Pregnant and Nursing

[doulanichole]

It looks like there are several of us over here and many I recognize from the Nursing Mamas TTC thread. So, how old is your nursling? Do you plan to tandem nurse? How is it going since finding out you are pg?

Nothing has changed with nursing here. Ds's b-day is 1/31/04 so he is 20 months and only nurses twice a day - morning and before bed. I haven't had any pain since finding out that I am pregnant, but did have a lot just before finding out (maybe around the time of implantation?). I am not likely to tandem nurse as I tend to lose my supply at the end of the first trimester - not trying to freak anyone out and certainly not saying it happens to everyone, but it does seem to be the case for me. Of course that's not to say that he will quit nursing just because I am no longer making milk either!

Tell us about you....

[MyLittleWonders]

Ds#2 is 22 months and still nursing strong ... he tends to start his nursing day at nap-time, and then doesn't do much until bedtime. But, it's the night nursing that is exhausting me ... he typically crawls into our bed around 1 or 2am, and then will usually nurse. Sometimes he'll come in and go right back to sleep and sleep until 6'ish, when dh's alarm goes off. Other times, he'll come in and nurse off and on until we wake at about 8:30. I can't get nearly as comfortable nursing him in bed as I used to, so it's harder for me to sleep while he bf's. Also, my nipples are more sore than normal, and it's getting a bit uncomfortable. If we could get nursing down to wake-up time, nap-time, and going to bed time, I think I'd be doing better ... but this middle of the night and wee early morning hours is hard.

I'm not sure if he'll wean himself or not ... part of me thinks he's starting to diminish his middle of the night nursing as there have been a couple of nights where he just falls asleep not nursing at 2am, and then sleeps for a few hours straight. If that increases and continues, I think I'll be a bit happier as I be a bit more rested. But we'll see ...

I didn't nurse ds#1 while pregnant with ds#2, so this is completely new territory for me. I'm thinking about calling the local LLL to start attending meetings, especially if it looks like I'll be tandem nursing once little one is born.

[chinacat]

my ds is 21 months and is still nursing. He nurses at nap time and at bed time. He also wakes up at about 4 am and nurses. I fall back asleep, but i'm pretty sure he jsut stays latched on till 6am!!lol I'm not sure what i'm going to do, i'll just see how it goes. So far i'm having no pain (i jsut found out i'm pregnant due in june)

Julia

[Richie'sMama]

About a week after conception, my 3 1/2 yo DS son said, "I don't like the urses" and quit nursing just like that! He knew I was pregnant before I did!

I did tandem nurse with my first DS and his younger brother. It was trying, but definitely worth it. The boys are now best friends (27 months apart) and I believe their friendship was formed because they learned to share at my breast.

[jentilla]

My dd is newly 2 and she has been nursing more since I found out I was pg. She's very mommy-centered right now, so maybe she senses something. My nipples are quite sore so I try to limit it sometimes, but on the whole she nurses a lot.

[Leakyboobs]

DS2 is 29 months... I've got dedicated nursers, though, so I'll probably end up tandeming again. My first two are only 23 months apart. Ds2 will be over 3 before this new one makes the grand entrance. So feasably DS2 could wean, but I'm not betting on it.

[Beansmom]

I have a 20 month old, who still nurses most of the night, so I am pretty much hoping she does wean while I am pg because I have no clue how I will sleep and nurse 2 babies all night long. I am not really having any pain and dd still nurses as much as ever. Days we are busy she can go all day without nursing except naptime and overnight, but some days she just wants to sit and nurse all day so I am wondering how this is all going to go. I'm just glad it doesn't hurt so far since I had heard how awful it could be to nurse while pg.

[mountainsun]

Ds is 22 months old. He nurses before nap, bed, once in the afternoon and a few times throughout the night. I have noticed that the duration of our nursing sessions have been kinda short lately though. HOnestly, the night that i did the pg test (2 days ago) i started balling thinking about ds weaning....But if it happens, it happens. If not, I plan to try and go tandem!
Do kids ever wean during pg and then go back to the breast after the babe is born??

[Amys1st]

Originally Posted by Richie'sMama

About a week after conception, my 3 1/2 yo DS son said, "I don't like the urses" and quit nursing just like that! He knew I was pregnant before I did!

That happens a lot. Sometimes mother nature changes your taste in you milk to wean your nursling naturally. A friend of mine's little one said she needed to stop putting apple juice in there, he wanted milk. That was the end of the nursing since mama couldnt' change it.

[StacyL]

My ds is 12 1/2 months and nurses ar naps, bedtime, once at night, and in the morning when he wakes. I have a twinge when he latches on, and get antsy after 5 minutes, but his duration is shorter. Hopefully he will wean before the baby comes!

[AugustineM]

StacyL -- I have the same antsy feeling if Thor wants to nurse for very long.

He's almost 13 months. He has really stepped up his nursing though, wanting to nurse all the time when we're together, and at least 2-3 times at night. He is also sick, though, with clogged sinuses -- poor guy. That might have more to do with it.

Leakyboobs -- When my next DC is born, my children will be 23 months apart as well. And so will StacyL's, I think. What was your experience with that? It's a little closer than I'd planned...

[StacyL]

Originally Posted by AugustineM

Leakyboobs -- When my next DC is born, my children will be 23 months apart as well. And so will StacyL's, I think. What was your experience with that? It's a little closer than I'd planned...

They'll be almost 21 months apart. My brother and I are 18 months apart, and we fought like dogs - haha. But I think that's because tere were no other siblings. We plan on having more than two, so maybe that will help.

[simonesays]

My twins are 32 months and are still nursing. I was still tandem nursing their older brothers when they were born so if they want to keep nursing thats fine with me but I wouldn't be suprised if Malachi weans in the near future. I think Eli will still be nursing for a while tho.

[Juliwan]

My dd is 19mo and still nursing like crazy. She nurses in the morning on waking, then will snack off and on until naptime, then when she wakes up from nap she'll have a snack, then she'll nurse before bed.

Sometimes she just wants to sit next to me on the couch with a nipple in her mouth, and that's fine by me. She is very attached (yay), and I guess if she needs nursing comfort, then I am more than happy to oblige.

My nipples are starting to get sore, however. I'm hoping it doesn't get much worse than this. I'm starting to also feel alot of fatigue, and all I want to do is lay on the couch. I notice I can't seem to sit or lay down without having my dd climb on top for some nip!

I kind of hope that she'll self-wean before I get too big. I was pretty uncomfortable near the end of my last pregnancy, so I'm worried that this one will be worse and I don't know if I can handle a toddler nursing on me when I feel like that. I guess I'm just going to play it by ear, and if she doesn't wean, then I will probably go get that book I keep hearing about, "Adventures in Tandem Nursing"!

[seekermage]

semi-nursing mama

My DD is 22 months old and really only nursing once at night. She must have known too because the past week she has barely nursed at all. Though this morning she nursed pretty good after she "shared" some with daddy....she insisted the left side is "mine" and the right is "da-das!" and would only nurse if he has some too. LOL my first tandem nursing session I guess! I have a feeling she will wean soon, its been in the works for a while I have hopes that she will tandem but wont get my hopes too high. She has been an uphill battle from the start and Im just happy to have made it as far as we did. We have been through so many "battles" that the next one should be a piece of cake right? : Well Im good luck to all us nursing mamas....hopefully everything will go as we hope, nurslings and all

[augustmom]

DD nurses about 6 times a day. She loves it, I'm sort of eeh about it at the moment. I'm ready to wean, though sadly, but she just isn't. She's 2.

[seekermage]

supply issues already?

Well Lil'bit is getting a little better about nursing, we are kinda back to our once a day thing, but my supply is getting horrible. Any suggestions to keep it from totally leaving? Is there anything to do to help? AHH! I guess I should be ok if she does wean, but I was hoping she would hold on a while longer and up my chances of her tandeming when the next one comes along. Im just afraid she will forget all about it. I know Im being silly right.

[Mama2Xander]

Originally Posted by seekermage

Well Lil'bit is getting a little better about nursing, we are kinda back to our once a day thing, but my supply is getting horrible. Any suggestions to keep it from totally leaving? Is there anything to do to help? AHH! I guess I should be ok if she does wean, but I was hoping she would hold on a while longer and up my chances of her tandeming when the next one comes along. Im just afraid she will forget all about it. I know Im being silly right.

I'm kinda paranoid about my supply decreasing too, so far it hasn't (I don't think) but I asked in one of the breastfeeding forums for suggestions on keeping up supply and someone suggested oatmeal. You could try that. Several people also recommended the book "Adventures in Tandem Nursing" which apparently has some good advice. I haven't read it yet myself but I plan to.

Nursing has been going okay so far for us, nipples are sore but certainly bearable. Otherwise I haven't really noticed a difference other than being really, really tired fromt the night nursing. Ds nurses when he wakes up in the morning, a couple of times before his nap, at naptime to fall asleep, usually wakes at least once during his nap to nurse, nurses after his nap, a couple of times between the nap and dinner, around dinnertime, several times in the evening, at bedtime, and at least 3-4 times in the night. Phew! He's 19 months btw. (Almost 20 months now).

I am kind of concerned about the night nursing - he is obviously not ready to night wean but I wish he could sleep a bit longer at a time - getting up every 2 hours (approx) is really tiring. We do cosleep but nursing lying down has never worked for us (long story...believe me, I tried) so every time he eats it means actually sitting up, propping up pillows, and sitting there while he eats. *yawn*

Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions about this. We started giving him Floradix (a natural iron supplement) awhile ago and it seemed to really help him sleep longer stretches, but ever since he's learned the word "no" he doesn't want to take it anymore. Which is strange, because he seemed to really like it before and always wanted more!

Anyway, thanks for listening to my sleep-deprived rant!

[MidwifeErika]

My son is currently 16 months and will be newly 2 when the new baby comes along. I plan on nursing until he wants to stop, hoping later rather than sooner. He only nurses maybe 4 times a day and not usually for a long period of time. He likes to hop up in my lap and have a few sips of milk and then he is back down and running again. I sometimes wonder if we will make it to age 2 or if he will just lose interest, esspecially if my milk changes during the pregnancy. I guess time will tell

[Leakyboobs]

Originally Posted by Mama2Xander

Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions about this. We started giving him Floradix (a natural iron supplement) awhile ago and it seemed to really help him sleep longer stretches, but ever since he's learned the word "no" he doesn't want to take it anymore. Which is strange, because he seemed to really like it before and always wanted more!

Maybe try a big bed-time snack? And then a sippy of water at the bedside to satisfy any night thirst... and then (this was a big one for us) have DH wake with him to try the water while you 'sleep' with your back turned. My DH would say, "Oh, Mommy is sleeping, are you thirsty? Here's some water, come cuddle with Daddy." And it really worked. Eventually he would wake less and less and stay up a shorter amount of time. Now, 2-3 times a month he wakes once a night for a drink of water. That's it. It was slow coming but it was worth it. :-) Good luck, mama.