nursing while pregnant

[FireWithin]

I thought I would start a separate thread on nuring while pregnant. I expect we will be having lots of experiences that we will want to share.

We are still nursing (DS 2.4), but I am expecting that we will mostly be weaned when the new baby arrives, but am open to the idea of him continued nursing (at least a small amount)

He certainly loves his na-nas. He has been quite obsessed for most of his life. Some issues have been popping up that are making be think that he is ready to partially wean. (We just started going-to-nighttime-sleep weaning.)

so we will see.

One of the reasons why we waited until DS was this age was because of how important nursing has been to him, and I just didn't want a pregnancy (and my inability to not nurse while pregnant) to cause him to stop nursing so soon.

[merrick]

We are still nursing here too. My nipples are so sore, but it is worth it! DS loves his milkies. I'm not sure if he will wean or not, but if not I am prepared to tandem nurse. Ds will be three next month.

[dharmama]

Great idea!!

I'm nursing my DD (14 mos) and open to whatever the coming months bring in terms of her nursing. I am really drawn to the idea of tandem nursing so I hope she keeps up her nursing through my pregnancy...or if she weans towards the end that she picks up nursing again when the new baby comes.

It will be sad for me if she weans completely but we really want our children to be close in age so this felt like the right time for pregnancy.

Only very slight nipple discomfort at this point.

~Erin

[minimunklemama]

well my nipples feel as though they are going to fall off right now :LOL so we'll see what's left of them but DS can wean when he wants as long as everything goes fine

[Naughty Dingo]

: My 17 month old is nursing quite a bit as well. She is also extremely attached to nursing and don't think she is keen on backing off. I am fine with it, but it will be new territory.

How much does the milk supply drop? When? Does nursing in pregnancy add a lot to your fatigue?

i am really curious to see how it is all going to work out. I can't wait to learn from the other Mamas in this thread.

[maybebaby]

Also nursing but haven't had any soreness or anything yet. Of course, he's had strep throat for the last few days so hasn't been nursing much at all.

Like I mentioned in the other thread, Maddie weaned before the middle of my pg with Mace iirc. I'm not sure what to expect this time, though he loves his nurnies. The last few days he's just been laying his head on them and hasn't seemed to miss them much otherwise. I guess when he gets to feeling better we'll see if he goes right back to nursing or not.

[Peppamint]

Well, I *think* I'm pregnant. The tests have been very faint (the + and - tests from Dollar General and an e.p.t.). AF is late so I guess this is it, just really hopign and praying it's not a chemical pregnancy or something.

Anyway, I'm nursing ds who is 28 months and I'd be surprised if we don't end up tandem nursing. Luckily, I just got Adventures in Tandem Nursing a week ago on the TP.

I nursed dd while I was preggers wtih ds, but she weaned when I was 2 months pregnant. She was more independent than ds and ready to wean I guess!

[FireWithin]

I'm 5 weeks today, and the nipple pain isn't too bad. It feels as if he has been nursing for hours at a time(although only 10 minutes) - that kind of tenderness. I keep on telling myself "as long as it doesn't get any worse, we will be ok" ha ha I think I can safely assume that it will get worse, but hopefully not terrible.

We changed our night time routine so that nursing is at the very beginning (before quiet play, stories, songs and cuddle). Nursing used to be at the very end to get him to sleep. THat really hasn't worked for the past couple of months. THe struggles we were experiencing were creating an unhealthy nursing relationship. What we are now doing is really helping lighten up the bedtime routine and making a healthier nursing relationship.

I am hoping that once we get both bedtime and naptime to go smoothly without nursing, I will feel comfortable nursing the handful of other times during the day he asks to nurse, and feel that we can continue nursing as my pregnancy progresses.

[Peppamint]

Poor dh, he was hinting at needing to get one off the boob so I had to tell him that's why I have two.

I'm surprised but I haven't had any soreness or pain at all... and I did with PMS. I'm hoping it stays that way : I did have a bit of that fingernails on a chalkboard feeling when dd was still nursing in early pregnancy with ds, but she was in that climbing around all over the place stage and that just doesn't work!

I'm reading Adventures in Tandem Nursing and it has some good hints for nursing during pregnancy...

[Mamabeakley]

My guy is 18 mos is very attached to his boobahs. I am nak right now, actually.

He nursed WAY more than normal for a few days b/f I got my bfp. He's kind of evened out again, but mind you, that means he's back to an average of 10 - 12x in 24 hours!

I want to nurse him at least until he's 2, so I am going to be REALLY unhappy if my milk dries up/he decides it tastes yucky/etc. Not to mention how he would feel!

So I guess this is one of the few worries I have right now about this pg. But other than nursing on demand (within reason) and keeping my fluids & eating up, I think I just need to stay aware of what's happening with our nursing and keep a positive attitude.

This is also a little emotional for me b/c my mom weaned me @ 9 mos b/c she was pg w/my brother. I'd like to not do the same.

But he is going to have to learn to sleep w/out the boob in his mouth by May!

[flowmom]

Hi to all you gestating mamas!

Just got a so I'm pretty excited! Hoping it's sticky.

Somehow I feel so "unprepared" for this PG. TTC was really dragging on and now I'm almost surprised to be PG now! I'm trying to remind myself of what you're supposed to do when PG.

Early symptom: extreme tiredness some nights. Actually, I'm pretty worried about that. I don't want to give up what little "me" time I have in the evenings.

Even more important, I'm hoping that PG won't interfere with ds' nursing. He is 22 mo and breastmilk is a pretty important part of his diet and daily routine at this point. Whatever happens I hope that it's a peaceful transition for all of us. I don't know about you but I've read horror stories about nursing while PG.

[merrick]

Ksenia- Congratulations!

What kind of horror stories have you heard?

[Peppamint]

Ksenia! I too was wondering what horror stories you've heard? My dd weaned when I was 2 months pregnant with ds and I'm nursing my 28mo now. If you need some encouragement, definitely read Adventures in Tandem Nursing!

[flowmom]

Originally Posted by busybusymomma

I too was wondering what horror stories you've heard?

Mamas writing about nursing while PG feeling like their nipples were being pierced with glass - that kind of thing. Also weanings due to painful nursing in spite of the wishes of mama and child. Toddlers nursing for incredibly long periods because of reduced milk supply, etc.

[Peppamint]

Yes, but there's lots of good stories too! My impression is that the book I mentioned has all kinds of stories, both weaning and tandem nursing. I need to pick it back up and get back to reading.

[dharmama]

i ordered a copy as soon as i got my but it's back-ordered until mid-september. :

[Naughty Dingo]

I'll have to put that one on reserve at the library. Thanks for the suggestion.

[merrick]

Well I definitely know what they mean with the nipples pierced by glass thing. I feel that way sometimes when ds latches on. But after that it's better as long as he doesn't wiggle around so much. As long as it stays the way it is, we should be fine. DS loves his milkies, but if he does wean I think it'll be ok because he's almost three. I haven't decided what I want to do if he does wean and then want to nurse again after the baby comes. I'll probably let him, but I'm not sure.

I'm ordering Adventures in Tandem nursing tonight. THey didn't have it at my library. :

[Peppamint]

My Library didn't have it either : but I found a copy on the TP for something like $5 or $7ppd.

She talks about the initial pain of latch-on in the intro or chapter one and mentions how it helps to teach active nursers to sit or lay still while nursing. Most of our kiddos are old enough now to be able to make it more of a two-way relationship, unlike those newborn and infant days. Ds has done pretty well so far, although sometimes I have to keep him from climbing on my head! :LOL

[FireWithin]

My milk production has significantly decreased already.

I didn't think it would bother ds, but I still wondered if he would be interested in weaning due to lack of milk. I asked him several times today "is there any milk" he unlatched, smiled "no mama no milk" and relatched and kept on nursing.