Breast Feeding

Cherry_Blue · July 19, 2009

I need your advice....

I got my lap band refilled about 2 weeks ago, although I have started to lose weight again, I am getting leg cramps at night, the shakes and I have had a bout of mastits. I am also starting to feel emotionally unstable.

My husband thinks I am not eating enough and thats contributing to my state of mind and also to the fact my baby does not seem settled.

Both my obgyn and band doctor think I am eating enough. I really want to maintain breast feeding. My husband wants me to get my fill removed and say "screw" it to weight gain during breast feeding and worry about it later.

What do y'all reckon :smile:

Jachut · July 19, 2009

It depends how tight you are and what you're eating.

When you're breastfeeding, you need more energy than when you're pregnant, not unlimited amounts of food but you're body is workign pretty hard. Yet that's when I gained most of my excess weight - during breastfeeding not pregnancy and i dont remember being noticeably more hungry or eating a lot more.

but you need to be loose enough to take in ALL the foodgroups during this time, you'll need some wholegrains too, not just Protein and vegetables and you need to be able to drink plenty.

That said, i doubt that it'd be what you're eating making you feel emotional, that's to be expected to some degree during breastfeeding, its ridiculous how much we can cry and get angry etc. But do be realistic about how bad it is and whether you need to take action.

If your doctor and your ob think you're eating enough you probably are.

Oh, gosh, unsettled babies, they make us SO desperate and we convince ourselves multiple times daily that its sometihng within our control - that coffee we had, the tomatoes we ate, my baby is lactose intolerant, my baby needs chirporactic adjustment, we are just ready to jump on ANYthing that will settle them down. Most often though, there is no particular reason why a baby is unsettled, they just are and it does pass, this stage wont last forever. And its probably nothing to do with your breastmilk or what your body is putting into it becuase weaning breastfed babies and putting them on a bottle hardly EVER has the desired result.

Is this your first baby? They really do grow up so fast and it is all behind you so quickly but I remember how desperate I felt in those early days with my first, its just a simply enormous life change and it does really knock you around.

Cherry_Blue · July 20, 2009

Thanks for your advice Jackie.

I wentto my Gp this morning and he said that I am definately ot eating enough, especially Protein, which can contribute to leg cramps and feeling blue. He recomended gettinga slight unfil and wrote down what i needed to be able to eat.

He thinks that by not eatinga nd drinking enough my milk may be getting less which may contribute to having an unsettled baby.

This is my second baby, the baby stage is so hard at the time, but when its over, its kinda sad its over:blink:

Again thanks, hows your little one?

Anyalee · July 22, 2009

If you feel like you're not getting enough food why don't you add something like 2% chocolate milk...good Protein and carbs for a quick pick me up. I am going in for a fill while I breastfeed because I'm not losing any weight & I hope I don't have any issues afterwards...

Cherry_Blue · July 24, 2009

If you feel like you're not getting enough food why don't you add something like 2% chocolate milk...good Protein and carbs for a quick pick me up. I am going in for a fill while I breastfeed because I'm not losing any weight & I hope I don't have any issues afterwards...

I got a mil taken out and I do feel better, I can eat Protein and drink lots of Water. I feel like I am a new person. I know I probably won't lose weight as I now hav ethe same fill as when I was pregnant, but for me, its important to breastfeed, so I will worry about my weight later.