5 Mistakes I made as a Vegan Breastfeeder

5 Mistakes I Made As a Vegan Breastfeeder

As many of you know, I had my daughter 5.5 months ago and I am breastfeeding her almost exclusively. As many of you may have already read I have certainly had my fair share of breastfeeding difficulties. This post is about to get real personal real fast…my milk was so very very low with my first two children. I made almost nothing and had to top up much to my dismay. Asher, my second son latched to bad and so roughly that a hole formed on the side of my nipple (there is still a scar!) so I could shoot milk forward and sideways! So painful! With Hudson I mostly pumped and fed him (he was preemie) and I got really painful blockages. Breastfeeding did not come easily to me like I had thought as a new mom. Here’s the big thing about our society and breastfeeding, we have so over sexualized breasts that as older women, we don’t really prepare then next generation of moms or teach them how do take care properly and solve a lot of these issues. So I write to you reading this as a new vegan breastfeeding mom, take my advise and use my experiences to your gain!

Most new moms that I met seem to have this idea that because breastfeeding is natural that it is easy or that everyone can do it. The truth is that some women are blessed to have an abundance of milk and not much difficulties with feedings. As a nurse in this area, I have met a few. Let me tell you that easy breastfeeding moms are few and far in between. MOST women have some sort of difficulty that I pray is easily overcome. Lately, as the trend in vegan is rising (I was vegan before it was cool! woohoo lol) there is an abundance of new moms that are trying hard to be vegan and breastfeed. Once you have got the basics of breastfeeding down you can totally be healthy for you and your baby through a vegan diet.

The abundance of vegetables that are included in a whole food vegan diet not only benefit you but also prepare your baby for a veggie rich diet. I believe that is partially this reason that my children are so into veggies. For one, its simply what we eat but also because baby will learn tastes from what you eat while breastfeeding.

I had an interesting discussion with a paediatrician friend of mine before my daughter was born that was stating that what you eat doesn’t matter to the baby. That there is no such thing as foods causing gassy/fussiness according to the most recent study that crossed her desk. No offence my childless doctor friend but I simply don’t believe it. I have noticed trends in food and baby such as when I eat a bunch of asparagus (which I love!) my daughters diapers also smell like it also when I drink coffee etc I notice behavioural changes with her. Bottom line, what we eat matters.

My daughter is a beautiful bundle of chubby roles, exceeding her milestones and bright and cheery…a picture of health! Yet it took some trial and error to find what a balance of supply and healthy weight loss for myself.

Here’s the mistakes I made:

1. Not Eating Enough Calories- This was a big mistake I made. Eating mostly plants while nutrient dense is not very calorie dense and although I lost 58lbs in about 5 months, my supply really suffered the first two months because I went right back to eating the  way I normally do. I eat my breakfast oatmeal (you can find this in recipes), a big green smoothie for lunch and mostly salads for dinner. When I began to suspect that calories might be an issue, I started to track…I was eating around 1200 calories per day…not enough for most people and certainly not enough for recovering breastfeeding mom. I began to add in a few more healthy calorie dense foods in the forms of 3 extra snacks in between meals. I slowly added in about 800 extra calories (seems like a ton even as I write it!) but my milk sky rocketed to being enough for Myla for the whole day with out topping up!
2. Not Watching my Macros- I have a history of an eating disorder and am seriously organized when it comes to foods. I have a general idea of nutrients out there for pretty much every food somewhat routine in my diet. I don’t typically count my macros but keep a general idea of them so when I started to track my calories on a hunch, I took a look at my macros…lots and lots of carbs, no fat, lower protein. Which if I say it generally like that, as a vegan thats not too bad but because I am breastfeeding, I needed more protein and more fat because breastmilk is so fatty, my diet had to be more fatty then normal. I began adding in avocado and more nuts and seeds…I try to never used oil as its overly processed and stripped of the rest of the nutrients. I found after a couple of days that my milk supply began to come back up! I’m not saying be obsessive over macros but keep a loose eye on them.
3. Not Drinking Enough Water- Pretty sure this one right here is on every single website about milk supply ever but because breastmilk is about 80% water, its insanely important! My supply seriously suffers if I don’t drink enough. Having said that, there is no magic number of ounces that a person needs to drink but it varies from person to person. I need to drink…I kid you not 5 litres of water per day…and that includes a litre at night. Yes, initially I was peeing all the time but your body does adjust to the water intake. And yes, sometimes I didn’t feel like drinking water so I would have tea etc. My water intake also varied, days when it was 42 degrees here, I needed more and days when I was less active, I didn’t need as much. Find the balance that works with your supply and don’t stress about drinking more…
4. Not Sticking With Whole Foods- There are two types of vegans out there…I call them veg-heads and oreo vegans. Be a veg-head. Especially now. Your body just grew a human who sucked all the nutrients from it! Time to heal that body back up and stick with your nutrient dense whole foods. Oreos are not going to help your supply but an apple? not only full of nutrients but also has some of that crazy important liquids that are vital to good supply. Whenever possible, choose whole foods. Stay away from processed foods. Nourish your body and your baby!
5. Not Eating Regularly- This sort of goes with eating enough calories but typically I eat breakfast, lunch and dinner and sometimes I snack in-between but not often. This had to change. I noticed serious dips in my mood and energy especially postpartum and because breastfeeding does burn extra calories, I needed to put snacks in between the meals and one before bed so that I typically eat every 2-3 hours. I try to do a complex carb, a fat and a protein at each meal or snack. So a snack might consist of an apple and a handful of almonds. My meals are often salads or smoothies that contain as much nutrients as I can possibly pack into them but are very fibre rich and have a fat and a protein. This will keep your energy up and your supply!

Hopefully you find use in these tips useful and avoid the same mistakes that I made! We are a community of moms who are vegan here or even just trying to live more healthy and more mindfully and we should support each other!

Have you made other mistakes as a vegan breastfeeding mom? Comment below if you’d like to share <3