Thoughts on breastfeeding...

so, it was my son's 3rd birthday a few weeks ago (yes, i am so, so, SO behind!). i originally wanted to have an entirely paleo menu. i admit it was mostly selfish so that i would stay on track but i also wanted just a *bit* to try and impress guests and be able to say things like, "why, yes, that cake IS wheat and grain free...it's sugar-free too!" but, the latter is just silly and not very important, so my husband suggest we take a different approach. with having a baby who still is working on getting a proper sleep schedule, which makes a mother who doesn't get very much sleep, he suggested that we keep things simple. as in, let's just invite costco to cater the party. it certainly WAS easy, but i fear we, and especially my daughter, paid the price.

in leading up to a party there is ALWAYS cleaning and i ALWAYS put pressure on myself to get a few house projects completed before these parties. this time was no different except that i have a demanding new baby and a toddle at home. and oh yeah, my husband had a work golf tournament the day of my son's party, so he was of no help. so, my parents kindly volunteered their service to help me get ready. with all the "getting ready" i didn't plan on what i would actually make for dinner that was paleo the night before the party. enter costco pizza. i felt terrible afterward but i moved on. the day of the party my parents were helping again and we didn't plan a paleo lunch. enter taco bell. i had one of their new salads but there was rice in it (not paleo) and some other things that i can't remember right now that aren't paleo friendly. the salad tastes really, really good. however, afterward, i felt absolutely terrible again. by terrible, i mean sleepy and bloated and overall a feeling of unwellness. the party food was VERY un-paleo. we had a fruit and veggie tray (very paleo), but our main dish was costco pizza and our dessert was betty crocker cupcakes and breyer's ice cream. let's just saw that going to bed that night i didn't feel very well again and i got HORRIBLE sleep (even worse than my "normal" interrupted-by-my-infant sleep). did i mention there was also candy at the party? reese's pieces.

on monday my daughter was "off." she was back to her old ways of crying every.single.time. she tried to go to sleep. she was extra difficult to get to sleep and she was spitting up SOOOO MUCH. she also had much more gas than normal. she was spitting up so much that i wasn't sure she had much left in her tummy after a feeding. this went on a full day and then my husband remarked that perhaps it was related to what i had eaten. a light bulb went off in my head...that was TOTALLY possible. i am not claiming that all of the occurrences are absolutely related, but the hubs and i had noticed that after a week or so on paleo that the baby was getting easier to get to sleep.

it took the baby about 2-3 days to stop the constant spitting up and to be able to get to sleep easier. doctors and books will say that it takes about 6 or so hours from the time a mother consumes something for her to get into the breastmilk, so this timeline would make sense since i ate non-paleo for about 2 days and it took her 2-3 days to come out of it.

i also was very, very naughty and had some halloween candy. it tastes good going in, but i now notice how awful the aftertaste of candy really is. not even worth it. so, the only paleo-approved chocolate (it's not technically true paleo, but it's an indulgence that won't get someone completely off-track) that i will eat if at least 70% cacoa. i found some bars at trader Joe's and there not that bad. they're pretty good actually.

bottom line: if my food intake was at all related to my daughter's behavior then going non-paleo is not even worth it. i am finding sometimes it's not 100% possible to be paleo (and i am lucky i don't have to go paleo due to food allergies), but i need to try my absolute hardest to stick with things. if not for me, then for my daughter.