Questions For Nursing Moms Who Are Pregnant...To Help Those Of Us TTC while Nursing.

[siffleuse319]

Hi Nursing Mamas. Congrats on your BFPs!! There are many of us who are aspiring to be on this board again. Since nursing adds some unique challenges to pregnancy, please help those of us TTCing out by answering a few questions. Thank you so much in advance.

How old is/was your nursling when you got a BFP?

How often were you nursing when you conceived and implanted?

How many dpo did you get a BFP? Did you have any early symptoms?

Did you do anything to sustain your pregnancy (ie progesterone cream, primrose oil B6, etc)

Were your breasts or nipples sore before or after your BFP?

Did your nursling cut down during your pregnancy?

[Jaimee]

How old is/was your nursling when you got a BFP?

When I got my BPF with #2 dd was 27 months old.  With #3 ds was 14 months old.

How often were you nursing when you conceived and implanted?

With #2, dd was nursing about 3 times a day and was nightweaned.  With #3, ds was nursing frequently during the day and night.

How many dpo did you get a BFP? Did you have any early symptoms?

Both times I was distracted by travel, stress, and general disbelief... I realized belatedly that my charts were abnormal.  I tested late for both of them (20+ DPO).  Looking back I did have some gaggy moments, smell/food aversions, and sore nipples with #2.  With #3 I definitely noticed sore nipples and my stomach totally bloating out- the m/s came a bit later.

Did you do anything to sustain your pregnancy (ie progesterone cream, primrose oil B6, etc)

No

Were your breasts or nipples sore before or after your BFP?

Before, but I didn't think much of it b/c sometimes that happens off and on.  After the BFP's I realized what was going on and the nipple sensitivity increased quite a bit over the next few weeks.

Did your nursling cut down during your pregnancy?

The pain was so bad that I asked dd if we could stop nursing and she agreed.  With ds being so young still I toughed it out for about two months and finally night weaned.  Ds still nurses throughout the day, but I run out of milk by the afternoon if he nurses a lot (I'm almost 14 weeks).

[Thyme Mama]

How old is/was your nursling when you got a BFP?        15 months, I conceived baby #2 on my second PP cycle.     20 months, I conceived baby #3 on my third PP cycle.

How often were you nursing when you conceived and implanted?        Throughout the day and all night.     Randomly throughout the day and a little at night.

How many dpo did you get a BFP?      9 DPO.     9 DPO.

Did you have any early symptoms?     Sticky cm instead of none, sensitive nipples, awareness and "just knew" I had conceived.     Sticky cm instead of none, heartburn, cat nap in afternoon (I never nap), veiny breasts, awareness and "just knew" all by 7 DPO.

Did you do anything to sustain your pregnancy (ie progesterone cream, primrose oil B6, etc)?     No. I had experienced a very strong and healthy ovulation.     Nourishing,simple teas.

Were your breasts or nipples sore before or after your BFP?      Before, and it was AWFUL! :(        Before again.

Did your nursling cut down during your pregnancy?       No, but I had to end nursing as it was waaaaaaaaaaay too painful. I tandem nursed for 1 year after #2 was born.      Completely weaned #2.

[egmaranian]

How old is/was your nursling when you got a BFP?

DS was 11mo when I got my first BFP.  Unfortunately, this pg ended in miscarriage.  I DO NOT believe the m/c was related to nursing in any way whatsoever!  I got pg again when DS was 17mo and I am currently 29wks pg (DS will be 2yo in a couple of weeks)

How often were you nursing when you conceived and implanted?

Every 3ish hours during the day and throughout the night with both BFPs.

How many dpo did you get a BFP? Did you have any early symptoms?

Didn't know I was pg the 1st time until I missed my period.  I wasn't charting yet as it was my 1st pp cycle.  With pg #2, I got my BFP at 9dpo.  No early symptoms.

Did you do anything to sustain your pregnancy (ie progesterone cream, primrose oil B6, etc)

Not exactly.  I was using a fertility "cocktail" (EPO, Robitussin, B6/B50, folic acid) to help me conceive the 2nd time and I continued taking extra folic acid and baby aspirin after the BFP for about 2 months.

Were your breasts or nipples sore before or after your BFP?

Not in general, but BFing was/is still very painful.

Did your nursling cut down during your pregnancy?

No, but he did dry nurse for several weeks after my milk production tanked (he's a hardcore boob man).  He has actually increased nursing now that I'm making colostrum.

[bethanyclaire]

I have had 3 pregnancies while nursing. One was my 5 year old daughter, one was a miscarriage and one is my current pregnancy (18 week along now)

How old is/was your nursling when you got a BFP?

Pregnancy 1 - I got pg a week before DS's first birthday. 

Pregnancy 2 (m/c) - DS2 was 5 weeks old when I conceived

Pregnancy 3 - DS2 was a week or two shy of 1 year.

How often were you nursing when you conceived and implanted?

Pregnancy 1 - 8-9 times in 24 hour period, less during the day and more at night

Pregnancy 2 (m/c) - 24/7 as usual with a 5 week old (no supplements, no pacifiers, nursing on demand) :)

Pregnancy 3 - 6-7 times in 24 hour period, only twice during the day

How many dpo did you get a BFP? Did you have any early symptoms?

Pregnancy 1 - I don't remember, probably 14dpo since I didn't test early

Pregnancy 2 (m/c) - Negative at 6 dpo (I was checking for residual hormones because I was pretty sure I ovulated), negative test at 10 dpo, negative at 11 dpo, positive at 16 dpo

Pregnancy 3 - Negative at 10 dpo, positive at 16 dpo

Did you do anything to sustain your pregnancy (ie progesterone cream, primrose oil B6, etc)

No, didn't do anything outside of vitamins and healthy diet

Were your breasts or nipples sore before or after your BFP?

All 3 times I had some soreness at 10-18ish dpo and then nothing for a few weeks. Pretty bad nipple soreness by 6 weeks.

Did your nursling cut down during your pregnancy?

Nope, neither DS1 or DS2 ever cut down. They were both marathon nursers and aren't easily discouraged. My milk supply dropped at bit with two of the pregnancies but not with the m/c.

[EonJourney]

How old is/was your nursling when you got a BFP? 32 months

How often were you nursing when you conceived and implanted? nightweaned but 4-6 x during the day

How many dpo did you get a BFP? Did you have any early symptoms? 10 dpo no early symptoms except felt funny after I ran a race

Did you do anything to sustain your pregnancy (ie progesterone cream, primrose oil B6, etc) no

Were your breasts or nipples sore before or after your BFP? oh so sore starting about 6 weeks.

Did your nursling cut down during your pregnancy? yes, my milk supply has tanked and he nurses now 2-3 x day some dry nursing but he still loves it.

I started to ovulate 3 months after night weaning and got pregnant soon after that.

[doulawoman]

How old is/was your nursling when you got a BFP?

14 months

How often were you nursing when you conceived and implanted?

it differed by day... minimum of 4 times per night, 5 times per day

How many dpo did you get a BFP? Did you have any early symptoms?

12-14 yes, dd was nursing more than usual, very very bloated, two pregnancy dreams, starving, exhausted

Did you do anything to sustain your pregnancy (ie progesterone cream, primrose oil B6, etc)

took vitex prior to conceiving and through the first few weeks. If i ahd a history of m/c i'd do it the whole first tri as it's safe for bothe nurslings and fetuses. I have endo as well and as soon as I began taking it I conceived both times.

Were your breasts or nipples sore before or after your BFP?

they were sore the normal amount they would be before my period, slightly more week 5-6, slightly better now in week 7

Did your nursling cut down during your pregnancy?

notyet, but I plan to at least a bit.

[cparkly]

How old is/was your nursling when you got a BFP? DS was 31 months.

How often were you nursing when you conceived and implanted? 5-6 times a day.

How many dpo did you get a BFP? Did you have any early symptoms? 12 DPO. Yes, I was tired, had achy breasts, had a headache and was nauseated, already. 

Did you do anything to sustain your pregnancy (ie progesterone cream, primrose oil B6, etc) I did/ do not know what caused my two previous pregnancies to end in miscarriage, so I did not do anything other to increase my calcium intake and get more rest.

Were your breasts or nipples sore before or after your BFP? Before, during, after. Now...

Did your nursling cut down during your pregnancy? DS has cut back, as I lost most of my milk during week 16. He nurses 3-4 times a day, now.

Best of luck to you all .

[akind1]

Originally Posted by siffleuse319 

Hi Nursing Mamas. Congrats on your BFPs!! There are many of us who are aspiring to be on this board again. Since nursing adds some unique challenges to pregnancy, please help those of us TTCing out by answering a few questions. Thank you so much in advance.

How old is/was your nursling when you got a BFP?

How often were you nursing when you conceived and implanted?

How many dpo did you get a BFP? Did you have any early symptoms?

Did you do anything to sustain your pregnancy (ie progesterone cream, primrose oil B6, etc)

Were your breasts or nipples sore before or after your BFP?

Did your nursling cut down during your pregnancy?

My nursling turned 14 months on the very day I got my BFP.

We were nursing wake up, bedtime, naptime, and sometimes in between, and through the night also. We had been doing this for a month or so.

I was 14 DPO, bu this is also the first day I tested. Good thing too; because I didn't realize I had a very insenstive test! Early symptoms? not that I recall, other than maybe a feeling of fullness in my uterus. Oh, I have notes! um. very, very tired, nausea - I have not thrown up due to morning sickness yet (I am 22 weeks)
 

I didn't do anything in particular, other than we were working on cutting back nursing sessions.

Nipples sore and breast tender AFTER bfp, and still are, very.

My supply dropped dramatically - I had no milk left  towards the end of my first trimester, and DS was weaned completely before we were out of it. The last nursing sessions to go were the night wake up ones. Once we night weaned, he was weaned completely. As my nipples are still very sore/tender, I am kinda glad.

[Abraisme]

How old is/was your nursling when you got a BFP?

18mo

How often were you nursing when you conceived and implanted?

Every 2-4 hours around the clock

How many dpo did you get a BFP? Did you have any early symptoms?

Not really any early symptoms.  I got a bfp around 12dpo.

Did you do anything to sustain your pregnancy (ie progesterone cream, primrose oil B6, etc)

I was taking Vitex, but I don't think it did much.

Were your breasts or nipples sore before or after your BFP?

Just the normal pms amount.

Did your nursling cut down during your pregnancy?

I'm currently 14w, my milk is nearly gone (I can still get a few drops), but she nurses as much as ever.

I got my AF back at 13mo pp, but it took me until 18mo's to get pregnant.  My first 2 pregnancies happened the first month that I tried, so this was unusual for me.  My cycles was very wacky (48 days long), even up to the month I conceived.  I didn't actually O until CD 30, but still managed to get pregnant.  Good luck!

[munchymum]

I want to draw your attention to this research:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2265.1983.tb02978.x/abstract

Basically, it's saying that women seem to find it easier to conceive if they are nursing no more than 3x day with a total nursing time of 65 minutes.  Obviously this is an average, and not from a huge sample of women either.  There are some women who can conceive 6 months postpartum when still nursing 12 times a day.  But following these guidelines helped me a lot - I was TTCing for 6 months, gradually cutting down the feeds, but as soon as I dropped below these levels I conceived right away.

Hope this helps!

[tourist.]

How old is/was your nursling when you got a BFP?  21 Months

How often were you nursing when you conceived and implanted?  3-4 times per day

How many dpo did you get a BFP? Did you have any early symptoms?  9 DPO.  My only symptoms were that usually during thru right after ovulation nursing would hurt really bad, this month nursing hurt then stopped and then returned.  The return of the pain was unusual.  I also had a sex dream is something that is pretty common for me during pregnancy.

Did you do anything to sustain your pregnancy (ie progesterone cream, primrose oil B6, etc)  I was prescribed progesterone pills.  I took them from ovulation through BFP and then stopped per my OB's direction.

Were your breasts or nipples sore before or after your BFP? See early symptoms above, but the sore nipples continue even now in the 3rd tri. 

Did your nursling cut down during your pregnancy?   Oh yea, totally.  He was not sleeping through the night when I got pregnant (21m) and by his second birthday he was.  We are now to a point where he occassionally goes down for naps or bed at night without nursing.  Some days we nurse once, some days up to three times, and other days no times at all.  There's no milk now - or if there is there is very very little.  He recently started saying there's milk when I ask him but I'm not sure. 

In my experience I had to really really reduce the amount of nursing sessions that we were having through gentle distraction and encouragement to do other things.  My cycles didn't even return until 16 months pp, and when they did my LP was *super* short until the cycle of the BFP when I was on the progesterone supplement.
 

[crazykittymomma]

How old is/was your nursling when you got a BFP?

22 months

How often were you nursing when you conceived and implanted?

We WERE down to just before nap and just before bed and like two or three times overnight...until I got pregnant.

How many dpo did you get a BFP? Did you have any early symptoms?

9 dpo I thought I saw something but looking back at the picture, it's hardly visible. Visible line on 11dpo and a positive digital on 13dpo.

Did you do anything to sustain your pregnancy (ie progesterone cream, primrose oil B6, etc)

I was taking progesterone cream to bring back my period (never came back) and taking a b-complex. I took the cream until about 9 weeks.

Were your breasts or nipples sore before or after your BFP?

HECK YES. 14 weeks now and they're worse than ever. :(

Did your nursling cut down during your pregnancy?

Nope. Increased dramatically even though my supply is pretty much gone.

[konayossie]

How old is/was your nursling when you got a BFP?

DS was about 20 months.

How often were you nursing when you conceived and implanted?

Quite frequently--as often as he could with me being WOHM--early morning, afternoon, evening off and on, and night nursing.

How many dpo did you get a BFP? Did you have any early symptoms?

I suspected by 5 DPO when AF hadn't arrived (I had been having a seriously short LP--3-5 days). Think I got a visible-only-to-the-pee-stick-crazed eyes at 7 dpo.

Did you do anything to sustain your pregnancy (ie progesterone cream, primrose oil B6, etc)

I had Rx oral progesterone that I had been prescribed when I was TTC several months earlier. I took it, but i'm not sure if it was really necessary.

Were your breasts or nipples sore before or after your BFP?

Don't really remember too well--I think the nursing pain kicked in pretty quickly after I got pregnant.

Did your nursling cut down during your pregnancy?

I'm 23 weeks now, and DS is down to just a couple nursings a day (with some leading on my part--I do refuse him a lot b/c of pain, etc.). I think my milk completely dried up early in the 2nd tri.

Unsolicited advice---You know how everyone says changing something quickly can make a difference? I didn't realize how short-lived said change should be. I believe the reason I was able to get pregnant (on accident after TTC for about 5 months!) was b/c I didn't nurse DS at all for 18-24 hours twice during a week span. We traveled over the holidays, didn't nurse during the car trip, then I came home, ovulated, and here I am....

[maptome]

How old is/was your nursling when you got a BFP?

21 months

How often were you nursing when you conceived and implanted?

1-2 times per day, 5-6 times per night

How many dpo did you get a BFP? Did you have any early symptoms?

don't know.

Did you do anything to sustain your pregnancy (ie progesterone cream, primrose oil B6, etc)

no

Were your breasts or nipples sore before or after your BFP?

don't know

Did your nursling cut down during your pregnancy?

NO!!!! She went insane and at least doubled her nursing probably right after conception, in retrospect.

[NolliesMama]

How old is/was your nursling when you got a BFP? 14 months old 

How often were you nursing when you conceived and implanted? still nursing on demand and through the night, minimum of 7 times daily, quick nurser though who only nurses 5-10 minutes each time

How many dpo did you get a BFP? Did you have any early symptoms? 12dpo got positive dollar store and 13 got positive digital

Did you do anything to sustain your pregnancy (ie progesterone cream, primrose oil B6, etc) I lost the pregnancy at 6 weeks but keep getting reassured BFing wasn't a cause, first sign was lack of strong progression on pregnancy tests and I started bleeding about 4 days after I began to worry

Were your breasts or nipples sore before or after your BFP? Never noticed much of a change in supply or tenderness before after or during pregnancy/MC

Did your nursling cut down during your pregnancy? N/A

Currently back to trying again with a 19mo old nursling!!

[purplefish]

How old is/was your nursling when you got a BFP? 3

How often were you nursing when you conceived and implanted?  lots

5am

long wake-up feed

3pm feed at home time

6pm snack feed

9pm bedtime / sleep feed / long

How many dpo did you get a BFP? Did you have any early symptoms? bloating only symptom

Did you do anything to sustain your pregnancy (ie progesterone cream, primrose oil B6, etc) eating lots of eggs,meat,vegetables and nuts

Were your breasts or nipples sore before or after your BFP? no

Did your nursling cut down during your pregnancy? not so far but only 7 weeks

[mamagingey]

How old is/was your nursling when you got a BFP?

almost 3 years

How often were you nursing when you conceived and implanted?

reliably only at bedtime & first thing in the morning... occasionally during the day if she was bored/upset/wanted attention

How many dpo did you get a BFP? Did you have any early symptoms?

day after expected period.  fatigue, nausea, aversion to alcohol... and the weekend of the positive test just felt weak & 'fuzzy'... also, i swear my daughter was extra grumpy for those first few weeks and she suddenly wanted to nurse more.

Did you do anything to sustain your pregnancy (ie progesterone cream, primrose oil B6, etc)

no - everything i read said there was no need.  i was nervous at first & tried to discourage my daughter from nursing, but never had any problems.

Were your breasts or nipples sore before or after your BFP?

it took a few days/weeks (can't remember how long now) but ohmygoodness yes... at 14 weeks it is still agonizing when she latches & the first few seconds after... ok after that unless she is squirming around.

Did your nursling cut down during your pregnancy?

the opposite - she continues to want to nurse more that before.

[hjdmom24]

How old is/was your nursling when you got a BFP?

2 years 6months...( but as a side note all my kids were about this age when I got pregnant with the next nursing or not...must just be how my body works )

How often were you nursing when you conceived and implanted?

Several short sessions during the day and longer sessions at bedtime, first waking up and usually once during the night.

How many dpo did you get a BFP? Did you have any early symptoms?

Don't know how many days DPO since I have never been able to tell when I O. I didn't have early symptoms but knew because I had implantation spotting the day after I would have expected my period.

Did you do anything to sustain your pregnancy (ie progesterone cream, primrose oil B6, etc)-

No

Were your breasts or nipples sore before or after your BFP?

Nipple/breast soreness has never been a symptom for me but my nipples have been sore since about 14 weeks which may be due to the fact my son is still trying to nurse although I think I dried up around 10 weeks.

Did your nursling cut down during your pregnancy?

He had cut way back in the beginning..I actually thought he was going to wean (yay) but around the time I dried up he started back like normal and still tries several times a day..sometimes he says there is no milk and sometimes he says there is some..so IDK I cannot hand express anything though.

[1love4ever]

How old is/was your nursling when you got a BFP?

She was exactly 1 year old when I conceived.  She was 1yr and 3 weeks when I got a positive preg test.

How often were you nursing when you conceived and implanted? I was nursing about 5 times a day, on 1 boob each time usually, probably about 5 ounces each feeding so about 25oz a day.

How many dpo did you get a BFP? My preg test showed positive 1 month after the last day of my last period.

Did you have any early symptoms? No other symptoms other than not getting my period.  I did expect that I was pregnant soon after I conceived, not sure why.  Mothers intuition?

Did you do anything to sustain your pregnancy (ie progesterone cream, primrose oil B6, etc) - I drink a pregnancy tea recommended by my midwife.  Equal parts of Red raspberry leaf, peppermint and alfalfa

Were your breasts or nipples sore before or after your BFP? I am now 17 and a half weeks preg and have not had sore nipples yet, other than maybe extremely mild soreness now and then, hardly noticable.

Did your nursling cut down during your pregnancy?  She has cut down because I have worked with her.  We are down to 3 times per 24 hrs for the most part,  but I did substitute 1  feeding with raw goats milk for the first time today and she did great!  Sometimes we do feed more than 3 times though.