I just found out that I am pregnant and I am still breastfeeding my 8 month old. I heard somewhere that you cannot breastfeed while preganant because you cannot give each baby the nutrients that they need. Is this true?
Nope, it might hurt, and the baby may not like the change in flavor, but you can nurse through pregnancy and then tandem if you so choose. Just make sure that you get enough liquids.
Not true.
I was 5 months pregnant with #2 before I weaned #1. Then I was 3 months pregnant with #3 before I weaned #2.
For me personally, nursing and being pregnant wore me out, I had to make sure I ate whenever I was hungry (to prevent additional morning sickness symptoms) and I was not up for tandem nursing (my SIL did it, but for me it seemed too much). I needed a break for a few months.
Congratulations!
Not true at all.
You can totally BF while pregnant.
A lot of people also think its not ok to BF while pregnant because it will "cause early labor"
Also not true.
Yes BF can make your uterus contract, but it's not hard enough to hurt your lil bun in the oven.
Remember, You're body was made to do this. Its ok.
One thing...It is also possible that when BF while pregnant, your 8month old will actually self-ween.
While pregnant your milk flow changes, and so does the taste. So don't be surprised if your lil one wants to stop a little while into your pregnancy.
But No worries. It's totally fine to continue what you are doin!
I have not done this personally, but I know some who have continued to breastfeed at least for the first few months. I also know some who have resumed breastfeeding (tandem) after the birth, with both babies. I think you just really have to watch your nutrition and listen to your own body as to whether it is too much of a strain on you.
It may change 'flavor' and make your 8 month old uninterested at some point....that is the only reason I could for see you stopping. But I have also read that you may be able to 'pick it back up" after birth.
My daughter was 5 months old when I got pregnant with her sister. No one said anything about not breastfeeding her while pregnant, so I bf her for another 7 months. The new baby weighed 10 pounds, 7 ounces, so she obviously got enough calories!
That said, the second child, who is almost 21, has some health issues (incessant silent migraines, for one), that I used to blame myself for, after hearing someone say (too late for me), that you shouldn't bf while pregnant. I'm almost over the guilt now, though, after someone mentioned that before Enfamil, Similac, etc, everyone breastfed their babies, and there basically wasn't birth control, so women were constantly getting pregnant while raising/breast feeding an infant.
Totally not true. I successfully continued to nurse my third son throughout my pregnancy with my daughter, and then went on to tandem nurse for a full year after she was born. She was the only baby I didn't experience sore nipples with when I began to breastfeed her.
I agree with what's already been said, my LO stopped nursing when I was about 4 months pregnant on her own, but that put her at 14 months and eating table foods just fine. I know some people who's supply and taste are affected immediately and some who are not affected at all.
NOT true. You just need to make sure and take those prenatal vitamins and add more calories to your diet! I would definitely see a nutritionist about it. The county health department may also be able to help with figuring out how many calories you need to breastfeed while pregnant.
Lots of women breastfeed while pregnant - and if you research it, there's absolutely no reason why you need to stop. That being said, your milk is likely to dry up at some point (mine took a huge hit around 8 weeks and was pretty dry by about 12 weeks). I recommend reading "adventures in tandem nursing" it has a lot of great info about breastfeeding while pregnant.
