breast feeding while pregnant

[annan617]

I know there are a number of threads about this subject but I am so confused right now I really need some good advice. I have a 27 month old and she is still breast feeding, its only twice a day just before nap and just before bed. if anything its a sleep association and she doesn't ask for it any other times, however she needs it to fall asleep.

I am now 15 weeks pregnant and everything is going well. However I keep getting cramps/contractions and so I am really worried. They appear when I am breast feeding and last about an hour or so.  Everything went well during my pregnancy with my daughter so I don't have a history of pre-term labor but she was born via c-section and I never experience labor so I don't know what a contractions feels like so I don't know if what I am experiencing right now is a contraction. 

My OB/Gyn thinks I should wean but my daughter is so not ready and neither am I. I don't know anyone who has breast fed during pregnancy or who has tandem nursed. My husband thinks I should wean but he he also very supportive of my decisions. I am reading adventures in tandem nursing at the moment and mothering your nursing toddler and both books are extremely helpful.

I would really appreciate any advice or words of encouragement you can offer me. Has anyone else weaned in this situation? If you didn't and felt contractions could you tell me what they felt like and how often you felt them.

Thanks!

[Beppie]

I don't have any advice since I never experienced contractions that way while nursing & pregnant.  But with both of my last pregnancies, I nursed my babies until I was about 6 months pregnant, when I gradually weaned them.  I think some contractions are normal towards the end of pregnancy, I'm not sure about yours because they seem pretty strong and last for a while.

Many OB/Gyns are simply not very informed about breastfeeding.  Is there someone else you can contact who is more knowledgeable and supportive of breastfeeding?  Is there a Lactation consultant or LLL group nearby that you can turn to for support?

It sounds like the contractions you feel are Braxton Hicks.  My health care provider during pregnancy was my midwife, who I would not hesitate to consult since she was very supportive of extended breastfeeding --- I would suggest that you find someone like that to consult. 

Best of luck to you!

[ciscomama]

I am nursing my 9 month old and am about 8 weeks pregnant. Our pediatrician (whose specialities are NICU graduates and Lactation - both of which were great for me after my daughter's birth) said that it's fine to nurse her until I'm 7 months pregnang. She mentioned that nipple stimulation could give me contractions, but I told her I had braxton hicks for the majority of my pregnancy with my daughter.

Personally, if my daughter were that age I would probably wean her since she seems to be getting her nutrition from other forms and may be using nursing simply for comfort.

 Couple ways I would consider doing it 1) Quit cold turkey, rough at first but likely to get better faster 2) stop putting her on breast, instead pump milk and give in a cup... wean from breast first, then from the milk second.

If you are having long contractions, it may be best to wean.

Another thing to consider,

how will your daughter do if you wean later and then shortly after she sees her sibling getting your milk? The further apart you can make the weaning and the new baby nursing may be best for the one who will no longer be getting mommy's milk.

I would definitely start a dialog with your pediatrician as well as your OBGYN or midwife.

[sundaya]

Hi! My DD is 28 months, and I"m 25 weeks pregnant. From everything I've read, if the doctor hasn't told you not to have sex, then bfing should be ok. However, I'm an err-on-the side-of caution type of girl, and when I started having contractions like that about 3 or 4 weeks ago, we started the weaning process. I'm sad about it, because I'd hoped to tandem, but, I do feel that realistically at this point, DD will be ok. It is definitely possible at this age to comfort in other ways. And while I feel that the contractions probably are harmless, the stress and worry that they caused me just weren't a good thing. I'm sure other moms make different decisions, and if she was younger, I might have gone the other way, I'm not sure. 

I would have thought for sure she wasn't ready, but she's really handled it well, and it's been totally gentle so far.  She still tells me all the time how much she loves her meemees, but she doesn't ask for them anymore. This is a girl who was nursing maybe 8 times a day still.

Our hardest was the nurse to sleep. She had already dropped her nap, but I though night-time would be awful. It wasn't. We talked a lot about it before hand, that we would change our bedtime routine, and nurse before we read our book. The first couple of nights, when she got sad or worked up, I told her I would nurse her for 10 seconds (which I'd been using to limit during the day, so she was used to it). We had some rough moments the first night, but then it got easier after that. I'm still nursing her once, before our bedtime routine, but that's going to go away soon.

I hope something in there is helpful to you. It's such a hard decision, and I spent 2 weeks or so going back and forth on it. Best wishes. 

[Marissamom]

cramping/contractions when nursing my DD were actually my first pregnancy symptom with my DS. as my pregnancy progressed they would usually last longer after a nursing session. the contractions are completely harmless, and you do not need to wean because of them unless you have been told not to have sex. I did not go into early labor with DS, in fact DD was born at 38+6 and DS wasn't born until 41+3, so it definitely didn't make me go into labor early. now I'm tandeming DD and DS. 

[averlee]

I am only 8-9 weeks pregnant, and still nursing my 4 year old a few times a day. My doctor didn't offer any advice/suggestions, just said "That's great" and went on to the next question. 

Unless you are a seriously high risk pregnancy, there seems to be no reason to wean. Many women have more comfortable pregnancy if they continue nursing throughout.