Nursing While Pregnant Support Thread

[cparkly]

Ok. Here it is....Tada! The Nursing While Pregnant Support Thread

I am nursing my (soon to be) 2 year old DS. I anticipated that there may be soreness, although I have never experienced it during my cycles. But, WOW! When DS latches on, I have to actively relax and use pain management techniques! He is as avid as ever, although he noticing changes. He told me yesterday morning that his "gigis soury" (the breastmilk was sour), and that my right breast was "mama big" and the left was "belly baby small".

I do hope that we can continue with breastfeeding right on through. He and I treasure that time together so very much.

Share your tales.

[boogiemonster]

I chose tandem nursing, but the truth is that I'd like to get her down to one nurse before bed and eliminate all the others. The kid is a nursing maniac, and she has never (at 2.5) STTN. I HAVE to find a way to get her to sleep without my nipple in her mouth all night, because there's no way I can keep that up with a newborn to care for as well.

I've been limiting the daytime nursing sessions, sometimes successfully, by telling her that she has to wait until after lunch, and that she can't NIP any more.

So, yeah, technically tandem nursing but hopefully restricted access for the toddler once the new babe comes.

[cmnewbs]

Oh good! I am glad you started this thread. I am nursing my almost 2yr old DD and I guess I am really not sure what I want to do...I know what she wants to do(never ever stop nursing!!) So far I've been in a lot of pain and kind of distracting her a little when she wants bahbi(nurse), which I don't mean to do but it really just hurts that much! DD hasn't complained aout the taste at all yet though, I guess we'll see how it goes.

[lillymonster]

I am nursing my 3 year old and she shows no sign of stopping. I swear my m/s goes away when she nurses though.

She nurses 1-3 times a day, so it's not so bad. Once when she wakes up, nurses if she takes a nap, and then bedtime. It hurts, but it has for a while because she kind of plays more than eats anyway. I hope she stops needing to nurse for sleep and naps, because nursing 2 kids to sleep would stink!

[RasJi7]

I had to check two boxes, I'm undecided. I haven't even officially joined the DDC yet Just a couple of days late but a hunch...

My son is 2 yrs and almost 3 months. He loves to nurse! He's getting two top teeth in the back right now and I've been talking to him about not drinking milk anymore after his top teeth come in. He was going along with me and we were planning a weaning party. I don't know a lot about weaning and any psychological effects of just stopping, I just knew I wanted to bf and went for the WHO recommendation of 2 yrs without any idea of what to do when we got to 2 yrs.

If I am pg then I am rethinking the persuaded weaning and just letting it happen in time. I'm thinking we will need the bonding closeness even more with someone else around to share my attention. The thought of looking down at both of them nursing is just really warming my heart and I'm not sure that I'm as ready as I thought I was to end this time of our lives (nursing DS).

[U-Turn]

I am nursing my 10mo. He doesn't eat much else, so it's a lot of nursing. Thankfully, it isn't bothering me much in the way of nipple pain.

I just weaned (like a few days before discovering this pregnancy!) my 2.5yo.

I will say that tandem nursing works soooo much better than starting fresh with a new babe. I didn't have any issues with engorgement or nipple cracking and bleeding last time. They were plenty in shape already! And though dd had been slowing down, she was happy to pick up the slack and help me to avoid engorgement.

[mollybet]

I'm nursing two now. I'm hoping the older one weans and the younger one continues! I have no interest in nursing three people, but I'm sure I will if it comes down to it.

[SuburbanHippie]

My YDS will be 3.5 when this baby is born and I have no doubt he will still be nursing still. He loves the "malkies."

[AFWife]

My son is 13 months...I'm planning to nurse as long as I can. I'm not sure about tandeming yet. I figure I'll make that call when it comes to it!

[MPsSweetie]

I am still nursing my 3.5y/o ds. Well, only once a day or so, but he tells me he still gets milk! I don't know if I will wean during pregnancy or not. Probably not, he LOVES milkies, but I'm not sure about tandem with a 4y/o and a newborn, he's pretty squirmy and rough, and I don't want him to suck me dry and leave nothing for the baby!

[laurac5]

My 19mo dd nurses 2-3 times a day right now, mostly nursing to sleep. If she were drinking a lot at each nursing session that would be one thing, but I feel like it will be too exhausting to nurse two down to sleep when one of them isn't even getting much milk from it. She *can* fall asleep on her own, so I am hoping to encourage more of that over the next several months. But I don't plan on pushing it... if she's not ready, she's not ready.

[xtara2003x]

I have no clue what I'll be doing!!

DD is 3, and nurses once a day. I had a loss in March and am a bit nervous to nurse during the first trimester. I may try and get her to every other day or so....I won't mind so much in the second I don't think.

If DD is still nursing when our baby is born, I don't think I'd have a hard time tandom nursing, since DD only nurses once a day now. I have a feeling though with lots of milk she may want to nurse more. I guess we'll just have to see what happens!!

[jesbyr]

My daughter is 14 months and still going strong. She is still very attached to nursing down to sleep for both naptimes and bedtime. I don't have any plans for weaning at this point but I'm not sure that we can make it to tandem. If she wants to, thats great and we'll do our best.

[Adallae]

DD will be 1 year in two weeks () and is still nursing. I want to tandem, just because I think it will make the transition easier for her. I do want to try to nightwean before the baby's born. We're going to give it a try this summer, around 14 months, when DH will be home and we can better tolerate being up for extended periods during the night.

Nursing while pregnant is more challenging than I thought it would be. DD likes to lay on my stomach, while doesn't help with the m/s, and I seem to have less patience for the rolling, twisting, pinching, and acrobatics.

For those who have done this before - any suggestions on how to keep your supply up? Is it possible to not lose your milk during pregnancy?

[HippieMamaBE]

I'm still nursing DS who will be two in June, and I plan to continue, and hopefully tandem nurse once this new babe is born. DS nurses most days three to four times a day, for naps and at bedtime, and one to two times a night as well, and he's showing no signs of slowing down. So, unless he self weans, I'll be tandem nursing!

[theboysmama]

On may 27th I will have been nursing for 8 years. My 3 yr old weaned in January (via a mama guided weaning party and trip to disney world courtesy of grandpa) That is how my older two weaned as well.
DD is 16 months and nurses an awful lot. It is uncomfortable sometimes but I have had thrush off and on for over a year so it doesn't feel worse than that. It is SOOOOOO worth it. My children bond so well with eachother, they don't feel jealous, help with engorgement, speeds up labor (if nurse during labor), nipples are prepped and ready to go, etc.

Originally Posted by MPsSweetie

I'm not sure about tandem with a 4y/o and a newborn, he's pretty squirmy and rough, and I don't want him to suck me dry and leave nothing for the baby!

Breastmilk works on supply and demand and if your 4 y/o is demanding then your breasts will supply. My ds1 was 2 and nursing more than my nb. I am not a pumper but was able to pump 5 oz from one breast in less than 5 min. bcs ds1 was gone all day and I was daying. (that was just to get a little off of the top). I have never had supply issues but I am not an oversupplyer either. Just make what they need. Your baby will have plenty and they can even hold hands while they both nurse or you don't even have to nurse at the same time.

Originally Posted by xtara2003x

I had a loss in March and am a bit nervous to nurse during the first trimester.

I don't know if this will make you feel better but I had 2 m/c while nursing ds2 and questioned as to whether I should wean him when I became pg again. I did not. I nursed him through my entire pg and had another healthy little boy. There is not need to wean in the first tri. The only time weaning would be necessary is if you are having severe pre-term labor that IS set off by nursing (it isn't always).

[crunchynerd]

[QUOTE=
Breastmilk works on supply and demand and if your 4 y/o is demanding then your breasts will supply. .[/QUOTE]

Having been a mother who was told over and over "it's all just supply and demand" when I had a real, undiagnosed, slow thyroid that was causing real milk insufficiency with my 1st, I have to chime in that, whereas it is IDEALLY just supply and demand, it isn't always. Individual metabolic situations can come into play.

I had a heck of a time getting my thyroid checked and the real problem diagnosed and treated, because I was being pooh-poohed by all the well-meaning CNMs and everyone else, told over and over that it was supply and demand, and no one would believe that I wasn't 'just another nervous new mother who doesn't trust breastfeeding" until I had dealt with a starving newborn who screamed every moment she was awake despite nursing every 15 minutes or more round the clock, only fell asleep when exhausted from screaming, and finally lost enough weight that they realized it wasn't all in my head.

All that suffering could have been avoided if my "caregivers" hadn't been so complacent and self-assured, and had taken me seriously instead of dismissing me and assuming that the "supply and demand" thing always works.
If you are metabolically normal, and don't have any health situations which would cause a problem with it, then it is supply and demand.

[theboysmama]

I recognize that it isn't always supply and demand and that mothers can sometimes have other issues that affect milk supply but in this case I was referring solely to how nursing a 4 y/o will NOT take all of the milk from the baby. Unfortunately that is what many people will ask... "is that safe while your pg? won't that harm the baby?" ... "Your toddler is so big he won't leave any milk for the baby"... "you shouldn't let your toddler have any colustrum bcs they will take it all from the baby", etc. etc. etc.
I was in no way trying to undermine that there can be real nursing difficulties. The post that i originally quoted seemed like the mother had not had any issues with her current 4 y/o (or at least did not mention any) and was just worried that her 4 y/o would drink all of the milk which is not the case bcs as he suck tons more would be produced therefore he would not be depriving the baby.

It is also important to remember that nursing while pregnant the nutrients from your body are distributed first to the fetus than to the nursling and then to the mother. It is crucial that you eat plenty of healthy nutritous foods, take pre-natal vitamins, and drink lots of water. Also the more water that I drink tends to lessen the nipple pain.

[Tithonia]

My DD will be 3 1/2 when the new one arrives, and she still loves to nurse, although I think I lost my supply last fall when I went on a serious diet and she wasn't nursing much for a bit. But she loves to snuggle and suckle anyway. I have noticed that I feel less tender after she nurses, so that's another reason I'm happy to continue for as long as she wants. I'm guessing that will mean we'll be tandem nursing, which is not something I ever expected to do (since I wasn't planning on another baby yet), but I'm fine with. We'll just take it as it comes.

[MPsSweetie]

Originally Posted by theboysmama

Breastmilk works on supply and demand and if your 4 y/o is demanding then your breasts will supply. My ds1 was 2 and nursing more than my nb. I am not a pumper but was able to pump 5 oz from one breast in less than 5 min. bcs ds1 was gone all day and I was daying. (that was just to get a little off of the top). I have never had supply issues but I am not an oversupplyer either. Just make what they need. Your baby will have plenty and they can even hold hands while they both nurse or you don't even have to nurse at the same time.

I don't know if this will make you feel better but I had 2 m/c while nursing ds2 and questioned as to whether I should wean him when I became pg again. I did not. I nursed him through my entire pg and had another healthy little boy. There is not need to wean in the first tri. The only time weaning would be necessary is if you are having severe pre-term labor that IS set off by nursing (it isn't always).

Thanks. That does sound so sweet! Maybe I'll give it a try when the time comes. Last night though, he kept pulling off (OUCH) and saying it felt weird, and that he needed his water. He only nurses to sleep at this point, but doesn't HAVE to, so maybe he'll finish up himself soon.