Feeding Guru Baby: 0-3 Months

What does a guru girl feed her brand new guru baby? Here's Dr. Kim on the baby skinny: For the first year, the most important nutrition mom can give her baby is breast milk. Now we know life happens and there are circumstances that might cause mom to stop breast feeding, or not be able to breast feed at all. In this case, the formula should be organic and have no GMO ingredients. I like Baby's Only formula. It says "Toddler Formula" on the can because the company believes only breast milk should be given during the first year, but it can be given to an infant. It's good to also supplement formula with infant DHA (omega 3's) and baby probiotics.   Mama's nutritional intake is extremely important during boob time. Everything mom takes in, good and bad, are transferred to the baby via the breast milk. Breast milk will also contribute to the future likes and dislikes when it comes to how and what the baby eats later in life. If you are what you eat, your baby is what you eat. So here's to hoping your baby is not a Cheeto. A nursing mother should follow the same healthy eating plan as during pregnancy—limit sugars and processed foods, avoid alcohol, smoking (including second hand smoke), preservatives, enriched foods, food coloring, and foods containing MSG. Moms should consult their doctor about decreasing or stopping medications that are not life threatening. Basically follow the Guru Girls eating plan and baby and baby mama are good to go.  Nursing mom's staple foods should include fresh fruits and veggies, preferably organic, lots of clean, filtered or spring water, lean organic meats, and complex carbs like quinoa, couscous, and brown rice. Take a good quality prenatal vitamin and an omega 3 supplement daily. And remember, just because a supplement is expensive, doesn't mean it's always good quality. It often simply translates to having expensive pee. So moms should ask their holistic doctors to recommend a good brand. It's not imperative to take prenatals while breastfeeding, but they are a powerhouse of vitamins that are very well balanced for women, so I personally kept taking them while I was breastfeeding. Since they are high in vitamin B, they were a lifesaver when it came to surviving on 2 hours of sleep per night.   It's important to keep stress levels low during and after pregnancy. Not only is this imperative for health, but stress can also affect the way you absorb vitamins and minerals from food. Stress hormones can also affect milk letdown and can cause mom to have low milk supply. When mom's stressed, her baby picks up on that stress and becomes a baby stress ball, too.  In our next Guru Baby blog we'll cover what to start feeding babies at 4-6 months. Happy feeding!