My son is 15 months old and still nursing 4 to 5 times in a 24 hour period. Is it safe to still continue to breastfeed him while I am pregnant? Neither one of us are ready to wean.
Yes - I breasted one of my guys until I was 5 months pregnant with the next one and then he just self-weaned. He was about 18 months old when he self-weaned so I didn't push him to keep going, but it's fine to breastfeed through a whole pregnancy and even to tandem feed after you deliver.
I got pregnant with my second when my first was 14 months, she was nursing much like yours...I was a little worried but my local LLL leader (who was also pregnant and nursing at the time) assured me it was okay. She said to calm my fears by making sure to eat an extra 300 calories, like half a peanut butter sandwich, everyday. Paying extra attention to the quality of my food helped me feel better about bf and being pregnant. As a side note my daughter weaned herself almost overnight at the beginning of my 3rd trimester, I guess my milk changed back to colostrum to get ready for birth and she wasn't so interested anymore :)
I breastfed while I was pregnant! :)
Yes...I breast fed my oldest son while I was pregnant with my second son...my milk changed and started drying up when I was about 5 months along - so we weaned at that time...
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
Edit - my boys are 26 months apart! I nursed Greg until he was almost 3
Talk to your OBGYN. You CAN breastfeed while pregnant, but you'll want to think of the possibility of weaning, just begin to entertain the thought. You're going to need SO many extra calories to keep up nursing and making a healthy baby at the same time, while still maintaining enough calories for you to thrive as well. Your doctor will be able to give you the best guidance; check with the pediatrician as well. Make sure you're taking prenatal vitamins and drinking tons of water. It's tough, but it's been done ;) As long as baby is growing normally in utero, and your 15 month old is still maintaining a healthy weight, you should be okay. You can also check in with a lactation consultant. Just remember; if you HAVE to wean because baby isn't growing properly, it's not because you did anything wrong. It's really tough to feed 3 people at once ;) Good luck!
Yes... there's a great website or two that will tell you more about tandem nursing and nursing while pregnant.
www.kellymom.com and www.drjacknewman.com
Le Leche League international website has some good info too!!
I breastfed my 2-3 year old thru my entire pregnancy until the very last month when my colostrum came in full strength and started to give her very watery stools. Then she went back to nursing after my milk came back in again and nursed until he was around 4 months old. My milk actually dried up in my second trimester but that did not deter her! The only thing I'll say is that I went thru a period of dry nursing with her that ranged from a feeling of discomfort to actually painful at times when she would initially latch on and then once she was latched on it didn't hurt anymore. I had to remind her that there was no popping on and off bc that hurt too much and if I got very sore on one side I would just let her know that mommy had a boo boo on that side and we needed to let it heal for a day or so and she seemed to understand that.
There is a great book called Tandem Nursing that would answer all your specific questions. I would say it's safe as long as you have a normal, healthy pregnancy and you don't feel cramping or anything like that. In most cases it works out just fine. LLL (http://www.lllusa.org/groups.php) is a big support in these times as well as the website kellymom.com.
You shouldn't feel forced to stop nursing just bc you are pregnant. Just make sure you drink lots of water and get at least 80-100 grams of protein a day. Here's a website that can help you understand why and also a link to a protein counter for you. It's easier than you think to get a lot of protein.
http://www.drbrewerpregnancydiet.com/id11.html
www.learntobirth.com/NutWSreg.pdf
Blessings!
Yes it is OK to breastfeed while pregnant.
Like Rachel said, talk to your doctor.
Also when I found out I was pregnant with my 2nd kid my son was still breastfeeding. Actually he was around the same age as your lil one.
Funny thing is he actually weened himself during the pregnancy.
I was told by my doctor that, while pregnant, the taste & flow of your breast milk changes. All because of the extra hormones you have. So most of the time your breastfeeding lil one will end up not wanting it anymore and will self ween.
It was kinda hard for me at 1st, but You guys will be just fine.
Congrats on the new lil one!!
I pretty much ran out of milk by the time I was about 5 mos along and ended up having to use formula. He got frustrated and was hungry so he self weened pretty much without repercussion. I suppose you can eat well enough to continue to support your breast milk but it's hard to do ... well at least I couldnt seem to do it :) I'm sure plenty have tho.
YES, but the let down may be more painful for you. LLL and other sites have info on tandum nursing if you're not done 9m from now. I am a strong believer of self-weaning, the benefits are amazing, keep it up! I bf my 1st son for 35m.
absolutely! i nursed through my last 3 pregnancies. each of them made it through about the 6th month and then weaned on their own:) congrats and good luck!
It is completely safe to continue nursing through your pregnancy. At some point in the third trimester he may wean because your milk dries up and transitions to colostrum again for the new baby. He may pick up nursing again, if you are so inclined, and that is perfectly safe, as well. The milk may not be specifically designed for his needs any more, as it will be gearing itself toward your new baby's needs. Some people continue tandem nursing with a toddler and a newborn. Good luck!
