Who else is nursing now?

[peace_lily_mama]

I have a 15 month old son name Caleb J., and I nurse him now. It seems like he's increased his clinginess and nursing since I got (or maybe found out that I was) pregnant. I was just wondering who else is doing this? I am attributing this, in combination with being PG and active, that I am SO FRIGGIN HUNGRY! ALL THE TIME! But, on the good side, it seems like I already can't eat that much at one sitting! YAY!

ANyway, can I ask all you mamas with a kid or so already a few more questions.

Did your belly "pop" sooner? How soon?

I am trying to figure out how much time I have to break out maternity clothes from the basement!

How in the world do you tandem nurse?

I am excited for the bond between my children while they tandem (if DS decides to nurse that long), but I don't understand how the positioning is going to work!!??

Also, was your pregnancy rockier, as smooth, or smoother (as far as symptoms and complications in PG and labor.

Thanks so much for taking the time (if you did) in advance.

[schatz]

This is my second pregnancy so I can't answer your questions -- I haven't popped yet and can still fit into my regular clothes although I expect that to last a couple more weeks and then I'll have to transition to one size up in pants before full out maternity pants (I'm 5 weeks today).

Don't know how to tandem nurse and honestly, I kind of hope to easily wean dd before this one is due. Dd is 20 months and will be almost 2.5 yrs when the new babe comes. My water broke early last time (pre-term) and there's a chance that will happen again. I don't really want to have to worry about nursing two kids in the beginning (although, at 2.5 yrs, dd wouldn't be nursing much). I seriously considered night weaning last night because she kept me up from 3-4:15 and I have to get up at 4:45 for work. But, I know dd loves her "more" (that's what she calls it, not sure why although dh is trying to get her to say boobies - nice, huh?) so any weaning will be done gently.

Ok, I've rambled enough and didn't even answer your questions. Just happy to be here talking about having another baby!

[peace_lily_mama]

I agree, thanks for your reply! I am half-way considering trying to push Caleb J. into weaning. I want him to do it naturally, but, I don't want to overtax my body. I am wondering if there are any opinions about this. I don't know what to do...

[Selissa]

Hi...I ahven't gotten up the guts to test yet..but i am fairly certain that i will be here i nacouple days. i will be nursing ds through this pregnancy and taneming..i am in exactly the opposite boat actually..lol i am taking herbs to help increase my milk supply so he doens't wean prematurely. the reason i am doing this is that if i wasn't pregnant he never would wean so early... so i'd like him to continue nursing until he is ready to wean.

(((hugs))) ladies

[wende]

My ds is 14.5 months old and I'm still nursing him as well. I've never tandem nursed or nursed through a pregnancy so this is all a new experience to me...a scary and frustrating one at that. Last night my ds absolutely refused to fall asleep. I don't know what was up with him, probably teething, but all I wanted was to sleep and I just kept thinking "if I wasn't nursing and co-sleeping this would be much easier". I don't plan on weaning him though. I would not have weaned him before his second birthday under normal circumstances so I'm not going to do it simply because I'm pregnant.

I would love to hear from other moms who have tandem and nursed through a pregnancy though. How did you do it? How did you just not give up. How did you keep your energy up and make sure that yourself along with both babies were getting enough nutrients?

As for popping, I always popped around the same time, but that's different for everyone. Some people pop right away with their second.

My first 3 pregnancies were all super easy, so were the births. The 4th one I had a crazy pregnancy, but that was because I had a fibroid that grew to be the size of an ostrich egg, otherwise it would have been just as easy I think.

[SadieJaneR]

tandem nursing and pregnant!

my dd was 18 months when i found i was pg with # 2, and we nursed throughout the pg. I believe my milk stopped around the 7th or 8th month but she still suckled for comfort, mostly when she got an ouchie or to sleep. I coslept with her through the pg too. tandem nursing is fun! it enhances the bond between the kids, imo and diminishes jealousy. at first i would nurse them both at the same time, every tim her new brother wanted milk she had to have some too!! but she grew more secure after a few days and she really didnt need to nurse that much, ya know. with my first my lactational amennhorea lasted until 18 months, but somehow, even tho im tandem nursing, i got my pd when rowan was 9 months and im now pg again! so ill be tandem nursing through this pg as well, and I hope my 3yr old dd doesnt self wean for a while!!


my pg was smoother, i did not 'pop' sooner. i was REALLY hungry too, and i am again. for tandem nursing - stacking the 2 works only till the little one gets big! little one in big ones lap. soon after, the little one grew uncomfortablle with nursing together so we nurse one at a time now. for nutrition - I am an unlicensed midwife and i have pee testing strips to monitor nutrition. even if you dont want an unassisted birth you can use these.. midwives use the same at appts. if you want more info let me know.

hope this helps. if you have any questions id be happy to answer!

[nym]

I have found that the boy wants to nurse more now that I am preg. I don't think I have any less milk, maybe it just tastes better! I really really do not want to lose any milk while pregnant, I am not planning on weaning, and would like to tandem nurse.
What should I do to keep my milk supply up during pregnancy?

[Just*Lindsay]

Yep...Im nursing my 12.5 month old. He is very attached and nurses for nourishment too at this point so I surely hope he continues to nurse the whole pg and if not, I hope Im not the reason he quits. i am very nervous about this. I plan for him to self-wean and to tandem nurse but its all up to him.

[Len]

I have a 5 yo nursling..... I'd really rather him to unplug before the new baby arrives, but I won't push it at all... Strange thing it's my nipples hurt when I shower but they don't hurt too much when ds nurses. Of course he only nurses for a few moments every day, but he has already told me that he can have the right boob and the baby can have the left

About your other questions, I don't know as this is my 2nd pgcy as well!

[zebrabelly]

I'm still nursing Margie who was 2 in April. ALL THE TIME... LOL She has really been nursing more since I've been pg (even before I knew) but I'm not sure if it's related or just coincidental.

b

[slightly crunchy]

This is my second pregnancy and I'm still nursing my 28 month old son. I just started reading "Adventures in Tandem Nursing"--which I highly recommend. It's not only about tandem, but nursing through a pregnancy and what to expect. Sometimes I think it would be so cool to tandem. My son nurses a lot still (though he is pretty much night weaned from 10-5 am, with a very occasional middle of the night nurse), and doesn't seem ready to wean to me. He will have just barely turned three when the baby is born. Some days, it hurts so much to nurse that I don't know how I'll even make it through the first trimester.

One thing I noticed--for me, it actually hurts less if he nurses more frequently. It is actually that first nurse of the morning that is really sore, and the less time between nursings, the less sore I am. Weird. I just read the same thing in the tandem nursing book this morning.

As far as when do women pop with subsequent pregnancies. It seems like the ones I have heard, are about half and half. In my family, women don't seem to pop much earlier with the second--needing maternity clothes around 18 or 20 weeks. I have to admit, though, this past week I already bought a couple of pants in one size larger for the fall. I think I'm going to need them to be comfortable before I'm ready for maternity.

[SadieJaneR]

every womans body is different of course. i tried what i knew to keep my milk supply going - excellent nutrition and diet, herbs etc, but my milk still stopped during my preg, but it didnt cause my little one who was over 2 to stop nursing at all and im now tandem nursing her and her brother. he had a low birth weight too, 5 lbs 1 oz. i think i needed my nutrients to go to my baby and not my milk. am a little woman, 5' 1" so maybe that had an influence as well.

blessed thistle, stinging nettle and rose hips {herbs} are known to keep up your milk supply, traditional medicinals {brand} makes a tasty "mother's milk" tea that works great.

[peace_lily_mama]

Thanks for all your replies, ladies!

Len, that is SO cute about what your 5 yo said about sharing!

Slightlycrunchy - thanks for the book recommendation. I'm heading over to amazon.com right now to see if they have any used ones!

That's really interesting that the nursers still nurse although they aren't getting any milk. It's very motivating.

After talking to MIL, who nursed most all of her 5 kids for 3 or 4 years, and did a lot of tandem nursing, and reading your posts, I am def. not going to try to wean my boy. I agree with what some of you ladies said, if I wasn't planning on weaning before now, why am I just cause I"m PG. I was worried, but now I know that you all are in the same boat, and women have been doing this for ages and have had strong, healthy babies. And I'm so going to get that book!
thanks again!
Also, MIL said that one of hers threw up more when nursing while PG. mine has thrown up twice in the past week and hardly EVER throws up. anyone else experience this? any theories?? maybe its because there's a change in the milk consistency. Is there a change at this stage?

[hollyhobbie]

baby loo is 19 months now. i am almost 7 weeks and she seems to be cutting back a bit now but she did nurse lots when i was first pg. she slept through the night and i mean 9 pm to 6 am last night and the night before which is a first for her. she also told me a couple of nights ago that one breast was empty and the other one was yukky!! ha ha. i read adventures in tandem nursing and it said your milk actually gets saltier like they are weaning and this taste causes some kdis to wean. i doubt loo will. in some ways i wish she would b/c after reading the book and having lots of time to think about it (i miscarried in june at 8 weeks) i am not sure i am up to tandem nursing but i dont know how to wean either. sometimes it hurts so much and i know there isnt much there so i offer a bottle of milk instead. sometimes she takes and sometimes she insists on noo-noos so then i know she needs comfort not so much sustenance. nice to know we can be a support to each other!

[Raven]

I am still nursing Noah - he is 9 months. I am freaking out about my supply dropping...

[Amberlyn]

I dont really belong in this post, just looking for thoughts, ideas and knowledge. My husband and I were just talking about this whole EBF'ing and Tandum nursing the other night. Our question was when your are pregnant and soon after birth you have... "colerstrum" (cant spell). Is this enough nutrients for an older child? We really don't know much on this subject, just trying to learn. So any answers would be cool... TIA

[Keetsmama]

I'm still nursing my 3 yo boy. But it's cut back a lot, and really I would like to wean him. I sort of hope he'll just do it himself, because he hasn't been very willing to wean. I really don't feel like tandem would be the thing for me, especially since he's old enough, in my opinion.

I don't think I ever "popped" but just slowly outgrew my clothes. Either it's started earlier this time, or I was chunkier to begin with. I feel like the PMS bloat never went away and got worse. I'm already thinking about bigger clothes.

[acsw]

Hi,
I nursed ds until I was 5 months pregnant w/ dd. I don't think your milk turns to colostrum until sometime in the second trimester. I did wean ds slowly and gently. I had to nightwean to get pregnant so I started weaning before I got pregnant and it took 6 months. I knew that I didn't have the temperment to tandem nurse so wanted to stop early enough that ds didn't feel displaced. He did ask about nursing right before and after dd was born and I let him try to latch on and then unlatched him in a few moments. The funny thing was that after 3 months he really didn't remember how to latch on--after nursing 21 months you'd think he'd remember.

DD is still nursing at 20 months but only one time a day and the past 2 days she's been upset that there is no milk. I'm not sure why but I guess I'll let her wean.

RE: popping I think I did pop a little earlier the second time. My pregnancy was different--I was sicker but for less time, I was anemic at the end. I carried the same, though. I think the biggest thing was knowing what the aches andpains meant.
Anne

[fireflies~for~me]

Yes, am nursing Sam who is 17 months...he is a bit confused and squeezes my breasts and switches sides frequently saying "meh meh:???

Hoping to tandem nurse...milk supply comes back throughout preganncy yes?

[impromptukiss]

I can't answer your questions since this is my second, too ... but, I'm still nursing my 15month old, too. She slowed down the month before I got pregnant (enough to get my lp back up, lol), and then got right back to business nursing all day & night long. Tandem will certainly be interesting!!