nursing while pregnant and/or tandem nursing?

jennlin · February 2013

if you did this successfully, tell me about it.

dd just turned 12 mos...i'm about 5wks pregnant. my milk is running low, even though i've always had a healthy supply. is this dip temporary?

i work FT, so "nursing vacations" are not in the picture. i pump 3x's a day at work, and nurse on demand at home, which lately is ALL DAY.

ETA: my daughter has a cow's milk allergy and frankly i don't like the other options all that much, so i'd like to nurse her as long as possible.

downtown80 · February 2013

I got pregnant the 2nd time when DD was 10 months old. My supply dipped big time, and it took everything I had to make it to a year with her. At that point, I weaned her.

I was ok with that decision because a year was my goal, but had I wanted to continue longer....I imagine it would have been extremely difficult.

That said, everyones experience is different. Maybe your supply will come back. I know many moms continue nursing successfully during pregnancy.

sharrison88 · February 2013

I don't have any advice, but did post something similar on the breastfeeding board and got just a few mixed responses (https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/72150262.aspx). It seems like it depends on the person, but everything I've read during research says many women experience a decrease in supply until around 7/8 months when it starts ramping up for the next baby. I used to have a wonderful supply, but recently, it's decreased by about half. I'm interested to see what others post because this has been stressing me out big time. I would like to make it at least to a year with DD.

NavyPilotWife · February 2013

I found out I was pregnant with DD2, when DD1 was 9 months old. I had no supply problems and was able to nurse her until she turned 1. I started introducing whole milk after she was 11 months old, which her pedi was fine with. I had no interest in tandem nursing and I also did not want to nurse late into my pregnancy because of the PTL I had with DD1. I had no problems other than nipple soreness, when I stopped nursing around 20 weeks pregnant.

sharrison88 · February 2013

NavyPilotWife:
I found out I was pregnant with DD2, when DD1 was 9 months old. I had no supply problems and was able to nurse her until she turned 1. I started introducing whole milk after she was 11 months old, which her pedi was fine with. I had no interest in tandem nursing and I also did not want to nurse late into my pregnancy because of the PTL I had with DD1. I had no problems other than nipple soreness, when I stopped nursing around 20 weeks pregnant.

Did you have to do anything differently to maintain your supply? Food has been a major turn off lately, and obviously, that could be the cause of my supply issues. All the research I did kind of stressed me out, but it did say experiences are different for every woman.

okate0213 · February 2013

I would check out Adventures in Tandem Nursing. I've been reading it just to get info in general, and it's a great book. It really goes into nursing while pregnant and then tandem and describes it in a way that will help make your decision if it's for you or not.

I did nurse Ds1 through my last pregnancy, I got pregnant when he was 9 months. I nursed him until 14 months by then I was around 20+ weeks. It was rough, I had severe nursing aversion, my nips where really sensitive and I got nauseous. This is all normal apparently, now I know through the tandem nursing book. By a year he was down to 4-5 sessions a day, and I knew I was done, so I slowly weaned him. But nursing on demand and making sure you are getting enough calories and fluids as well as taking natural galactogages oatmeal, almonds, flax and brewers yeast can be made into a lactation cookies.

NavyPilotWife · February 2013

sharrison88:
NavyPilotWife:
I found out I was pregnant with DD2, when DD1 was 9 months old. I had no supply problems and was able to nurse her until she turned 1. I started introducing whole milk after she was 11 months old, which her pedi was fine with. I had no interest in tandem nursing and I also did not want to nurse late into my pregnancy because of the PTL I had with DD1. I had no problems other than nipple soreness, when I stopped nursing around 20 weeks pregnant.
Did you have to do anything differently to maintain your supply? Food has been a major turn off lately, and obviously, that could be the cause of my supply issues. All the research I did kind of stressed me out, but it did say experiences are different for every woman.

I tried to drink more fluids and ate whatever sounded good. Between nursing and being pregnant, it's important to get extra calories. I was sick for a good 16-18 weeks and was dead tired. I was glad that DD1 was still taking two naps per day, so I would take at least one nap per day. If you are having supply issues, I'd up your fluid intake and eat oatmeal. You could also make cookies with brewer's yeast, which is safe during pregnancy. I think flaxseed meal is controversial during pregnancy, as is fenugreek.

okate0213 · February 2013

NavyPilotWife:
sharrison88:
NavyPilotWife:
I found out I was pregnant with DD2, when DD1 was 9 months old. I had no supply problems and was able to nurse her until she turned 1. I started introducing whole milk after she was 11 months old, which her pedi was fine with. I had no interest in tandem nursing and I also did not want to nurse late into my pregnancy because of the PTL I had with DD1. I had no problems other than nipple soreness, when I stopped nursing around 20 weeks pregnant.
Did you have to do anything differently to maintain your supply? Food has been a major turn off lately, and obviously, that could be the cause of my supply issues. All the research I did kind of stressed me out, but it did say experiences are different for every woman.
I tried to drink more fluids and ate whatever sounded good. Between nursing and being pregnant, it's important to get extra calories. I was sick for a good 16-18 weeks and was dead tired. I was glad that DD1 was still taking two naps per day, so I would take at least one nap per day. If you are having supply issues, I'd up your fluid intake and eat oatmeal. You could also make cookies with brewer's yeast, which is safe during pregnancy. I think flaxseed meal is controversial during pregnancy, as is fenugreek.

Good to know, I just did a little research on Flaxseed, guess it hasn't been tested sufficiently though, since it has estrogen components its considered unsafe. Fenugreek is unsafe.

Joyfullnoise · February 2013

I think it can be done.
I got pregnant again at 14m and made it to 19m before weaning. I think dips in supply are somewhat specific to each woman's body and nutrients, but as long as you take really good care of yourself I think you can do it!
Wish you nothing but luck.

Qmommy · February 2013

Tandem nurser here. If your supply is dipping now then it is likely going to last through pregnancy. On the bright side your DD is 12 months and much of her calories and nutrients can come from food. Keep BFing if you want and make sure she is eating plenty of healthy fats and foods with calcium. Is she okay with yogurt or cheese? Avocado? I know you're not too interested in alternatives to cow milk but have you looked into hemp milk, goats milk, or coconut milk? (If you have ignore that suggestion.)

My supply when pregnant with DD2 diminished to practically nothing around 19 weeks. This time I'm 19 weeks and still have a supply (not what it used to be but Dd2 is still getting milk.). It helps to drink tons of water. I felt that staying hydrated was more helpful than food.

I second the book rec. Adventures in Tandem Nursing.

MrsKatieW · February 2013

I got pregnant again when DS1 was 4 months old. I nursed him until he was a year old. Introducing whole milk at 11 months. I was lucky and didn't have to do anything different to maintain my supply. It did get painful at times during first tri though, sometimes I had to unlatch him for a minute.

This time I'm nursing DS2 while pregnant, but have had to supplement with formula the past couple of months. I'm just about to introduce whole milk and start the weaning process. I think tandem nursing is a wonderful thing, it's just not right for our family.

sherbear1322 · February 2013

I got pregnant when DS was 8 months. I had a definite dip at 5 weeks (and my nips got really sensitive then), but I was able to rebound the dip for the most part within a week. It then slowly dropped again starting around 9 weeks and I couldn't recover the supply. I had to stop nursing him at 10.5 months but had enough freezer stash to get him through with a combo of cows milk and BM until he was a year which helped with the transition. I hope you are able to keep your supply up.

jaymiegerard · February 2013

I'm wondering if it's stress that's causing the supply dip? That happened to a friend of mine right around the same time. She just continued nursing and is now tandem nursing her 23 month old and her 2 month old!

I think my supply dropped slightly, but DS is still going strong at just about 18 months (he nurses 3-5 times/24 hrs). Nursing has been hard at times, especially bc of nipple sensitivity, but it's seemed to have gotten better for now (I'm due in June).

Sometimes they will continue to nurse even if there is no milk, and when it comes back in, they just pick up where they left off, so that's another thought.

Just a side note, DS doesn't drink cow's milk either. We give him organic oat milk, which has no added sugar. He drinks a small amount every day, but that's all the "supplementing" we've needed to do, and he can do without it.

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