pregnant and nursing

[polishprinsezz]

anyone still nursing? how old is your nursling? and does anyone plan to quit nursing before baby arrives? i'm 7wks along and currently nursing a 14 month old. i was going to play it by ear.

[Past_VNE]

I'm either 5 or 9 weeks, ;) (was my last period real or implantation bleeding?) and am still nursing my boy who will be 3 in December. I hope he doesn't wean. I hope I don't lose my milk and I hope my nipples don't get much more sensitive than they already have become.

[*Karen*]

I am. 5 weeks and my milk is already drying up. DS is 17 months. I am going to try to continue dry nursing until the new baby comes.

[Nikki Christina]

me..
Im almost 22 weeks. dd is 2 1/2 .
I plan to wean..um. 3 months ago ?? ;) it's been so painfull
I dont have hardely enough to call milk.
but I am determined. she WILL be weaned by the end of this year.

3 is really my cut off anyways, weither I was pg or not. I weaned older dd 1 1/2 months before her 3rd bday

[BakerALM]

I guess you can count me in also. :shy I am EPing now for 20mths. I totally want to make it till she is 2 yrs but I am only 4wks and loosing my milk fast. Since in my world their is no such thing as nursing, never mind dry nursing once the milk is gone its over for me:gloomy:. I wish I could CLW but sadly that was not in our cards. I have lost around 30% of my supply in less than 2wks. Now I have a cold and things are even worse, she is asking for more milk and I have to keep telling her their is no more, she is crying it is SOOOO heart rentching. :bawl

I will pump a bit for her once BFing is established with the next babe so she can have her BM in a cup while I nurse the new little one.:loveeyes:

[Jazzmin]

I'm 5 weeks and still nursing 18month DS. I must still have milk because he hasn't really changed his habits or let me know that he isn't satisfied. We plan to keep on going as long a we can.

[i*wish]

Well, I'm just 4wks 3days pregnant but still nursing my newly 2yo dd. It's funny b/c about a week ago she started saying 'nee-nees all gone' when she finished nursing. I can still express some when she's done but something must be changing :shrug

I plan to play it by ear...She's not a big comfort nurser so I think if the milk goes that she will wean. I guess not CLW.... though I think an argument could be made that it actually is. Of course, JMO...

[bean's mama]

I'm about 6 1/2 weeks pg and am nursing my ds who 16 mos. I think that maybe the taste may have changed because one day he kept pulling off and looking at it with a kind of weird look. He did this about 4 times and poked my nipple and then just latched on and nursed. I don't seem to be having any supply issues yet. When he pulls off, he has milky drool, so I'm assuming that he is still getting milk. I plan on nursing him throughout this pregnancy and tandem nursing once the new babe arrives.

[Kylahroo]

I've become pregnant 4 times while nursing! With my first two, the weaned at 2 1/2 years when I was 3 months pregnant. With my 3rd, he weaned a couple of weeks before my due date at 3 years. My current "baby" is nearly 2 1/2 and I don't expect she'll be stopping anytime soon. She goes through periodic nurse-a-thons, where all she wants to do is nurse, but I have been trying to limit her to nursing in bed (at bedtime, early in the morning and naptime). This seems to be working well. I'm gently "weaning" her down as I know the sore nipples are coming and toddlers generally don't care if there's milk or not! They simply like the comfort of sucking and being close to mom!

Tanya, mom to 4 kids ages 2-11 and one on the way! (I need to make a signature!)

[lmonter]

I'm somewhere around 6 weeks, give or take (I'm not paying attention, too much going on here). Still nursing my 18mo. Was hoping to nurse him until at least 2yo, and follow his lead with weaning.

His older brother self-weaned at 28mo when I was 5 months pregnant with him, so I have no idea what'll happen. If he wants to keep nursing up until I deliver, we'll see if I can handle the pain (last time it was like shards of glass which wasn't so fun), or see if he gets mad and stops nursing because of lack of milk.

[being]

6 weeks preg still nursing my 31 mo. old dd.I don't intend to quit & neither does she.
Some nipple pain -not excrusiating but my tolerance has definately increased .Milk supply continues to be plentifull-she loves her milkies!!
We'll roll w/ whatever changes come our way -supply issues etc.Making no predictions...we've never ventured this way before....

[witch au lait]

@}-`-}-,-'-

[i*wish]

Not sure if I should be starting a new thread but I'm curious how often your older dc are nursing? I think my dd is weird! She only nurses at naptime, bedtime, and first thing in the morning (this can be about 1-4 times between 3 and 6am though). She's 24mos. She never asks for 'nee-nee's' between these times....She used to but she stopped doing that around 18mos. Hmmmmm.

[BirthFree]

Not sure if I should be starting a new thread but I'm curious how often your older dc are nursing? I think my dd is weird! She only nurses at naptime, bedtime, and first thing in the morning (this can be about 1-4 times between 3 and 6am though). She's 24mos. She never asks for 'nee-nee's' between these times....She used to but she stopped doing that around 18mos. Hmmmmm.

My DS is the same way and he's only 13m (almost 14m)! He's not interested in it for the comfort issue, just the food/liquid issue.

My milk has historically dried up instantly but I'm going to make twice the effort to not have that happen this time. I tried before, but I'll really give it a go. He's so young (my nursling) and we were not expecting this and I don't think it would be fair to force him to give up his 'num' when he doesn't want to. :) So far so good. I can tell something about it is different (taste or quantity), but he's still fine. :)

[UmmZahra]

DD is 17 months and nurses heavily at times and light at others. Lately she's down to 3 times a day sometimes more or less depending on if I give her access (i.e. if she can dig my breasts out my top or not lol). We plan on going till she is two years old. If she wants to continue we'll have to cut it down. I don't know though. I just have to play it by ear. I'm feeling "touched out". I don't know if its from pregnancy or what.

[imbarefoot]

I'm still nursing my 22 mo old and I"m 5 weeks pregnant. I don't have any plans to stop, and I don't think she does either!

I plan to let her CLW no matter what.

It's been a bit painful, but I know it's worth it.

[witch au lait]

@}-`-}-,-'-

[Chic_Mama]

I am nursing my 18 month old DS and I am about 4 1/2 weeks along. I haven't noticed any difference yet- he is definitely a boob man. I am kind of hoping that he will show signs of weaning as my milk supply diminishes- that would make DH very happy. We will have to see. I would nurse him for a while longer if it were all up to me.

[cody'smomma]

I'm about 4.5 weeks along and still nursing DS, 28 months. I have no idea about milk supply, I think he nurses whether there's milk or not. In fact, if he could nurse constantly all day long he would. I limit him because it is starting to drive me nuts!!! In fact here he comes now. :lol

[kltroy]

I'm 5.5 weeks along and still nursing my 16 month old DS. I'm planning on him being done by the time kid #2 comes out b/c I have NO interest in tandem nursing. Does anyone know if there's a higher incidence of miscarriage in nursing moms? Just curious....

[Beeblebrox]

I'm either 5 or 9 weeks, ;) (was my last period real or implantation bleeding?) and am still nursing my boy who will be 3 in December. I hope he doesn't wean. I hope I don't lose my milk and I hope my nipples don't get much more sensitive than they already have become.

Wow you just described me! I mean the four week date difference. I am in the exact same boat. Except I'm either 13 weeks or 9 weeks.


As for the OP, DD is 25 months and still nursing. I have no plans to wean her, but the nursing has cut back slightly. DH has been mainly putting her to sleep, so she isn't really nursing down anymore. Other than that all systems go and I plan on nursing her as long as she's interested.

[uncertain]

Hi mamas,
Another one here who plans to see how things go and play it by ear. I'm 5 weeks along and DS will be 2 in a few days. I'd really like to try tandem nursing, but my biggest concerns are - will my milk be the "right" milk for a newborn if a toddler is nursing still, and will the toddler "take" all the milk and immune agents that are meant for the newborn?? I guess I'm thinking along the lines of how if one ever wanted a wet nurse, you would try to find someone who was nursing their own child of approximately the same age, so that the milk would be of the right "constitution" for the age of the baby. So, if the toddler is still nursing, will that prevent my body from fully making "newborn milk", or will the hormones from pregnancy/childbirth overcome that?

I'm probably making no sense, sorry to ramble!

I did read in the LLL "Adventures in Tandem Nursing" that nursing while pregnant does not increase miscarriage risk (at least no evidence of this) once implantation has been clinically recognized (+ hpt). However, I wonder if anyone has ever studied this in the case of a toddler who nurses AS MUCH as my DS does. As in allllll the time...!

[finnegansmom]

Hi mamas,


I did read in the LLL "Adventures in Tandem Nursing" that nursing while pregnant does not increase miscarriage risk (at least no evidence of this) once implantation has been clinically recognized (+ hpt). However, I wonder if anyone has ever studied this in the case of a toddler who nurses AS MUCH as my DS does. As in allllll the time...!

This is good information - I ordered that book online a few days ago since I just found out I'm pregnant (a shock for a nursing mama of a 13 month old with 7-8 luteal phase!). I am terrified that our borderline-constant nursing will affect this pregnancy and cause a miscarraige. I have called both my primary care physican and my (previous) OBGYN and neither seemed to know what I was talking about and both refused to do a blood test to ease my mind.

I can't wait to get that book! Everything I've read lately has been so discouraging.

[jr'smom]

I am still nursing my two sons. The youngest is almost 17 months old and the oldest will be 3 in a couple of weeks. By the way I nursed my son constantly through my second pregnancy and obviously there were no problems. I had a very healthy 10lb 3oz baby!

I'm guessing the 3yr old will wean himself sometime before #3 comes along. He really only nurses at bedtime. But if the 17mo old is nursing and it seems like we are having extra fun, he'll come along and ask to nurse too.

I sure hope the 17mo. old doesn't wean. I think it helps with the transition of having a newborn, when the toddler is still nursing and feels he's mommy's "baby" too.

[Collinsky]

anyone still nursing? how old is your nursling? and does anyone plan to quit nursing before baby arrives? i'm 7wks along and currently nursing a 14 month old. i was going to play it by ear.

I'm 30 weeks and my toddler is 17 mos... he's still nursing although NOT every 3-4 hours like he was when I got pregnant in the first place. In fact he's down to once or twice a day, nad every now and then he's skipped a full day. At the beginning of the pregnancy I would have sworn that would NEVER happen, he was so attached to it. But I guess when the milk is all gone and mama isn't as forthcoming with the breast (much more likely to offer substitutes as I have horrible nursing aversion)... but I try to make sure to offer at least once a day because he's really not ready to wean and I am looking forward to tandem nursing again. Dd1 and Dd2 nursed together for 10 mos, and I missed that with Dd2 and Ds. (Dd2 weaned during the pregnancy, I was disappointed but also a little relieved...)

Playing it by ear is the only way to go with nursing during a pregnancy. I wouldn't forcefully wean a child who wasn't ready, but at the same time Mama has to give herself permission to be a little less child-led than she maybe feels is ideal. With my first I didn't realize I could set limits... I tried to do on-demand nursing around the clock just like before I was pregnant, and this is while pulling my hair and gritting my teeth and *hating* it so much. Relaxing a little saved the day, and like I said, we went on to tandem nurse successfully and it was great. I'm MUCH more flexible now. And it makes all the difference.

[athensmama]

DD is 25 months. Her nursing varies depending on the day. Some days she makes me crazy asking for milky non-stop. Some days it is upon waking and going down to sleep (4-5 times and once at night). I think that I would like to not nurse from bedtime until morning so I can soak up as much uninterrupted sleep as possible while I can get it. I am planning to play it by ear. Nursing is so important to her. I want to continue for as long as she wants it, but I won't be able to nurse through pain like shards of glass as it was described above. If that is the case for us, then it would only lead to resentment on my part. We will be sure to wean with gentleness keeping each of our needs in mind when the time comes. As for tandem, I go back and forth. I'd love to hear what others think. I think it is a good point that tandem would help ease a toddler through the transition of a new sibling and they wouldn't feel like they are no longer mama's baby.

[adamsfam07]

I'm almost 15 wks and I'm still nursing my 16mo old, I had thought I would play it by ear and see if I could nurse him throughout my pregnancy but now I'm just not sure. It's getting very painful, I'm not sure if it's because I have lost some of my supply and he's just sucking that much harder so it hurts, or if this is just how it's going to be. I've never been pg and nursing before but is that discomfort normal? My ds still wants to nurse 5-6 times a day but...ouch! I'm not sure if I can tandem nurse 2 children at the same time, I'm already so tired. But I feel guilty thinking about weaning him too, I know he's not ready. I've been thinking about maybe just getting him to nurse to take his naps and go to bed at night but I haven't decided yet. I feel like if I tried to wean him now, I'd somehow be robbing him of his "baby-hood", I mean, I wouldn't even be considering weaning him now if I wasn't pregnant. But I sometimes dread nursing him because I know it's going to be so painful, just hoping it goes away.

[Red Sonja]

I'm very newly pregnant, not quite 4 weeks, and tandem nursing my DD, 16 months tomorrow, and 38 month old DS. I don't know if DS will nurse through a 2nd pregnancy or not, he seems to be on his way to weaning, but I definitely hope DD will.

[mom2tig99Nroo03]

not quite sure i am preggers, but dh thinks i am. it is too soon imo to poas, since af is still not due for a week almost.

regardless, i am still nursing roo, who will be 5 in february.

i also nursed tig while i was pregnant with roo until he self-weaned. he then started nursing again after his sister was born, and there was lots of milk again.

[mom2tig99Nroo03]

Hi mamas,
Another one here who plans to see how things go and play it by ear. I'm 5 weeks along and DS will be 2 in a few days. I'd really like to try tandem nursing, but my biggest concerns are - will my milk be the "right" milk for a newborn if a toddler is nursing still, and will the toddler "take" all the milk and immune agents that are meant for the newborn?? I guess I'm thinking along the lines of how if one ever wanted a wet nurse, you would try to find someone who was nursing their own child of approximately the same age, so that the milk would be of the right "constitution" for the age of the baby. So, if the toddler is still nursing, will that prevent my body from fully making "newborn milk", or will the hormones from pregnancy/childbirth overcome that?

I'm probably making no sense, sorry to ramble!

I did read in the LLL "Adventures in Tandem Nursing" that nursing while pregnant does not increase miscarriage risk (at least no evidence of this) once implantation has been clinically recognized (+ hpt). However, I wonder if anyone has ever studied this in the case of a toddler who nurses AS MUCH as my DS does. As in allllll the time...!

if i may answer this for you. your milk will go through a phase where it tunrns to colostrum, and then once the babe is born, you'll make milk tailored to the needs of your baby. the toddler will be technically drinking "baby milk" but there is nothing wrong with that.

regarding supply, you may want to designate that the older child only gets one side , to ensure the infant gets plenty of milk.

hth.

[ryansma]

I am almost 5 weeks pregnant and nursing ds who is 20 months. Any changes I noticed I have attributed to the fact that we are nightweaning. It's been a few weeks now and he is doing well with it but has subsequently been nursing more during the day. I see milk coming out so I know there is milk there. I am hoping to nurse him until he is at least 2. I have zero nipple sensitivity, never really have so I don't think that will be an issue for me. I haven't really thought about tandeming but would definately consider it if ds shows me he isn't ready to give it up by the time baby 2 comes. Does anyone know the percentage of mom's who successfully continue to nurse through pregnancy? It seems like many more mom's have supply issues than not.

[Mama Poot]

I am 10 weeks and nursing my 15 month old. I don't have much milk left now but he doesn't care. I fully intend to nurse him all the way through and tandem nurse with the new baby :)

[spu]

I'm 6m pg, and DS was only about 7 or 8m old when I got pg - he's 13m now, so nursing has been a challenge along the way - not for either of us, but from a supply-standpoint. It happened to coincide with when he started inhaling solids (he eats and loves everything...) so I'm hoping he'll be in for a big treat when the new baby comes and my milk comes back in full swing.

[spu]

for those planning to tandem nurse, what will you do for the very first couple of days when you deliver to make sure the new babe gets the colostrum? Will you hold off with tandem nursing until your supply comes in? or just keep going as usual? Does tandem nursing make colostrum come in sooner, and milk sooner too? (I know this should probably go in the bf section, but since there's so many of us in this thred pg and nursing and hoping to tandem nurse, thought it might be a good discussion... feel free to move if necessary - tia!)

thanks!!
susan

[adtake]

Here too.... 19 month old and 17 weeks pregnant. He nursings quite a bit, especially last week when he was sick.

I also have nursed through 2 pregnancies and tandemed my first 2. My oldest weaned at 3.5 years, my middle 2.5 years (was 20ish weeks preg at the time) and still going strong with #3. I hope to get to tandem these 2 also. Really made a BIG difference in toddler behavior with a new baby.

Good luck all you new pregnant mommas!!

[Bella Catalina]

I'm nursing my 20mth old and he loves his nursies. I have no plans to wean him and hope to tandem nurse.

[sweetney]

Around 5 weeks pregnant with an almost 1 year old nursling. I am determined to nurse her as long as she wants! Trying to eat well (lots of oats), rest plenty, and am drinking water like crazy.

[Tanlines]

I am nursing still. My Nursling is 25 months old.

[zaksma]

Another pregnant nursing mama here. I am 10 weeks and still nursing my 20 month old. Eleanor is my first baby that I've nurse successfully (long story about the other 2 including very bad advice from an LC) so I had planned on nursing for at least 2 years- after that, we were just going to play it by ear. Now i'm not sure what we're going to do- I guess just keep playing it by ear. lol

[tarahmsc]

I am 17 weeks & nursing my 3 1/2 year old daughter. I am looking forward to tandem nursing. I know my dd is excited about sharing her "two milk" also. I am prefectly ok with all of it.
Blessings, Tara
find me!....http://www.myspace.com/ENTIRELYBLESSED
join us!....http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PeacefulParentinginSI

[yamilee21]

I'm not enjoying nursing while pregnant; it really hurts my nipples, and one was cracked and bleeding recently - something I had not experienced since my son was two weeks old! I wish there was more information readily available about nursing older toddlers, especially while pregnant. For weeks I have been convinced that I had no milk, and my son even said as much one time (though most of the time he says he wants to 'drink the milk'). But yesterday he nursed a lot, and wouldn't drink any water or anything else, yet urinated as normally, so now I think I might have some milk after all. It's such a big change though, after having oversupply for most of our nursing relationship.

[AnnieMarie]

A book I can highly recommend is Adventures in tandem nursing from LaLeche League. It really gives you all the info you you need not only on tandem nursing, but also nursing during PG.

I am still nursing my 20mos DS about 3-4 times a day and am 13 weeks PG. I have noticed my milk supply diminish, but I still have enough to keep him happy - though he has been drinking more water and eating a lot more solids since I became PG. My milk supply seems to fluctuate though - depending on how well I eat and how tired I am.

[Ladybyrd]

I'm 8 weeks along and still nursing my 6 month old. So far, I have plenty of milk, and I really hope it continues, because I do NOT want to have to give my baby formula. My freezer stash is gone because the motor burned out on the freezer and it thawed.

Suck.

[my2elliots]

Finnegansmom.. I too got PG while BFing a 17 month old all the time with a 8 day Luteal Phase.. I was concerned about miscarriage too only bc as soon as I found out I was PG (i'm 6 weeks) it seemed he nursed more.. all the time and he wouldn't let me go. He became so attached to me! So, I think now my supply has dwindled down abit bc sometimes he will stop nursing and run and get his sippy cup/water bottle.. I hope to keep nursing tho until he is at least 2..:wink

[nina_yyc]

I'm 7-8 weeks pg and nursing my 16mo. I'm also playing it by ear. I WOH and pump during the day so I know there's still milk, maybe not quite as much but I think DD is making up for it by nursing more often.

I'm not super excited about the idea of tandem nursing but DD is NOT ready to wean at the moment...we'll make that call later in the pregnancy. If she's still a boob fiend I'll be nursing two.