Nursing mamas support thread

[Brisen]

I know I'm not the only one...

So far, I've nursed through all of my pgs (well, except the first one) and gone on to tandem nurse for at least a year. It is difficult sometimes, but worth it IMO for those times when both kids are cranky and we can all just sprawl on the couch and nurse... instant quiet. Aaaahhh. My milk has always dried up by the second trimester, though.

[MommaCrystal]

Oh I so need this thread. Any tips to make it through?

[stacey2061]

ahhhh...i'm here...never thought i'd be bf and pregnant, but here i am praying DS doesn't self-wean during pregnancy! lol

[EENS]

Nursing and pregnant here too. I nursed last pregnancy until dd was 2 years and my milk dried up around 5 months. She stopped nursing on her own.

MY 22 month old nurses quite frequently still. I have no tips on how to cope with this other than, sometimes, grinning and bearing it. Thank goodness, she is night weaned.

[firstkid4me]

I'm nursing too, my dd will be 2 tomorrow. If my milk dries up, I won't kick myself too much because she got two good years.

[EENS]

Is anyone's nursling acting fussy? Mine is. I don't know if she is reacting to my unspoken reluctance to nurse due to soreness or if my milk tastes different or if I'm drying up already. My last pregnancy, my dd acted just fine until seemingly one day, I was dry.

[MommaCrystal]

Mine has shortened his nursing sessions considerably. I have to actually encourage him to keep going! That is weird for us!

[dachshundqueen]

Nursing is seemingly going okay. She's a fiend.

My nursling is getting over pneumonia and I have a cold in addition to pretty awful morning sickness.

I'm dehydrated today, but under the care of the hb mw she's said it's okay for me to take three different herbs (thistle, marshmallow and something) to help support supply.

My nursling is 19 months and I was devestated when I found out I was pregnant b/c of the possibility of losing my milk.

Liz

[HeatherB]

I'm still nursing, too, at least a little. My DS is 29mo now and only nurses at night or sometimes after a nap. Our deal is that he can touch (he was a twiddler to start with) only when falling asleep, and then he can have milk when he wakes up (which means during the night, not just in the morning). It's working well now, and he sleeps MUCH better! We had to find a solution that would help him sleep, and I'm grateful that it has, without losing that connection. I also sleep better now! At least until he wakes... I don't think there's all that much milk at this point, as he goes back and forth and will do light sucking for what seems like FOREVER.

At some points I'm eager to be over the frustrating aspects of nursing, like the sensitivity (which is getting a little better right now), interrupted sleep, reaching-down-my-shirt-in-public, etc. But then I am awfully sad to think of him being done. So I'm not going to push it anymore past where we are now, and he can be done when he's done!

Today I asked him, right after we got up, if he got any milk out when he had "Mommy Milk," and he said no. But he loves it, anyway!

[LionTigerBear]

Originally Posted by EENS

Is anyone's nursling acting fussy?

Yes. I am wondering if he is responding to hormones in the milk that make it taste funny.

I am slightly concerned about how we will fare because he is only 3.5 months old.

Will be back.

[stacey2061]

has anyone tasted their milk? i checked it last night after reading in Mothering your Nursing Toddler how it changes. it goes through the same change as it does when your nursling weans, increasing it's salt and protein proportions. i tasted it, and it definitely doesn't have the same really mild, sweet coconut milkiness to it...it was a bit saltier...makes me sad...i really have only started to like nursing in the last few months, and i'm so sad about the thought that Adam might wean right now

[HeatherB]

Sounds like we could use some tips on keeping the babes nursing through pgcy! Brisen, you said you nursed throughout before - did you have any problems with them wanting to wean?

[IfMamaAintHappy]

i nursed Grace till I was about 20 weeks with Lily, she lost interest after my milk dried up. I nursed Lily will I was 32 weeks pregnant with Felicity, and she weaned when my colostrum came in, guess she didnt like it.

Felicity nurses about every 3 hours, essentially on demand. She doesnt seem bothered by the change in the milk, and has not shortened her nursings. She is 16 mo.

[gottaknit]

I'm still nursing DS (27 months), and we are in the process of nightweaning. I've definitely noticed a drop in supply, and increased tenderness in my breasts.

I'm in the minority - I'm hoping DS will wean during the pregnancy. I'm just not up for tandem nursing a three year old and a newborn.

DS is nursing less since we started nightweaning. At first he was switching sides a lot, thinking there would be more on the other side, but I think he's given up on that idea.

[mrsrwbabe]

We are nursing at bedtime and overnight. I am also in the group that hopes she weans during pregnancy.
Although I will miss the extra closeness, I work outside the home and I do not think I could handle the stress of pumping if I were tandem nursing.

[Liam's Mum]

Originally Posted by gottaknit

I'm in the minority - I'm hoping DS will wean during the pregnancy. I'm just not up for tandem nursing a three year old and a newborn.

I guess I'm in the minority too -- I feel like I won't mind if he does wean (ask me when/if it happens, maybe I'll feel differently), and don't really think I'm up for tandem nursing either. My guy is older too, 29 mos, so I really feel like I've done well for him thus far. But then I never imagined nursing a 2.5 year old, so I never say never now!

It is starting to hurt when he latches I hope that passes, and soon. I've asked him now to cut sessions short (e.g. only nursing on both sides once in the morning, he often goes back and forth 4 times!) and though he's not impressed, he's been OK. I may also tackle night weaning soonish (I've been saying this for over a year though) but want to wait until his last 2 molars come in

[Brisen]

Originally Posted by dachshundqueen

I'm dehydrated today, but under the care of the hb mw she's said it's okay for me to take three different herbs (thistle, marshmallow and something) to help support supply.

My nursling is 19 months and I was devestated when I found out I was pregnant b/c of the possibility of losing my milk.

I'm glad you're getting some herbal advice, hopefully that will help. Also, while my milk has dried up during all of my pgs, my nursling didn't wean, and they got plenty of milk after the baby was born.

Originally Posted by LionTigerBear

Yes. I am wondering if he is responding to hormones in the milk that make it taste funny.

I am slightly concerned about how we will fare because he is only 3.5 months old.

Originally Posted by HeatherB

Sounds like we could use some tips on keeping the babes nursing through pgcy! Brisen, you said you nursed throughout before - did you have any problems with them wanting to wean?

Nope, no problems, so I don't really have any advice. I don't think I could have weaned them if I wanted to. Although M seems to be the closest of any of my kids so far to weaning during pg. She switches back and forth a lot if she's not nursing to fall asleep, and even if she's comfort nursing, she only nurses for a few seconds and then is off again. It's like she keeps coming over, hoping for milk, and then decides it isn't worth it -- I still feel a let down sometimes, but mostly early in the morning when she hasn't nursed all night. So, we'll see. She's so in love with babies, I'm hoping that she'll still be nursing when the baby is born so that she'll have something to do while I nurse other than poking the baby!

Originally Posted by Liam's Mum

It is starting to hurt when he latches I hope that passes, and soon.

I find that if latching is hurting, making sure that they are right up close to me helps. As my kids get older, I get sloppier with latch and position, but the sensitivity of pg is a good incentive to work on it.

[Mommak]

So I'm also feeling okay with the idea of DS weaning in the near future. He is still waking up 3-4 times a night (is 25 mos. old) to nurse and I am feeling nauseous and irritable when he nurses at night. And my nipple hurts (OUCH). (he's only nursing on one side now...)

[HeatherB]

Originally Posted by Liam's Mum

I guess I'm in the minority too -- I feel like I won't mind if he does wean (ask me when/if it happens, maybe I'll feel differently), and don't really think I'm up for tandem nursing either. My guy is older too, 29 mos, so I really feel like I've done well for him thus far. But then I never imagined nursing a 2.5 year old, so I never say never now!

I totally related to this. DS is 29 months old and while I knew I'd nurse him longer than his brother (15mo), I hadn't planned on nursing this long, necessarily! I would like to have him weaned by 3, I think, which means just before the baby is born. But at the same time I'm sad to lose that! I've always thought tandem nursing was cool, but I'm just not sure I want to nurse past 3, or that he'll even last that long.

[gigismom]

Hi all

I am here with you, too. My dd is 31 months and nurses quite a bit still. She is recently sleeping most of the night in her own bed next to mine so is not nursing at night too much. However, those few nights that she does wake and crawl into bed with us, I do not sleep much.

This pregnancy was a huge surprise for us and I would be extremely sad if she weaned during it. I want her to have some colustrum as she will be in the middle of allergy season next fall.... some extra immuno-boosters would be great!!

Looking forward to sharing this journey with all of you

jen