Nursing a 28 month old while in early pregnancy. Experiences and advice?

[Toposlonoshlep]

I am only slightly (6 weeks) pregnant. Unlike my first pregnancy, which was a walk in the park with absolutely no symptoms, this one is already something else. I feel weak, I feel lightheaded, I feel nauseous although I haven't thrown up, and I feel hungry even though I can't even bear to look at food, much less put it in my mouth. I have been giving myself pep talks just to be able to get into the kitchen to cook DS a meal. 

Nursing is very important to him. He understands about the baby, and will respond well to a count-down (I count to 10 on each side and then he unlatches). He asks me if my belly hurts, or if my "milkie" hurts. He is very sensitive that way. I don't want to reject him completely, but the hardest on me right now is night nursing and nursing to sleep. And for some reason lately he has been falling asleep and clamping down with his teeth. I used to be good at knowing just when to pull out before the clamp-down, but I am so tired now that I've lost my touch. In the middle of the night last night I actually yelled "$@#&! when he clamped down. It hurt more than I can describe because I fell asleep with my boob in his mouth.

I am taking prenatals, as well as a calcium supplement. I think I will start on Floradix because I can't bear the sight of meat right now.....Should I be doing more to get through this? I am not ready to wean and he's not ready to wean, but is the whole thing hurting the baby inside of me? Do I have enough strength and nutrients to give to both of them?

I am just feeling so conflicted. I feel like a bad mom to the baby inside of me because I am nursing DS so frequently. But then I would feel like a bad mom if I denied him when he has been so cooperative...

Any thoughts? Experiences? Did anyone experience problems in their pregnancy due to nursing through it? Did you eat more? Take more supplements?

Thanks ahead of time for any words of advice.

[bentlaj11]

Hey!

I don't have much advice, but I'm currently nursing DS (21 mo) and pg w/ 2. Everything I've read about nursing while pg (which isn't a bunch), says that your body will take care of inside baby first, outside baby/toddler second and yourself last. My midwife told me to double up on my prenatal (but I wasn't doing that before my first appt at 8 wks). Other than trying to eat balanced, I haven't made any changes.

I do think I am having supply issues b/c DS goes through spurts of nursing really frequently (and not much swallowing that I can hear), but part of that is I'm not keeping up w/ drinking enough water. DS has gotten rougher w/ nursing, and I've had to start using nipple cream again (which helps!). He has also gone through periods where he wants to clamp down (not really biting, but I can't describe it). I started sticking my tounge out while opening my mouth to show him and he would mimic me... and I would put as much boob in his mouth as I could. That helped some. Although if your DS does it at the end, that won't help you much :(

I've also felt way more tired this pg than I did w/DS, and I don't know if that is due to the fact I am still BF/chasing a toddler or just a difference in pg. And, the being able to cook/eat is much better in the second trimester, so I'm hoping it will get better for you in a few weeks, too!

[Toposlonoshlep]

Thanks for your answer! I think we're doing better. Taking a mid-day nap with him has been a lifesaver for me. I am normally incapable of taking naps, but now I am all for it and it helps me get through my day in a big way.

So your midwife told you to double up your multivitamin?!? I read somewhere to be careful with that, because too much of certain vitamins can be bad while pregnant. Too much vitamin A, for instance, I believe, causes birth defects. It doesn't seem like a bad idea to take more calcium, or food-based iron though. Part of me wonders if I am somewhat anemic...
 

Originally Posted by bentlaj11 

My midwife told me to double up on my prenatal (but I wasn't doing that before my first appt at 8 wks). Other than trying to eat balanced, I haven't made any changes.

[bentlaj11]

Thanks for the heads up on the extra vitamins! I'll definitely be doing some more research! I agree w/ more calcium and iron based foods. I've wondered about being anemic, too, but first visit blood-work had me at the high end for hemoglobin... but I am definitely more tired this go-around. I also was taking a nap here and there w/DS. The complete exhaustion thing has gotten much better this trimester, though :) Hang in there a few more weeks, and hopefully you'll notice a difference!

ETA: I just looked up the maxium dose the gov't says pg women should get (it didn't say for pg and nursing), and thank goodness even doubling my prenatal it's still less. I do think I'm going to back off of the extra pre-natal and let my body tell me what it needs through diet. I've been really lax w/ taking them everyday, so hopefully those days that I skipped it helped me not take too much of any one vitamin. It's also a good thing I haven't wanted milk/dairy like I did w/ the last pg!!! I guess my body really does know what to do, and since I was getting enough vit A w/ the prenatal it knew I didn't need much dairy. Also, I read that fruits and veggies high in Vit. A won't be converted to vit A unless your body needs it... so, hopefully that's true! Thanks again for the heads up!! I should've known not to blindly trust the provider just b/c she's the provider :( Scary!!

Edited by bentlaj11 - 8/20/11 at 11:27am