nothing to mention.

My vote: Go 100%, unless you see signs of a problem from the baby.

I have much more energy and for the first time can see that I will lose this baby weight!!