Is It Normal That I Am Pregnant and Still Nursing My 13Month Old?

Go to www.kellymom.com they are a pro-breastfeeding and AP parenting type of message board, it's pretty good although I don't always agree w/ what they say, but they have a lot of info about BF while pregnant, it is possible and usually just fine.

There is nothing wrong with being pregnant and nursing. I have a 17 month old who still nurses and I don't plan on weaning her until she is ready. You shouldn't feel like you have to stop just because you are pregnant. It also isn't fair for people to tell you that you should stop... the AAP says you can nurse until the age of 2 or 3 or 4 that it is still beneficial to your child. Tandem nursing is always an option but you may find that you don't need to wean her at all because when your pregnant the milk you produce changes and your baby may be turned off by it. Your body isn't going to take nutrients away from your growing baby but your milk will become less nutritous. You should make sure you're drinking and eating plenty of healthy food. Keep up the good work. You should do whatever feels comfortable to you. Don't let other people tell you what you should do. Also if you're truly concerned you should talk to your OB. They'll be able to give you tons of info. Be careful of the people who think breastfeeding is useless.

Congratulations, C.! If you and your 13 month old wish to continue nursing, you may. It is called "tandem nursing". There is a great book available called, Adventures in Tandem Nursing by Hilary Flower. The ISBN is 0-912500-97-2. I am currently reading it because I fully anticipate that my son will still be nursing when I become pregnant again - it's just so important to him. American Academy of Peds recommends breastfeeding for at least the first year, and beyond that what mother and baby are comfortable with. World Health Organization recommends two years and beyond what's comfortable for mother and baby. La Leche League leaders (find local leaders, forums on tandem nursing, and a local group at www.llli.org) can assist you in sorting through the pros and cons of nursing two. A La Leche group is probably also going to have a lending library with this book available. Tandem nursing actually encourages sibling bonding, with the older looking out for the younger, frequently telling mom that the younger needs to nurse and eat enough. Your milk will most often dry up during the second trimester, to come back in the third trimester as colostrum. This book or a leader will also be able to guide you as to proper nutrition at this time, but it shouldn't be an issue. Many OBs are vastly uninformed or are out of date on their information about breastfeeding in general, let alone with specific questions like yours. Many pediatricians are in the same boat - these doctors just aren't lactation specialists. Good luck with whatever you decide to do! And congrats again!

Congratulations to you! I think it is great that you are still nursing AND expecting a new baby. I don't know why people are saying that breast milk has no nutritional value after 9 months....the World Health Organization recommends that mothers breastfeed for at least 2 years. The nutritional content changes, I think, but the children still receive lots of great vitamins and antibodies from the breast milk. You should contact your closest La Leche League leader. They have a website that will give you their phone numbers and they are always more than happy to take calls from mothers with questions. Good luck!

The exact same thing happened to me. I was not done nursing my first one when I became pregnant with my second. I had heard through a nursing group that that was okay, but when I went to see my baby's pediatrician she asked me why I looked so gaunt. I told her I was pregnant and still nursing. She was pretty stern with me when she said I needed to stop nursing and think about my own health. The baby's were taking it all out of me. He nursed until 16 months and then we gave it up happily for everyone.

CONGRATS!!!I would think it was fine! Makes sense what the other post said as you are being drained of all your nutrition plus the prenatal vitamins may be too much for your 13 mos old. Also you may want to consider in a few months to wean your 13 mos old before the baby comes or you will be in for a lot of issues. The 13 mos old will resent the baby for feeding where she is too and it will be a constant battle as every time you nurse the newborn your 13 mos will want to, and that isn't necessary at all for a 13 mos to nurse that often. Your 13 mos old no longer needs to nurse for nutrition, if is due to comfort she is using you for a pacifier, try maybe weaning her way before the baby comes and making her feel like a big girl. That way you can nurse the new baby without your 13 mos old being resentful. Make it a big deal out of empowering the older child with changes before the baby comes so they don't associate change with the new baby. Just my two cents.
AGAIN CONGRATS!!!!!

Dear C.,
I loved Heather's remarks about tandum nursing. Le Leche League is a wonderful resource, also there are Lactation Consultants at most major medical centers. They are very informed and can give you great advice and reading recommendations.
I attended a Homebirth where the mom was nursing her two year old during her labor. It was wonderful and the two year old bonded well with the baby. It's all possible, just make sure you are very well nourished and you and baby should do fine.
Don't be surprised if your nursing child becomes disinterested in nursing - your milk does change as they age and during pregnancy it may diminish. Just do as much reading as you can and take care of yourself!
While some women don't ovulate during nursing, most will and that's why it can't be counted on as a birth control method.
Congratulations! and enjoy.
Best to you!
H. B.

Congratulations! Unless you have an unusual health reason, there is no reason to give up nursing your older one. I nursed my older one until I was about 3 months pregnant w/my younger and had no issues. You do need to make sure you're getting good nutrition and enough calories (bring on those fruit smoothies and chocolate milkshakes!). If your doc has issues, I'd ask lots of questions - it shouldn't be a health issue and the doc may be expressing his uncomfortableness or lack of knowledge about the situation. Its not "normal" in our society to do this, but it is normal all over the world. Wean your oldest when you're ready. My doula did tell me that since it'd only been 6 months between being nursed and watching me nurse the baby that my oldest (25 months at the time of the birth of the second) may want to restart nursing himself. He didn't but I don't think it would've been too hard to deal w/. Listen to your body and your heart and you'll have the right decision. Also, be prepared for some "weird" body issues....my breasts actually shrank when I weaned the oldest and then started growing again about a month later!

Nursing is not birth control, so there's no reason why you wouldn't have gotten pregnant, unless you were using birth control. From my understanding there's no nutritional value in breast milk after like 9 months, so it should be time to be weaning your baby and giving him/her regular milk in a cup.

As long as you can handle it, that is great! Eat super healthy and get plenty of vitamins. I nursed until my son was almost two, and soon after got pregnant, now I am nursing that one and probably will go just as long.

Again, it just depends on your body. If you are healthy and committed to taking care of yourself, you should be fine, and the benefits to both babies would be something to commend you for. Your body will tell you how much is too much, so pay attention, but if you seem to be fine... well, you get the idea by now, I'm sure. Good luck!

My question would be can your body take all the drain it will be to nurse and give to a new life growing inside you. If you think you can go for it but make sure you have the energy to keep it all going. Sometimes you need to take care of you!
C. B

I have always been told to stop nursing if I was pregnant again. It's not only for your own health, but your producing milk is taking vital nutrition away from the fetus. I would strongly recommend you don't continue nursing while pregnant. It's not healthy for anyone. Not to mention your milk is probably not going to be as substantial for your 13 month old because your body is sharing nutrients between breastmilk and fetus. 13 months is plenty old enough to wean anyway. I'm not saying all 13 month old babies should be weaned, but in your case, it's probably time so everyone stays healthy. As far as getting pregnant while nursing, it's perfectly normal and common. Breastfeeding is not a contraceptive. The "fact" that you "can't" get pregnant while nursing is a wives' tale. The only reason it seems that way is that the hormones that accompany breastfeeding often cause a woman not to ovulate even if they are having a period. In some women, breastfeeding causes her body not to even have a period until she stops. But in many women, they can breastfeed and have perfectly normal ovulation. Anyway, if you don't want to take my advice, speak to your doctor about it. You can even speak to your child's pediatrician about it. They'll probably tell you the same thing I just did. Congrats on baby #2. Children are amazing.

I would talk to your doc about it because there may be situations that require you to stop nursing. I had a 6 month old (our 3rd) and found out that I was expecting #4 and because of things that had happened in my previous pregnancy, my doc recommended that I wean and do it as quickly as possible, or risk lossing the current baby. Then when I was nursing #4 I found out that we were expecting #5 and I decided to wait until she was 1 yr before weaning her and didn't have any problems other than she seemed to want to self wean earlier. So it is possible to still nurse. As a matter of fact I had a lady tell me that at one point she was actually nursing 3 children, a 3 yr old, a 18 month old and her newborn (don't know if those ages are correct, but that is what sticks in my mind). As far as being able to get pregnant, you have found that it is possible. I guess that I am one of the few women that also knows that you can have a period and still be nursing. I have never not had a period while nursing any of my 6. Congrats, and even with all this advice you follow what you feel is best for you and both children. Good luck!
J.

Congratulation! It is not surprising you would get pregnant if you are not using birth control. As you have found out, nursing is not birth control. If you do not have any complications with your pregnancy, you can continue to nurse. You do need to make sure you take in enough for three. You need plenty of calcium. There is nutritional value to breast milk after 9 months. Breast milk will adjust to a toddlers needs and 9 month olds are to young for cows milk. I would take your time and wean when you are ready. I nursed into my fourth month, but it was exhausting for me. Also, the taste of your milk will change, so your baby just might wean on his own.