Breastfeeding While Pregnant - Cary,NC

I also became pregnant while I was still breastfeeding and my OB told me to quit breastfeeding right away. She explained that breastfeeding causes uterine contractions, which could cause pre-term labor. In addition, my son weaned himself because apparently my milk tasted different, which is a common problem breastfeeding pregnant Moms complain about.

Most likely you don't need to wean her - here is a link from my favorite breastfeeding site http://www.kellymom.com/nursingtwo/faq/index.html

best of luck!

Check out this page from La Leche League. It's got some great info.

http://www.llli.org/FAQ/bfpregnant.html

Good luck!

No need to wean while pregnant, if you keep up your nutrition. I had 7 kids, approx. 2 yrs apart and nursed each for three yrs. They are all healthy adults now! Your body will produce colostrum for the new baby just fine.
Your milk supply will decrease some, and change flavor, so some toddlers will prefer the new interesting tastes and textures of other foods, while others will prefer to stick with nursing as their main sorce of nutrition. Either choice is fine.
There will be a period of adjustment when your breasts get sore when you nurse, just as when you 1st started nursing your first, but this is temporary, and it is nice to get the discomfort over with before you have a hungry new baby to deal with!

Added bonuses:
You will never leak with two nurslings.

Labor will be shorter, more efficient, less likely to go overdue. It will not cause premature labor however, unless you are not eating well. Most prematurity is caused by impatient Drs or malnourished mothers. (there is a big difference between MALnourished & UNDERnourished. You can eat tons of "food" and still be malnourished, it is quality, not quantity that is important here. See blueribbonbaby.org.)

You won't have to worry about what mischief the toddler is getting into while you are busy with the baby, they will be both happily nursing!

They will bond better and not be jealous. It is so sweet to see your precious babies contentedly nursing with their arms around each other!

Happy nursing!
M., CPM

Yes, it is okay. I have no personal experience with this, but I have read about tandum nursing. Also I have been attending La Leche League (LLL) meetings for the past few months and they discuss this issue. I would suggest going to the LLL website for education on this topic or to find a meeting in your area, they are really helpful.
Congrats on nursing your little one this long! Good luck with your pregnancy.

First and foremost...congratulations on your pregnancy. I would recommend checking out kellymom.com...yes...you can breastfeed through your entire pregnancy. Your babe may wean...because your milk will soon taste differently and your supply will decrease. To keep your milk supply up...you need to drink a lot of water. Do not worry about babe #1 taking all the colostrum...it is not something that just runs out. After you give birth your body releases a hormone that starts milk production...until then you will have colostrum. Please seek out your local La Leche League...they are great support group for nursing mamas. Keep you the hard work...and best of luck.

Yes, it's perfectly okay to breastfeed while pregnant. No, you don't need to wean her. When my older son was 10 m/o, I got pregnant w/#2, and he self-weaned in 1 day when he was 13 m/o (combination of a bad cold and I think my milk changed flavor). While many women also say that their older child weaned when they were around 3-5 mo pregnant with the new baby, many others nursed their older child the whole pregnancy and then tandem nursed until the toddler was ready to give it up. There are numerous excellent resources for nursing while pregnant (books and internet), and you can of course contact your local La Leche League for some one-on-one advice if you need it.

In any event, your body will produce colostrum for your newborn whenever your baby is born (probably not for another 7 months at least, by the sound of it), so even if you want to have your daughter weaned by the time your new baby is born, you still have plenty of time and can take it slowly.

But keep nursing as long as both of you are comfortable with it, and make sure you're getting enough to eat -- and especially enough *nutrients* for you, your daughter, and your new baby -- you don't need to shortchange any of you, nor get yourself "run down" by overextending yourself and not eating enough.

HI there! I just went through this so let me tell you about our experience. First of all- how pregnant are you? I work outside of home so I found that at about 3 months my supply dropped fairly dramatically- which led to much less interest from my son. My MD was old-school and he told me to wean but lots of moms and a very supportive nurse practitioner told me that as long as I watched my caloric intake that we would all be fine breastfeeding during the pregnancy. SO that is what i did. However, my son started to lose interest- I have read that your milk tastes saltier. Let me warn you there were days in the first few months that I had tears in my eyes it was sooo painful- that as my son started to self-wean it was a really good thing for both of us.
If you both decide to continue I have heard that BF during labor really helps progress things and is a natural relaxant.
I would HIGHLY recommend contacting the Raleigh's Nursing Mothers group (i don't have the phone numbers with me and I am not 100% sure that it the right name) but they were really practical and helpful. No matter your choice- do what is best for your family and as long as you are able to eat well and take your preN vitamin you are in good shape.
Ultimately my son fully weaned himself when I was just about 4 months pregnant.

Good luck!!! Keep in touch on the board.

Congratulations. I have known several women who breastfed during their pregnancies and all was great. My midwives and my best friend (who is an osteopathic ob/gyn), all of whom are very pro-breastfeeding, advised me not to breastfeed and get pregnant at the same time. Despite being on the "Tom Brewer 100 grams of protein a day with lots of green and orange veggies very healthy diet", I had a very difficult time gaining weight when I was pregnant with my first. I lost 8 pounds in 2 months and then only gained 12 throughout my pregnancy, left the hospital at my prepregnancy weight and lost another 10 the first month of nursing that I didn't regain while nursing. (But don't worry- gained it all back, and then some, with the second and am just now getting rid of it 3 years later!) The midwives and my friend weren't as concerned for my nursing daughter or the baby's health but for mine. The babies both will get what they need from you. I nursed for a year, weaned, then got pregnant. At one year my daughter was about where your daughter seems to be. I started by taking away one of the daytime nursings and giving her food or a cup of milk. She'd complain at first but it really didn't take long for her to accept the new routine. After a couple of weeks, I replaced another nursing with regular food or a cup. It really didn't take that long.

You can breastfeed while prego but I would consider starting to wean a month before your due date. To wean you will first take out the first thing in the morning feeding. Go straight to the cereal or bottle so she does not miss it. Then the next one you wean is the nap. It will be hard, you will have to hold her, rock her, sing to her, let her cry maybe. Go straight to a bottle if that is what you want to do next. You can go to vit D milk at one years old. You can mix 1/2 formula or 1/2 milk or better yet, start pumping all the time and you can mix your breast milk with her vit D milk. Then, lastly you will wean her from night time. That may take a week or a bit more. It should not take more than two weeks though, any longer is just dragging it out. You will have to start a new routine for her. Maybe a bath, jammies, singing, bottle, then lay her down. It will be hard, she will fight you, you may consider your husband putting her down for that last weaning so she does not fight for your breast. It is not as hard as you would think....some babies are harder though. Be strong. Your newborn needs the colustrum and the separate time with mommy that your first child received.

W.

I would advise if you have a history of preterm labor with your first child, or begin having any pregnancy complications that you wean due to the fact that breastfeeding releases the hormone oxytocin, which induces labor. This is why nipple stimulation can begin contractions, and also why breastfeeding soon after birth can cause some discomfort because it causes contractions that help bring your uterus back down to its original size much more quickly. Just beware that this is a possibility with breastfeeding while you are pregnant. I wish you luck, if you do have to wean at least you got a good year in, which is what pediatricians recommend :o)

Hi D., good for you! It's great that you are so concerned about your new baby, but also that you want to breastfeed your daughter as long as possible. The great news is this: God designed our bodies perfectly! Your body will continue to produce milk now (and won't take away from the baby in your womb) and if you are still breastfeeding baby #1 when baby #2 arrives, your milk will change to meet the needs of baby #1! (Your milk has changed over time to meet the needs of baby #2, as far as how many calories are in it and how much you produce.) This means that the younger baby will always be getting the nutrition he/she needs. You will still produce colostrum when the new baby comes, so don't worry about that. I have a friend who is pregnant with her 4th baby in 4 1/2 years, and with the previous 2 pregnancies, her milk dried up when she became pregnant. However, with this 4th pregnancy she has had much better luck, and has continued to breastfeed, even though she is about 1/2 way thru her pregnancy. Some things to try to increase your milk production if this starts to happen to you are: "mother's milk tea" (available at most grocery or health food stores), fenugreek, and jasmine (aromatherapy, such as burning incense, using jasmine lotion or oil, or jasmine oil potpurri - you put it in a dish with a candle under it, similar to incense.) You can also check out lalecheleague.org for more tips and info.
Hope this helps!
-K.

I have always heard that if you are doing something when you get pregnant that you can continue.
I have always heard that your chances of getting pregnant are slim while breast feeding.
So........
I have known a few people to breast feed while they are pregnant. I knew a girl that was breast feeding at 2 or 3 and got pregnant and continued to feed throughout. I guess everything was alright. Never heard of any problems.
I would keep doing what I was doing and then talk to your obgyn about it. You have 9 months so you can think of weaning maybe before or just continue... but don't change anything now until you talk to your obgyn.

I have an almost 4 year old and a 1 year old. I nursed throughout my pregnancy and for a short period after the baby was born. There is no reason to wean your daughter while pregnant or even after the baby is born. Continuing to nurse ;her has physical and emotional benefits for her. As long as she wants to nurse and you are okay with it, you can continue. My advice would be to go on line to La Leche League and read more about tandum nursing or attend a local meeting for support and information. Congratulations on your pregnancy.

D.,
I breast fed my daughter until she was one and found out I was pregnant with my second when she was 6 months old. Just remember that there are now 2 little people relying on you for food so YOU need to eat better and more to compensate. You might also be very tired as you know it takes a LOT of your energy to produce a healthy child and feed one! :) I started weaning my daughter at 8 months since she started eating baby cereals and veggies/fruits and gave her water in sippy cups instead of any bottles. Completely weaned her by a week after her 1 year b-day to get ready for the next one and quite honestly.... one year was my goal. Good luck and I'm sure you'll do great- congrats on the pregnancy!
~Kelly

Until your third trimester, it should be safe to breastfeed.

However, breastfeeding can cause your body to make pitocin- a chemical that actually can bring on labor.

You may want to discuss whether or not to continue breastfeeding with a health care provider who can make the decision based on health history and your pregnancy's health.

Hope this helped!
M.

Hi, my name is K. and I am a Lactation Specialist, in answer to your question, it is certainly okay to continue to breastfeed throughout your pregnancy. Your milk supply will start to decrease as your pregnancy progresses, so after a while your daughter may just be "comfort" nursing which is normal also, by the time your new addition is due your body will be ready to produce colostrum again at his or her birth. If your little girl is still nursing by the time your new little one has arrived your body will adjust to make enough milk for each of them and you will still be able to nurse them both (tandum nursing).
Hope this helped
K., LS