Being pregnant and BFing...can I hear your expirences please :)

Brittany373

Hi!

One of the wonderful ladies on the 12-24 board said alot of you ladies continued to BF while pregnant, We are TTC over here! , but I still BF 3-4x in 24 hour my DD(no signs of stopping ). And Im scared if I get KU that my supply will tank right away and I will have a screaming, crabby, sad baby girl who wants milk and doesnt understand why nothing is coming out

I was/am hoping she will self wean before/by 2. (praying really....lol) but I def want her off the supply before the next LO arrives

 

TIA!

 

MrsSteelerTeacherLady

There are a lot of success stories on here, but DS self weaned when I was 10 weeks pg.  I could tell that he was getting less and didn't like the change in milk b/c he slowly dropped sessions and preferred the bottle (at DC).  There were no issues and he wasn't unhappy- he was a big time nurser too!

 

I know a ton of ladies on here who BF throughout the majority if not the entire pregnancy. I believe it's only 20% who experience the issues that I did and I tried Mother's Milk 2, oatmeal, hops, lactation cookies, and pumping ever hour.  

Bride2b2004

DS2 was 10 months when I found out I was pg with this baby.  We bf the whole first tri without issue.  My supply did tank in the 2nd tri, but DS1 wasn't relying on it that much anyway, so it worked out.  I wondered if DS would wean, but he was happy to nurse a few times a day even though I didn't think anything was coming out.  My milk is back now, but for some reason it hurts a lot to nurse.  I don't know if I am sensitive or LO isn't latching well.  He recently cut about 6 teeth at the same time and maybe that has influenced his latch?  Anyway, it's really uncomfortable for me to nurse and sadly he is wanting to nurse more than ever now (probably the teeth too), so it is kind of a battle I take day by day-- not sure if this would be an issue regardless of pregnancy.

Sooo, that's our experience, not sure it helps. GL!

Lil Kate

I bf until 5 months pregnant.  It was not an issue to wean DS...I think my supply slowly decreased and he preferred a bottle or sippy because he actaully got something to drink.  Maybe try to take 1 feeding away before you get pregnant and then just see how it goes.

L&BK54471

I breastfed through my entire pregnancy.  By about 25 weeks I didn't have much supply yet so I had to bottle feed DD formula since she was about 7 months old.  She continued to nurse throughout even though she wasn't getting much if any milk.  Now that DD #2 is her, DD #1 will still nurse occasionally but not too often.  Since you LO is older, I wouldn't be concerned about breast feeding since she doesn't necessarily need the breast milk for nutrition.  She will probably self wean as your supply decreases or the milk flavor changes.

VABride2008

I was able to nurse until 20 weeks (my doctor wanted me to wean by then) but I did notice a bit of a dip in my supply.  It was a struggle to keep going but I was able to successfully nurse without supplementing with formula.  We switched to WCM about 2 weeks before her 1st birthday since that was right when I was 20 weeks along.

QCinOct

I had to wean DS at 17 months (I was 16 weeks pg) because I was going on a business trip for a week. But, it was time. A few weeks before then, we had gone to Europe and the time change caused my supply to tank. We were only nursing twice a day when we went to Europe, and cut it to just at night when we got home.

 Not gonna lie, bfing hurt like a HELL while pg. Like, hurt like the first 6 weeks post-partum. My nipples were so incredibly sore. But it was still bittersweet to nurse DS for the last time. Then again, if he wants to nurse in tandem with #2, I won't deny him so maybe it wasn't the last time...

NNC

Everyone's body is different and it's impossible to know how yours will react. 

For me, I used to be an oversupplier who could get 8oz per boob per pumping session, which then dropped to < 6oz TOTAL, all day long, both boobs, 4 pumping sessions when I got PG again.  I NEVER thought I'd have supply issues...

It was so sad for me, but the drop happened over a few weeks, so it wasn't super sudden for DD and she didn't take it too hard.  She'd get frustrated during nursing, so I'd pop in a bottle and then she'd be fine.  Eventually, I just weaned and popped in a bottle without even bothering with the boob.

Oh, and I agree with PP, nursing and pumping (when I did try) hurt soooo bad.  It was like the beginning of BF'ing all over again. 

Anyway, GL.  Whatever you decide, I'm sure you and your LO will adapt somehow and make it work.

Qmommy

I already answered your question on the BFing board so I'll spare you the details again.  

I just wanted to reiterate my book recommendation:  Adventures in Tandem Nursing.  I know you said that you want DD to be weaned by the time #2 arrives but it covers nursing while pregnant (and weaning while pregnant) extensively.   

KiwiJ

My DS was down to one BF a day - he always liked to BF first thing in the morning - whereas he'd self-weaned all the other sessions.  I kept BFing him first thing in the morning for the first trimester but at the end of that I just had to stop because my supply had dried up.  He'd suck for ages, come off, suck again, and let-down would maybe happen after about 2 full minutes.  There was just no point as he wasn't getting anything, so we introduced a sippy cup of milk in the mornings (he was already drinking a little WCM at other times of the day).  He was fine with that, so it went smoothly.

I didn't want to wean him fully, and was kind of forced to because my milk dried up, but then again it was nice knowing my husband could get up for him first thing after over a year of being the only one who could!

Also, my nipples started hurting when I was about 10 wks' pregnant - not as bad as the first few weeks post-partum, but still quite sore.

I read on KellyMom that reduced supply happens in about 70% (I think) of pregnancies.  Hopefully that won't happen to you, or the reduction won't be too much.  GL!