Pregnant and nursing?!

Mary - posted on 06/13/2010

Hi Laressa, I am also pregnant and have been bfing my little girl for the 1st for months of my pregnancy till my milk started drying up. then put her on the bottle as she is only 9 months. As long as you eat and drink healthly and take the right suppliments baby will be ok.

I dont believe it will put you at risk for preterm labour Ive talked to a few mums about it and they didnt have any problems. Ive also miscarried.

Hope your pregnancy goes well.

Sarah - posted on 06/13/2010

I was still breast feeding my eldest when I became pregnant with my second, I had no problems for the first 2 months of pregnancy but soon started dropping weight at a fast rate and my milk dried up. I found it hard to keep up with the amount of calories needed to both carry a baby and breast feed. I ended up stopping breast feeding my eldest when she was around 12 months old and my youngest was born 7 months later. Good luck, I hope it works out well for you =)

Angie - posted on 06/11/2010

Unfortunately doctors are notoriously uneducated about breastfeeding, especially breastfeeding during pregnancy. Lisa is exactly right on all her responses.

Personally I nursed through my entire second pregnancy (and still went to 42 week gestation even though I had a lot of people tell me I would go early since I was nursing) and I am still nursing both of my girls (at 3 1/2 years and 20 months). Your body is amazing and it will take care of both of your babies.

Don't be surprised if you do lose some of your milk supply (generally as you approach the 2nd trimester) but for a lot of babies they aren't phased with the lack of milkf, mine wasn't.

Joyce - posted on 06/11/2010

I was in the same boat as you are in now but my daughter is 19 months old and I just found out I am pregnant my doctor said I had to stop breastfeeding my baby that it wasn't good for me or I should say for my new baby it hasn't been easy but we are a week with out the breast now and I can say I don't feel as tired anymore I am sleeping the whole night now cause my daughter would wake up at 3 to nurse but no more so it was in a way a good thing for us cause now she is sleeping all night long getting the rest she needs an I am getting the rest I need. The best thing is to talk to your doc see what he/she has to say and see if your healthy enough to do both in the long run just keep asking questions because everybody is different everybodys bodys are different.... Hope this helps

Minnie - posted on 06/11/2010

I have not tandem nursed but I can answer a few of your questions.



A great book to read in your situation would be Adventures in Tandem Nursing- it's published by LLLI.



I have such a good nursing relationship with my 9 mo daughter and I really don't want to give it up, but is it ok for the new baby?



How wonderful that you are enjoying nursing your baby! You are concerned about your second child and how nursing your oldest during pregnancy will affect him or her- the vast majority of the time breastfeeding during pregnancy is perfectly safe.



Will my 9 mo old be taking nutients that the fetus really needs? No. Your body is amazing, and can nourish two babies, whether one is in the womb and the other is not, or they are both breastfeeding.



Has anyone breastfed the older baby after the new one arrives?



Attending some La Leche League meetings can be helpful in hearing other others' experiences with this. You can find a local group here: http://www.llli.org/Webindex.html?m=0,0,2



Plenty of mothers nurse their eldest and the younger child- and many until both wean naturally.





Will the breast stimulation put me at higher risk for preterm labour?



Research has shown that breastfeeding during pregnancy does not increase the possibility of preterm labor. Your uterus only begins to be very sensitive to oxytocin released with nipple stimulation at about 37 weeks- so again, the vast majority of the time- it is perfectly safe to breastfeed while pregnant.