Pregnant and nursing - how is the first tri?

[nony]

Hi -
I'm wondering how moms who are nursing when they become pregnant experience their first trimesters. I am in my 6th wk, nursing my toddler and feeling rather good. How was/is your first trimester going while you're nursing? Are you experiencing the first tri like you did when you were pregnant and not nursing? I read on Kellymom that nursing moms may have less morn sickness. It's still early, but just wondering. Thanks in advance!

[Ellen Griswold]

This is my second time nursing during my first trimester. The first time, my son had nearly weaned himself when I became pregnant and did wean at about the 12ish week mark. This time, my daughter is still nursing strong at almost 3. I'm only at 7 weeks or something like that, so take what I say with that in mind. Right now I haven't experienced any decrease in milk. In fact, I actually feel engorged when she goes without for long stretches and I haven't felt that way in ages. So, I'm hopeful that I won't have any dips in supply. This pregnancy was unplanned and dd losing her milk is high on my guilt list. My nipples have become pretty tender and I don't have the most sensitive of nipples so that has been something to cope with.

And as far as the morning sickness goes......well, I wouldn't want to imagine what I have being any worse, though I'm sure that it could be.

[thehappydeer]

I'm glad you still feel great, this is a good start!

My first tri, which I just moved out of, was pretty difficult in terms of nursing. I was filled with more internal struggle about nursing than I had anticipated. My DD id 27 months, and my idealist heart wanted to be available to nurse her as long as she wanted, even if it meant through the whole pregnancy. But, this isn't what my emotional and physical body wanted for me at all. I really started to loathe nursing, which was shocking and troubling to me, I had to make myself do it, and psych myself up for it to get through it. It wasn't just the physical discomfort, that was pretty minor, and something I could have managed no problem. It was something deeper, this internal place where my emotions met my physical and became one thing. It just didn't feel right. It made me uncomfortable, irritated, crazy even. So I started the weaning process after a lot of soul searching and talks with DH. She's now falling asleep and sleeping through the night without nursing, and only nursing for comfort a few times a day, but there's no milk left, so i feel like we are in the final stages of her saying goodbye. I'm feeling a lot better, and am enjoying this new energy I'm feeling and new ways of feeling a loving connection to her.

Best Wishes to You!

[aikigypsy]

My DD is almost 28 months now, and still nursing 3+ times a day, except sometimes only twice. Right around when we found out, I cut out the middle-of-the-night nursings, then had to do it again a while later because we'd both gotten sick and I felt like she really needed to nurse more. Now she's night-weaned again, except for going to sleep and first thing in the morning, and also nurses to sleep for naps. I want to drop another bit, but she still complains about missing the 2 AM nu-nus, so I'm not pushing it.

I think it's made me more tired, but this time it hasn't been too painful. I also had a brief pregnancy in the summer-fall which ended in miscarriage, and then I found my nipples really hurt.

(I'm also due Sept/Oct)

I don't want to tandem nurse, but weaning is hard to do.

[rparker]

I'm 12 weeks tomorrow and my daughter is 29 months.

My pregnancy symptoms have been about the same as last pregnancy. I have taken more medication for morning sickness (and lost less weight) than I did last time in order to help "protect" my milk supply and have the energy to run after a toddler.

We night weaned about a month ago. (This was something I had tried to do several times in the past with little success.) My supply seems like it's probably lower. My daughter is nursing as much as she was pre-pregnancy (if not more) during the day. She's bitten me a few times though and switches sides more often. I'd like to stay the course and tandem nurse.

[nony]

Thanks so much for your feedback! I have definitely seen a slight decrease in milk production as i still have to pump a few times a week when I'm away from my daughter. And am also feeling a renewed nipple tenderness and a stronger letdown, which has intensified. The nursing frequency has picked up, as well, and I am hoping to tandem nurse, so am trying to be patient and available for when she does want to nurse, though it IS hard to do.

I guess I am a little surprised at not feeling ill or food cravings or and non-nursing related symptoms and am trying to keep unnecessary worries at bay - there is just so much to celebrate! thanks again, nony

[stellamia]

Everyone is different, but I've had the worst morning sickness with this pregnancy. It's my 3rd pregnancy and my first time BFing while pregnant. I am more exhausted than I've ever been in my life (including when I worked full time and went to school!). BUT, taking care of two kids and being pregnant could be the culprit. I don't want to blame BFing for anything because it may not be the cause.

[Yuba_River]

I'm interested, too. Like you, OP, I'm just 5.5 weeks along right now, and so far feeling good. I keep waiting for the killer MS I has last time to kick in.

[mrsfru]

Originally Posted by nony

Hi -
I'm wondering how moms who are nursing when they become pregnant experience their first trimesters. I am in my 6th wk, nursing my toddler and feeling rather good. How was/is your first trimester going while you're nursing? Are you experiencing the first tri like you did when you were pregnant and not nursing? I read on Kellymom that nursing moms may have less morn sickness. It's still early, but just wondering. Thanks in advance!

This is my second go-around nursing an older toddler while being pregnant. The last time, I was sooo sick that I took the highest dose of Zofran every day, several times a day. It was miserable. I was miserable. This time around, I'm doing pretty well, but I'm only 6 wks along. So, we'll see.

Congrats and best wishes!

mrsfru

[IAMommy]

I nursed my DS until I dried up during my second trimester - he was only 19 months old at the time. At first it was fine, but as my milk supply started to drop, I had those same gross, awful feelings that another poster mentioned. I didn't want to wean him, but I listened to my body which was sending very clear signals that it was not going to both gestate and lactate. He really weaned himself - he was never a comfort nurser, so when there was nothing left, he just gave up. It still makes me tear up a little thinking about it because I wanted to at least get to his second birthday. Even with the discomfort and annoyance I had started to feel, I was ready to go all through pregnancy and tandem too. However, he has taken a renewed interest in my chest, so I wonder if he smells the colostrum I am surely making at this point?
I hope that you don't lose your milk. Nursing did not affect my MS - I had the same level of nausea that I did with DS. The only thing that made it better at all was that I no longer had a job with offensive odors (like people's perfume, the toner in the printer, soap in the bathrooms, etc) to go to.

[slgt]

I was still nursing DD when I got pregnant, and nursed her until about 12 weeks into pregnancy. At that point, the nausea/vomiting was so bad, and I was losing weight, so had to wean her. I just did not have the emotional or physical energy to keep nursing her. She was down to 2x/day when i first got pregnant (morning & bedtime). Easily dropped the morning nurse. Bedtime was a bit harder, but she seems ok now. She still talks about nursing a LOT, and when she is feeling sad she will sometimes snuggle in and say, "I want to nurse", but then she says that she's a big girl and can just snuggle.

Not ideal, not what I had hoped for, but it's where we ended up. I did let her try again about a month ago, and she's forgotten how to nurse. Sniffle.

[porcelina]

My son is 28 months & and I am now 15 weeks pg. The first trimester was a bit hard, with some shooting pain in the nipples when he nursed. We nightweaned around 26 months and it went much better than our previous attempts. He still wakes around 4 to nurse, and I still need to eliminate that feeding (I'm just so exhausted at 4 am!). The rest of the day he only nurses once and then for bedtime (usually). I'd like to keep nursing as long as he wants. The pain is mostly gone now, though I have also noted a bit of an emotional removal/irritation around nursing. However, it's pretty mild, and is not making me change my mind. Tandem nursing seems daunting, but I think it will be okay, as long as he's only doing it a little (though I'm prepared for him to regress a bit at first after baby comes).

I'm not sure whether I still have milk. DS says that one side has water, and the other has milk. I don't know if it's true that I have colostrum on one side and not the other, but I guess it's possible! There has definitely been a decrease in supply as there is much less swallowing going on. However, he is undeterred.

I was wondering if nursing might affect pregnancy symptoms. I had virtually no symptoms during my first trimester, just very mild nausea from time to time. I didn't even have severe tiredness (not sure if I've just learned to live with it! ) So, not sure whether it's because this pregnancy is different or because of the nursing, but I definitely had less morning sickness (and tiredness) this pregnancy.

[crystaldawn]

I am 20 wks now and my dd is 17 mos. She's still nursing around 5 times a day. In the first trimester my biggest problem was I worried all the time about supply... and honestly now that I look back there really wasn't that big if any difference. My morning sickness with this baby was a little bit less severe than with my other pregnancies... I was still sick but I did not throw up nearly as much.

The biggest change for us came around 14 weeks when my nipples became VERY sensitive. Although I still love nursing dd, at that time (a few weeks) I sort of dreaded nursing sessions because I was sooooo sensitive. That has since gotten much better though.

GL!!

[Starry-eyedMom]

I felt like my body decided nursing was not for me when pregnant. Both times I've gotten pregnant with a nursing toddler, I almost felt a distaste for nursing any more. I also started some spotting. I figured my body was telling me something important, and I decided to wean at that point. Both of my boys rather willingly gave up the breast, so maybe my milk was largely gone or tasted funny to them. If there are no "signals" to stop, then I'd say keep doing what you're doing!

[lurve]

well i am 39 weeks today and nursing my three year old still! i never experienced a decrease in supply (I can't squeeze any milk out but I couldn't do that before I got pregnant either. My DD is very verbal and always tells me I have milk. I ask a lot!). The first 20 weeks or so there was definitely an "ouch" factor when she latched on. But for me it was worth it. Now there is no more ouch factor but my nipples are a lot more senstive than normal so we have twiddling battles going on. And I can't wait to tandem nurse now!

[claddaghmom]

Originally Posted by nony

Hi -
I'm wondering how moms who are nursing when they become pregnant experience their first trimesters. I am in my 6th wk, nursing my toddler and feeling rather good. How was/is your first trimester going while you're nursing? Are you experiencing the first tri like you did when you were pregnant and not nursing? I read on Kellymom that nursing moms may have less morn sickness. It's still early, but just wondering. Thanks in advance!

I think it was similar to my pregnancy without nursing. Either DD has a good latch or my nipples aren't sensitive...whatever the reason I don't have any pain.

I never vomited, and the brunt of symptoms ended around 9 weeks. With my 1st pregnancy, I vomited once and my symptoms ended at 12 weeks.

So I guess that's better??

I think I've experienced a big drop in supply, though. (I'm at 15 weeks). I've been trying to take my More Milk Two tincture throughout the day. Previously I was taking it at night. I thought we almost lost the relationship but DD was on a mini strike due to all her eye teeth coming in at the same time. She is back to nursing frequently.

[YummyYumYumMama]

Originally Posted by Yuba_River

I'm interested, too. Like you, OP, I'm just 5.5 weeks along right now, and so far feeling good. I keep waiting for the killer MS I has last time to kick in.

this is definitely very interesting to me!

i'm 6 weeks, and our nursing has already dropped off a lot in the past 2-3 months anyway. my daughter is 27.5 months old, and when she turned 2 she was still nursing A TON during the day and night. i was still nursing 8-12 times a day! we nightweaned her in january, and the daytime feedings have been slipping away. we were at 2-3 times a day when i got pregnant, but in the past week or so we are now at 1, every so often 2, times a day. that 1 time is just before bed. if there's a 2nd one, it's in the morning, but she rarely asks for that one.

she is OBSESSED with my breasts lately though and just wants to touch/squeeze them and/or pull my shirt down to see them, so we've been talking about how i really don't like the way that feels. she talks about boobs, nipples, and mimis (our word for nursing) all the time. we don't do the don't offer/don't refuse thing, because she asks for it ALL AFTERNOON, and now that she's given up nap, nursing her in the afternoon throws off her entire day, night, and next day because she falls asleep at odd hours and then has a hard time at night. so once we reach 2 pm and she hasn't asked for it, which has been happening every day lately, i tell her that she can't have it till bedtime.

my nipples are starting to feel weird, and when she's nursing it just feels different. i'm not sure if she's getting anything out. i don't plan to tandem, and i am hoping to wean during this pregnancy, but depending on how things go i'm open to the possibility of continuing to nurse/tandem-ing. i definitely feel worse when she's nursing, and i don't like our once-lovey nursing times to turn into me feeling uncomfortable/irritated, you know?

wow i just rambled a lot.

[redvlagrl]

I'm almost 36 weeks and have been nursing my now 18 mth old a few times a day throughout this pregnancy. The first tri was a bit tough because my nipples hurt a lot when she latched. This abated, though. At around 28 weeks, my milk turning into colostrum for a few days and then turned back to milk! It's now definitely colostrum and the supply is down (from maybe 33 weeks or so), so Dd is nursing a lot longer. But it doesn't seem to worry her.

[juliebird]

I'm 7w4d with my fourth pregnancy. I'm still nursing a 3 year old several times a day. so far my experience has been pretty good. My nipples are slightly more sore than usual, but not enough to make me really uncomfortable. My supply seems to have dipped a little though it's hard to tell...

As I said, it's my fourth pregnancy and each of the first 3 pregnancies I found that I was nauseous throughout 16 weeks or so with some vomiting but not much. This time, my nausea seems to have peaked already. It was pretty bad for a week or so, but I'm feeling much better and it's only 7 weeks! if I hadn't had an u/s today I would be really worried. Saw the peanut's heartbeat, which was really cool!!

So, the only difference between this pregnancy and the others is I'm nursing through it. Maybe that's the difference?

[sweet_tart_vt]

Ive been nursing my now 14moth old throughout this pregnancy (I am now 33wks with my 7th). I have definitley noticed a steady decrease in supply, which has led to my DS to begin self weaning. We still nurse a couple times a day but he has been fine with it; no problems at all. I do plan to tandem nurse(if he's still interested at that point) and I think he may pick up more interest once he discovers there is more milk available to him. I too, like many other mamas it seems, have had that "icky" feeling when nursing. Things dont feel as loving and comfortable as before, he has teeth that he likes to use at times, and I occasionally find myself feeling irritated with him. I have experienced this at other points in my life too, when I was pregant and nursing. I think a lot of it is hormones and the body working so hard to grow a baby as well as try to keep up a milk supply for an older child.

I nursed my 1st child throught the pregnancy of my 2nd (they are 14months apart) and my son (the 1st born) continued to tandem nurse until he was almost 3 while his sister self weaned at right around 2.

I Also nursed my 4th througout the pregnancy of my 5th (they are 17months apart). My 4th child (boy) had pretty much self weaned by the end of pregnancy, and was just down to comfort nursing, but picked up the pace again after his baby sis was born. He continued to nurse until the age of 2, although it was only a few times a day. His sister, baby #5, self weaned around age 2 1/2.

Ive always had terrible MS with all my pregnancies (HG with 2 of them, the 1st and this one currently) whether I have been nursing or not hasnt made a difference. It is pretty wretched until about 20-24wks then I hit smooth sailing. I dont know if it has made me more tired or not to nurse while preg, I have done it for so long now that I think my body has just learned to take it all in stride and accept the rest it gets greatfully and uses it to its full advantage. Being a mom of 6 that are all fairly close in age, my life has always been busy. I never really find myself feeling totally exhhausted so I think I have just learned to deal with it because that is how life is in our fam.