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3rd Trimester
artroyer
member
How does pregnancy affect breastfeeding?
artroyer
member
I'm just curious... DH and I wanted to try and keep our kids pretty close in age, and will probably start trying for #2 in the summer, when DD is about 5 months old. I hope to still be breastfeeding then and at least up to 12 months, but does getting pregnant affect your supply in any way? Anything else I should know if we end up getting pregnant that soon or sooner?
TIA!
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Re: How does pregnancy affect breastfeeding?
I got pregnant when DD1 was 5 months old and still EBFing. It was tough, I'm not gonna lie. It was painful for a few weeks but nothing I couldn't handle. My supply slowly went down, and it was very stressful making sure I had enough milk to make it to a year. My goal was to not have to use formula. When I was around 30 weeks pregnant, my supply completely tanked. DD still wanted to nurse for comfort, but she wasn't getting more than a sip or two. Luckily at that point she was 12 months and so we didn't need to supplement. We ended up tandem nursing after the baby was born and she weaned when she was 2.5 years old.
On the other hand, I got pregnant when DD2 was 14 months and still breastfeeding. She was not a fan of the taste change and weaned within 2 months.
I want baby #4 to be close in age with #3, and would like to TTC again when she is about 6 months old. It is still very important to me that she get breastmilk for at least a year, so I plan to pump extra milk whenever I get the chance so I don't have to worry about her not getting enough to eat if my supply drops.
I weaned early on with my last pregnancy and didnt notice a difference in supply since we were already down to nursing only before bed, just for comfort. This time DD2 was already weaned by the time I got pg.
I have heard that the taste of the milk changes which could cause your LO to not want to nurse. Other than that, I don't have any experience with nursing while pg.
As far as pumping to build your supply, this is easy for some and extremely difficult for others. With DD1, I could never keep up with her demand and wasn't able to build an extra supply at all. I pumped and breastfed practically around the clock, but my body never picked up production. With DD2, I started pumping a lot from the get go to try to get a jump start on storing some extra brwastmilk, but ultimately I was still only able to produce just as much as DD2 needed.
My sister and cousin on the other hand produced milk like it was their job! They always had way more than enough.
Yes, you can pump to build a supply for when you wean. I weaned DD completely when I was about 3 mos pregnant and she was about 18/19 mos. My supply dropped soon after conception and when it actually hurt for her to latch and for me to let down, I decided that we'd stop.
I did a lot of research on this bc I found I was 7 weeks pregnant earlier this year when my daughter was only 5 months old. My milk supply had already taken a little dip so I was preparing myself for what was to come. I was devastated because my plan was to EBF until she was 12 months old, but it was clear that she wasn't getting enough to eat. I was able to nurse (and supplement with pureed foods from the time she was 6-9 months) but I live in Arizona where it is hot and dry and wanted to be sure that she didn't dehydrate. By the time she was 9 months old and I was 4 months pregnant, my milk supply completely dried up.
There is a supplement called Mothers Milk Two that you can try. I tried it and didn't notice a difference. It was $40 for 2 oz which is basically a 1-2 week supply. Mothers Milk Plus and other lactation supplements are contraindicated while you are pregnant so be sure to do your research and read all of the labels.