Breastfeeding establishes an intimate connection between mother and child. It's common for nursing mothers to worry about whether their diet affects the baby. If your child is consistently fussy a few hours after you eat certain foods, you may need to modify your diet. Talk to your physician first, though.

Breastfeeding creates a special bond between mother and baby. It also is the best way to give your child all of the nutrition and immunity she needs during a critical stage of growth and development. However, breastfeeding can be hard.

Although the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding until a baby is at least six months old, supplementing with formula also has benefits. Breastfeeding during the day and bottle-feeding at night allows you to get more sleep since it lets your partner participate more in feeding your infant.

Breast-feeding provides a valuable method of feeding your baby nutrients and the antibodies your body naturally possesses. However, dry skin makes it a difficult process for some women. If you have dry skin, particularly on the nipple, breast-feeding becomes painful.

Women who are breastfeeding their children have special nutritional needs. In general, they must add an average of 500 calories to their daily diets to ensure good nutrition for themselves and their babies.

As a breastfeeding mother, taking good care of your health helps to ensure the health of your baby. Dehydration due to illness, weather or your busy lifestyle can lead to problems in the breastfeeding relationship with your baby.

Healthy people pass gas as many as 23 times every day, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. Breastfeeding mothers who make healthy dietary changes or who use supplements to increase their milk supply sometimes suffer from a gassy stomach as a result of their efforts.

Any woman can experience sore bumps on her nipples from breast-feeding -- no matter how many children she has given birth to or how much experience she has breast-feeding. Irritated nipples can be painful and make feeding time difficult.

When you are breastfeeding, any medication that you take has the potential to get into your breast milk and affect your baby. Some medications also might reduce your milk supply.

What a mother eats may affect the taste as well as the composition of her breast milk. Generally, eating a variety of foods with a variety of flavors is beneficial and may influence a child to be a more adventurous eater.

When your baby turns 1 year old, you may wish to introduce him to cow’s milk. Whole milk is better than skim milk or 2 percent milk for babies this age. Although some parents introduce whole milk to their infant by itself, others prefer the gradual approach and mix the whole milk with breast milk or formula.

Spit-up is a common problem for many newborn babies. The lower esophageal sphincter is responsible for keeping stomach contents in the stomach and not back-flowing, also known as refluxing, into the esophagus. This sphincter is immature at birth and takes time to begin working properly.