Breastfeeding while pregnant?

[baggybears]

Hello, I just found out that I am pregnant with baby number 2. My daughter is only 11 months old and still breastfeeding. Has anyone out there breastfed while they were pregnant? I haven't decided if I want to continue nursing my 11 month old. I was planning to nurse her for at least a year. However I am not sure now that I am pregnant again. Any advice? Thanks

[RedPony]

Hi! I'm 16 weeks pregnant and nursing my 16 month old. It has been a challenge, but my goal has always been two years and I do want to stick to that. : I know that DD still needs my milk, nutritionally and emotionally. I'm all about supporting her needs to the best of my ability. I've faced reduced supply and hugely increased nursing. DD also nurses at night and has lately been nursing every hour on the hour. I've gone thru three bouts of blistered nipples and we've had to come to an agreement - nurse nicely, or not at all (for that session )!

I'd be interested in hearing other people's comments, too.

[ripcurlgirl26]

I'm 16 weeks pregnant too and still nursing. DS (19 months) hasn't missed a beat and I still have milk, although my always-strong letdown sensation stopped around 10 weeks. I've dealt with some initial latch on soreness and DS has increased his nursing frequency, but other than that, it's the same as it's always been and I'm happy that we've kept going.

[GardenStream]

I'm only about 14 weeks into this pregnancy, but I'm still nursing a 16 month old. I have had a little soreness, but nothing actually painful. Before this pregnancy DS was nursing once in the morning and once in the night. Now, he is sleeping through the night and we had to make a rule of only once per hour. We're still fighting at least two or three times a day with him wanting to nurse every 10 minutes. Be prepared for your daughter to have a huge increase in the amount she wants to nurse. It's irritating, but it seems to be normal.

[DiannaK]

are there things we can do to increase supply?? I'm 6 weeks PG, and DD#2 is 18m old. I work outside the home 2 days a week, and it's a struggle to get the milk that I need for her!!

Also .. WHY do the toddlers increase their nursing habits?? Anyone know?? Mine is possibly teething, but it seems like she is constantly asking for milk .... "nil, nil," (signing milk), then says "Ot-ay"

[merry-mary]

It is absolutely fine and safe to nurse while pregnant. However, you should be prepared for some soreness and perhaps pain. Your toddler may also be frustrated when your milk eventually turns to colostrum. If you are up for it, then by all means, continue!

The the poster who asked why toddlers increase nursing habits, I don't know! But I know so many mothers who say this happened to them. I personally think they know that mama is pregnant and want to be closer to her.

[queenbean]

Be aware that your milk supply will probably drop at some point, and you may have to supplement with some other fluid. My supply had a dramatic drop, so we've been supplementing with soy milk to make sure that my daughter gets all the fluids and calories she needs. Just look for signs of dehydration -- you shouldn't have to supplement as long as the baby is staying hydrated on your milk. (Mine wasn't.) You also need to be aware that you will likely experience a "creepy-crawly" sensation when nursing your babe during pregnancy -- for me, it felt like I was going to go crazy and couldn't get her off the breast fast enough sometimes. Just know that if you stick it out, that feeling will get better. I'm about 24 weeks along now, and I can almost always nurse my daughter comfortably now -- no pain, no creepy feeling, no problems, where earlier on I thought for SURE I was going to have to make her wean, because it was so uncomfortable and stressful for me.

Nursing through pregnancy is no picnic, but it's certainly safe, and can be a wonderful experience. Focus on the positives, breathe through the difficult moments, and you can do it!

ETA: I missed the part about how your goal had been one year. If she's 11 months old now, that's only one more month. I wouldn't wean her cold-turkey anyway, you should at least extend the weaning process over a month or two anyway just so it's not so hard on her, so in any case, you can still make your goal, and if you decide to continue nursing, know that it's perfectly safe, and the benefits to her will be amazing.

[DiannaK]

Originally Posted by merry-mary

The the poster who asked why toddlers increase nursing habits, I don't know! But I know so many mothers who say this happened to them. I personally think they know that mama is pregnant and want to be closer to her.

I thought about this ....... and then it made me sad!!

[cookinmama]

Originally Posted by DiannaK

are there things we can do to increase supply?? I'm 6 weeks PG, and DD#2 is 18m old. I work outside the home 2 days a week, and it's a struggle to get the milk that I need for her!!

There is this http://motherlove.com/product_more_m..._glycerite.php but I haven't tried it myself.

[salmontree]

I'm 32 weeks pregnant and still nursing my 25 month old. It is definitely challenging. Right now I'm struggling to stay hydrated. She has been wanting to nurse ALOT lately and I've always had a hard time remembering to drink the recommended daily amounts of water for a normal person, let alone what is needed for a lactating pregnant woman. I'm now having to take antibiotics for the second urinary tract infection in a month and I'm pretty sure it's because I'm just not staying hydrated enough. I had to go out and buy a watch so I can set it to chime every hour and remind me to drink water... that's how bad I am at remembering.
I never had this problem with my other two pregnancies.. this is the first time I'm nursing and pregnant at the same time and it certainly makes things more challenging. I just can't bring myself to wean her though because I can see that she still needs it so much.

[Da WIC Lady]

Nursing my 25 month old DD at 37 weeks pregnant. DD goes through periods of wanting to nurse more or less. Right now we're going through a more phase because DH is away due to a new job. Only had a few days in the middle (around 20 weeks) that I didn't have anything. That was a little sore, but then I started making colostrum and was fine. There have been days the whole way through that I just didn't want to be touched, let alone nurse, but setting limits helped to get through it. My goal was to reach at least 24 months, so I was determined to continue to meet DD's need to nurse so long as she wanted to until then. Now I figure that since it's only 2-3 times a day that it's not that big of a thing and I can usually distract her with other drinks, stories or a bubble bath. I still really enjoy when we can get a long morning session in. It's a nice start to the day, but we don't always get up in time to do that and let me get DSS off on the bus.

Whatever you decide to do, I'm sure it will be the right decision for you and your family. Unless you are at high risk for miscarriage and are on pelvic rest, there really isn't a medical reason to stop especially since your DC is already 11 months. Unless she is EBF, other drinks can be offered and limits can be set if you want to go past that first year.

Anna

[squirt07]

im glad to see this thread. i am 13 weeks preg and nursing my 11mo.i have had some pain, and that creepy feeling, kind of like restless leg syndrome in my breast, and i know my supply has dropped but im not sure how much. i dont have a pump so i just know i dont feel full, but ds seems ok.he does want to nurse more but i thought maybe he was teething.

my biggest issue is exhaustion. ive been battling horrible m/s and dont want to eat. i cant seem to eat/drink enough for the baby, my son and myself.im just miserable. its a constant struggle to have the energy to change my sons dipe nevermind try to play with him.does the exhaustion fade later in the pregnancy?

[MilkyWayMom]

hello all...
glad to have found this thread. i am having a bit of a mommy meltdown. i am 8 weeks pregnant and still nursing 16 month old ds. My supply has dropped noticably. I think it had a sharp drop a few weeks ago and somewhat stabalized but it doesn't seem to be satisfying him especially at night time. This is where my meltdown comes in. My son pretty much nurses to sleep at bed time in addition to co sleeping. Recently he'll stay latched what seems like ALL NIGHT and I get very stiff and uncomfortable stuck in the same position. so i've been trying to get him to stop... but the last 3 nights, he just starts CRYING at bedtime. bad crying. we have never done CIO or any type of sleep training so it is so frustrating and heartbreaking to hear him cry and be so upset. it's hard for dh as well since he wakes at 4:30am for work each day. There were a few nights that dh "walked" my son to sleep so I thought this would be a good transition for him to not nurse to sleep anymore but my husband isn't too thrilled about the idea. (GR, bad husband!) but I don't know what to do. I had to take him for a car ride to get him to sleep tonight. I am soooo tired and now I'm at a low point of wishing I wasn't pregnant.... or at least wishing we had waited longer. I hate feeling that way but I just really believe this wouldn't be happening if I weren't pregnant and I wish I would have considered all of these possibilities before TTC again. I just need some advice about getting through bedtime and the crying. It's the worst thing ever.... : (

[baggybears]

I know what you mean about baby wanting to nurse all night! I have been battling the same thing. I decided that I'm not going to quit nursing totally, but I have been trying to cut down on it with my daughter. I just couldn't handle it with feeling sick all the time and being so sore and totally exhausted and my daughter just wanted to nurse all day and all night. So I'm trying to just do it at night/morning (as much as she wants) and once in the afternoon for nap time. I start out the night putting her in her crib, but once she wakes up I bring her into the bed with us. I find that at night I have to detach her latch because otherwise she will stay hooked on the entire night. I've been trying to fill her up on solid foods and then nurse before bed because it seems that she sleeps longer that way. But now she is waking up every couple hours and before I got pregnant she would wake up once maybe twice a night. It's difficult because the only way she will go to sleep for me is nursing herself to sleep, and once she wakes up that is the only way I can get her back to sleep. I know it's normal that she wants to nurse way more now, but is it normal for her to be so restless at night now too? How have you all coped with this?

[wantmore]

i just have a question; my son is 8 months old and i want to start trying for a second baby but i haven't got my period yet because i am still breastfeeding. was it easy for everybody to get pregnant?

[pantufla]

Read Adventures in Tandem Nursing by Hilary Flower. I know lots of mamas who have or are tandem nursing, nursed through pregnancy, etc. This book gave me the information I needed to make an informed decision about nursing through pregnancy and beyond. Best wishes!

[salmontree]

Unfortunately I am still battling extreme exhaustion still. It did ease up abit during the second trimester when it seemed like my supply went way down but now that my milk is coming back, I'm perpetually tired.

[squirt07]

Originally Posted by baggybears

I know what you mean about baby wanting to nurse all night! I have been battling the same thing. I decided that I'm not going to quit nursing totally, but I have been trying to cut down on it with my daughter. I just couldn't handle it with feeling sick all the time and being so sore and totally exhausted and my daughter just wanted to nurse all day and all night. So I'm trying to just do it at night/morning (as much as she wants) and once in the afternoon for nap time. I start out the night putting her in her crib, but once she wakes up I bring her into the bed with us. I find that at night I have to detach her latch because otherwise she will stay hooked on the entire night. I've been trying to fill her up on solid foods and then nurse before bed because it seems that she sleeps longer that way. But now she is waking up every couple hours and before I got pregnant she would wake up once maybe twice a night. It's difficult because the only way she will go to sleep for me is nursing herself to sleep, and once she wakes up that is the only way I can get her back to sleep. I know it's normal that she wants to nurse way more now, but is it normal for her to be so restless at night now too? How have you all coped with this?

we are also in a cycle of the only way to get ds to sleep for naps, bedtime and when he wakes up at night is from nursing. we cant cosleep so its very frustrating.also dh is not able to help due to his job, so i dont think theres anyway i can go calm him down w/o nursing. how will i get up the 3 times a night to nurse ds AND deal with a newborn?

[Isfahel]

I'm 5 weeks pg, just found out, and my dd is 13 months, I have noticed that she has been wanting to nurse more often but didn't think about it until I started reading ya'lls posts. Maybe my milk supply is diminishing... She eats solids pretty well so I'm not to worried, I am planning on tandem nursing once the little one gets here, if all goes well. Ari is no where near ready to give up her boobies

[desertgirl351]

My DD is 17 months and I am 6 weeks preg. She has gone from nursing a few times a day/night to nonstop fussing and nursing. We don't sleep at night anymore, we just nurse. : I am so shot! I work and DD comes with me so we have to get up in the morning and it has been so hard the last week. She seems to have given up solids and nothing is tempting her. I have tried all her favorites before bed so she can sleep more and she takes 2 bites and no more. She will just scream on and on if I don't nurse at night and I can't let her CIO. I am just so tired now that I am getting angry with her, which I hate. DH isn't much help and now he is out of town for a week. Anyone have any ideas on when this will end? I will be crazy soon! :