Anyone pregnant and still nursing? - Page 4

[mysticmomma]

I never found a comfortable sleeping position and shortly into tandeming I essentially stopped tandeming... that is I only nursed one at a time. When my milk turned soapy according to my dd she wanted to nurse less and night weaning happened. DH took over nighttime parenting. Soon we will be moving her into a twin bed next to our bed and DS into DH's bed so that nightweaning can happen again. I hate being pregnant and get PSD and HG and abdominal muscle seperation and reflux... I'm generally miserable so I really need the space and rest at night.

[Maela]

Nursing really hurts now, but usually only for the first 30 seconds or so on each side. We are probably going to nightwean next month during spring break (dh is a teacher). I really need some space at night. I want to sleep! My back is already hurting me again. I just can't imagine nursing dd several times at night with a huge belly.

I don't think I would enjoy tandem nursing. I'm hoping Dd weans soon after she turns two. Not sure that will happen though. She'll be 26 months when the baby's born, and I just don't know if weaning will happen by then.

[abigail_b]

Hi Mamas,
So I think my milk is gone.
I am 10 weeks 4 days. What do I say to my son? He is mostly still dry nursing, but did get really upset about it yesterday (sobbing-- "there is no milk coming out"). I just don't know what to tell him...

[Serenyd]

Oh, Abby, I'm so sorry to hear that! I'm still nursing at 8 weeks, but my supply has dropped a bit and my baby is refusing to drink my pumped milk when I am at work!!! I work weekends away from home and I pump day and night - should I keep pumping to maintain my supply up for when I'm at home? I'm sad to think about all that milk going to waste. Maybe we should try adding flavors to it? I don't know what to do.

[Huck]

Abby-Hugs. I don't really have any experience here yet but this is what I'm doing.

My milk supply just really dropped too. It seemed like it was all gone when DS was nursing to sleep last night so I told him that the milk was all gone for now and he would just have to go to sleep. I whispered nursery rhymes to him for 10 minutes and HE FELL ASLEEP! That's a bit step for us. He woke up twice after that and the first time he went back to sleep after one rhyme, the second time he nursed for a few minutes and then just lay on his back for a few minutes while I did more rhymes. I nursed him back to sleep when he woke up at 3 am and then again 6 am. But there's not much milk there right now.

[fyrebloom]

I'm so sorry to hear that Abby. It's tough keeping a supply while preggo. There just isn't anything you can do to make it come back until the baby is born .

Serenyd: I guess it depends on if you want him to still nurse durring working hours on the weekends. It's hard to say. Perhaps you can cut it with some other milk or add flavor. It couldn't hurt. If he still doesn't want it you could always just stop pumping during work and let him have it from the tap when you're home. I never was able to get my twins to take a bottle of EBM. The girls KNEW what they wanted and accepted no substitutes

[abigail_b]

thanks for the support! Right before I got pregnant I night weaned. He is down to 3 X per day, and once he went down to that level he definitley wasn't getting a lot of milk even before the pregnancy. So I think that is why my supply is going-- I have read that it is especially hard to keep it up with an older child that doesn't nurse much anyway. For the past couple of days he has just dry nursed. I really am not enjoying it...but I really don't want to force him to wean. I was hoping he would just do it on his own, but now I am thinking he might try to just push on thru until the milk comes back! I like the thought of tandeming from an emotional perspective for him (bonding with the new baby etc.) but the reality is that I just don't know if I could handle it. When my son was a newborn I first struggled with EXTREMELY sore nipples despite a proper latch, and then once we had that dealt with I ended up with a foremilk/hindmilk inbalance and oversupply/ overactive letdown. That meant no more comfort nursing (he would scream and scream because the milk was shooting out too fast)...I had to only nurse him just as he was waking up...for some reason when he was really sleepy he could deal with it. Anyway, I just don't think I could go through all that again with a nursing 3 year old added to the mix! Oh well, one day at a time for now.

Serenyd- I am so sorry to hear that. I imagine it is because of the changing taste? Has he ever had any other kinds of milk? My son drinks organic goats milk from a bottle, maybe you could try that?

[MAGNAE MATRI]

I have only known one mother who tandem nursed and she told me she nursed through the whole pregnancy....so after reading some of these posts i must say i am in tears. i had no idea that my milk might dry up so quickly...this was a surprise pregnancy so i am emotionally/physically/spiritually overwhelmed. but here i am 6 weeks pregnant and as i have had two already i am feeling like i am getting back into the groove of things. however the idea that my ds would wean if he wasnt getting any milk is breaking my heart. he is 15 months and i knew my milk would not last through the whole pregnancy but i was expecting a little more time. :

is there anything that i can be doing besides adding more fluid/protein to my diet to keep my supply up longer?

[abigail_b]

Originally Posted by MAGNÆ MATRI

I have only known one mother who tandem nursed and she told me she nursed through the whole pregnancy....so after reading some of these posts i must say i am in tears. i had no idea that my milk might dry up so quickly...this was a surprise pregnancy so i am emotionally/physically/spiritually overwhelmed. but here i am 6 weeks pregnant and as i have had two already i am feeling like i am getting back into the groove of things. however the idea that my ds would wean if he wasnt getting any milk is breaking my heart. he is 15 months and i knew my milk would not last through the whole pregnancy but i was expecting a little more time. :

is there anything that i can be doing besides adding more fluid/protein to my diet to keep my supply up longer?

s
You can look on kellymom about trying to increase supply while nursing, but I think there is not much that you can do since most of the herbs are not considered safe during pregnancy. Some women say that a bowl of oatmeal each day helps though. But I just wanted to say that your milk may very well last much longer than mine for instance, because your son is so much younger. I know when my son was 15 months he was still nursing all the time. From what I have read your ability to keep up some kind of supply is definitley much harder in my situation-- an older toddler who really wasn't using the nursing for any nutrional needs even before I got pregnant, and who isn't nursing during the night anymore. So don't lose hope!!

[Nature]

Oatmeal and water! Drink drink drink!

Not everyones milk supply dries up either. (mine doesn't) So if yours hasn't yet, don't read threads and get worried about it. It might, and it might not. Some supplys take a dip, and others don't at all. And it might return before the end of pregnancy if it does. Sometimes its a first trimester hormone thing.

Regarding nipple soreness after the baby is born, you might not have any! Most soreness is because you aren't used to nursing. Having a baby nursing already means your nipples are used to it.

[Mommy2Liz]

I'm a little late joining this, but I am about 6 weeks and my 22 month old is still nursing. She is nightweaned but still nurses a bit during the day. Thankfully it doesn't hurt (I don't really have sensitive breasts at all) but I do worry about the supply not holding up. I'm doing my best to keep a good supply. Hopefully we'll be able to go a while longer.

[Mama2ABCD]

also, colostrum comes in sometime toward the end of the 2nd tri. whether my supply has been abundant or low, once the colostrum comes in my kids are extra happy. i can always tell cause their stools change, and their faces look a little fuller.

that won't effect the newborn's supply once he/she gets here.

the only time my nipples get sore/hurts to breastfeed, is when i've gotten dehydrated (usually first thing in the morning). but it's amazing how quick it goes away just by getting something to drink.

[Serenyd]

I tasted my milk and it tastes fine! Not salty or soapy or whatever. I tried to talk my mom about him not wanting to take it from a bottle or sippy cup (which he has just fine since he was very young) and she fussed at me for still breastfeeding! She told me that "I had no business still breastfeeding" and that my baby was either going to be a miscarried like hers or come out with "problems" and taking care of a 3rd child will be hard enough without that! While I respect her opinion and I'm sad that she had a miscarriage while breastfeeding, I've researched it to the best of my ability and decided that depriving my LO of breastmilk and antibodies is not the right thing to do at this point. If my milk dries up on it's own then fine, but I don't think the risk of miscarriage is high enough to justify my weaning him before he is ready. I could tell she was mad at me for arguing with her but this hasn't been a decision I've taken lightly or made without thought and research. I'm doing the best I can! Why can't she see that? UGH. She ended the convo by telling me she "wishes me the best with it" aka washes her hands of me and my doomed spawnlet.