Happy Tuesday!
I’m dealing with a bit of mastitis right now.. (boo!) but am on a antibiotic and on the upswing… (I hope!) I’ve never had it before but yesterday afternoon I broke into a big time fever and chills. SOOO what I thought was just a plugged duct turned into full blown mastitis.. ouch. Word to all you mothers who have had to deal with this before..
Besides boob talk today, lets chat about nutrition for nursing mommas!
I want to preface this post by saying that I am still nursing Roen, and he is 5 months old TODAY! This is the longest I have ever nursed! With the twins I lost my milk around 4 months, with the stress of nursing two babies and the time it took to feed both of them was a little bit much for me at that time. This time around I have decided I want to nurse as long as possible. I don’t produce enough milk for him. Never have, never will. I take fenugreek, drink mothers milk, brewers yeast etc. It is something that I have accepted and I am perfectly happy supplementing after nursing as well. I believe that some moms can produce more than others and that is just all there is to it. So no guilt trips, no you shouldas or couldas its how my body is so don’t should on me k? Ha! Everyone is different and has different experiences with nursing. Be proud of the mother you are and don’t ever feel guilty about things that you can’t control.
Now, lets chat about nutrition because that is something you CAN control. No matter how busy you are, you know what you’re putting in your mouth and you know if that will fuel your body for the better or not.
Nutrition for mommas postpartum is important, not just for you but for your little one too! Not to mention it may help you lose some of those extra pounds we collect through the process.
It is worth it. You will lose the weight, you just have to work for it.
Eating right post partum is just as important if not more so when you are nursing. Eating a balanced diet of fruit, veggies, protein, whole grains and dairy is so important! It is true that nursing moms need additional calories but not as much as you would think. It is only about 35% more. I would recommend having that extra be in the form of a protein.
Protein is important for nursing moms to help with milk production. Protein is the building block of the human body. If the human body was a tall building, protein would be the millions of bricks that make up the building! Protein is needed for growth,to repair and maintain every single cell. Protein from breast milk aids in your babies growth for the first year of his/her life. New moms also need protein to recover from the physiological strain of pregnancy and childbirth.
Here are my top tips eating postpartum for nursing and non-nursing mommas!
1. Prioritize Protein! I have protein with every meal. Confused with how much protein you should have?I eat as many grams of protein as I weigh. There is different information out there but because I workout so much I make sure to keep my protein intake high.
2. Eat REAL food. Avoid processed food. It is harder to prepare healthy food but it doesn’t have to be fancy. Just keep it simple. Each week I bake sweet potatoes, crockpot or grill chicken, and keep frozen veggies in the freezer so I can easily pop it in the microwave for quick meals. I also keep fresh fruit on hand because I know it is better for me to grab an apple and eat it with some Almond butter than it would be to snag a bag of chips.
3. Focus on your macros. I’m not saying count your calories or your macros. Ill be brutally honest and say that I don’t have time to care about that. If you do, go for it..It just doesn’t work for me. I do think about it though. Your macros are your proteins, carbohydrates, and your fats. For your main meals make sure you have all 3! For example: 4 oz. chicken, sweet potato, green beans with olive oil.
For example:
4. Meal Plan. Again, who has time for this?! But it works. I make double the food when I do make meals so I can have plenty of left overs. But my “Meal planning” is more like a grocery list. It also helps to prevent me from grabbing extra stuff at the grocery store! I just write 6 meals in my notes on my phone.
- oatmeal+eggs
- Eggs w/spinach, banana, Ezekiel muffins
- Lettuce+ sweet potato + Chicken + cucumbers + tomato
- Salmon+ Brown rice + green beans
- Siggis Greek yogurt+Slivered almonds
- Ground turkey+Spaghetti squash+spaghetti sauce + brussel sprouts.
If I can make it in bulk. - Chicken, sweet potatoes, spaghetti squash, etc. The meals come together pretty quick. If I make it that day I always make a few extra servings because I can grab it out of the fridge and heat it up for other meals. Easy, Peasy.
I hope that helps you! Adjusting to a new baby is hard. It just is. It is also wonderful but you will notice that life gets a bit more hectic at times. Take care of yourself too.
Enjoy your journey.
xoxo