Yes, I did Whole30 while nursing a newborn. It was a slightly crazy idea, since I was mostly on my own with a toddler and an infant. So why?
My one-month-old baby was crying all the time! With my first child, cutting out dairy and bell peppers solved everything. With this one, I couldn’t figure out what the problem was. So, I went for the most extreme diet (other than veganism) that I knew about and knew was safe and reasonably healthy: Whole30. That way, I cut out just about any possible allergen, from gluten to peanut butter. I’m writing answers to some of the questions I had in hopes that this will help other nursing moms who are wondering about trying Whole30.
What is Whole30?
For 30 days, “Eat meat, seafood, and eggs; vegetables and fruit; natural fats; and herbs, spices, and seasoning,” says the Whole30 official website. What’s out? Dairy, gluten, soy, legumes in general, grains in general, sugar, sweet treats in general. Goodbye, chocolate chips. Goodbye, potential allergens.
Can Whole30 help with colic?
If your child truly has a severe food allergy, then probably yes. If not, no.
At first, I thought my baby was doing better. But it really seemed to be a one-night-to-the-next thing. And she’s improved as she’s gotten a little older and her tummy is working better. So I don’t think I really helped her much, other than by ensuring that whole, unprocessed foods were going into my body and then feeding her.
Will Whole30 help me lose my extra baby weight?
I had a few pounds left to lose after having a baby, and I definitely dropped them during the time I was on the program. Just quitting bread made a big difference in my weight retention. I can’t say that everyone would lose weight, but if you’re not eating a super healthy diet already it’s likely you will drop a good chunk of the postpartum flab. Especially if you’re exercising and drinking lots of water as well. Whole30 while nursing means you have both diet and the nursing helping you in the weight loss department.
How do you manage to make all the meals from scratch while taking care of a needy newborn?
It’s a lot of work. I’ll be glad to bring sandwiches back into my life. But it’s not impossible. Keep salad ingredients in the refrigerator; make yourself some great homemade dressings so the near-daily salads taste like rewards instead of punishments. (Cookie and Kate has some amazing dressing recipes, and No Crumbs Left gives you “Magical Elixirs” to spruce your food up.) Enjoy the many Whole30 Instagram accounts and cooking websites available. My husband’s aunt greatly improved my Whole30 experience by emailing and texting me so many recipes. And they’re so good I’ll keep making a lot of them even now that I’ve completed my 30 days.
When the baby is sleeping, take that opportunity to chop vegetables and fruit. Utilize free grocery pickup or delivery services so the time you spent browsing the grocery aisles gets spent cooking. (It’s more fun trying all these new recipes than trying to find “Whole30-compliant” ketchup, anyway.) Whole30 while nursing a newborn is definitely difficult, but not by any means impossible. It’s way easier than the pregnancy was! 🙂
Is it worth the work even if you find the baby doesn’t have a food allergy?
I think so. As a mom, when your baby is suffering from stomach pain or any kind of pain, you’re willing to do whatever it takes to help her. As in my case, even if it doesn’t help it absolutely doesn’t hurt as long as you’re taking in plenty of nutrients. And I have to say, I feel amazing after a 30-day reset of my eating habits.
How do you find some of the more unusual ingredients if you live in a small town?
Currently, I don’t live in a place with a Whole Foods, a Trader Joe’s, a Sprouts, or anything similar you might imagine. We do have a small health food store, which is where we could find things like tapioca flour. (For thickening things, like cornstarch. But no corn.) I also bought some foods on Amazon. (Like this fabulously huge discounted bag of luscious dates.) If you’ve been considering Prime Pantry, now might be a great time to sign up for it. Less time in the grocery aisles with a newborn, again. (Seriously, if your infant carrier is in the shopping cart, there’s no room for anything else. Am I right?)
How do you manage hunger from nursing?
Hunger was one of the hardest parts of this program for me, since I felt like I was always needing to scavenge for food. (Snacks aren’t prohibited if you’re pregnant or nursing.) Larabars are a helpful thing to have on hand (don’t choose the ones with chocolate chips–choose the all-fruit-and-nut varieties). Make yourself a batch of something you can grab out anytime you’re hungry. (Washed grapes, protein balls, nuts, baby carrots, almond butter banana popsicles; anything that strikes your fancy and isn’t on the no-no list.)
Whole30 while nursing is definitely complicated by the fact that you’re more hungry than at other times in your life. You have to make sure you’re on top of getting enough nutrition.
What was the hardest thing to give up?
I thought it would be chocolate chips, since I often have a handful of dark chocolate morsels in the afternoon to help fight fatigue from lack of sleep in these newborn days. But I really only missed them for the first few days. I ended up missing pasta a lot; it’s such an easy filler to have in a meal. And when I made fresh bread for my little man, it was hard to not take a bite of the steaming hot gluten wonderfulness.
Will you keep eating Whole30-style?
I’d like to keep up the healthy eating! I really never hit the normal 10-11 day crunch of feeling miserable or desperate for a forbidden food. I enjoyed all the meals I made, and I felt really good. But no, I’m not giving up gluten or legumes or anything else long-term. Whole30 just acted as a good reset for me, and I hope it’ll help me eat things like breads and desserts in moderation. I wish it had helped my baby more than it did, but I don’t regret taking a mere month out of my life to eat good foods and feed my family wonderful meals from real ingredients. I’ve learned how to make some new foods that I’ll keep making in the future. (Homemade mayo is way better than store-bought, folks! Thanks, Aunt Janet, for sharing the recipe!)
I really didn’t have anything to lose. Other than baby weight, that is.
Any other questions about doing Whole30 while nursing?
Drop them in the comment section!
