Elimination diet and lower milk supply?

[Zacsmom]

I'm currently elimination D/S/Wheat/Eggs/Citrus from my diet to figure out what is bothering my son.  My milk supply (which wasn't very high to begin with but enough to satisy my ds) seems to be less in the evening (top up before bed) and let down takes forever and seems to frustrate my son.  Is there anything I can do to change this?  Drink more water.  I'm still eating, just not as much or as often as before.

[Jimbob]

Drink plenty of water and have small regular meals instead of just 3 meals a day. This should help as always did the trick for me. Obviously we are not all the same though and I am sure you will get more advice. It might be worth posting on the breast feeding forum.

[Samuel's mum]

Yes, come and visit the bf board. Lots of people have experience with low supply issues and taking various supplements can help for a start.
A daft point to make initially is that when a mum is on an elimination diet to the extent that you are it is actually quite an effort to keep up the required number of calories as well as the right combination of carbohydrates, good fats and proteins. Nursing mothers do need to keep up their calorie intake and if you've seen a reduction then it's common sense your supply will be affected.
Are you eliminating all that at once?
It's normally advised when a mother starts an elimination process to begin with cow milk proteins as that is by far the most common culprit. That means all dairy and hidden dairy. And it takes a couple of weeks for the cow milk proteins to leave your system.
The danger with doing everything at once is firstly, the effect on your diet and potentially your supply but also you won't actually find a solution/answer. Like a scientist doing an experiment changing all the variables at once - you need to focus on one.
If eliminating dairy, soya is often good to do alongside as milk protein and soy issues go together quite often.

But I would honestly leave it at that initially.

Then if cow milk protein doesn't seem to be it - go for wheat and gluten products next.

If you are wresting with slow letdown breast compression can help (see the FAQs on the bf board).

What symptoms are you seeing in your son? That can be a clue as to what the issue is obviously.

[lovedtodeath]

My daughter was allergic to so much that I would never had figured it out only cutting a couple of things. I cut out wheat, dairy, soy, tomatoes, citrus, gluten, apples....then added them back one at a time. Adding them back is how you figure it out. I don't think I ever cut out eggs.....she was allergic to all but soy. I later found gluten was ok just not oats or wheat. I had trouble with low supply too. The main thing you need for milk production is fat. Find something with lots of fat (mine was eggs and avocado) and eat lots of it. HTH

[Jimbob]

You could also find a safe oil supplement. There are some that are fine whilst breast feeding.