Boobies, boobies, boobies!

Now, I don’t claim to be a nursing expert. I’ve only been at it three and a half months, and I’m sure there are other mamas out there with more experience and therefore, sager advice. However, I thought I’d share what has gotten me through the first three months, which are really difficult. It’s tough being the only person who can feed your child, especially when you are sleep deprived and just want to run to the store or take a shower by yourself.

Before I delve into my list of tips, I want to let you know about two products that every nursing mother should have. 

Dairy-, soy-, nut-, fish, and egg-free: A special kind of hell

My son has blood in his poo (we’re not squeamish here, mamas). That means that something I am ingesting is causing colitis, an inflammation of the colon. It’s not the end of the world. My son isn’t fussy or super gassy, and he doesn’t make a bigger deal out of pooping than any other baby I’ve seen. However, it does beg the question of whether he is absorbing all of the nutrients that he is ingesting. First, his pediatrician took me off of dairy. Still blood. Then soy. Still blood. Then eggs. Still blood. Then nuts. Yep, you guessed it--still blood. The pedi hasn’t taken me off of wheat yet, but I’m guessing that we’re not far from taking that step. 


As a mama who loves her low-fat cottage cheese, yogurt, cheese, and the occasional cold glass of skim milk, taking dairy out of my diet was tough, but after about a week, it got easier and I stopped craving it. I didn’t crave soy, so to speak, but it is in EVERYTHING! Soy flour is used as a filler in many foods, including cereals and just about everything pre-packaged. Eggs are less prevalent, as long as you’re not overly attached to baked goods. Nuts are also less prevalent, but they were one of this mama’s favorite snacks. So yes, many of my favorite foods have been eliminated, and not having the time or the energy to go on long food shopping trips, research recipes, or cook elaborate dinners, I’ve had to make do with the easiest options. 


Here are some things I’ve learned through my research and by talking to my son’s GI specialist:

If God wanted us to cook every night, he wouldn’t have created leftovers

When my son was a newborn, we’d plop him in his swing, and he’d be content watching my husband and I eat dinner. The baby was eating every two hours, so there wasn’t a “bed time” per se. But now that he’s older and clearly starts to melt down between 7:00 and 8:00, we have established a bed time. This has given us our evenings back, but has posed a new challenge: dinner time and bed time are sometimes at the same time depending on when my son last napped and when my husband comes home from work. 


I usually have 15-20 minutes to make a healthy dinner. Hence, a lot of chicken, vegggies, and rice; pasta and red sauce; and, of course leftovers. Ah, yes, leftovers. If God wanted us to cook every night, he wouldn’t have made leftovers, right? Here are some snazzy dinner ideas that I’ve concocted with leftovers:

• Turkey loaf (or meat loaf--whatever floats your boat). Turkey loaf can be just plain turkey loaf for about two nights before it’s old news. Cut it up into cubes and add to red pasta sauce for a protein kick to an otherwise protein-deficient pasta meal. Slice it thin, slap it between two slices of bread, and add cheese for a warm panini. Dice it up and add it to leftover soup (see below). Or freeze it for when you need a quick plain-old turkey loaf dinner in the future.
• Leftover soup. My latest leftover soup creation included leftover brown rice, two zucchini that I had intended to cook for another meal but never did, tomatoes that I intended to cut up and put in sandwiches but never did, ½ pound of ground turkey (the other half will go into some red sauce and served with pasta), and garlic. The whole thing took about 20 minutes, and it has provided us with dinner for two nights and my lunch today. That’s right--leftover soup creates more leftovers! Leftover pasta, baby carrots, corn, peas, potatoes, celery, squash, rice, chicken breast, and even spinach all make great candidates for leftover soup. I use prepackaged Swanson Organic chicken broth, but if you’re a broth-making kind of mama, make copious amounts ahead of time and freeze it for easy dinners.
• Pizza. Pizza was a once-a-week meal when I was pregnant. Nothing was quite as nice as whipping up a pizza and settling down on the couch for a movie with the hubby. But I found that a pizza dinner always resulted in a pizza lunch the next day. Perfect! Pizza doesn’t have to be fattening or unhealthy. We make ours with already-made whole wheat pizza dough from our local grocery store, 50% reduced fat cheese, and spinach and broccoli sauteed with garlic. This breast feedin’ mama is dairy, soy, nut, and egg free, so I’ve been omitting the cheese lately, and it is still delicious! If I need a protein boost, I add some cubed leftover chicken.

If there is one thing I can’t stand, it’s stress, so I’ve learned to think ahead. Thursday is our busy day (breast feedin’ support group in the morning, drop Baby off at the babysitter for an afternoon of work, and then dance class at night), so I try to make it as easy as possible. Last night, I made mashed potatoes and squash and marinated chicken breasts after Baby went to bed. Granted, I would have much rather have been watching “Modern Family” while my husband massaged my shoulders, but the effort is worth it when we get to sit down to a hassle-free, healthy dinner and catch up on each other’s day.

Babies: A pain in the back

Mamas, pregnancy doesn’t do our mid-sections any favors. Not only do our abdominal muscles stretch beyond our wildest dreams, but our lower backs become compressed from leaning back to compensate for all the added weight up front. For mamas who had or are planning to have C-sections, the problem is compounded because it takes that much longer for your--well, severed-- abdominal muscles to heal. 




As someone who has been going to massage therapists and chiropractors for well over 15 years, I have to say that these remedies can certainly help relieve back pain, but they won’t solve it, especially for the post-partum mama.