Any experience with bf and pregnancy??

jonsuz · April 2013

Hi everyone

DD is 14 months and still nursing 4x/day. She nurses at 7 am, 1130 before her nap, 330 and at bedtime. I have been thinking of going down to 3 feedings.

We just found out we are expecting again!! I am only 5-6 weeks along but already under pressure from dh and the ob to start weaning. Dd seems to sense something and is all of a sudden super interested in nursing. Does anyone have experience nursing while pregnant? Did your baby self wean? My goal is to wean before the baby arrives-she will be 22 months. Just looking for some guidance. Thanks!!

mrs.jenRN · April 2013

For us, I think she started to slowly wean before I got pg, and being pg just sped up the process. I was miserable nursing because my nipples were so tender. I slowly did the "don't offer, don't refuse" type of weaning. By the time I got pg she was only nursing about 3-4 times a day. I found out I was pg on July 30th and we weaned on November 11th. The first time morning feed was the last to go, and definitely the hardest for me to let go. Weaning was tough on me lol!

She was almost 21 months. Don't let your OB pressure you into weaning. Unless you have complications in your pregnancy, you can bf. You may also find the closer you get, the less interested she is in nursing.

jonsuz · April 2013

Thank you! Yes it is already uncomfortable. I know we will also have a lot of trouble dropping the morning feeding. She is now reaching in my shirt all day-she has never done that before! I feel so bad for her.

tokenhoser · April 2013

Get the book "Adventures in Tandem Nursing" - it has a lot of information about nursing while pregnant.

I'm doing it now. I got pregnant when DS was 18 months. He's now 24 months, and I'm 26 weeks pregnant. He still nurses a lot - morning, after work, and before bed for sure and more if I'm not at work. Some babies will self-wean if your milk supply decreases and they lose interest. This has not happened for us (although it still could).

There are no health risks to continuing nursing if you are well nourished and can get enough rest. It does not raise your risk of miscarriage. My doctor's advice was to be SURE to take my prenatals and to eat enough to gain weight (especially past the first trimester). She did not tell me to wean. Personally, I still feel that I am getting more from nursing than I am giving up, so we're continuing. I haven't made a final decision on tandem nursing (nursing them both) yet; we'll see how things are going in a few more months.

ETA: The pain with nursing only lasted the first few weeks for me. It went away by week 8 or 9.

jonsuz · April 2013

Thank you. I am not high risk so I don't think there is really any physical reason to wean. I will definitely get the book!

Angela814 · April 2013

I found out I was pg when DD2 was 25 or 26 months. I had just finished night weaning, and she was nursing once or twice a day. She kind of gradually weaned over the next couple months. My supply decreased, she stopped nursing to sleep, and it got too uncomfortable for me to continue. She was completely weaned around 27 months.

I had been open to tandem nursing before it started to get too uncomfortable. DD continued to occasionally ask for milk throughout my pg, but when DD3 was born, she never asked. She tells me she drinks "big girl milk" in a cup.

AshleyPT · April 2013

Why is the OB pressuring you to wean? It was uncomfortable at first, but now that I'm further along it's all fine. My daughter picked up nursing when I was first pregnant, I don't know if she could sense it or if my supply dropped.

camedowncrushing · April 2013

My DD is 19 months old, and I am 6.5 weeks pregnant. I had an ultrasound this week, and when the NP asked if I had been nursing DD since I only had one PP period I said yes. Then she said "you aren't still nursing her are you?" I said yes. Then she asked me how many times. I said "only three times a day." I thought she was going to DIE. Ha ha ha. "only? That is down from something much more? Oh my. well...." Then she went on about how I should really consider weaning because of the possible dangers. There are four OBs at my practice, and she said they are divided on whether or not to continue nursing while pregnant (clearly I knew where she stood) but that I needed to carefully consider it. I am going to wean, but because my nipples hurt so so so very badly. I have eliminated the right before bed feeding...we are on night three. So far so good. I will give it a bit to see how it goes before pulling another feeding. I will say that my husband was freaked out when I mentioned the NP was discouraging me from breastfeeding, and thought I should wean her immediately. I told him that wasn't happening!

tokenhoser · April 2013

What exactly did she say these "risks" are? Because I have never seen a study that showed any. Ever. And yes, I looked.

I hate when medical professionals spout old wives tales as fact.

jonsuz · April 2013

Same here. Just a vague "your body can't support both" and pushing me to start the weaning process. My husband got super freaked out. I haven't seen any valid concerns unless you are in your last few weeks.

camedowncrushing · April 2013

tokenhoser:
What exactly did she say these "risks" are? Because I have never seen a study that showed any. Ever. And yes, I looked.
I hate when medical professionals spout old wives tales as fact.

I looked quite a bit, and all I could find were articles supporting breastfeeding.

https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/breast-feeding-while-pregnant/AN01840an

This gave reasoning why an OB might discourage breastfeeding, but what I take away from that article is that if you are having an okay pregnancy then breastfeeding is fine...if something goes wrong you might need to stop. Just like how an OB can tell you sex isn't safe anymore during pregnancy.

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