nursing and preg

[nhapmom]

the sept. ddc had a thread like this so i thought i would start one here.

this is the issue that worries me the most. my 2 yo nurses alot still.

im trying to eat oatmeal, drink mother milk's tea and stay stress free to ensure my supply continues strong but i do worry.

anyone else?

[Mrshawwk]

Hi! My two year old also nurses for nap and night time. We have stopped all other nursing, but she makes up for it at night. I still have a good supply, but I usually get very very sick with pregnancies, and I know I won't be able to continue nursing. I'm trying to slowly get her used to not nursing every time she turns over at night. So far so good. But she wil be sad...very very sad. I'm kind of waiting to see how it goes. She's 26 months, and is getting better at reasoning a little, so hopefully she won't just think I'm being mean if I have to stop. I do not want to tandem nurse. Nonoonononono. That sounds completely unfun. Anyway, what are you doing?

-Beth

[nhapmom]

i planning to tandem but thats not my concern right now. keeping my supply up is my huge issue as im worried and i know E wont be happy..he's not a big eater at all.

[dany]

Nursing an almost one year old here. My gut feeling *for myself* is that my supply will be OK, but I'm still taking the same steps re: oatmeal, tea, and no stress.

Of course the trick then is not to stress about not stressing to keep my supply up, which is a point of stress... that I'm trying not to stress over. :

[DreamsInDigital]

I'm also nursing an almost one year old. Mine isn't a big eater either, she doesn't have many teeth. I ordered a tincture from Motherlove called More Milk For 2 which has milk supply boosting herbs that are safe for pregnancy. Trying to stay hydrated, nursing DD as much as she wants and not limiting her time at the breast, and trying to eat oatmeal although it makes me gag.

[nhapmom]

Originally Posted by dany

Nursing an almost one year old here. My gut feeling *for myself* is that my supply will be OK, but I'm still taking the same steps re: oatmeal, tea, and no stress.

Of course the trick then is not to stress about not stressing to keep my supply up, which is a point of stress... that I'm trying not to stress over. :

hahahaha!! that is SOOO me right now!

[nhapmom]

DID, i cant stand oatmeal!!! im right there with you

[DreamsInDigital]

One thing to be careful of is fenugreek. It's often touted as a milk supply booster but it is a uterine stimulant and so not safe for pregnancy. It's one thing to check for in any teas or herb mixtures you might be taking. I remember when I took it while I was nursing DS2 it would always bring on AF early and I'd bleed like twice as long as normal. So be careful about what you're taking!

[ibusymomto5]

I'm nursing my almost 1yo who isn't a big eater too. I'm also worried about losing my milk supply, because it happened to me last time at about 4th month of pregnancy. I have mixed feelings on tandem nursing. It seems like it would maybe help ease the transition for the toddler, but then the thought of nursing her at 9mo pregnant doesn't sound appealing. I don't know. I guess I'm going to do all I can to keep my supply up - eat oatmeal, drink fluids, get enough rest, not limit her feeds, etc, and hope for the best. Some of my babies have weaned themselves somewhere around 18mo anyway, so we'll see.

[DreamsInDigital]

I've tandem nursed for the last year, but I did not nurse all the way through pregnancy. After DD was born DS3 started nursing again and we made it a year! At times it has been really difficult, especially with DS3 getting jealous when he wants to nurse and DD is sleeping on the boob or something, but there are times when I don't know how I would have gotten through some of these days without nursing them both.

[ColoradoMama]

This is the fourth pg that I've had where I've been nursing an older child. Dd2 weaned herself during my last pg, but she was two when I got pg. My youngest was ds1 who was only 14 months when I got pg, and he wasn't a big eater. As my milk supply went down though, he just started eating more. The only thing I'm worried about is that I know I'll start to get really uncomfortable around 4 months. BUT - I've done it three times before, so......

[TryingMommas]

I'm nursing a 19 month old, and I would like to tandem if thats how things end up ... I'm not planning on weaning #1, but I realize that either he may decide to if my milk goes, or that I may change my mind if things get really hard. But I am pretty committed to CLW, so it would have to get really bad for me to want to give it up I think. We nurse morning and to bed every day (I work FT out of the house weekdays) and then also for naps or whenever he asks on weekends. He's definitely not ready to stop. I'm sorta worried about teething - I just realized the other day that he'll most likely teethe a bunch during this pregnancy, because he still only has 4 1/2 teeth (yes, you read that right - very slow in the teeth department)! So, I realize that he may very well want/need to up his nursing instead of decrease ....
it will be an adventure, I'm sure! I've already started thinking up and trying nursing positions that i think will work when I have a big belly again.

[Changed]

My 3 year old is still nursing but SOOO close to self weaning, I'd love to tandem but I am doubtful he will continue that long. We'll see.

[Marcimama]

My ds is only 9 months old and I am so afraid my milk won't hold out for him! He is thin anyway, and I really want to nurse him as long as possible...What can I do????

[nhapmom]

im trying to drink as much as possible right now...eat alot and healthily...and eating lots of oatmeal. also im drinking ale beer every few days (1 every other day or so) but some arent comfortable with any alcohol during pregnancy.

im sure others will have more suggestions.

[ColoradoMama]

Originally Posted by Marcimama

My ds is only 9 months old and I am so afraid my milk won't hold out for him! He is thin anyway, and I really want to nurse him as long as possible...What can I do????

Hopefully your milk supply won't start to be affected until around four months. There are a lot of high fat foods that are really good for little ones like avocados. Will he eat that? You can also try nursing him for longer sessions on each breast so that he is getting a lot of that fattier hindmilk.

[Irish]

I shouldn't have clicked on this thread, now I AM stressing! DD is going to be 1 next week and I'm already noticing a drop in supply in the last few days - she's always been such a fervent nurser, my biggest concern right now is how to continue through this pregnancy and beyond.

[nhapmom]

dont stress too much Irish..stress reduces milk supply (said from teh queen of stressing! lol!).

i think that learning all we can do to help our supply, and follow through, is the most we can do. what will be will be but i will work to prevent a dip in my supply. i have been eating oatmeal every am. i dont like oatmeal!

[veganmama719]

My DD was still nursing 7 X per day when I conceived DS. She was 12 month. By 15 months she had completely weaned herself, much to my chagrin.

DS will be 4 in March and is still nursing 1-2 times per day. it will be interesting to see what he does.

[Irish]

I know that I'm a complete crackhead for even considering this but...

DD has been sleeping through the night most nights since Christmas (we cosleep). She often gets restless, moves around/adjusts position and goes back to sleep. I'm wondering if I should encourage her to nurse when she starts moving around?

My first woke every 2 hours until she around 2 1/2 and I've been in absolute shock these past couple of months that we seem to have gotten so lucky this time....maybe I'll sleep on it for a day or two....