still nursing

[Ashersmum]

Is anyone out there still nursing a toddler? I'm really torn over whether I should continue to nurse him (he's 2 1/2) or start to wean him before baby #2 arrives. Besides - ouch!!! It really hurts to nurse with pregnant boobs! Anyone in the same boat?

[jee'smom]

Girl... I'm tandem nursing! a 2 and 4yo! Anyway, when pg with ds, people kept asking me if I was going to wean dd. I said "Are you out of your mind? And take away the only sure-fire tool I have to put her to sleep, calm her down, ease her pain when she's hurt... There's no way I could parent a newborn and not have that powerful tool on my side to also parent the toddler!" Yes, it sucked nursing while pg. I had to set some pretty firm limits (only a couple times/day for only a certain amount of time) and yes, it was hard to tandem sometimes. But ultimately, I never regretted my decision. I'll give you a great example. All of my friends complained they never could rest. They never can sleep. When the newborn sleeps, the toddler's up, and when the toddler's alseep, the newborn's up. Well, I would lay down in bed, put a movie on for dd, roll over, nurse ds to sleep, roll over nurse dd to sleep, and then go to sleep my self. If either woke up, I nursed them back to sleep. For 6 months, we all took about a 3 HOUR NAP EVERY DAY!!! HALLELUIA!!! I'm sure you'll make the best decision for yourself and your family, whatever that may be. Good luck!
ETA: if I did want to wean, while pg would've been the way to go. I lost my milk and dd started losing interest. See what happens with you, picture the future and see what feels right. I also thought it would help with sibling rivalry. It is so sweet to see them nurse together. (although sometimes it feels really icky!) Be forewarned, tandeming MAY produce some pretty intense feelings, or not. It did for me, not for my friend.

[trmpetplaya]

If you do want to wean then pregnancy is a great time to do it whenever you naturally lose your milk. I'm not planning on weaning, but dd is only 12 months (as of Friday :loveeyes:). I have a friend who weaned all (12) of her older children (she just had her 13th) by just keeping them extra busy when she lost her milk.

I have another friend who didn't want to wean her children during pregnancy and really wanted to tandem nurse, but her children weaned themselves when her milk changed.

So whatever you may choose to do, your dc may have a different plan :wink Best wishes with the decision! If you don't get many answers here then maybe try the breastfeeding beyond infancy board or the main pregnancy board :thumb

love and peace. :love

[Ashersmum]

thanks so much for your replies! Wow, a 2 and a four year old tandem nursing and another on the way - you are going to be busy :) Does everyone's milk dry up for a while when pregnant? It seemed that even before I knew i was pregnant my little boy knew what was up - he said, "yucky!," when he nursed but now he seems to be over that and wants to nurse more than ever. Thanks for the advice to limit to nursing to twice a day and thanks for suggesting other forums on this site - I'm new here so I haven't really checked out my options. All the best

[Lissybug]

Earlier in this DDC there's a whole thread with other moms who are nursing another child. Welcome!

[MamaSpruce]

Oh yeah, there is quite a few of us. Here is the earlier thread:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=550673

The nipple sensitivity is getting a little better here, or maybe I'm just getting used to it. DS is still nursing more than before though.

[wheatie]

i'm still nursing my 21 month old. my boobs aren't too sore yet(didn't get overly sore in my first pregnancy either.)

i am hoping he weans before the new baby arrives.

[imgr8ful]

i'm not too sore, just battling supply issues.

[Panthira]

Still nursing my 10 mo. old. I'm worried about supply issues as my milk either dried up or my ds2 hated the taste because he suddenly weaned at 20 mo. along with my littlest one. I think I'm going to have a lot of questions and need some support to continue BFing my baby, as he NEEDS it, being so young. I'm thinking of contacting the local LLL group.

[jee'smom]

Please do contact your local LLL. They are an awesome source of help!!!

[bbrandonsmom]

I'm nursing a 20m old and so far no pain or supply loss yet. My mw was only concerned that I make sure to eat enough calories as I'm thin-she said I should gain 3-4 pounds per month and if not we might have to reevaluate what I'm eating or maybe wean. But ds wants to nurse more, not less. definately contact your LLL group or maybe check kellymom too.

[chelsmm]

hi!
I just found out I'm pg with #2. I'm nursing my 13 month old, and I plan to continue. I really hope she won't wean (even though it really hurts so far!), and I"m going to do everything I can to help her continue. I wanted to wait until she was 2 to ttc again, however, we all know, babies come when they are ready! Good luck with whatever you decide.

[DahliaRW]

I'm still nursing my 22 month old. Not planning to wean on purpose, but if chooses too so be it. I may end up cutting back on nursing sessions if the pain/irritability really gets to me. But as of now it's going ok... Just know you're not alone in the pregnant and nursing thing!

[tatermom]

I've been really sore lately, and I really think my milk is drying up. There's definitely still some milk there, but much less than before-- I can tell because DS is always unsatisfied with his nursing sessions lately. I'm actually hoping that he will wean during the pregnancy because I don't want to tandem, but I didn't think it would happen this early!! I thought most of the time milk dries up around 20 weeks-- not 6 weeks! (20 weeks would take us to DS's 2nd bday, which I was really hoping for). DS is almost 21 mos now, and I'd really like him to at least make it another month or so, but he's so frustrated with the lack of milk, and I'm so sore from him sucking and sucking trying to get something out. :o Anyone else drying up this early???

[ChelseaG]

My nipples have been really sore lately - and I noticed I don't have as much milk as I used to - and I will just be 6 weeks on Monday! I really want to do CLW - but I am not sure if I can handle tandem nursing - DD will be 2 (almost to the day) when the new baby comes and I really wanted to nurse her till 2 - but now I am re-evaluating. She really doesn't drink any other milk at all - I have just introduced cow's milk - but she doesn't seem to like it (she really didn't like goat's milk)... I am not sure what to do - I guess we will just take it one day at a time and see how things turn out...

[FreeRangeMama]

I am pg with #4 and have nursed in 3 pg now :) I tandem nursed through my last pg until my ds1 self-weaned a month before dd was born (he was about to turn 4). I tandem nursed ds2 and dd until 3 months ago when ds2 turned 3 (he self-weaned too). Now I am only nursing one child for the first time in a long time :) Dd is 19 months. I completely lost my milk the first time by about 8 weeks, though I think that was because I got a nasty virus and was quite dehydrated. My supply never recovered. Ds1 nursed right through that pg anyways. The next time around I didn't lose my milk, it just changed to colostrum in my 8th month. Ds1 decided that my milk tasted "yucky" and quit. He was nearly 4 though and finally ready. Ds2 continued undeterred. So far I think my supply has dropped somewhat, but dd is hard at work (nursing dozens of times a day) to get it back up. For me, a good diet (lots of protein) and lots and lots of water really makes a difference in maintaining enough milk.

Good luck :)

[glycerin19]

I love this thread! I'm nursing my 12 month old and I hope to keep going throughout the entire pregnancy. If anything she's begun to nurse more not less. I've had no real nipple soreness but it may still come.

[Shahbazin]

I'm nursing a 6 1/2 month old, & counting diapers (lots :)), but so far so good at 6 weeks preg. I'm eating lots of oatmeal, drinking oodles of water, & really craving protein. DD nurses 2-3x at night, but more because I can't go more than a few hours w/out feeding her or I can't sleep anyhow - uncomfortably full & leak all over (I wake her by changing her, & then feed her). I'm hoping this lasts!

[DahliaRW]

If your milk is going, you might want to increase how much water you are drinking. You need a lot more when pregnant, and milk supply can realliy drop when you're dehydrated (even if you're not dehydrated enough to realize that you are).

[2much2luv]

I agree with Dahlia, it could be dehydration.

I weaned my 33 month old a few weeks ago. She was down to only nursing at bedtime and I eased her away from that. I nursed during my pregnancy with her until about halfway through and it was a horrible experience that ended bitterly. That nursling was 18 months when I weaned her. I'm not saying this to scare or discourage anyone, but just to encourage you if you're already feeling unhappy with nursing because of discomfort or whatever; you're not alone! Anyway, I went ahead and weaned my baby this time because I have no desire to tandem nurse, so I'm hoping that nursing will be somewhat of a distant memory by the time the baby comes and that she won't want to relactate. Also it was really easy on her. I think we were both ready.

But best of luck to everyone who is going to nurse through pregnancy and tandem! That takes so much strength.

[jee'smom]

I lost my milk with ds, by about 2 mo., but dd dry nursed through pg, thank God! (although it created icky feelings, and most of the time I HATED IT and wanted to throw her out a window as soon as she latched on...she wasn't ready to wean yet & was too young-only 2 yo) With this one, I'm still making some milk, not alot, but enough! I'm hoping i don't lose it all together... I really want ds to continue to nurse after baby comes (it's SO MUCH EASIER to parent when you have the magical nursie as one of your tools!!!!) Personally, I think those of you who are weaning are the strong ones, I could NEVER EVER imagine taking care of a newborn and NOT having nursing on my side/"in my bag of tricks" to put my kids to sleep, soothe them when they're sad, hurt, angry... what in the h**l would I do if newborn is crying and toddler's crying, if not nurse?!!! Oh, it seriously gives me the willys to think about. (although I'm also nursing a 4 yo, and wouldn't mind if she weaned! She only nurses once in a while, but her latch is wrong, and it feels icky!)