Pregnant and breastfeeding question

[Fly Girl]

My DD is almost 1 (yay!) and I am 5 weeks pregnant with #2. I had a big drop in supply about 2 weeks ago but I've been working really hard at getting it back up and it has come way back. Another yay! But the past two days DD has not wanted to BF. Seriously, she has hardly nursed at all for 2 days. When my supply dropped she went from 6 to 4 nursings a day. She acts like she wants to BF, she latches but only sucks for a short time and then pulls off with a cry. Then she repeats that a few times before she no longer wants to latch.

If I didn't know better I would think she was weaning herself. Could she be weaning herself? Could the taste of my milk have changed already and she doesn't like it? Could it just be a plain old nursing strike? I've been offering her the breast alot. Should I decrease solids? Or increase them to make sure she is getting everything she needs. She's still peeing and pooping but not peeing as much as usual.

Thanks!

[ElliesMomma]

others with similar experience may have better advice. but it sounds like there is either less milk than she expects or the taste has changed, and from what i've read the younger the child, the more likely they will wean during pregnancy. i just successfully nursed through my pregnancy, but my nursling was almost three at the beginning of the pregnancy... so big difference. it was she who alerted me to the fact that i was pregnant... she told me the milk was "empty" and this was about 3 or 4 days before i missed my period. i told her to "nurse anyway and the milk will come back (thinking, eventually)". she did, and it did, and i am now tandem nursing.

as for your situation, you might try telling your daughter similar things, they can understand even if they don't verbalize as well as an older child. if nothing else you can be her "pacifier" to keep the nursing connection. to that end, i would be sure you don't use any bottles, pacifiers or sippy cups... so that she gets all of her sucking action on your breast. but do offer cow milk (or whatever you may substitute for that) in a regular cup, and plenty of food to keep up her nutrition.

how do you know your supply has rebounded? are you pumping to see it, or does it drip or manually express?

[Fly Girl]

This was a surprise pregnancy and one of the reasons I haven't fully embraced it is because I'm worried about it affecting my nursing relationship with DD. I really am not ready for her to wean. And I don't think she's really ready either.

When my supply dropped I started pumping to try to increase my supply. I've always been a good pumper but I hardly got a thing. And DD was nursing like crazy and obviously getting frustrated because she wasn't getting enough. But as my supply has come back I've been able to pump/hand express about 7 oz a day. And when DD BF, I hear lots of swallowing and she seems satisfied when she's done. So I know my supply has gone back up.

I don't give her bottles but I do give sippy's of water with her meals. She only takes a pacifier at night when she sleeps but she BF before that. She has never been a comfort nurser or used me as a pacifier. I have an overactive letdown that gave us lots of problems for her first 5 months so she only nurses when she wants milk.

She's also intolerant to dairy (although I do think she growing out of it) so I don't want to give her cows milk just yet.

[alegna]

I would expect taste has changed.

-Angela