RP: BFing while pg?
LoveInCowboyBoots
member
I posted this on BFing but I thought you all may have some answers as well. 
Backstory: I have EBF DD1 from the start and it's been awesome. My goal was to make it to 9 months (yeah, that was today lol) and I just found out we are expecting #2. Now I really don't want to stop BFing until a year, and I know people have BF'ed while pregnant, but I see a lot of "Your supply will tank" and nothing beyond that.
So do I just drink water like crazy and eat more (I eat pretty healthy)?
How do I know if DD is "weaning herself"? (Sorry, it sounds like a stupid question, but she's always been a great nurser so I really don't know. lol) Will she just not want to nurse? She normally BFs when she wakes up at 7:15am, 10:30am, 1pm, 3:30pm, 5pm (sometimes), bed at 7:15pm, if that helps any.
She doesn't really care about the sippy cup right now. I haven't pushed it much, should I start pushing it (with water or watered down juice) more so I can transition to formula or whole milk later on?
Any advice would be appreciated. I seriously POAS like 20 minutes ago, so I'm still kind of freaking out. lol
Re: RP: BFing while pg?
first of all congrats!
Second, you need to make sure you are ok with BFing while pg medically. Its safe as long as you dont have any history of PTL.
That said, I got my BFP when ds was 10 months and BF until 13 months. It was hard, but I was able to. The only reason it was hard was bc I was so sick until 16 wks. You need to eat an extra 800 calories a day--for the pregancy and nursing. You need to try and drink A LOT of water. It was hard for me, but I managed. At 8 wks I felt like I was not producing enough, but it got better.
As far as weaning, technically that starts when you begin solids. They slowly nursing less and less. So when I got pg ds was nursing 4-5 times a day, by 11 months he was nursing 3 times a day, and by a year he was nursing twice and then once etc. IF she is happy and so are you, dont worry about weaning in the beginning of your pregnancy bc you may have a supply issue if you do. I would nurse as much as she wants for the first month or so. When you get to the point where you want to start the weaning process, you should slowly cut back on a feeding every few wks or so. but you may have to lead,or she may get less interested in certain feedings, just follow her lead.
i would offer her a cup once a day at least with water, not for weaning, but just bc as it gets warmer she may need more hydration.
GL!!!
I also want to BF DD until she's a year old and I've been really worried about my supply tanking, especially since I don't have a stash built up. I met with a lactation consultant yesterday and she said it's totally do-able, though when you get bigger it might get harder to nurse so if you can build a stash you can give sippy cups of breastmilk later that's probably a good idea. I got a new breast pump, and I pump after 2 or 3 feedings of the day and whatever I get goes into the freezer. She also said to eat oatmeal and take fenugreek if needed. And like PP said, you need 800 extra calories (I think it's 300 for breastfeeding, 500 for pregnancy...or vice versa).
I'm newly pregnant too so I don't know how long I'll be able to breastfeed, but after meeting with the LC I feel a lot better about it.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I really needed the encouragement. I told H he had to start pushing the water like crazy again (he was great about that when I was pregnant and first started BFing). lol
I BF DD until she was about a year old. She self-weaned shortly before her 1st birthday but I count it.
I got my BFP when she was about 7 months. I just upped my water intake, ate leafy green veggies with lunch and dinner (my LC said that would help with production), and doubled up on my calcium (I have calcium issues). It worked for us, I didn't notice any drops in supply.
She weaned herself -- we were down to about 3 sessions a day by 9 months (first thing in the morning, before her morning nap around 10 and then before bed). She started to fight me and the breast around 10 months for her nap, and so we just did the nap without nursing. She slowly started to fight me before bedtime and then finally gave up the morning session. I wish I had more advice -- I just sort of let her lead the way. I started giving her a cup of whole milk when she dropped the morning nursing session so she stayed hydrated and got her nutrition that way.
Good luck -- BFing with PG can be done!!
oh and you didnt ask about cows milk, but my DS refused it and I tried every day for 6 wks when he hit 12 months. I tried it every flavor, every type, warm, cold etc. He hates it. My pedi said just up his cheese and yogurt and he will be fine. So he drinks no cows milk.
I was really optimistic that it would work, since I never had supply issues before. But I just couldn't keep up. I work full time and only pumped 2x per day and was getting less and less. I could feel my supply dropping and knew she was hungry. Once I started supplementing, it just seemed over.
It was hard emotionally (wanted to go 12m+ and unplanned pg), but I tried to focus on the good-- I gave DD 10+ months of BM, which is a lot more than most LO's get. Plus, I think psychologically helped me to refocus myself on the new baby and rely more on DH for feeding DD.
Seriously try, but don't beat yourself up if it doesn't work out.
I have always been told by my Dr. that your baby doesn't need water or juice for hydration. It just fills them up with emptiness and doesn't offer any sort of nutrition. If baby is BF or FF, they get plenty of hydration from the milk. Don't offer water or juice IMO. If they refuse milk in a sippy cup, you could try Carnation breakfast or maybe add a little chocolate milk. Even if you just keep offering milk, they'll eventually take it. It's just getting them used to the flavor.
I nursed DS #2 for 3 months while I was pg. I didn't get pg with #3 until #2 was 12 months, so I nursed from 12mo to 15 mo. My supply did drop, but that was mostly because I was trying to wean him (SO MUCH BITING). I've never been one to track calories, so I just ate when I was hungry, and I naturally drink a ton of water and continued to drink as much as I needed.
I was concerned health-wise if it was okay to do, since I felt like either the baby in my belly or the baby I was nursing would be missing out on nutrients. I researched online and found several websites that talk about sustaining nursing through pg. One even talked about continuing to nurse both children and how it's a great sibling bond. Not my cup-a-tea at all, but hey.... Lol
DD is still bfing when she asks for it. I know that during the 1st tri, I was starving constantly and it was really hard because I also felt crappy most of the time and eating was the last thing I wanted to do. It seemed to get better right around 12 weeks. Drink a ton of water, especially since it will start getting warmer. DD is now asking for boob less and then spends less time nursing so I am assuming that she is very slowly self weaning. I would probably start offering a sippy more with water (or breastmilk if you pump) just to get her used to it. DD will drink out of a sippy with meals or in the car or whatever but she does not love them and they never affected her nursing. Keep in mind, you might need to try different sippys to find one she likes. When we first found out we were pregnant again, a lot of people said DD would self wean around 4-5 months because the flavor of the milk would change. Bfing while pregnant is not impossible, just make sure to take care of yourself in addition to your 2 babies!
Your supply may or may not tank. I really think it depends on the woman. My supply went down halfway through. My two are 12 months apart, so for me to nurse until one, which was very important to me, I nursed all the way through my second pregnancy and am now tandem nursing my one and two year olds.
It has had times where it was really, really hard - I had a few months where breastfeeding during pregnancy was really uncomfortable, and when my 2nd was born and my milk came in and they both wanted to nurse a lot it was a bit overwhelming and I was really touched out... but it has been totally worth it. They have a great bond, and are really close.
That being said, every mother/baby pair is different and while tandeming was the right choice for us it wouldn't be for everyone.
Whether you want to nurse during part of pregnancy, or want to tandem, I found the book 'Adventures in Tandem Nursing: Breastfeeding During Pregnancy and Beyond' by Hilary Flower very helpful. Gave a lot of science to show that you're not going to be harming your baby or yourself, and great tips for nursing during pregnancy. I also liked it because it reassured me that I wasn't the first/only person to do it!