Breastfeeding while pregnant and beyond!?

I am about 7 weeks pregnant and still breastfeeding my almost 2 year old. She was still demand feeding up untill a few days ago but my nipples are too painfull now and it was getting too stessfull for us both so not we have cut down to just before and after sleeps, and a few times over night (we co-sleep) so that works out at about 5/6 times a day rather that about 8 times as it was before.
she loves it, i dont see her weeing anytime soon!!!!

So is it 100% ok to BF while pregnant and how does it work with a new born....the milk is so different for a baby than for an almost 3 year old, what about the colostrum. my milk didnt come in for a week with DD...how does that work? SO many questions, id love to hear stories of tandem feeders.....im sick of people telling me ''OH well your pregnant, NOW you HAVE to stop feeding her" but i want to know the logistics of it IYKWIM :redface:

TIA

I was just reading some great articles on Kellymom about it!!

thanks heaven....il check it out now!! :)

Ouch! It really hurts, doesn't it?
As I understand your supply drops off when pregnant, then at some point your milk switches to colostrum (maybe half way through, or something like that).
So basically, your breasts gear up for the new baby - they will make colostrum, then milk, and so on. Perfect for you newborn, and fine for the older child as well.
At a guess, I spose your milk would come in sooner with the tandem feeding..

Hi beckoes, Congratulations on your pregnancy!!

You may find (i did) that the sensitivity will ease off soon for your nipples. There are many threads on here from people with pretty much exactly the same question as you about BF through pregnancy and beyond and the experiences that people have had. It's worth doing a search for them. try searching tandem feeding or BF whilst pregnant.

But to answer your questions, i can only talk from my experience which has been extremely successful. I have BF whilst pregnant twice and tandem fed twice. i've breastfed everyday for the last 4 years and have 3 girls (4 yr old, 2 yr old and 4 month old).

1) yes, it's 100% ok to BF whilst pregnant. Keep up your food & fluid intake and eat healthy foods. Keep up all supplements. Rest as much as you need and keep fit. People may say it's too tiring for you - i think it's just tiring being pregnant and then also looking after a toddler at the same time!!! i think parenting is tiring not breastfeeding!

2) In pregnancy, my breasts actually hurt for the first few days after conception (boobies knew i was pregnant before i did!) but then settled down. Although in both pregnancies, supply diminished as the feeds did, it was maintained. Some women find that their supply may cease or the toddler no longer is interested in the milk during pregnancy - whether for the taste or they're ready to wean themselves. My babies were never going to self wean so just kept on going - even if it was just once a day.

Once i'd given birth, the frequent feeds for a newborn meant that the milk was much more than pre-birth and my toddlers thought it was like xmas!! Yes, it was colostrum for the first few days but in terms of number of feeds, in the first week the toddler would only have 1 or 2 feeds (especially when i was in hospital) and the newborn 10 plus feeds (often at the same time as the toddler).

In terms of the logistics, a LC suggested to me that I had 2 choices - either stick with the schedule i had with the toddler (which for me by the time of birth was a feed upon waking either in morning or after lunchtime nap) or whenever the toddler asked. She suggested that i just stick with one method so as to not confuse the toddler (who love routines by the age of 2 yrs).

In reality, i did a bit of both - certainly i did feed as per our normal routine (2 x day upon waking) but sometimes when i was engorged in the early days and i didn't want to get out my pump i just offered my toddler a feed - quick, easy and everyone was happy! Also offered whenever needed (to stop a tantrum or comfort if she fell over etc).

I am currently feeding a 2 yr old and a 4 month old. my 2 yr old actually said to me yesterday ' ma milk, just in mornings' not that i've tried to stop her it's just her own needs.

I weaned DD1 at 2.5 yrs as i'd been tandem feeding for 10 months at that stage and had had enough.
I will also wean DD2 at 2.5yrs but i think she is more likely to stop herself by then anyway.

Good luck with it all and best of luck for your wedding too!

Hun it is perfectly safe. I am now 22 weeks pregnant and my 19 month old has weaned just this week.

It hurt quite a lot at the beginning of the pregnancy, then kinda died off but over the last few weeks it has hurt like hell, so while I am sad about it my boobs are rather glad LOL.

Your body still makes what the NB will need - isn't mother nature amazing?!

and one of the cutest experiences i had tandem feeding was with DD1 (at 21 months) and DD2 (and 3 months) holding hands and smiling at each other whist i sat on the sofa feeding them both at the same time...hope i remember that when they're teenagers and fighting!!

thanks all....RoyaUK, thanks for answering all my questions!....thats so cute! happy memmories :)

I think its amazing what our bodies can do! i guess il just carry on as i am and see how it pans out! thanks again

hi bec
just wanted to add to the discussion- you MAY find that your dd self-weans while you are pg. i had intended to tandem feed but my ds1 self-weaned when i was 25 wks pg.
best of luck with everything

Hey hun! I breastfed DD1 until DD2 was born and a little while after, though I chose that time to wean her (she was just over 2.5 years) because I found it too heavy going. I tried to get DD1 to share and take turns with the boobies but whenever DD2 needed to feed, she demanded to be fed as well so I had them both on at once. That's a good option of course if you're happy to do it but I felt a bit crowded! My Ob also told me that if I was going to breastfeed both of my girls, I had to make sure the newborn was fed first so that my breasts had enough milk for her. Obviously you adjust to however much milk you need to make but this is more while breastfeeding is being established with your little one. Also, some toddlers self-wean while mum is pregnant because the supply drops off and the taste changes. I found that when I was breastfeeding both at once, DD1 put on a little weight because my milk was tailored for my newbie.