Breastfeeding While Pregnant?

I am still nursing my 2.5 year old and 6 months pregnant. She nursed a lot more than your son before I got pregnant. She cut down on her own because of the change in taste (gets salty). Now I have colostrum and she kind of likes it. Although it doesn't quench her thirst of fill her up. I just could not wean her, she's much too into it. She only nurses 2-3 times a day and really that's all I can handle.

My nipples were sore more in the beginning but not unbearably, it's different for everyone. Only a small percentage of women actually dry up during pregnancy. I felt like there wasn't much, but my daughter said there was and she does swallow something. For me nursing is nice when tired because it's a nice break from chasing my dd around since she is just getting faster.

You could check out the book Adventures in Tandem nursing from the library, there's a lot of quotes from moms.

My kids are 18 months apart and both nursing. I nursed through pregnancy and had no problems. They are now 2 1/2 and 1 yr old and both nurse 4-8 times a day.

I read a book called "Adventures in tandem nursing". It really helped answer my questions about nursing while pregnant and nursing two. Lots of people are skeptical of people who tandem nurse. After reading the book I have no problem telling people 'That's why I have two' It is possible to keep up with the nutritional needs of both children and your self. Make sure you are on good prenatals, and take extra folic acid. Eat healthy and when you are hungry. Just listen to your body and your heart. Nursing is a wonderful thing but all parties need to want the relationship. If you have decided you want a break between children than that's okay. It's a wonderful thing that you have given your son 16 months of liquid gold.

When I told my OBGYN I wanted to continue nursing she was honest that she didn't know much about it and wouldn't be able to help if I had questions so I needed to get informed, but was open to the idea. I was very happy she was open to it.Just make sure the decision is your and not a doctor that doesn't know all the facts.

It would also help to get connected to a La Leche League group. It's a wonderful connection to have with other moms going throught the same things you are, and a great thing to know you are not alone.

Good Luck!

It is totally possible to breadtfeed during a pregnancy. You just learn to adapt to the new positions. Your belly will slowly grow and change it doesn't just all of a sudden pop out. So don't worry too much about that. As far as any other questions you might have Evergreen Hospital offers a wonderful class...Breastfeeding the older baby... It is very informative and they address breastfeeding while pregnant and any concerns or questions that you might have. It is ussually a pretty small class so your questions will definately get answered.Plus you get the support of other moms that are breastfeeding older children. I highly recommend it. Stick in there breastmilk is sooo benificial too your baby(you probably already know that)

my advice is this: don't freak yourself out! as it turns out, the taste of your breast milk changes a bit during pregnancy. as a result your little one may very likely wean himself right off of your breast long before and discomfort ensues. my experience was that i was almost two months along with my second before i realized i was pregnant. i wondered the same thing. my daughter was just over a year and feeding at naps and bed, sometimes once at night. by fourteen months she basically took herself off completely and only latched on occasionally for the comfort and habit. but the nursing stopped. it is been said that they can tend to not like the taste of the milk so much once you become pregnant. not always the case, of course, as there are many women who have successfully nursed two children of different ages simultaneously. anyway, i wouldn't worry. just like you figures everything out with your first child, you will figure this out too. be well.

You could wean your son - he has had 16 months of nursing, you have bonded, and you are making a decision to add another child. He is old enough (and I am not being critical of people who nurse beyond a year, just stating a fact) to be weaned, and he will continue to love you once he is...It is possible to continue, but as you stated, you might be really uncomfortable (and it might be nice for the second to have "alone" time with mom too)...

Sounds to me like you already feel like you want to do the slowly wean you son off before or soon after getting pregnant. Go with your feelings on it. Unless you want to nurse both children, I would do it sooner rather than later. That way, your son won't object quite so strenuously to another baby taking over.

I got pregnant (unplanned) when DD was 12 months old; she was still nursing a ton at that age, during the day and at night. Luckily the low milk supply encouraged her to give up night-nursing (for the most part) so I have been able to get decent sleep during the pregnancy. I'm still pregnant (36 weeks) and DD is still nursing strong; I am looking forward to the tandem relationship (but we'll see how it goes).

My advice: wait to get pregnant until you're comfortable with your son weaning. Their are no guarantees with bfing during pregnancy; some babies don't like it, some mamas don't like it. I would be devastated if my DD weaned b/c of the pregnancy, so I'm glad she's sticking to it. It seems like you're already getting ready for weaning, so follow your feelings. When you do get pregnant, whether or not he's weaned, take it one day at a time, and do what feels right for you and your family. I recommend Adventures in Tandem Nursing as well.

I got pregnant with my younger daughter when my older was just 11 months old. They're both still nursing at 3 years and 16 months respectively. My three year old doesn't nurse often and nursing through pregnancy wasn't a difficulty. It was sore for a couple of months in the middle when my milk dried up (2nd trimester), but I'm glad that we stuck with it.

I also loved the book "Adventures in Tandem Nursing" by Hilary Flower and highly recommend it whether or not you plan to nurse through your pregnancy. There are plenty of studies (cited in that book) that clearly show that nursing through pregnancy is safe for both the mother and the unborn baby.

Your local La Leche League group probably at least has some resources or even members who have nursed through pregnancy themselves. Your son is definitely old enough to be one of those children who weans naturally during pregnancy when the milk dries up also.

Best wishes!
~B.

I don't have much in the way of wisdom but I do have a similar situation. I nursed my son till 9 months, when I got pregnat with my second. my Body just stopped producing milk. We did okay with nursing till then but one day I went to pump at work and absoutly nothing came out. I nursed my son that morning and he was really fussy about it so we gave him a bottle as well. That night he tried to nurse but nothing again. The next day I couldn't even express a drop by hand. SO just a thought that you might want to prepare your older one that even if you decide you want to nurse through the pregnancy that your body just might not let you. ;-)
good luck
C.

I nursed my daughter until I was about 5-6 months pregnant when my milk dried up. We just slowly cut down on the number of times we nursed each day until it was only once before bed then one night I just couldn't do it anymore because it felt "yucky" to me. Some women don't mind nursing on an empty breast but it just gave me the heebie jeebies. My baby girl was 26 months and I simply said sorry sweetie we can't nurse anymore and she was fine. A couple months later she showed a renewed interest in the breast and I told her it was the baby's milk and maybe after the baby was here she could nurse again, that worked fine for her and she just kissed them( my breast) every once in awhile and told me "I love that milt". Baby is here and she has never tried nursing or acted jealous.

I don't know if this helped at all but I thought Id share my experience.

good luck mama,
R.

I got pregnant - SURPRISE! - when my son was nine months old. By 11 months old my doctor told me that it was safest for the new baby and me if I stopped nursing. I switched my son to milk and neither of us have ever looked back. I still cuddled him while he drank his milk (from a sippy cup), I even held him the same at first. I did my best to keep everything the same except that he was getting a sippy cup instead of a breast.

I'd just like to add the idea of considering waiting a while longer before getting pregnant, for other reasons in addition to the breastfeeding issue. Three years is considered a more "natural" spacing, and gives the older child more time before a new baby becomes the center of attention. My daughter got pregnant when her daughter was about 21 months old, and it was kind of rough for them, but it's all good now. Just something to consider. Although my daughter wanted to nurse throughout pregnancy and tandem nurse, her feelings about it were so strong that she ended up feeling resentful and stopped nursing the older one, and I think that was hard on her.....

Hello, I nursed through pregnancy and am now tandem nursing my 4 mo old and 2 year old. Nursing through pregnancy was brutal at times, with sore nipples, and just a feeling of "ugh." but I thought it was worth it to just grit my teeth (and believe me I did grit my teeth!) because nursing was (and is) so important to my older daughter. She was showing no signs at all of being ready to wean.

However, I did start to set limits on her nursing- I implemented nursing "rules" one at a time- things like she wasn't allowed to touch my opposite nipple anymore while nursing, and when i felt all done I would count to ten and then she would have to stop and just cuddle, and "we only nurse at home." At first she was angry about these limits, but pretty soon she did fine with them. When the baby was born, I was so happy that I didn't force her to wean cause I think it really added to their bonding. There's nothing like seeing the older one lovingly reach across me to stroke the baby's cheek while they nurse :)

For the first couple of weeks, I didn't put any limits on the older one nursing so she would get used to the baby and still feel secure. Then slowly i started adding back more limits- shorter nursing times, and things like "last nursing till bedtime." Again, she resisted at first but soon was fine with it.

I definitely suggest the "Adventures in Tandem Nursing" book by Hilary Flowers. It's great and gives so much good information. That being said, there are definitely times when I wish that my older daughter had weaned already and that I could just nurse one. But I had to really think about what was best for her and how much she could handle. Knowing her temperament and how important nursing was to her, it just didn't seem right to wean her before she was ready.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!

Hi A.,

For what it helps, I have seen several older children wean themselves when their moms have become pregnant for the second time. For some, the taste of the breastmilk is different and they just stop. I am going to post here a link with some info about nursing while pregnant. Opinions, experience and advice are always helpful, but sometimes some good old research can really help us to make an informed decision. Here's the link from the La Leche League International's website: http://www.llli.org/NB/NBpregnancy.html
Here you'll find several articles and links that might help you out! Please let me know if you could use any more info.

D. Rylander
A Blessed Birth Doula Services
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