pregnant, no milk, but still breastfeeding?

[Catherine]

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this?

I know that it is not unusual for pregnancy hormones to cause milk supply to drop (despite continued and unchanged feeding)...I am 15 weeks now.

I breastfeed through my second pregnancy without decrease (my daugther was 19 - 28 mths during that pregnancy), or at least no decrease that I noticed, and I even night weaned.

This pregnancy my son is 2 1/2 onwards. He doesn't care that there is no milk...he is carrying on 'business as usual'. I am happy to do this (it isn't hurting).

and whilst there is soooo much more to breastfeeding than milk, I am feeling a little ripped off. This will be the first winter my daughter faces without breastmilk, and now my son too! I am being paranoid but I have a cold and always felt so powerful knowing that as long as they had my milk, they were being boosted from anything I picked up.


So has anyone else lost their milk when pregnant, but continued to feed? Did your milk return before birth?

xo

[HotI]

just wondering, how do you know there is no milk? i fed through pregnancy and know my milk decreased but don't know if it ever fully stopped or even when it changed consistency because i never expressed to find out. i think i was probably abit scared to find that the milk had stopped, and dd was still feeding so i just went with the flow.

[onthefly]

Mine did dry up,, but that was due to the IVF meds more than anything. DS fed till 9-10 weeks before giving up. It's likely there is some milk there still, though perhaps not as much, or as free-flowing as before.
Hope you all stay well this winter

[Catherine]

HotI:
I was suspecting, it felt different...I used to be able to express some drops in the shower - now nothing!
So I asked my son: "did you get any milk", and without coming off the breast, he shook his head and carried on.

I have never been any good at expressing (never any need), and I know that it is no indication of supply...but son says no, and there is not milk in his mouth, so I think it is gone. Still...happy to let him comfortnurse.

MadB:
Thanks for that, worst I ever get is a mild cold (touch wood) so hoping that will be it for the family! xo

[HotI]

my dd kept feeding and i didn't notice any increases until baby 2 had arrived. i love the shake of the head, i will ask dd if she is finished and she shakes her head and says 'uh uh' without coming off.

[Arcadia]

You will get colostrum before too long, so you should still be able to boost you lo's immune system.

Last winter was dd's first without feeding and it sucked! I feel for you...but then my dd was only 2.5 so yours might be older and not as vulnerable

[Catherine]

Thanks Arcadia...he will be 3 in June...here's to colostrum!

[~ Mylitta ~]

I'm currently tandem feeding a 2yr10mth old and a 14mth old and am close enough to birthing that I thought bub would be here by now, lol. My milk definitely decreased dramatically and I'm now only getting colostrum, but both my DS and DD are both still happy to continue breastfeeding. They are still getting good stuff from the colostrum and I know my DD will love it when my milk comes in and she can start having proper feeds again. My son only has one feed a day and generally only a very very quick feed, and he has mentioned giving his "mumma milk" to the new baby which I think is really sweet, but I'm betting he's still going to want his one feed a day, lol.

You're doing a great job

[luna moth]

It happened to a friend of mine, she "dry nursed" him all the way through - he was 3.5yrs, and he was just really excited to have milk again when his baby brother was born.

As for the immune system - shovel the vegies in, and maybe some probiotic yoghurt, and a few spoonfuls of dirt for good measure Then cross your fingers and hope for the best!

[Barb Glare]

Hi,

It is pretty common for the hormones of pregnancy to suppress you milk supply. But most babies sail right through it. To be honest, I would not think about it too much or make a big deal about it. Your son will get what he needs. He isn't necessarily getting a raw deal - he's getting a fabulous gift.

[Catherine]

Thanks everyone! There certainly is more to breastfeeding than milk!

Bellabirth with Catherine, Breastfeeding - more than milk. I blogged about it.