Breastfeeding and Proper Nutrition

My pregnancy was awesome in terms of Nutrition that I took. I remember that the first day when we got comfirmation by our gynacologist about my pregnancy, my husband Nitin brought home all kinds of delicious fresh fruits - strawberries, oranges, apples and pound cake for me. He maintained this ritual through most of my pregnancy period. My mom-in-law was a real sweetheart too. She made a variety of dishes for me. The spicy south Indian food, chole bhature and awesome non-vegetarian dishes were cooked a lot during my pregnancy days.

When the baby is in your tummy most moms want to eat the best they can and so I did as well. It is the time when you can look after yourself really well as against the time when you have a baby in your lap.

If you are breastfeeding it is very important for you take take extra 500 calories to make up. As in the case with most moms, I too felt hungry often while breastfeeding. Eating a well balanced diet which comprises of whole grains, cereals, protein rich food like pulses or non vegeterian diet, dairy products, fruits and vegetables is important.

And as in my case if it is through an operation you really have to be careful with your activities and be dependent on other people for a while. Thankfully, my family members helped me lot.

Since my room was on the secong floor , my mother-in-law kept a lot of dry instant food like nutritious cookies, dry fruits, seeds in my room next to my bed so that I could reach out for it whenever I was hungry. She made a lot of healthy food for me which helped in my recovery after the operation.

All of these food preapartions help a lot with breast milk production as well. Some of the items that she made me eat on a daily basis for a period of 6 weeks were-

* Harira - This is a traditional mixture of roasted dry fruits, gum crystals, desi ghee (clarified butter), carom seeds (ajwain), turmeric powder, ginger powder and jaggery. It can be taken in dry form , in laddoo form or mixed with milk. My mom-in-law made me have it in all forms but in small quantity intially as it is heavy for the stomach (specially if you are recovering from an operation).

* Jeera mix - This is a mixture of smoothly blended soaked jeera (Cumin seeds), ajwain (carom seeds) and methi (fenugreeek seeds)

* Oatmeal or Daliya

* Chicken broth with all the vegetables

This diet no doubt gives a new mom the strength and energy to heal fast.

Apart from these I tried to regularly eat a lot of fruits and vegetables which included carrots, beetroot, spinach, strawberries, apples and so on. Dates are good as they give you a lot of fiber, iron, vitamins and minerals. For those like me who love sweets, it is an excellent dessert after your meals.

Apart from food, drinking fluids is utmost essential for a nursing mom. Drinking milk is very important. I made sure that I enough fluid intake during the day. My husband got me a 32 ounce water bottle during my pregancy and I use it till now. I fill it up several times a day and drink a lot of water.

Along with a balanced diet, consuming prenatal vitamin is also good for the breastfeeding mom.