Breastfeeding while pregnant

[leviosa]

Hey ladies,

I am 7 weeks pregnant and still nursing my 15 month old. I love nursing him and would love to tandem nurse if I could make it that long. I already feel like my supply is taking a major hit though. DS2 isn't wanting to nurse as much and the length of time that he nurses isn't as long as it used to be. I feel like tandem nursing may not be something within my reach biologically but I would still like to get to 18 months before completely weaning.

I'm already drinking TONS of water. I drink at least 3 full Nalgene bottles a day, sometimes 4. I literally don't think I can drink anymore than that. I feel like I'm chugging water all day. I was eating Brewers yeast in my yogurt but I can barely eat that stuff when I'm not pregnant and I'm suffering from the worst morning sickness I have ever had. I have to force myself to eat (which could be another problem with my supply) because I'm so nauseous all day long. I haven't thrown up though so I'm keeping everything I eat down.

Do any of you have any advice on any other things I can do to help my supply from drying up?

[BabyStandish]

You could try eating oatmeal and making sure you are eating enough and good quality foods.

That being said, you can do everything you can think of to not dry up, but it can still happen. Some women are able to continue nursing and not notice any decrease in supply, but high levels of estrogen and progesterone are known to suppress milk production. And your milk changes so they may start to lose interest. Some signs that your supply is decreasing is when they start increasing their solids intake/lowering their nursing sessions.

I nursed my LO up to 24 weeks pregnant. I'm pretty sure I dried up during early 2nd tri, but that didn't stop DS from wanting to nurse. I think my milk changed then because that's when he started nursing less which of course means less production. He would probably still be nursing, but I started dealing with horrible aversions and knew it was time for us.

Good luck! and congrats!

[leviosa]

Thanks ladies, I will just keep at it even if they are short.

[melody330]

I nursed DS1 until I was 20 weeks (he was 24 months) but I kind of forced the weaning issue. My milk hasn't seemed to take a hit at that point but I started to hate nursing.

TBS, make sure your calories are met and you're taking a parental vitamin. It always helped me to eat a lot of protein and stay hydrated. Lots of snuggles and NOD helps too!

[leviosa]

melody330, I'm hoping I can up my protein intake after my MS goes away. I can barely tolerate meat right now. I have always NOD too. Although, I had to force him to a schedule when we were TTC bc I wasn't ovulating. Now I just let him nurse whenever as long as it's not in the middle of the night.

[vvvvvfee]

great advice above. there's only so much you can do to help with supply- pregnancy hormones take over for most women and eventually cause supply to drop. take care of yourself- eat what sounds good to you, hydrate as much as you can stand, and take your vitamins.

just chiming in to say that i nursed DS1 through my whole pregnancy with DS2 and went on to tandem nurse for over a year. my supply dropped in first trimester, and basically dried up completely during 2nd trimester. DS1 was nursing only once every couple of days during 2nd trimester, but when my colostrum came in during 3rd trimester, his interest was renewed. if your LO is very enthusiastic about nursing, he will probably stick it out through your whole pregnancy. if you do change your mind and decide you want to wean, though, 2nd trimester is the easiest time to do it.

GL!

[leviosa]

vvvvvfee, thanks. I ended up weaning my daughter in the second trimester during my last pregnancy. It was super easy.

I have a question.....
Once your colostrum comes in and your toddler is still nursing, does your milk come in? Can that affect things with your newborn? Isn't colostrum important for the newborn?

[vvvvvfee]

colostrum doesn't change over to milk until after the placenta is delivered. so no, your toddler nursing will not trigger the production of milk too early. if your toddler is removing the colostrum from your breasts, your body just continues to make more until hormonal changes post-delivery trigger the changeover to milk. so there will be plenty of colostrum for everyone.

kellymom.com/ages/newborn/when-will-my-milk-come-in/

[leviosa]

Feb 14, 2017 17:17:11 GMT -5 vvvvvfee said:

colostrum doesn't change over to milk until after the placenta is delivered. so no, your toddler nursing will not trigger the production of milk too early. if your toddler is removing the colostrum from your breasts, your body just continues to make more until hormonal changes post-delivery trigger the changeover to milk. so there will be plenty of colostrum for everyone.

kellymom.com/ages/newborn/when-will-my-milk-come-in/

Ok, I had no clue it was related to the placenta. Thanks!