By Pinky

Your baby or toddler’s sleep patterns can be affected by his diet. Restlessness can be caused by allergies or food intolerance, sometimes to foods passing through your breastmilk (your baby is never allergic to your breastmilk). If you or your partner suffer from allergies such as excema, asthma or hay fever, or if there is a family history of allergies, there is an increased liklihood that your baby will also suffer from allergies. The best way to protect your baby from allergies is to breastfeed exclusively for the first six months. If you are bottle feeding and suspect allergies, consult a doctor. There are hypo-allergenic formulas, but these are expensive without a script.

Food allergies in exclusively breastfed babies are caused by foods that pass into your breastmilk, not to your breast-milk itself. Allergies in infants may cause symptoms including: colic, nausea, vomiting and reflux, wheezing and respiratory congestion, dermatitis and various rashes (although other medical causes should be ruled out for these symptoms). The most common culprit is cow’s milk protein (found in milk, cheese and yoghurt).

Food additives are present in ever-increasing numbers in almost all processed foods and these can dramatically affect sleep patterns and behaviour. Some babies and children can also become restless after eating foods containing salicylates. Food intolerance expert Sue Dengate has seen remarkable changes in children’s behaviour, including infant sleep patterns, with simple dietary changes, such as changing the brand of bread eaten.

Elimination of foods may take anywhere from a few days to several weeks to make a difference to your baby’s behaviour so allergies are difficult to prove or disprove, but if it calms your baby (and you), modifying your diet is a small sacrifice.

For more great tips about parenting, see Sleeping like a Baby by Pinky McKay available here at Bebe, or visit Pinky’s website - www.pinkymckay.com.au for information about her private consulting work in Melbourne.