Unexpectedly pregnant again and it is affecting my nursing 7 month old daughter.

Brianne - posted on 02/23/2010

That happened every time o got preg. thats how i knew i was preg. my milk went down to zip. my midwife said a lot of women can't nurse and carry a baby so not to worry. there are places where you can get someone elses breastmilk if you can't keep up but want to stick with breastmilk. if you feel that is a route you would take then by all means ask your pediatrician. la leche league used to fdo that but i don't know if they still do today. if you want your baby to have only your milk i would talk with your OB or your pediatrician and get a script for a stronger pump. some pumps extract milk you have and others help stimulate more milk production. I used the Medela Pump In Style with the first 3 kids and my milk went kaput. this time i got a script for Medela Pump In Style ADVANCED and i have more milk than i know what to do with. Hope this helps you out .

Kimberly - posted on 02/09/2010

My son was 11 months when I got preggo with #2 (planned) and I found that my milk changed several times during my pregnancy. My biggest advice would be to hang in there. My son was well on solids at 11 months when I got preggo, but still nursing quite a bit. I noticed dips and increases in my production, but just kept nursing and the milk eventually came back fully when I was about 4 months pregnant. I'm now tandem nursing him at 22 months and the newborn who is 2 months.

Because your daughter is so much younger, I'd recommend letting her have sweeter solid foods (breastmilk is sweet) like yams, sweet peas, pears (I'd make my own...but you could use store stuff.) The sweeter flavors might make her eat more and then she won't require so much sustenance at the breast, but will just get the comfort and snuggling she probably also needs.

One other thing is that my son nursed MORE and MORE and MORE the more pregnant I got. I think he could tell that my growing belly was something important and life-changing. I really enjoyed nursing him throughout the pregnancy and he and his little brother are so incredibly close now. It's also very sweet to watch my toddler hold his baby brother's hand or rub his head or belly when they both nurse at the same time. I'd recommend at least *considering* tandem nursing...though I must say I'm happy that my son only wants to nurse 1 to 3 times a day usually, because it is draining. :)

Cecille - posted on 01/28/2010

I was in almost the exact same boat last year, except my pregnancy was planned and DD was going on 9 months old. Unfortunately, I couldn't get her to take a formula either. She wouldn't have anything to do with the stuff! I tried the medicine dropper too!. She was exclusively BF all throughout and eating her solids, but as soon as I got pg she started to refuse the breast. It's not that my supply decreased, though. I think the hormones changed the taste of the breast milk. It was totally devastating for me, as I had intended to nurse the entire first year also. I asked her ped for any advice and he said to just keep trying with the formula and that eventually, she would take it. Maybe if you mix a little baby cereal with the formula? My DD was so stubborn. I ended up giving her a little juice in a sippy cup just to get her to take SOME fluids. That seemed to work okay for her. Have you tried different kinds of formula? I've heard that they have different tastes, depending on the brand. Not sure how accurate that is, though. Hang in there! Hope it all works out for you... if you need any other advice, feel free to pm me!