The Nursing While Pregnant Thread...

[AfricanQueen99]

My boy is just shy of 16 months and has really *really* picked up on nursing lately.  He's always loved it, but now asks allll the time.  Anyway, I'm 8w1d and I think I've already drastically reduced my milk output because I almost never hear the swallows anymore.  This is my first time nursing through a non-miscarriage pregnancy, but that seems uber early to me.  My worry is that he'll eventually give up on nursing and not want to tandem when it comes back in.

Anybody else feel a decrease in output?

How's nursing going for you?

[bentlaj11]

Mine has gone down alot (I'm 10/4 today). The only reason I can tell though is b/c the first few days where he was too distracted to nurse much (on the weekend and he napped in the car) I barely had any discomfort. Now except at night because he has been a little under the weather, he hasn't really nursed that much. At first I thought it was a flavor issue. There were a couple of times were he nursed and then made a face. But, before his nap he still drinks w/ no problem. I don't really think at night he's actually drinking that much.. just comfort nursing to try to get back to sleep. Long story short... my supply has dropped, but I think alot of it is because he hasn't been nursing as much, and I don't know how much of it is due to pg (flavor and low supply) vs. him just not wanting it as much/being more distracted during the day.

[100%mom]

I'm still nursing, but my baby is only 9 1/2 months. I can still hear the swallows so I don't know if my supply has gone down any. With my last pg I weaned at 11 wks and with the pg before my baby weaned on it's own at 10 wks. I'm 8 1/2 wks now and hope to nurse for a couple more months at least.

[BennyPai]

I'm nursing while pregnant again.  The last two pregnancies my milk was gone by the end of the second trimester.  So far, my 2yo is still gulping milk.  :)  We'll see how it goes.

The worst part for me is the sensitive nipples.    The sensitivity will eventually decrease, but in the meantime:  Aaargh!

[coldandsleepy]

I'm still nursing.  My son is almost 21 months old.  We day-weaned at 19 months for some unavoidable reasons (he was in daycare for the month) and I found out I was pregnant at basically the same time.  I can definitely tell there's less milk coming out now, but he doesn't seem to mind. He still nurses 1-2 times a night and has one long session right when he wakes up.

The thing is, I would be delighted to daytime tandem nurse... but I really only partially wake up to nurse him at night and I just feel like it'd be impossible to do that with a toddler AND a newborn cosleeping.  I don't want to re-intro day nursing, but I'm not ready to stop with him entirely yet, and I don't think he is either...

[danamichele]

I'm still nursing my 2 1/2 year old.  She has always LOVED nursing-- she would literally nurse all day if I let her.  I have no desire to tandem nurse this particular toddler and an infant.  I don't know if my supply has decreased because she has always comfort nursed regardless of the presence of milk.  She said that my milk still tastes the same, but my nipples are definitely sensitive.  She only nurses now to fall asleep at nap time if we're home and before bed, even though she can fall asleep on her own after she finishes milk.  It seems, then, like we're not that far from weaning, but I'm afraid it's not going to come naturally to change those routines. For now I'm just trying to decrease the frequency of nap nursings and the duration of night nursings.  Hopefully within a few months it will happen on its own.

--Dana

[jessica_lizette]

I'm nursing my 20 month old and about 10 weeks along. So far so good. With my previous pregnancy I had a good supply until about 20 weeks and then my son had to wean. If it goes away and she weans, I'd be okay with that. If she wants to pick back up again after the baby's born, fine, and if not, that'd be fine by me too.

[Devaskyla]

About 10 weeks & still nursing my 27 month old. I don't think I actually had any milk left when I got pregnant due to hypothyroidism, but he still nurses for comfort & to sleep. I nursed ds2 until about 16 wks pregnant with ds3, but he was well over 3 so I didn't feel guilty weaning him when it hurt too much. So far, it's only hurting when he first latches on. After a minute or 2, it doesn't hurt anymore, but he likes switching sides. A lot. I'm just taking it day by day. I don't want to wean him, but I'm willing to consider it if I need to.

[AfricanQueen99]

Yeah, it's gone. He tried nursing for a good hour this morning and kept bursting into tears when he wouldn't get any. . We are heading to the store later today to grab some whole milk. Bummer.

[bentlaj11]

Originally Posted by AfricanQueen99 

Yeah, it's gone. He tried nursing for a good hour this morning and kept bursting into tears when he wouldn't get any. . We are heading to the store later today to grab some whole milk. Bummer.

Aww mama :( That stinks! I'm sorry.

[doulawoman]

maybe a bit less but still going strong here with my 16 mo and 10 weeks today. The nausea is subsiding fast and the soreness going up though. dd1 has definitely been nursing more since i got pg, and i don;t think so much because of low supply more because of some other change, she seems to like/value it even more... i worry a lot about her, i fought to be able to bf her and it is super important to her, i can't bear the thought of weaning. I try to eat a LOT, and now that i feel less sick i may start my nettle and rrl infusions again. they used to help my supply before pg so they certainly can't hurt and are good for me and baby too.

[kismetbaby]

I'm still nursing my 20mo and I'm 9wks pg today.  I think my supply has gone down, but I do still hear him swallowing, so I know he's getting something. He has been (finally) eating solids better though, so I think he's getting less milk. My nipples are sensitive, but it's not bad enough to make me not want to nurse, just a bit ouchy at latch on (and yep, he also likes to switch sides constantly).

He's definitely a super-nurser. . .always has been. He'd nurse all the time if I let him. He still nurses about 2x a night and who knows how many times a day.  So I fully expect he will continue on and we will tandem.  Although I would really, really like to night wean. . .the thought of nursing two at night is pretty scary.  In fact, I'm not even sure how bedtime will work, since ds will *only* fall asleep nursing.  I guess DH will have to have baby duty, b/c ds just screams if DH tries to do bedtime with him. Although I am hoping some of that might shift a bit over the next 7months.

I am doing a RRL and nettle infusion and hoping to keep up some supply.

[lactatinggirl]

I'm nursing my 27 month old and I'm 10 weeks and 3 days along. I think my supply has gone down because she doesn't go to sleep as easily with it, but I'm sure I at least still have some. I don't think I'm getting a real hard letdown anymore though. 

[bentlaj11]

Anybody's LO having tummy troubles? This may be TMI, but LO started having loose stools last week. I thought it was because I had eaten a lot of pazole (a spicy mexican dish). But, it should be out of my system now, and he's still got it. He doesn't seem to hurt unless he gets gassy (but that's not that often). I, too, have had looser than normal stools. Also, he has stopped eating alot and has went from nursing 2-3x/day to 5-6x. This just happend these past couple of days, so not really related to the loose stool that I can tell. Are there any pg hormones that get in the milk that can cause gi troubles? I haven't taken him to the Dr, because he seems fine otherwise!

[kismetbaby]

I've heard that colostrum can cause loose stools in toddlers. . .and I know it comes in at some point during pg, but I didn't think it would be this early.  But maybe your milk is just changing and since he is nursing more it's affecting his belly.  Could also be that he's just gotten some sort of minor tummy bug (esp. since you are having issues too). Either way, I wouldn't worry about it too much as long as he isn't getting dehydrated at all (just me personally, but never bad to consult your Dr), but I'd also try giving him some child probiotics.  I'm a huge fan of probiotics for all sorts of tummy troubles. . .the children's kind you can just sprinkle on some food. I usually sprinkle it on yogurt so my LO is getting both the yogurt cultures and the bottled ones.

[AfricanQueen99]

AJ - my son's bowels are out of control lately! He went from one good movement a day to paste-like poo multiple times a day. I'm so over cleaning the cloth with all this poop!

[bentlaj11]

Originally Posted by kismetbaby 

I've heard that colostrum can cause loose stools in toddlers. . .and I know it comes in at some point during pg, but I didn't think it would be this early.  But maybe your milk is just changing and since he is nursing more it's affecting his belly.  Could also be that he's just gotten some sort of minor tummy bug (esp. since you are having issues too). Either way, I wouldn't worry about it too much as long as he isn't getting dehydrated at all (just me personally, but never bad to consult your Dr), but I'd also try giving him some child probiotics.  I'm a huge fan of probiotics for all sorts of tummy troubles. . .the children's kind you can just sprinkle on some food. I usually sprinkle it on yogurt so my LO is getting both the yogurt cultures and the bottled ones.

That's a good idea about the probiotics. I still can't get him to eat yogurt, so I will try to find some to mix in w/ his food. I don't know why that didn't cross my mind. I was hoping to get him to eat more fiber, but he's been taking a few bites and "all done" even passes his plate to me now. I've always had irregularities in the gi department, so I wasn't worried about mine... just was wondering why I haven't had all the pg related constipation yet (but I'm sure it will come..haha!). DS hasn't lost any weight, and still drinks fine, and of course nursing more, so I'm trying to take a "this too shall pass" approach. DH gets a little worried about it, though! I will try some pro-biotics, though!!

Originally Posted by AfricanQueen99 

AJ - my son's bowels are out of control lately! He went from one good movement a day to paste-like poo multiple times a day. I'm so over cleaning the cloth with all this poop!

Glad I'm not the only one!! I've run out cloth wipes a few times! I'm lucky he's letting me know most of the time, and we make it to the potty. But, there have been a few times where he hasn't said anything (and I didn't check b/c he has been telling me ). Now he's got a little red bum :( Glad it's summer and he can run around bare outside!
 

[bentlaj11]

Well, I guess DS just wanted me to post all about our tummy woes :) He has since "decided" to head back the other direction, and has only gone once/day the last 2 days. Now, hopefully we won't go to far the other direction and get constipated... aw, so fun..haha! Hope everyone else's nursing times are going good. He has dropped back down to just a few sessions during the day, and I don't have anymore nipple sensitivity. Hopefully the second trimester will go smoothly. I keep wondering if we will make through the end and tandem nurse... I need to start researching that a little bit.

[100%mom]

Well, my little one is still nursing but I don't think she is getting enough. She will nurse but then wants to eat real food. I'm actually only 9 wks. I'm 2 weeks behind where I thought I was, but I'll probably still have a January baby as I'm due Feb. 3rd.

[AfricanQueen99]

Well, my newbie is pretty much done...at 17 months.  He is almost never asking to nurse anymore and when he does it's only for a few suckles.  We had to start giving whole milk as he was crying from being hungry.

I truly wonder if he'll go back to nursing when I deliver.

:(