A ? for tandem nursers...

[lisabc311]

What was your older child's reaction when your milk came in with the new baby?

My DS is 2 1/2 and has been getting colostrum for months now. Or at least I think he is- I noticed a dramatic decrease in my milk production at 7 weeks into the pregnancy...and then around 20 weeks he had a dramatic increase in nursing and I noticed his breath smelled different after nursing. So I'm guessing that is when the colostrum started, although I'm not totally positive.

Anyway, I am wondering what his reaction will be when everything changes after the birth. What were your toddlers' reactions?

[loving-my-babies]

My aunt is nursing her 3 1/2 year old and her 6 month old baby, and she told me that when her milk came in after the birth of her second baby, he was SO happy! He didn't like colostrum at all, and she also said that it was SO great to have him nurse when her milk came in, because he sucked all the milk ducts right up when she was engorged! :LOL

[Ruthla]

Leah was very happy with the extra milk!!!

[MamaAllNatural]

DD *loved* it! In fact she started complaining if the milk wasn't flowing fast enough because she became "spoiled" with it. :LOL She was just in absolute heaven after all those dry nursing months due to pregnancy. She even gained back some of her baby fat. It was the sweetest thing.

[eclipse]

liam absoloutely loved it! he gained 5 lbs in the first few weeks after dd was born. he was rolly polly :LOL

[Darcy37]

So your milk does dry up when your pregnant so if your nursing and you dry up what do you do put the baby on formula? darcy mommie to Alora

[kavamamakava]

My son just nursed nursed nursed all through the pregnancy. It never occured to me that I might have a dip in supply or that it was a possibility that I might dry up. There were times when he wanted to nurse every hour. And he was nursing 4-6 times a night. I nursed on demand but was very frustrated and tired a lot and didn't realize that he was doing his part to keep my supply going.
Once my daughter was born, he nursed less frequently. I guess because there was more milk. He was 17 months at the time. Between the two of them, I was waking up 3-5 times a night. whew! Before she was born, I worried about night nursing and whether I was ever going to sleep. I nursed them at the same time for naps and bedtime only. The rest of the time, I would ask him to just have a snack and then wait til his sister was done to nurse longer. He was agreeable to that. His snack lasted as long as it took me to count to ten out loud, about 45-60 seconds.
I think he was nursing around 4-6 times during the day and 1-3 times at night after she was born.

[kavamamakava]

It's probably a good idea to realize that hormones and other pregnancy related issues can dry up the milk during pregnancy. I was completely unaware of it but was able to nurse my son through the pregnancy. He nursed all the time though and I now know it was because he was trying to keep my supply up.
It's also important to eat enough nutrients and calories to maintain a milk supply and support the pregnancy. I think you need 500 cals a day for pregnancy and 300 for milk. Or is it the other way around? Anyway, I have oatmeal for breakfast every day with almonds on it and I make sure to have healthy fats in my diet as well. I also try to make sure I'm eating between 80-100 grams of protein daily.
My supply dipped from around 3-7 months pregnant this time. I thought it was all gone for a while there. But it's back now. And it's not colostrum. It's white but a little on the thin side. My colostrum was yellow when my daughter was born and not before. She's still nursing now but my son has recently weaned.

[~Megan~]

I'll let you know soon!

I'm about 6 weeks pregnant and having serious nipple pain. We have night weaned which is really great for me. I can't sleep with that kind of pain.
She wakes at 3-4 every morning and 7ish, I tell her the mimis are sore and ask if she would like her water cup. She takes the cup and we snuggle back to sleep. I am so thankful she is taking it was well as she is.

[Darcy37]

So do you have to supplement while your milk supply is low? with cereal or formula or food? Darcy mommie to Alora

[mom2threenurslings]

Alexander and Zachary both LOVED the copious amounts of milk I produced! My supply wasn't affected much by pregnancy, but I had massive oversupply after all of my births, so there was plenty to go around! :LOL

Darcy...Many moms nurse through pregnancy without a problem. Some moms experience a drastic drop in supply and one of several things can happen:
- If their nursling is very young and relies on breastmilk for most or all of their nourishment, and mama isn't producing enough milk, they either try to increase their milk supply, supplement with donated breastmilk, supplement with formula, or a combination of those things.

- If the nursling is eating solids as well as nursing, the nursling may not be affected at all, except for possibly nursing more frequently to try to build up the supply. The mama may offer more "solids" to make up for the low supply.

- The nursling may self-wean due to the drop in supply.

- The nursling may continue to nurse for comfort, etc. even if there is no milk.

I'm sure there are other situations, but hopefully this gives you an idea of the possiblities.

[Darcy37]

Mom2 three what is the age range between your children? how far apart should I space mine? so not everyones milk supply dries up? I appreciate the help your giving me by answering my questions.mommie to Alora 4 months old

[~Megan~]

Originally Posted by Darcy37

So do you have to supplement while your milk supply is low? with cereal or formula or food? Darcy mommie to Alora

It depends on the age of the child. dd is 2.5 so she eats plenty of solids

[Darcy37]

should I wait tell she is 1.5 yrs old to get pregnant? Darcy mommie to Alora

[kavamamakava]

I got pregnant when my son was 7 months and my milk supply stayed plentiful through that pregnancy. My son did nurse frequently though.
I got pregnant this time when my daughter was 22 months. My milk supply dipped drastically around 3 months pregnant but picked up again around 5 months. My oldest weaned during htat time but my youngest hung in there.

[maria423]

Ds was born 8 weeks ago, and when my milk came in, dd (21 months) LOVED it! The first time she nursed when I had milk again, she got a mouthful, stopped sucking, and looked at me in surprise. Then she smiled and nursed for twenty minutes. (Throughout my pregnancy, she nursed much shorter than that, I think because she wasn't getting anything anymore.)

[lisabc311]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I will see in a few weeks how he responds.

Darcy, my DS was 2 when I got pregnant, and eating lots of solids...so he was fine with my milk drying up and still comfort nursed all the time. I think with a smaller baby (under a year or so) that you probably would have to supplement in some manner. They usually aren't eating much in solids before then...and really shouldn't be. HTH.

[TiredX2]

DD was overjoyed at the return of "good milk." I had told her far in advance that the baby would bring the good milk with him, so she was plenty anxious for him to get there already :LOL That said, while she nursed longer, I did try to keep her around the same # of times daily instead of returning to the point she had been nine months before (so 3-5xs as a goal, rather than jumping back up to 10-14xs--- of course, this was a goal that was often not acchievable). Some days she nursed more than others, and we had several NIPing times where I just had no idea what to do with a newborn while my toddler was nursing (as soon as he was a bit not so floppy it was *much* easier).

As for eating. DD was not quick into solids and was probably getting in the 75% range of her calories from bmilk when I got pg (she was 23 months, still nursing every 1-2 hours at night and on cue throughout the day). Her solid intake skyrocketed and we consciously started offering full milk. I hadn't thought about it before, but I guess she did get a bit pudgier after DS was born and even would have bfed baby poops some days depending on her habits the day before.

[lisabc311]

The interesting thing is that DS really slimmed down this summer when my milk dried up a lot. When he started really increasing his nursing when I was about 20 weeks pregnant (which is when I am assuming the colostrum started) he got much pudgier already!

Part of it was probably being active this summer that caused him to thin out a bit...but I think part of it is that good colostrum fattening him up now too.

[Darcy37]

so Kava you had baby's 16 months apart was that hard do you think it is better to put them 24 months apart? trying to decide when to get pregnant again Dd is 4 months old.Darcy