Nursing calories

heniko

Hi mums!

I just had my 4th child. She is now 4m old ... I started dieting after my 3rd child turned 2. I ended up losing 60lbs. Buuuuuuuuut then I found out I was pregnant and was put on bed rest. I ended up gaining alot back. So now my daughter is 4m I'll breastfeeding full time ... so I wanted to know how much should I set my calories? thanks !

n3shaa_

hi! i'm still nursing my almost 13 month old and have my calories set at about 1350 a day but my supply is very regulated. when she was that age i just made sure to drink TONS of fluids and follow cues from my body. i didn't really count my calories back then but according to kellymom.com you should eat 1500-1800 and lose no more than 1.5 pounds per week. here's the link http://kellymom.com/nutrition/mothers-diet/mom-weightloss/

hope that helped

sabgoe

My midwife recommended to at least eat 1800 calories a day while nursing. So, I have been eating between 1800 and 2000 calories a day since mid March now. I have lost 37 pounds since then. My little guy is almost 5 months old. He is still nursing exclusively, no solids or anything.

toez79

If you set your calorie goal at 1850, do you still input the calories burned from breastfeeding? For example, I put in breastfeeding using the food item where it makes it negative calories. Yesterday for example, my negative calories were -688. Should I be eating 1850 PLUS what I add in for breastfeeding, or just 1850?
Thanks!

mycrazy8splus1

I have 8 children that I have exclusively BF up to the age of 6 months and BF while feeding them solids up to age 2. My youngest is 10 months old right now and nurses between 4 and 6 times a day. My calories are set at 1200 a day but I allow myself up to 1600 to allow for BFing. I don't think calories are nearly as important as hydration. If you find your supply slipping try Mother's Milk tea, fennel, or (I have heard) Blue Moon beer.

adriensmommy88

I just use the food item that subtracts the calories for the amount that I feed. It depends how much you feed, we substitute some formula so my son gets about 16-20oz of bmilk a day. Working fulltime so, it was a little difficult to keep up with his hunger when pumping lowered my supply. The way I look at it, at least Im still bf most of the time

danifo0811

I never added in breastfeeding, I just set MFP to 1800+. initially I really needed those extra calories for nursing. now that more solids are being consumed my calories are around 1600. I eat back most of my exercise calories. However, I'm trying to get my daughter to drink from a bottle or cup so I'm not as concerned with my supply decreasing.

Do what works for you but don't go too low with your calories. I also agree hydration is super important!

toez79

I set my goal to lose 1 lb per week. Then I add in the negative calories for breastfeeding (I exclusively pump and track my ozs using an app, so I know exactly how much I make and count -20 calories per ounce ). Last week I ate all of my calories - the 1850 for my daily goal, plus the 600+ for the breastfeeding. IDK why it doesn't show up on my ticker, but I did lose 3 lbs that first week! I felt like I was eating a lot, but it seems to be working! It was also a lot of relatively healthy food - not a lot of fried stuff and sweets. Before this, I had lost weight right after birth and then losing water retention after the surgery, and that was it. The scale was stuck!!

sabusby

There is now significant data that states that dehydration minimally impacts BFing. HOWEVER, it is very important that you have it for homeostasis of the body--but it won't decrease your milk supply.

Women in the first 4 weeks of breastfeeding should not be attempting to regulate calories while their milk supply is establishing (just in case anyone comes in and reads this.)

My general goal is 1850 +500-700, depending on how much milk/nursing was done.

Minimally, you MUST do 1200 +500-700 (depending on milk). Though a general guideline since everyone is different, your body will go into ketosis or starvation if you don't NET any calories. Hence the reason why eating more = higher/faster weight loss.

Safe breastfeeding weightloss is 1 to 4lbs a month (from BFing alone).

This is all according to:

Thompson, J., Manore, M., & Vaughn, L. (2010). Science of nutrition. (2nd ed.). New York City: Pearson. Retrieved from http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educator/product/Science-of-Nutrition-The/9780321643162.page

ChristineAnelia

I just started watching what I'm eating about a month ago, which seems to coincide with a significant decrease in my milk supply and weight loss (not just slowed gain!!!) for my nearly 5 month old baby girl. I'm not sure that it's related, but the timing suggests it might be. I have my goal set to lost zero pounds/week, thinking that I should still lose around a pound per week, taking into account the 500 or so calories per day for exclusively nursing. When I first realized that she wasn't gaining as she should, I added an extra feeding. Then about a week ago when I realized that she had actually lost weight, I started supplementing with milk I had in the freezer and started taking steps to increase milk supply (oatmeal, fenugreek, more water, pumping). I also quit watching what I was eating for a few days, mostly out of frustration & lack of focus. She's gaining weight again, but still has some catching up to do. Any thoughts on how I have my goal/calories set? I'm still eating plenty of food, just trying to make better choices and get in more exercise, so I don't think it should drop my milk supply, but definitely need to figure this out. Any thoughts?

sabusby

Hello Christine!

Sorry to hear you're struggling.

In general, the most important factor in babies weight gain is the volume taken in at each feeding.

This is an excellent resource that generally states "Your diet and hydration levels minimally affect the composition of breastmilk." I also know that ovulation can affect milk supply. It may not be an issue of you producing enough milk but rather that baby isn't as interested in feeding at the breast and hence your supply drops.

http://kellymom.com/nutrition/milk/change-milkfat/
ETA: http://kellymom.com/health/growth/weight-gain_increase/

I strongly urge you to call and leave a message for your doctor. It also may be common for babies to lose a portion of their weight at that age--however, I will not claim to have any training in that area.

Good luck.

mycrazy8splus1

if your baby is growing in length that makes a difference too. Sometimes my babies grow taller with no weight gain. If both stop I would be a little concerned. If she is making her milestones and doing more physical changes (teething, crawling, rolling, ect) she may be burning through everything she is eating. Sounds like you are making good changes to up your supply.

Carolyn1012

I think it also depends on the size of your baby. My first baby was 24lbs at six months and I was eating well over 2,000 calories a day. My 7 month old is almost as big he's 21 lbs now at 7 months. I can lose 3 pounds a week on 1800 a day, but I end up soooo hungry and wind up eating it back the next week. When I weaned my first baby at a year I dropped the last 10lbs with no effort, the insane appetite was gone. It takes a lot of calories to ebf a big baby!

ChristineAnelia

Thanks Ladies, I did see my doc today for a check up and had some blood work done earlier in the week. There are some issues, but nothing big. And the doc didn't rule out weight loss as causing the supply issues, but thought maybe the timing was just coincidental. I'm just going to take it easy and continue to target one pound/week weight loss, though I have so much to lose and would love to lose it faster!!!

I saved some calories to have a Blue Moon tonight, so I'm going to stop worrying and enjoy it. We'll see how that works. ;-)