Nursing and Pregnant Again...

I was in a similar situation. My doctor said its fine to breastfeed while pregnant, however she recommended me weaning before I reached my second trimester, not for the kids' sake but for mine, since breastfeeding consumes 500 extra calories and pregnancy about 300 that's a lot for a pregnant mom with a baby too. That's what I did, I did hang onto the bedtime feeding for awhile, but he was weaned off the other feedings by my second trimester.

HI M.
you are fine in fact that is what happened to me and now I have 4 wonderful healthy children keep up the good work and Congrats on your new baby make sure your son is with you and your husband during birth let him hold the baby as soon as possible
I have learned that when you do that they get along better because the oldest isn't left out
Danielle mother of 4

I too am in that boat. My daughter is a little older, she was almost 15 months when I found out... I thought since my daughter was at the age where weaning was not a bad idea that I could wean her, but that was not the case. She is just now weaning and it has been quite an effort... she's over 17 months. Anyway point being, from everything that I have heard as long as he is still willing to nurse there are no bad side effects for you. I have a cousin who nurses both her kids. You may find that he doesn't like the taste or weans himself because of the changes in you, but other than that I don't think there is anything to worry about. My OBGYN tried to make it sound like it was something I needed to stop, but not for any health reasons, some people are just weird about nursing. ANyway good luck!

I would talk to your doctor. My OB told me that it is hard on the Mom's health not the babies to nurse and be pregnant. If you are in good health and watch your diet, get plenty of liquids it is probably OK. It's always best to check though.

There is a great book called Adventures in Tandem Nursing by Flowers (I can't remember her first name). It helped me make the decision to nurse while pregnant.

I was concerned about this also. I went to the website Lalecheleague.com, and was able to get lots of feedback to support this. I nursed halfway through my pregnancy and then my then 20 mo. old decided to wean. I think my supply got lower at that point. I was working full-time. It was nice to be able to keep up the nursing as long as we did & for her to be able to wean on her own.

Congratulations! I nursed my son through my entire pregnancy, until his sister was born (16 months apart). The pregnancy was smooth and no breast pain issues with the stop of nursing on the pro side. The con side was I was worried about my son having jealousy issues with a new baby and weaning since I didn't want to take on tandem nursing. It all worked out fine but it might have been easier if I'd weaned a month or two before giving birth. Good luck with whatever you decide!

Absolutely! You just need to be ultra conscientious to get plenty of high-quality calories. Good for you for wanting the best for both your children! Here are two articles on this topic from La Leche League's website. If you decide to wean you can find information about that as well on this sight, which has questions organized by topic. Good luck!
www.llli.org/FAQ/bfpregnant.html
www.llli.org/NB/NBJulAug00p116.html

congrats to you!!

I got pregnant when my 14 month old son was still nursing. We went along like normal at fisrt but my supply did start to diminish. (this doesn't happen to everyone as I've read but it does happen sometimes with pregnancy.) Anyway... he slowed down a lot on his own and every now and then he'd just "check in" on it. i think he was checking to see if there was milk again or just a minute of comfort nursing. later in my pregnancy, my "milk" came back but as I've read, it's not really milk anymore, it's the colostrum. So he will nurse every now and then but not like the way he used to. everything has been fine and okay. I know your little one is a little younger so if your supply does go away totally you may have to consider other means to supplement your baby's milk. some sources (and i know a lot will disagree) say it's ok to give cow's milk at 9 months...but that's something you should research and decide on your own if you don't want to buy formula.)

I may end up being a tandem nursing mom. I have checked out a great book, Adventures in Tandem Nursing from my local LeLecheLeague group. It's been pretty inspiring and has shown that lots of women nurse siblings together. It may or may not be for us but I'm just going to play it by ear when the time comes. I think that's the best approach ... play it by ear, do your own homework from reliable sources and don't let negative voices (family/friends) sway your opinion or make you feel like you're crazy for "doing this." It's your body and babies and if you feel confident, then stick to what is working for you!

Good luck and feel free to contact me anytime!!

Hi M.. When I was expecting again my OB (who is younger and fairly recently out of school within 6 years) said that it is very important that I not nurse at the same time because it takes nutrition away from the unborn baby.--He said it was more important that the unborn baby get the nutrients. Good luck.

Hi Malanie,
I was pregnant and nursing with my first and second daughters. Their is no harm in nursing while your pregnant. You just have to be extra diligent in eating very well balanced foods. And taking a good prenatal vitamin (I recommend Rainbow Light Just1once naturals) that is easily and quickly absorbed. I would definately consult with your OB, they might want to switch your vitamins. I had a hard time with getting enough calories in my diet, so my doctor recomended drinking 'Ensure' type drinks to supplement, they even have brands made especially for pregnant mommies, I just bought the generic equate (Walmart) brand. Also La Leche League international ( www.llli.org ) is a great resource of information, pertaining to all aspects of nursing.

Hi M.,
I nursed twice while expecting again. My first two are 18 months apart and my second two are 19 months apart. I nursed all of my boys until they were 13 or 14 months old. Nursing while pregnant is a little more painful, but can definitely be done and as long as you are gaining weight just fine with your pregnancy, there is nothing to worry about. I think I had my boys down to 3 nursings a day by the time I found out I was expecting again. I did start to mix formula in with their rice cereal when I found out I was pregnant to help supplement their nutrition and make sure they were getting all they needed. As long as everyone is gaining weight fine, there is no problem with it. Later on in the pregnancy I think they caution you that nursing can cause contractions, but I had my boys weaned by the time I was about 5 months along. Good luck and God bless!
Kara (mom to 4 boys)

The key to nursing while pregnant is eating well and eating a lot. Make sure to take your supliments and especially your folic acid. I would encourage you to nurse your little one until he is one unless it gets to hard on you. I was 4 months pregnant with my second when I weaned my first and all has been well. Your body doesn't take from the new baby, it takes from you. I had people tell me that every time I nursed I was taking from the baby. If/when people say this to you just know there is nothing to back it. Our bodies can do amazing things.

Hi M.! Congratulations! I also got pregnant when my 1st born was 8 months old. My OB GYN MD suggested to stop breastfeeding because it causes contractions which might cause miscarriage. I was lucky to have frozen breastmilk at that time so transition was not that difficult for my 1sy child.
On the other hand, I also have a friend who breastfed her baby until she was about 8 months pregnant and she did fine...BUT, I would lean towards safety! Goodluck and God bless!

D. =)

M.,
FIrst off, congratulations on your pregnancy! I unfortunately had to wean my 1st daughter when I was pregnant with my second, but it was out of need. I was pregnant when my first daughter was only 3.5 months old and by the time she was 6 months she was not getting enough milk and having some major issues with wieght gain. We switched to formula and had no more problems. My second daughter is now 8 months and still breastfed and doing great.
I hope you are able to breastfeed if that is indeed what you want to do. Good luck with all!
J.

Call this free advice line staffed by nurses:

(650) 498-KIDS ###-###-####)
(800) 690-2282
Health and development advice from the Parent Information & Referral Center at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University.

I have nursed through three pregancies and am now nursing my two youngest 8 months and 2 1/2 years. You can nurse through pregnancy and I agree with everyone that you should read Adventures in Tandem Nursing. FInd it at your library or thorugh La Leche League or buy it but it is worth the read. In early preganancy the fatigue is probably the biggest worry but nursing in a way helps as you have a great excuse (not that you should need one) to sit down with your baby. Also staying hydrated is a big thing. My milk supply went down during each pregancy but never completely went away. Some children will naturally wean during pregnancy. I also reccomend joing a Yahoo group that is the tandem nursing list. It is specifically for women who are pregnant and nursing or tandem nursing kids of two different ages. There is a wonderful comunity of women who have been there and will support you with whatever you choose and answer all your questions with great advise and stories from their families. Here is a link to the yahoo group. http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/tnl/
H.

Congrats! I've never been in this situation but I used to work in an OBGYN office. The doctor I worked for recommended weaning. You need all the calories you take in to nourish the pregnancy. It's always great to nurse longer but your baby has still gained significant benefit from the breastfeeding and it would be fine to switch him to formula at this point. If you choose to do so, I'd recommend Nestle Good Start with DHA/ARA. Wonderful product -it worked great for us.

It just means that you must make sure you take a GOOD prenatal vitamin... I would recommend Integrative Therapeutics Prenatal, the others are way too low in value. And you must make sure you eat a healthy varied diet. No empty calories like sugary foods and fast foods. Good luck!

I suggest asking your doctor. I believe after the first few months, it can be dangerous to the fetus, as the hormone released during breastfeeding can cause contractions.

Nurse as long as you can! I found out I was pregnant again the day before my son's first birthday, and started weaning then (I'd planned to nurse two years). My morning sickness increased in direct proportion to how far along with the weaning I was. I later learned from a friend that nursing can stop morning sickness (I think she said it was because of the hormones involved, but don't quote me on that). If it happens again, I probably won't even think about weaning until the second or third trimester.

As a side note- expect your first to want to nurse again after s/he sees the baby doing it. Some kids will ask, nurse once if their mom lets them, and then not show any more interest at all. Others, like my son, will think that's permission to start nursing again. My friend is nursing both her toddler and newborn full-time, which is another option you have. She says it isn't hard, just exhausting (and she's thinking of weaning the older one).