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Nutrition & Fitness

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  • Breastfeeding
  • Stay Healthy
  • Nutrition & Fitness​
  • Intro
  • Foods for Breastfeeding Moms
  • Vegan Diets
  • Fitness
  • Advice About Eating Fish
Mother Drinking water

A healthy diet is important for everyone. Some new moms wonder if they should be on a special diet while breastfeeding. The answer is no. You can continue to enjoy the foods that are important to your family, including the meals you know and love.

Nutrition Tips
  • Drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated.
  • Limit drinks with added sugars, like sodas and fruit drinks.
  • Limit the amount of caffeine you get each day.
  • Choose a variety of all food groups: fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, and protein foods.
  • Talk to your healthcare provider about taking a supplement.
  • - In addition to healthy food choices, some women may need supplements.
Some Foods May Affect Your Milk
Sometimes a breastfed baby may be sensitive to something the mother eats.

The following symptoms could indicate your baby has an allergy or sensitivity to something you eat:

  • Diarrhea, vomiting, green stools with mucus or blood
  • Rash, eczema, dermatitis, hives, dry skin
  • Fussiness during or after feedings
  • Intense crying for long periods
  • Sudden waking with discomfort
  • Wheezing or coughing

These signs do not mean your baby is allergic to your milk, only to something that you ate.
You may need to stop eating whatever is bothering your baby or eat less of it. After a few months you may be able to eat the food again with better results.

Baby doctor checkup
Talk with your baby’s healthcare provider if you notice your baby having any food allergy symptoms. If your baby ever has problems breathing, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room immediately.
Baby doctor checkup

Foods for

Breastfeeding Moms

Fruits
Vegetables
GRAINS
Proteins
Dairy
Fruits
Fruits

Amount:

2 cups

Serving size:

  • 1 cup fruit or 100% juice
  • ½ cup dried fruit
Vegetables
Vegetables

Amount:

3 cups

Serving size:

  • 1 cup raw or cooked vegetables or 100% juice
  • 2 cups raw leafy vegetables
GRAINS
Grains

Amount:

8 ounces

Serving size:

  • 1 slice bread
  • 1 ounce ready-to-eat cereal
  • ½ cup cooked pasta, rice, or cereal
Proteins
Proteins

Amount:

6 ½ ounces

Serving size:

  • 1 ounce lean meat, poultry, or seafood
  • ¼ cup cooked beans
  • ½ ounce nuts or 1 Tbsp peanut butter
  • 1 egg
Dairy
Dairy

Amount:

3 cups

Serving size:

  • 1 cup milk
  • 8 ounces yogurt
  • 1 ½ ounces natural cheese
  • 2 ounces processed cheese

Get A Daily Plan for Moms Designed Just for You

The USDA’s online, interactive tool can help you choose foods based on your baby’s nursing habits and your energy needs.

Visit https://www.myplate.gov/life-stages/pregnancy-and-breastfeeding
Mother taking medicines

Vegan

Diets

If you follow a diet that does not include any form of animal protein you or your baby might not get enough vitamin B-12.
In babies, not enough B-12 can cause symptoms such as:

  • Loss of appetite
  • Slow motor development
  • Being very tired
  • Weak muscles
  • Vomiting

You can help protect your and your baby’s health by taking vitamin B-12 supplements while breastfeeding. Talk to your healthcare provider about your supplement needs.

Fitness

Being active helps you stay healthy, feel better, and have more energy. It does not affect the quality or quantity of your milk or your baby’s growth. Unless your doctor tells you not to be active, include 2½ hours of physical activity each week.

Start with a 10 or 15-minute activity that you can do most days throughout the week.

Advice About Eating Fish

Fish and other protein-rich foods have nutrients that can help your baby’s growth and development. Some fish have higher levels of mercury, which can pass to your baby through human milk. Exposure to mercury can harm your baby’s brain and nervous system development. This chart can help you choose which fish to eat, and how often to eat them, based on their mercury levels.
BEST CHOICES
Eat 2 to 3 servings a week
  • Anchovy
  • Atlantic croaker
  • Atlantic mackerel
  • Black sea bass
  • Butterfish
  • Catfish
  • Clam
  • Cod
  • Crab
  • Crawfish
  • Flounder
  • Haddock
  • Hake
  • Herring
  • Lobster, American and spiny
  • Mullet
  • Oyster
  • Pacific chub mackerel
  • Perch, freshwater, and ocean
  • Pickerel
  • Plaice
  • Pollock
  • Salmon
  • Sardine
  • Scallop
  • Shad
  • Shrimp
  • Skate
  • Smelt
  • Sole
  • Squid
  • Tilapia
  • Trout, canned light (includes skipjack)
  • Whitefish
  • Whiting
GOOD CHOICES
Eat 1 serving a week
  • Bluefish
  • Buffalofish
  • Carp
  • Chilean sea bass/Patagonian toothfish
  • Grouper
  • Halibut
  • Mahi mahi/dolphinfish
  • Monkfish
  • Rockfish
  • Sablefish
  • Sheepshead
  • Snapper
  • Spanish mackerel
  • Striped bass (ocean)
  • Tilefish (Atlantic Ocean)
  • Tuna, albacore/white tuna, canned and fresh/frozen
  • Tuna, yellowfin
  • Weakfish/seatrout
  • White croaker/Pacific croaker
CHOICES TO AVOID
(Highest Mercury Levels)
  • King mackerel
  • Marlin
  • Orange roughy
  • Shark
  • Swordfish
  • Tilefish (Gulf of Mexico)
  • Tuna, bigeye
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New Castle County
Hudson: (302) 605-4066
West End: (302) 605-6653
Northeast/Claymont: (302) 605-4099
Email: nccwic@delaware.gov

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(302) 605-1833
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Email: kentwic@delaware.gov

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(302) 605-4055
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Email: sussexwic@delaware.gov

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    Feeding a 6-7 Month Old

    Feed solids with a spoon and from a bowl, never from a bottle.
    Breast Milk
    Infant Formula
    Breast Milk

    Continue to nurse on-demand, about 4-6 times in 24 hours.

    Babies may experience a growth spurt around 6 months of age and may feed more often.

    Offer breast milk in a cup.

    Infant Formula

    24-32 oz. per day of infant formula.

    Offer formula in a cup.

    Grains
    Vegetables
    Fruits
    Proteins
    Grains
    Use breast milk or formula to prepare 2-4 Tbsp. iron-fortified infant cereal. Offer twice per day. 2-4 Tbsp. of small pieces of dry bread, baby crackers, and cereal. Offer twice per day.
    Grains
    Vegetables
    4-8 Tbsp. per day. Cooked, pureed, mashed vegetables.
    Vegetables
    Fruits
    2-4 Tbsp. per day. Cooked, pureed, mashed fruits. Applesauce, pureed peaches, or mashed banana.
    Fruits
    Proteins
    2-4 Tbsp. per day. Plain strained, mashed, or pureed meats, poultry, eggs, fish, or legumes. May add smooth whole milk yogurt. Thinned, smooth peanut or nut butter.
    Proteins

    Feeding a 10-12 Month Old

    Breast milk is the most important source of nutrition for your baby, even after you start offering solid foods.

    Breast Milk
    Infant Formula
    Breast Milk

    Continue to nurse on-demand, 3 or more times per day.

    Infant Formula

    16-24 oz. per day. Offer in a cup.

    Grains
    Vegetables
    Fruits
    Proteins
    Grains
    4-8 Tbsp. per day. WIC approved infant cereals. Dry toast, crackers, bread, bagels, rolls, or plain muffins. Cooked rice and noodles.
    10-12 Month Grains
    Vegetables
    3-4 Tbsp. per day. Cooked bite-size vegetable pieces.
    10-12 Month Vegetables
    Fruits
    3-4 Tbsp. per day. Fresh fruits, peeled, and in bite-size portions.
    10-12 Month Fruits
    Proteins
    2-4 Tbsp. per day. Finely ground, chopped, or diced meats, poultry, eggs, fish, or cooked mashed beans. Thinned, smooth peanut butter.
    10-12 Month Proteins

    Feeding a 8-9 Month Old

    Feed solids with a spoon. Never put cereal in a bottle.

    Breast Milk
    Infant Formula
    Breast Milk

    Continue nursing on-demand, at least 4 times in 24 hours.

    If your baby seems less interested in nursing after you introduce solids, try nursing before you offer solids.

    Offer breast milk in a cup.

    Infant Formula

    24-32 oz. per day.

    Offer formula in a cup.

    Grains
    Vegetables
    Fruits
    Proteins
    Grains

    4-8 Tbsp. per day.

    Plain iron-fortified infant cereals.

    Plain rice or pasta.

    Baby crackers, small pieces of bread, or soft tortillas.

    8-9 Month Grains
    Vegetables

    8-12 Tbsp. per day.

    Plain cooked vegetables, mashed with a fork.

    8-9 Month Vegetables
    Fruits

    8-12 Tbsp. per day.

    Peeled soft fruit in bite-size pieces.

    Unsweetened canned fruit.

    8-9 Month Fruits
    Proteins

    4-8 Tbsp. per day.

    Finely ground, chopped, or diced meats, poultry, eggs, fish, or cooked mashed beans.

    Cottage cheese or mild cheese.

    Thinned, smooth peanut or nut butter.

    8-9 Month Proteins
    I'm Hungry
    I'm Hungry

    Tips

    Mom new born home

    Breast milk and formula feeding:

    Around 2-3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months of age, babies may experience a growth spurt when they feed more often.

    As they grow babies can hold more milk, so feedings may become further apart and take less time.

    To prevent choking, always hold your baby when feeding. Never prop up a bottle to feed.

    Start offering whole milk when your baby is one year old.

    The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months and beyond.

    feeding solid foods

    Feeding solid foods:

    Wait to offer solid foods until your baby:

    • Can sit up and hold up their own head.
    • Opens their mouth when they see food.
    • Can close their lips around a spoon.

    To prevent choking, always hold your baby when feeding. Never prop up a bottle to feed.

    Try one new food at a time. Wait 5 days before trying another new food to watch for allergies. Food allergies may include wheezing, rash, or diarrhea.

    Introduce peanut butter around 6 months. Mix one teaspoon of peanut butter with breast milk or formula. Make it thin and easy to swallow. Use a spoon to offer a taste of the thinned product. Watch your baby for any reaction for the next 2 hours.

    Babies under one year should NOT have honey due to the risk of botulism. Also, babies should not have foods that can cause choking like nuts or whole grapes.

    All babies are different. Talk with WIC or your baby’s healthcare provider about your baby’s needs.

    Feeding Cues

    I'm Hungry
    I'm Full
    I'm Hungry
    • Stirring
      Stirring
    • Mouth opening
      Mouth opening
    • Turning head seeking/rooting
      Turning head seeking/rooting
    I'm Full
    • Releases or falls off
      Releases or “falls off”
    • Turns away
      Turns away
    • Relaxes and opens fists
      Relaxes and opens fists

    Feeding a 4-5 Month Old

    Before teeth come in, wipe gums with a soft, clean wash cloth after each feeding, especially before bed.

    Breast Milk
    Infant Formula
    Breast Milk

    Nurse your baby on-demand, at least 7-9 times in 24 hours.

    When your baby starts teething, they may want to nurse more often.

    Infant Formula

    25-45 oz in 24 hours.

    Your baby needs about 4-6 oz of iron-fortified formula every 3-4 hours.

    Your baby may start to feed on a schedule. Instead of focusing on fixed amounts, let your baby tell you when they have had enough.

    I'm Hungry
    I'm Hungry

    Feeding a 0-3 Month Old

    Newborns have tiny tummies and need to be fed often. In the first few weeks, you may need to wake your baby to feed if they sleep longer than 4 hours.

    Growth Spurts

    Many babies are fussy during a growth spurt and will want to nurse longer and more often. This is called cluster feeding. This is your baby’s way of helping you increase your milk supply so that you can keep up with their needs. Remember, the more your baby nurses, the more milk your body makes.

    Growth spurts can happen at any time, and every baby is different.

    They often happen at these ages:

    two-three-weeks

    2 to 3 Weeks

    6 Weeks

    three-months

    3 Months

    six-months

    6 Months

    Breast Milk
    Infant Formula
    Breast Milk

    Breastfeed 8-12 times in 24 hours to help your newborn stay healthy.

    Nurse on-demand and when your newborn shows signs of hunger, such as sucking on hands or smacking lips.

    Infant Formula

    In the first few days, newborns need 2-3 oz. of iron-fortified infant formula every 3-4 hours.

    By the end of the first month, your newborn needs about 4 oz. every 4 hours.

    Feed on-demand and when your newborn shows signs of hunger.

    What foods can I get?

    Authorized Food List
    Authorized Food List

    Where can I shop?