An Excerpt from my Book “Building Healthy Humans”
Research shows that breastfeeding is the very best option for your new baby. Study after study concludes that breastfed babies thrive and outperform on cognitive skills better than bottle fed babies. Nature innately knows how to formulate the right nutrients your baby needs. We know that in today’s world it is challenging to breastfeed your baby until they are naturally weaned, however we strongly suggest you allow 3 months as the minimum time frame. We should also mention that the bonding that occurs between mom and baby during breast-feeding and the act of providing nourishment from one human to another couldn’t be denied as very special.
Breast milk contains mother’s colostrum, which is very high in antibodies and along with a vaginal birth provides a jump-start to a strong immune system for you new baby. Breast milk is also easier for baby to digest than formulas unless of course you, mom is eating foods that cause you or baby to have a histamine response. Histamine is high when you are exposed to something that the body sees as a pathogen. It triggers the inflammation cascade.
Typically I have found that if moms eat a lot of processed dairy products like processed cheeses, or soy, then in some cases your newborn could experience digestive challenges trying to breakdown these proteins. This can case gas, bloating, digestive pain and increased spit ups, etc. for baby. In some cases we need to add digestive support for mom as she is not able to break down the proteins and therefore mother’s milk has undigested proteins, which in turn can cause a problem for baby.
Hopefully you have been following our healthy eating guidelines for pregnancy so that your milk will be rich in nutrients. You should continue down this path, making sure that you are consuming adequate quantities of good fats and lots of filtered water. We suggest continuing on your Omega 3 fatty acid supplementation. If you are struggling with milk production then adding Fenugreek has also been shown to be beneficial.
Most moms who breastfeed could feel hungrier than when they were pregnant as breastfeeding burns up to 500 calories per day.
This is a time also when some Moms and Dads abandon their building healthy humans diet and start sneaking in those not so good for you foods back into their meal plans.
Remember what you eat drink and think your baby does too, especially if you breastfeed.
Your own diet has an impact of your breast milk. It can taste and smell different based on what you consumed. Your baby is being exposed to all the different flavors you eat and drink through your breast milk. Baby will particularly notice if you had a spicy meal, as they will be consuming the spice too.
If you experience challenges with breastfeeding we recommend you contact a lactation consultant. They are experts and will be able to provide information and resources to help support you through this new experience.
We have talked about all the benefits of Breastfeeding however in some cases that is not possible so we suggest that you don’t stress and look for options that do not contain SOY.
We recommend a recipe derived from the Weston Price Foundation and also recommended by Dave Asprey a published nutrition expert.
Formula Recipe
1 Cup of milk based powdered formula (Nutramigen or Alimentum)
29 oz. of filtered water
1 large raw organic egg yolk
½ teaspoon of cod liver oil
Raw organic cream
1 teaspoon of pure oil. (Sunflower, walnut, sesame) Rotate oils
1 teaspoon of MCT oil
Blend thoroughly and refrigerate. When heating put the bottle in hot water and do not overheat, as the formula will denature.
If Dairy is a problem look for a Goat Milk base.
