Intro and Nursing while Preggers?

kcam · January 2013

Hey all. Just found out on Christmas Eve that I'm preggo with #2! DD is 8 months so they will be 15-16 months apart!

Since she's only 8 months I'm still nursing and was hoping to make it to a year. However, she's started waking up every 2-3 hours (or less!) to eat when she previously only woke once or twice to eat. And during the day she's started wanting to eat every 2-3 hours as opposed to 3 or 3.5 hours. I'm just feeling very tired and depleted and don't know if I want to keep doing this even though I know its best for her. I thought of supplementing with formula at night to at least try to get everyone some more sleep. Anyone have experience with this?

BrandiGreen · January 2013

I was EBF my son when I got pregnant. He was 9 months. I tried to keep up as long as I could but my milk supply tanked and I ended up having to supplement with a little formula until he was ready for cow's milk. We made it till a few weeks before his first birthday. It was hard and took a lot out if me, especially with morning sickness! I drank a lot of water, ate oatmeal, and took my prenatal. Just listen to your body and do the best you can. Also, the taste of your milk can change and your LO may self wean. It just depends. It's different with everyone. Some people are able to make it through their entire pregnancy and then tandem nurse. Good luck!

LollyBug18 · January 2013

DD was 9 mo when I got PG and I was able to continue BFing through most of 1st tri but started to wean and supplement with formula towards the end of that because I was exhausted all.the.time. I could hardly get off the couch during the day. Our pedi offered the best advice and I credit it largely to my supply seaming to keep up: drink lots and lots of extra water, rest as much as possible and don't stress over it, just enjoy BFing as long and as much as possible. I very slowly weaned DD over the course of 5 months with the goal of being done by then because I didn't want to tandem nurse and I wanted a short break from BFing. DD was 14 mo when we completely weaned.

SarahRae85 · January 2013

This was my experience:

Unfortunately, my initial experience was similar to yours. I fully intended to keep nursing to a year, but DD began waking up more at night, becoming more fussy and wanting to nurse more frequently during the day. It was a very stressful month, a very sleepless one, and it just got worse.

I happened to be going to WIC appointments at the time, and when we weighed her, they found out she had lost almost a full pound in the month since our last visit. I was horrified and finally realized why she had been so fussy: pregnancy had completely tanked my supply.

Because she was losing weight, I immediately began supplementing with formula instead of trying to fix my supply and risk her continuing to go hungry. Within days, she became happy and began sleeping again. I still nursed a little, but when she'd nurse for 20 minutes and still finish off a whole bottle, I knew that was the end for us. We made it to 6 months before I finally gave up completely.

bookworm982 · January 2013

My DD is 5.5 months old, and I'll have two 13.5 months apart in age. We found out on Christmas Eve too. I was terrified when I first got pregnant because I have a friend who lost her supply when her son was only 4 months old due to a pregnancy.

I'm only 5.5 weeks pregnant, but right now my supply is still going great. My goal is to breastfeed at least through 7 months pregnant. That will get us to DD's 1st birthday. After that, we'll see if I want to keep going and tandem nurse.

I'm weighing DD once a week at home to make sure she's still gaining weight. She's in the 98%percentile, so even if her growth curve slows down, she should be okay. (Of course I'm working with my OB and her pedi on this.)

DD has her 6 month checkup next week, so I am going to talk about formula recommendations for if/when I start supplementing. She's never had a bottle though, so I'm not sure that will go over well.

For now I'm reading Adventures in Tandem Nursing and taking everything one day at a time. The book is great for pregnant moms with nurslings and moms who want to tandem feed after the second baby arrives. According to one study cited in the book, 30% of women didn't notice a drop in supply while pregnant. Many of the others mentioned losing most of their supply by mid-pregnancy.

Do you think your little one's frequent feedings are due to a drop in supply or a growth spurt? Can you try weighing her with your bathroom scale? I don't have this option, but do you know someone who could help you do a weighed feeding?

Whatever you end up doing, you'll know what's best for your little one. Plenty of healthy babies drink formula full or part time. That switch might be hard to make, but remember that having a healthy mom is also important for your little ones.

Good luck, and feel free to pm me if you want. It's nice to know there are other moms in the same spot I'm in. Congrats on your pregnancy.

Alliebooberz · January 2013

DS was ebf when I found out about number two. He was nursing every 23 hours around the clock and hasn't started solids. I was really worried about making it to at least a year.

DS is 10 months old, still nurses on demand around the clock. He sleeps with me and nurses all night long. My supply seems just fine and he's starting to really take to solids [with BLW].

My biggest struggle is that in the last two weeks or so, my nipples have become really sore and it HURTS right when he latches if its been a while. I hope it goes away and I'm not sure how long I can handle that but I am determined to go until he weans himself.

Good luck!!

shellylovelee · January 2013

kcam:
Hey all. Just found out on Christmas Eve that I'm preggo with #2! DD is 8 months so they will be 15-16 months apart!
Since she's only 8 months I'm still nursing and was hoping to make it to a year. However, she's started waking up every 2-3 hours (or less!) to eat when she previously only woke once or twice to eat. And during the day she's started wanting to eat every 2-3 hours as opposed to 3 or 3.5 hours. I'm just feeling very tired and depleted and don't know if I want to keep doing this even though I know its best for her. I thought of supplementing with formula at night to at least try to get everyone some more sleep. Anyone have experience with this?

I would talk with an LC. After becoming preggers my DS started getting frustrated at each feeding (at 6mos). It either tasted funny or there wasn't enough. I also couldn't pump much. We struggled for about three months when he just decide he was done. I wasn't ready, but he had had enough. Or not enough as it were...

MitoRachel · January 2013

Here's my story so far-

DS started nursing more often when I got pregnant and I noticed that my supply was definitely dropping by week 8. After trying in vain to get my supply up I finally started supplementing with goat milk around week 14. DS started sleeping through the night for the first time right after that, started gaining weight again (hadn't since I got pregnant), and is just generally happier. Those first tri. weeks were really hard and I thought about quitting more than once. In the last several weeks I have found the joy in nursing again. My boobs don't hurt anymore, I'm no longer fretting about having enough because I know he can get what he needs elsewhere, and I don't feel like my energy level is currently impacted much by the nursing. DS nurses 4-6 times a day and is sleeping 12 hrs. at night. We will probably tandem nurse when LO #2 comes. DS will be about 14 months then. For us continuing to nurse but supplementing was definitely the right move and if I could go back in time I would have started doing that sooner. There are pros and cons to any path you choose.

jf198400 · January 2013

I got pregnant when DD was 9months. However I was working FT only nursing morning, pump once, nurse after work and bedtime and overnight if she woke up. I didn't have any problems continuing that way. My OB wanted me to stop nursing by the time I was 20weeks, so I did wean DD around 13months.

I think your plan of continue nursing and supplement at night sounds good.

kcam · January 2013

Thanks for sharing your stories and tips! Its good to know I'm not alone in this. I did giver her a bottle with formula 2 nights ago and she woke up screaming in the middle of the night, for about an hour, as well as continued to wake up every 2 hours wanting to nurse. So last night I didn't give her formula and she continued to wake up to nurse but wasn't upset. I guess its a matter of finding the right formula. I also am planning to go to a LLL meeting this week and connect with some ladies there.

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