I'm still breastfeeding Caroline at least once, sometimes twice a day...with no plans to stop anytime soon. I sort of thought she would wean herself from those feedings as my pregnancy progressed....and I figured that would be okay.
I told my OB's nurse (very, very pro breastfeeding) that I was still nursing, and she looked shocked, and told me that I needed to start slowly weaning her. I haven't seen my OB yet, and will ask him when I see him...but is this really a big deal??
She only nurses once a day (maybe once a week will she nurse twice a day, but it is rare)...I really have no desire to tandem nurse, so her weaning would be a good thing, but I wanted her to do it on her own terms.
So, what kind of experiences did you have nursing/weaning while pregnant? How did your OB feel about it??
Thanks!
Re: If you breastfed while pregnant, come in!
I did not (obviously) but my sister (mom to 7) has with several of her children. And MANY MANY MANY moms with a toddler and a young baby nurse them both.
With my sisters last, most recent pregnancy, her milk dried up while pregnant - and so her toddler did stop as there was nothing there. But during other pregnancies she has continued to nurse the whole time with no problems. You may find your boobs get sore - you may find your milk dries up - or it may be totally fine. To the OB nurse who was SO surprised - I do this -
It's not THAT unusual (this country continues to be so weird and uneducated about breastfeeding, extended breastfeeding, etc.)
"When it comes to sleeping, whatever your baby does is normal. If one thing has damaged parents enjoyment of their babies, it's rigid expectations about how and when the baby should sleep." ~ James McKenna, Ph.D., Mother Baby Behavioral Sleep Center, University of Notre Dame
Clomid M/C 8 weeks 2/08 *IVF #1-DD born 3/09
*Surprise BFP-T18 baby lost at 13w 1/10 *FET #1-DS born 2/11
Good info from la leche league:
https://www.llli.org/FAQ/bfpregnant.html
***
"When it comes to sleeping, whatever your baby does is normal. If one thing has damaged parents enjoyment of their babies, it's rigid expectations about how and when the baby should sleep." ~ James McKenna, Ph.D., Mother Baby Behavioral Sleep Center, University of Notre Dame
My doctor wanted me to be down to one feeding a day by the time I saw her - last week - and we are. The concern is pre-term labor, and it's just a drain to both nurse and be pregnant. Since I've started cutting down on nursing, Sam has been drinking WCM much better, which is a bonus. While I think that tandem nursing is an awesome thing, it's just not for me with working FT outside the home. So - I figure it's best to start weaning Sam now so that he has lots of time to adjust before the baby arrives.
If you do plan to continue, be sure to stay very, very hyrdated.
I know what you mean about weaning on their own terms. I mentioned that to my pedi and he said that if I relied solely on that, I could find myself nursing a 3 year old. Which is fine - but the reality is if I don't plan to tandem nurse, the only way to guarantee that Sam weans is to help him along.
We've been working on weaning down to 1 feeding a day for a month, and it's been fine. In fact, yesterday I didn't nurse him at all. No problems for him or for me.
I am a runner, knitter, scientist, DE-IVF veteran, and stage III colon cancer survivor.
Lots of people do it, but I couldn't. I breastfed through the first trimester and then stopped. I was sad to stop since Reed was still so young, but I couldn't keep up with it. I was STARVING all the time and if I didn't eat constantly I felt light headed. My OB told me the amount of extra calories I would need to be eating to support the full time breastfeeding and pregnancy and I just couldn't find the time to eat that much in the day. Also my milk dried up big time at that point.
Maybe if Reed had have been older my milk wouldn't have dried up so much, but at that point he was still getting all of his fluids from me...he wasn't even on solids then!
I would talk to your OB about it and see what they think. Do you want to tandem feed? Or are you just wanting to keep going with C a while longer?
Thanks girls. My mind is just spinning in a million different directions right now...and this has been weighing pretty heavy on my mind.
I really don't want to tandem nurse...and Caroline has probably had all the breastmilk she needs...but for some reason, giving up that last feeding is hard.
I guess it is knowing that we will never be here again...she's growing up, and this is one more step in that direction. It makes me sad...
Oh I hear that! I am so sensitive to the fact that every time could be "the last" time. And I don't want to really have or remember a "last time" because it will be too much. I just want for one day it to be over, painlessly and without emotion. I think that's not realistic though.
I am a runner, knitter, scientist, DE-IVF veteran, and stage III colon cancer survivor.
I came very close multiple times to having to cold-turkey wean Kira when TTC last year, but through multiple flukes I didn't have to; I had *really* hoped to be able to nurse her through my pg. I nursed her regularly through my first trimester, but then at about 16ish weeks she suddenly cut back and barely wanted to nurse, and about a month later stopped completely and hasn't nursed since. My only concern would be PTL if you're at risk, which I was not. By my third trimester, I admit I was glad I wasn't nursing because I didn't want *any* stimulation to my uterus that might cause #2 to come even a little bit early, but indeed she came early anyway!
Kira has had a nasty cold these last few days so I'm surprised she hasn't asked to nurse again, but it's probably because poor Elena is congested too and my arms and lap have been full of baby.
Regardless, unless you're at risk of PTL, I wouldn't worry. I'm very surprised that a pro-BFing professional would indicate otherwise unless you had a specific risk factor.
Good luck!
Our Thanksgiving Day baby 11/22/07
Pregnant with #2 with LPD, uterine polyp/hysteroscopy, DOR (AMH = 0.17), 2 c/ps
Our early Christmas present 12/9/10