Breastfeeding while pregnant...

[mommywero]

is it possible?

I have been bf'ing my lo for almost 6 months now. DH and I had decided that once she reached 6 months that we were going to TTC again. I know its so soon, but there are family reproduction problems that influence our decision.

Anyway, we don't expect to get pregnant right away if at all but, I would still like to bf Rory until she is at least 1.

Is it possible to bf while pregnant (just in case it does happen sooner than we anticipate) and is there anything I can or should be doing to prep for that.

I am going to start pumping again to rebuild my supply that we lost from Hurricane Ike, but I don't think I can pump 9 months worth before we get preggo again.

Also, if we do have another baby, would I be able to bf both of them still? How would the flow work out? I know my flow is a lot more now than when Rory was born. Would my 2nd baby still get the colostrum?

Oh, so many questions...maybe I should just buy a book. I just wanted to pick the brain of BTDT mom.

[Taffyrn]

yes it is possible.... in the old days women breastfed while pregnant all the time, but would often wean them once the new on was born.... no hard and fast rules though..... you just need to be sure you are getting the nutrients needed to be pregnant and breastfeed
goodluck

[bn2005]

We started TTC when DD was 8 months old. I am now pregnant and still BF'ing, although we are down to 1x day b/c my milk is drying up and DD is much less interested since turning 1. It is possible, but I believe a lot of people do dry up I think around week 10. Kimmie is also BF'ing and pregnant and I think she was able to take Reglan for supply, but have not herd an update if it has helped.

[kohlby]

First, make sure that you're okay with using formula if you do get pg since your baby is under a year. Some women have their supply be fine, but it drops for most. For me, it drops to not enough to swallow at a mere 4 weeks pg! (I've been pg 5 times while nursing. 3 miscarriages for reasons unrelated to nursing).

However, even if you don't have milk, that doesn't mean the little one won't nurse! There's no way to know if your supply will stay up enough - which is why you need to be certain that you're okay with using formula to supplement just in case. Only 30% of babies self-wean while mum is pg, which means most don't! Mine still nursed when there wasn't enough to swallow. At around 20 weeks, the colostrum starts. There's still not tons of milk, but there was enough to swallow at that point for mine. I'd be very cautious about Reglan. It can have some terrible side effects - enough that I didn't use it when prescribed for my hyperemesis. (And I was a walking pharmacy due to all the meds I needed then!) But some women do have luck with it. The same measures that keep your supply up when not pg also may not work when pg.

As for getting enough nutrients, don't worry about it. You will feel it first. If you're not getting enough, your health will suffer first. It can also cause your supply to dip faster. I get hyperemesis when pg (extreme sickness) and I think that's part of the reason why my supply dries up so fast. I end up on IV's and I can't say that nursing has anything to do with it since my milk dries up! My babies get what they need easily however. And though I lose weight at the start, I gain back plenty more. (Plus, since my supply dries up, it can't be said that breastfeeding is causing it since no milk comes out at that point!)

I nursed my son during my entire pregnancy with my daughter. And then tandem nursed the two of them for 25 more months. My first son has since weaned, but I'm still nursing my daughter and my second son will be here in a month or less. I'm looking forward to tandem nursing again since it made things easier. The only trick I had to do was to assign each child a side since the baby wasn't getting enough hind milk at first.

*I did not get my fertility back while breastfeeding until my son was 20 months and my daughter was 18 months - so using formula wasn't an issue for us by then.

[sundrip]

I nursed through the 1st trimester of my second pregnancy. My supply did dip somewhat but Charlie was still able to nurse several times a day. However, you may have trouble getting your cycle back at 6 months unless you begin doing some significant weaning. Women who are full-time nursing often don't see their cycles return until the baby is at least a year old.

Both babies would get enough to eat and your milk would change back to colostrum. Your flow may well be different with your second baby even if you aren't tandem nursing.

Tandem nursing and nursing while pregnant can both be a bit challenging. You may want to look into a local LLL for support. I also enjoyed the book "Adventures in Tandem Nursing." kellymom.com has some really good information about nursing while pregnant as well.

[CoffeeCat]

I am nursing my 18 month old while writing this, so yes, it is possible! I am 25 weeks. I did notice my milk seemed less palatable to my dd at around 22 weeks or so, and she would ask for a glass of cow's milk shortly after latching on during the daytime. She is not so picky at night, as nursing is mostly a comfort thing now. The fact that she doesn't seem to be satisfied with the milk during the day tells me it has probably converted to colostrum, which is thicker & has a different taste, so I've heard.

I agree that you should be willing to supplement with formula just in case your milk does dry up, because if your child is under a year, BM or formula is still an important component of their diet and most pedis do not recommend starting cow's milk until at least 12 months. I was lucky not to have any drying up at all, but it does happen a lot. It even happened for my lactation consultant when she got pregnant the second time. Some kids will continue to nurse even if there's not much there or if the taste changes, but others will self-wean.

It can also hurt a lot at the beginning, just to warn you. At around 6-8 weeks my nipples hurt like it felt when I just gave birth & started nursing, and I had to make sure my dd had a good latch or it was pretty painful. I had gotten lazy because nothing she did, even with her teeth really bothered me anymore. Not so when I got preggo! I also had to eat A TON when I first started nursing while pregnant, and I got tired easily. That faded out as my dd got older & started eating more for comfort & not for a snack. She was 13 months when we conceived, and she started solids later than most kids (10 months, by her choice), so she was still in the "transitional" stage between breastmilk & solids, not the weaning stage, as many 1 year olds are.

Hope your experience is wonderful. Remember to eat & drink enough, and you should be fine. Also, keep in mind that if you had preterm labor or an incompetent cervix with your first, your body may be sensitive to the hormones produced by nursing. If you are told "no sex", chances are you shouldn't nurse. Otherwise, it is absolutely fine. You just have to listen to your body & make sure you're eating & drinking enough. I gained weight absolutely normally despite nursing while pregnant. And if dd wants to continue to nurse when I have the baby, I am OK with that, as long as the baby nurses first to make sure he gets all the colostrum & nutrition he needs. Just my own comfort level, though. Many women do wean the older child before the new baby arrives, but I've read that weaning them too close to the delivery could be traumatic & cause more jealousy issues, so you may want to wean earlier if you don't plan to nurse two at once.

Babydust to you!

[kohlby]

If you are told "no sex", chances are you shouldn't nurse.
Almost, it's the wording on that that I want to clarify. If you're allowed to have sex, then you are allowed to nurse. But the reverse isn't entirely true. There are many cases, myself included of people who can't have sex during first trimester but it's still perfectly fine to nurse. (I've had 5 first trimester losses).

[mommywero]

THanks so much! I feel much more confindent about being able to nurse while pregnant if I should conceive again. BF'ing until my dd is ready to wean is so important to me. I don't want to force her to stop if she isn't ready.

[babysparkler]

I don't have much time to post at the moment, but I wanted to say feel free to PM me... I nursed through pregnancy and tandem nursed my boys for 13 months after the little guy was born. I found this website extremely helpful...

www.kellymom.com

Good luck on getting your BFP! :)