Any other nursing mamas?

[holz]

Thought we could all share experiences, commiserate, etc. DS is 11 months and nurses mostly before naps and bed- I usually try to nurse him when he wakes up, too- so about 4 times a day, and then 2-3 overnight.

As of right now, I think my supply has dropped, but that could be in my head- just tested positive 4 days ago and before that I hadn't noticed a difference. Funny how those things work, isn't it? :)

Last night was the first time I'd felt a little soreness while nursing, but I'm going to go ahead and blame those on teething.

My biggest concern is that if my supply drops- Do I need to make sure DS is taking in some other kind of milk? He eats yogurt and/or cheese daily, and gets healthy fats from avocado, olive oil, etc. He's a great eater. I really don't want to go with cow's milk, and I don't think I want to do soy either- maybe almond?

Has anyone done this before? I'd love to have an idea of what to expect- I've seen some women say their supply drops and then builds back up. I get the impression that there's nothing I can do to boost my supply... Is that correct?

Looking forward to hearing from other mamas in the same boat :)

[elmh23]

I'm currently nursing my 17 month old and trying to figure out how to wean.  I really just hope my supply goes away.  It has definitely gone down in the last couple weeks.  I nursed my oldest all through my second pregnancy and then tandemed for about 9 months.  I do not want to do that again!  Ds loves bottles and will happily take cow milk (only from a bottle, not a sippy) and formula.  I need to go to the store today and get some nice whole milk (all we have is 2% since I've been trying to lose weight, oops.)

Almond milk doesn't have a lot of fat or protein.  We don't do soy here at all (my oldest has problems with it.)  I stick to cow milk for those who can digest it (my second cannot, he gets almond milk.)

[mbouma]

Just found out I was pregnant yesterday and am very excited! We had a miscarriage in March so keeping things quiet. Nice to be able to share here!

I'm still nursing my 25 month DS. We are down to morning, nap and night. Finally he's sleeping through. He also has a milk protein allergy so I've stayed away from cows milk. I make sure he gets a daily vitamin and have been giving him yogurt, goat's milk & cheese and some almond milk. I'm just hoping my supply will run out and we'll wean without much fuss. =) I'm ready. And I think he's getting there too.

Congratulations on your new little one.

[Liss86]

Hey mamas,

I am nursing my 22 almost 23 month old and found out I was pregnant this past sunday. I plan to continue for as long as I am comfortable with or she stops on her own.

In terms of not givng cows milk, I bet you would be fine if your little one stopped nursing. You could always do goat or sheep milk if you were concerned. I have a cow milk allergy and eat goat and sheep cheese, but I think there are plenty of other ways to get the things you need. I think you are doing a great job so far.

Good luck and all the best!

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

I'm still nursing my 25 month old, and so far it's going well. I haven't noticed much of a dip in supply, she hasn't complained, and while I have had some breast pain nursing hasn't hurt at all. I plan on just going with the flow (or lack thereof).

[Hooplehead]

My DS is 15 months old and still nursing.  He has slowed down in the past few months but still has a big morning session when he first wakes up.  I am wondering if he will end up weaning himself as my pregnancy progresses.

[azohri]

I'm still nursing my 25 month old.  Most days it's morning, nap, bed, and once at night.  Sometimes (like today) he wants to nurse a few times in the afternoon as well.  I'm only 5 wks, but so far it's not uncomfortable.  I'm hoping that my supply gradually diminishes and we wean naturally by the third tri, though at the moment I'm in no great rush.  Nursing is definitely a nice way to calm him down if needed, reconnect, or to get a few precious moments to read a book in the middle of the day! :)

[lightheartedmom]

Just tested this morning (eek!!). Nursing dd2 who is 26mos. No supply shortage yet, just sore boobs. I am trying to nightwean her just because I am going nuts waking up with her like she's a 5 month old.
I'll keep nursing her as long as I can...with dd1, who was this exact age when I got pg with #2, she nursed until I was about 25 weeks along and then my milk supply just disappeared. It worked out well because I was not interested in tandem nursing but also didn't want to force dd1 to wean. She just sort of got the message. One night she kissed the "nummies" goodbye and that was the end of it.

I am a little teary just thinking about reaching that place with dd2. I had two miscarriages last year and I've sort I'd clung to her as my baby for a lot longer...this pg is sort of a (hugely welcome!!) surprise...

As for supplementing...at 2, I'm not really worried about her missing nutritionally from stopping bf'ing. I'll give her rice milk. She eats a mostly balanced diet - she'll get what she needs. I'm more wrapped up in the emotional side of it for her since it's very much a comfort thing at this point...Not there yet so I'll just stop borrowing trouble for now. :-)

Congratulations mamas! Im so glad to be back here!

[zuzusplace]

Well, I'm probably the veteran here.16 I've been nursing non-stop for 12 years and 6 weeks :dropjaw WOW, that sounds really long when I say it!16 Other than some tenderness when I was pregnant, I never found it problematic.16 My supply didn't really drop much (although when they were close in age I was careful to get enough Calcium, etc).16 Especially if your little one is only nursing at bed time, like mine is now, I wouldn't worry at all.16 And if you decide to extended nurse, tandem nursing isn't too bad either.16 If you have any questions feel free to ask...I'm sure I've experienced it :lol

16

Brande

[zuzusplace]

OK, I don't have any clue why all those 16s are appearing in my post. Anyone else have an idea :b

16

Brande

[thomatuttle]

So I just found out the other day that I am pregnant and according to an online due date calculator I am 6 weeks today. I weaned my daughter off daytime nursing at the beginning of July and now we're working on weaning at night. She still wakes up about every 1 1/2-2 hours throughout the night and I know it's more of a comfort thing than anything else, but it's really starting to affect me. She's 22 months now and I am just very happy that I was able to nurse her for as long as I have! My breasts aren't really hurting, but every time she nurses on the left side it feels like my nipple is on fire or like my nipple has a sunburn. Not fun!

[miss_honeyb]

Originally Posted by holz 

Thought we could all share experiences, commiserate, etc. DS is 11 months and nurses mostly before naps and bed- I usually try to nurse him when he wakes up, too- so about 4 times a day, and then 2-3 overnight.

As of right now, I think my supply has dropped, but that could be in my head- just tested positive 4 days ago and before that I hadn't noticed a difference. Funny how those things work, isn't it? :)

Last night was the first time I'd felt a little soreness while nursing, but I'm going to go ahead and blame those on teething.

My biggest concern is that if my supply drops- Do I need to make sure DS is taking in some other kind of milk? He eats yogurt and/or cheese daily, and gets healthy fats from avocado, olive oil, etc. He's a great eater. I really don't want to go with cow's milk, and I don't think I want to do soy either- maybe almond?

Has anyone done this before? I'd love to have an idea of what to expect- I've seen some women say their supply drops and then builds back up. I get the impression that there's nothing I can do to boost my supply... Is that correct?

Looking forward to hearing from other mamas in the same boat :)

I've gotten pregnant twice now when my (then) youngest was 10 months old, and both times my milk was GONE by 13 weeks. I don't think there's really anything you can do to increase it - your body just decides "no milk! You're pregnant" and that's it, no matter how much your LO is nursing. At least that's how it was for me. Sounds like your little guy is eating great, I wouldn't introduce cow milk. I never did because both DS's were eating good sources of fat, calcium, etc.  I don't really think there's any need to replace your milk with some other kind of milk. Maybe just more water and calories each day, but don't go cow milk if you're not ready for it yet! Just my 2¢. 

Brande, I can't come close to your record, but I've been nursing straight for 5 years and have tandem nursed twice, and now am nursing through pregnancy for the third time! (Actually, now that I think about it, DS2 was the "baby" element with his older brother and the "big kid" element with his little sister.... so he's tandem nursed with 2 sibs! I'm guessing DD will nurse with this baby too so she'll have the same experience. Funny.)  Anyhoo, yeah, I'd give thumbs up to nursing during pregnancy and tandem nursing, mostly.    Not that there's not some hard parts, but overall it's a very satisfying experience. It's the sweetest thing to see the big sib gently rub the baby on the head when they're nursing together. 

I cannot recommend highly enough, "Adventures in Tandem Nursing."  You need this book! Also, "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" has some good stuff too.
 

[miss_honeyb]

Quote:Originally Posted by lightheartedmom 

I am trying to nightwean her just because I am going nuts waking up with her like she's a 5 month old.

  My DD is 21 months and I'm totally there with you! Geesh! My boys were both night weaned by 15 months! I'm like, seriously girl, you're not an infant! Do ya really need to nurse 1800 times a night??   Plus, I don't know about yours, but mine doesn't lay there quietly when she nurses, she's flopping around like a fish, grabbing my other boob, pulling my shirt around... there's no WAY I can fall back asleep until she's done! It's so funny, I've started telling her, "No nummies in bed" when she wakes up to nurse at night, and she cries and then goes over to DH (she's in the middle of us in bed) and climbs on him and cries, "Papa? PAPA!? More nummies?"  Hoping that he'll overrule me and let her have more.   Of course, he knows better and tells her, "Mama said all done!"  She was pretty mad the first couple of nights but she's starting to accept it now.

 

[flavorfull1]

My DS still nurses a lot at 18 months and we aren't anywhere close to stopping.  Typically he nurses 2-5 times over night and 3-5 times during the day.  It feels like a lot some days and some days not so much.  I am planning on nursing through this pregnancy and until he feels like stopping.  We will see when that happens, I am committed to weaning by the time he goes to college :)

Not really much soreness, sometimes I feel crampy and also like he is teething with his latch but otherwise, not too bad.  Really hoping I am one of those who keeps my milk through the pg but I am a little jealous of those who have night weaned, I wouldn't mind a little more solid sleep before I have a new one arrive to wake me up again!

[holz]

Originally Posted by flavorfull1 

 Really hoping I am one of those who keeps my milk through the pg but I am a little jealous of those who have night weaned, I wouldn't mind a little more solid sleep before I have a new one arrive to wake me up again!

This. I'm considering night weaning, because we have to move DS to his own room (there's just not enough space in ours for another person, and definitely no room in bed), and I just can't imagine getting up 2-3 times a night to walk across the hall and nurse him, then come back to bed and nurse a newborn all night. And I really would like some full nights of sleep before the baby comes... But I'm nervous that night weaning is a sure way to lose my supply. Sort of hoping he decides on his own that there's no point in waking up for just a little bit of funny tasting milk ;-) or that having his own space will help him sleep better.

[Thursday Girl]

still nursing my 2 1/2 year old. she nurses all the dang time too. I tried cutting her down but it was extremely traumatic for her. I weaned my last 2 daughters easily while pregnant b/c my nipples hurt, they accepted that and moved on. Junes, not so much.

Boosting milk supply- you can probably use all the same things that generally increase milk supply when you aren't pregnant.

[miss_honeyb]

Originally Posted by Thursday Girl 

Boosting milk supply- you can probably use all the same things that generally increase milk supply when you aren't pregnant.

Here's a link to KellyMom's article on milk supply in pregnancy.  She pretty much says that since milk decrease is due to hormonal issues (progesterone) and not physical issues, you probably can't increase it. Progesterone may make your breasts less able to store milk effectively, but at birth the progesterone levels drop and that "problem" is reversed.

I'm pretty sure it's not safe to take Fenugreek while pregnant, which is a main milk-boosting herb.

[flavorfull1]

Hey mamas, so I am taking vitamin b6 for nausea and possible help with low progesterone (unconfirmed)  and I was wondering what is the safe amount for breastfeeding?  Anyone taking it too?

[Jackies Ladybug]

I'm still nursing my 33 month old and my 15 month old. I had no problems with supply thru my second pregnancy, not sure how it will go this time though. I'll nurse them for as long as they want, but I have a feeling my older DD will self wean at some point before the new baby comes. Although, I thought that last time too, so...only time will tell.

[judybean]

I'm still nursing my 17-month-old... I have no clue what to expect, but I'm hoping to tandem if it all works out with dd4 and this new babe!

Happy to join in here!