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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

Worried about bf while pg / tandem feeding

11 replies

5littleducks · 27/07/2011 08:13

I am currently feeding 17 month old DS and about 8 weeks pg.

My breasts haven't changed at all since I fell pregnant - they are about my pre first pregnancy size, not tender at all. When I was pregnant the first time my boobs got massive and sore very quickly, definitely by this point.

Is there any way in which by feeding my toddler I could be damaging my chances of feeding DC2 when he/she arrives? Is it possible that I won't make colostrum or that my milk wont come in?

I am undecided as to whether I will tandem feed. DS only feeds 2/3 times a day at the moment but if I do, i will reduce his feeds down to 1 feed a day before the new baby arrives.

OP posts:

TruthSweet · 27/07/2011 08:52

No it won't damage your ability to make milk. Usually the switch to Lactogeneisis stage 1 (the start of making colostrum/preparing to make milk) happens at around week 25/26 and breastfeeding already doesn't alter this.

I have bf through 2 pgs (well one I tandem nursed through to 8m when DD1 self weaned) each pg my milk supply really decreases at about week 14 and comes back at week 24/26 as colostrum which lasts until my milk comes in as usual at about day 3/4. It's actually fairly uncommon to have such a drastic drop in supply but it didn't stop my girls from dry nursing as though there was milk (DD1 was of an age to be very clear that there was no milk but that she didn't care and still wanted to nurse when I was pg with DD3).

Kellymom has lot of good research & evidence based information on bfing/pg/tandem nursing here. A good book to read is Hilary Flower's Adventures in Tandem Nursing which has lots on nursing in pg too.

TheRealMBJ · 27/07/2011 09:13

Hi 5littleducks congratulations on your pregnancy.

I am currently 28weeks pregnant and still feeding DS who is 19mo. My supply has dropped noticeably but he is still happy to nurse, swapping sides quite a lot though. Adventures inTandem nursing is great but everywhere is currently out of stock, as far as I know though, you can preorder a copy from The LLL site, and they are much cheaper than Amazon.

Anyway, we have a support thread running for pregnant and bf mums here. We mostly discuss our experiences/fears and have a good old moan about our MILs

Please feel free to come and join us, it will be lovely to have a new member It is quite a slow moving thread though.

RobynLou · 27/07/2011 09:18

I fed DD1 throughout my pg with DD2 and now tandem feed them both. if anything I think it made my supply more plentiful and my milk come in quicker, there weren't the usual early weeks supply wobbles because my body was just keeping on doing what it's done for years!

my milk dried up around 18 weeks but DD1 still wanted to suckle, then the colostrum came in later on, she drank that until DD2 arrived, my milk came back on day 2 of DD2

RobynLou · 27/07/2011 09:20

oh and I found nursing while pg a wonderful way to get a bit of rest from chasing around/entertaining DD1!

EauRouge · 27/07/2011 09:41

I'm tandem feeding too, no problems with colostrum (other than what it does to toddler poo, yuk!). You can indeed pre-order AITN here. Congratulations on your pregnancy :)

MoonFaceMamaaaaargh · 27/07/2011 11:59

congratulations! As others have said there is no need to worry. Although not many people do it bf while pg is fine. Infact like robynlou i've found it a great way to get some rest! I'm hoping to tandem as at least then there will be some times when both dc's will be happy, still (ish) and quiet (ish).

marthamay · 27/07/2011 14:28

Hi 5littleducks, I'm in the same boat as you - only 6 weeks now and feeding DS1 (15 months) once in the morning, once at night. It's been really worrying me that my boobs haven't changed AT ALL since I got pregnant. Other preg people keep talking about big swollen sore boobs but mine are no different at all. Does anybody know why that is????

TheRealMBJ · 27/07/2011 15:11

martha it is nothing to be concerned about. Not all women experience, swollen , tender breasts as part of their pregnancy symptoms. I doubt very much that it has anything to do with your continued bf.

MoonFaceMamaaaaargh · 27/07/2011 16:49

martha as mbj says not everyone experiences swollen breasts. I felt no change in mine this time. I would imagine that swelling or pain is to do with your breast tissue changing in preperation for making milk...but if you already making milk that work is already done. The infrastructure is in place so it doesn't need to go through that process iyswim. That's my guess anyway.

Original poster

5littleducks · 27/07/2011 17:25

Thanks for all your advice - that is reassuring. Truth be told, I have a copy of AITN on my bookshelf but every time I have opened I have been required elsewhere! I had a quick look but couldn't see anything about not having breast symptoms in the first trimester.

I guess that one of the problems is that because there are so few people who do BF while PG there is little to no understanding of the whole thing.

Thanks for that Martha, it is reassuring that I am not the only one who has experienced this. I think I will pop over to the thread mentioned at some point - actually I think I might have already been but have name-changed since.

Thanks everyone

OP posts:

PenguinArmy · 27/07/2011 18:16

I had this in the first trimester, thought I was sailing through pg and BF, then the second trimester hit. I remember the first time being convinced that people could tell I was pregnant due to the size of my breasts.

It is different for different people (like pg itself) so there is not a definitive thing to look for.

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