So what happens when you get pregnant?

[Too Busy]

No, I'm not yet... but we are TTC and I am curious what happens to your milk when you get pregnant. Do your bbs get sore? That was one of my big pregnancy symptoms with my DD... super sore boobs. And how do you know when your milk goes away? How do you manage feeding a newborn who needs to nurse all the time with a toddler with the same needs? Are there special pillows?

Please feel free to share you experiences... I want to hear it all- the good and the not so good!

[Still_Snarky]

Here's a good link about how breastmilk changes during pregnancy! And another that answers some additional questions! HTHs.

[zoebugsmom]

I'm almost 17 weeks pg and so far not too much has changed. I'm still making milk and my dd is nursing plenty. My nipples are sore and I've limited bfing a bit because of this but she's still nursing 6-10 times daily.

I think it varies from woman to woman but this has been my expereince so far. Good luck in your TTC efforts!

[kavamamakava]

I could go on and on and on.
What happens is different for everyone. Here's what happened to me:

2nd pregnancy. My nipples got sensitive and I didn't know I was pregnant and thought I had thrush. I did grated potato poultice and it soothes. My son nursed on demand and nursed a lot. He was only 8 months old when I got pregnant. I never noticed supply issues. My milk always looked white. I did have some periods during the pregnancy when my nipples were super sensitive. I just became vigilant with his latch and would ask him to stop and relatch if he let his teeth slip and rest on the aureolae too heavily. When my daughter was born, I tandem nursed them.
Tandem nursing was sometimes challenging. I usually asked my son to wait until my daughter was latched on. Then he climbed onto my lap. I usually nursed them on a boppy in the football hold. If I was feeling touched out and couldn't deal with nursing both at the same time, I would ask my son to have a quick snack and then tell him he could nurse longer when the baby was done. He was usually happy to comply. I had plenty of milk for both of them.

3rd pregnancy. My nipples were super sensitive. Both of my kids were still nursing. After a while, my son stopped asking to nurse so much. He eventually weaned when I was 6 months pregnant. My daughter cut back drastically too. I noticed my supply had really dipped and the milk was looking kind of watery. Around 8 months, I suddenly got my milk back. My daughter has increased her nursing but my son doesn't remember how to latch back on. I have to correct my daughter's latch sometimes as I still have sensitive nipples.

I think it's important to drink a lot of water, make sure you're getting enough good fats in your diet and to eat at least 80 grams of protein per day.

[mom2threenurslings]

I suggest reading the chapters in "Adventures in Tandem Nursing" by Hilary Flower, "Mothering Your Nursing Toddler" by Norma Jane Bumgarner and "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" by LLLI that cover nursing through pregnancy.

I agree with the pp who said that it's different for everyone...I'd like to add that it's different for every pregnancy, too!

My ds was 9 months old when I got pg. At the time I got pg I had oversupply issues, which were resolved by the pregnancy! I had plenty of milk during pregnancy and tandem nursed following ds#2's birth. I didn't experience any discomfort at all while nursing through pregnancy.

Ds #2 was 15 months old when I got pg with dd. I tandem nursed my 2 ds's through dd's pregnancy. That time around I had sore nipples for several weeks, and sore breasts for a couple months (whenever someone touched my breasts, it hurt....wierd!). I didn't experience a drop in supply. I triandem nursed for over 18 months after dd was born, until ds#1 self-weaned.

I'm currently tandem nursing ds#2 and dd and am pregnant and due in September. I'm about 8 weeks along and both dd and ds say that there's still plenty of milk. I don't have sore nipples this time around and things are going smoothly.

During pregnancy your milk may change in taste, but you need to remember that your milk's taste is always changing, depending on what you eat. Toward the end of pregnancy, colostrum comes in, and some older nurslings don't like the taste. My kids loved it, and called it "mamajuice" instead of "mamamilk"! It gives the older nursling(s) a boost in immunity and all the other wonderful components of colostrum, and there is plenty for baby as well!

HTH!