If you've ever bf during pregnancy...

[ChocolateCoins]

What happens to your milk? I thought it went back to colostrum for the new baby but my midwife told me that this doesn't always happen. I'm really confused. I'm 11 weeks tomorrow and dd is 15mo. I really wanted to carry on bf until she was 2. So what were your experiences of bfing while pregnant?

What on earth did your mw tell you would happen?

Your body makes what's needed for the youngest recipient. I'm currently 27 weeks and am still in the no-milk stage (which is bloody marvellous after several months expressing at work), but I'm reliably informed that the colostrum will kick back in in the next month or so.

Really joyful? I've never heard that.

i have nursed through two pregnancies and tandem fed twice, both times my milk turnef back to colostrum in the weeks leading up to birth.

Thank you for your replies. She didn't say what would happen really.

My DD still bfs quite alot and relies on it to get to sleep.

I nursed ds through the first few months of my pregnancy with dd, but then had to stop because it hurt too much. Had no problem producing the milk. Ds was 15 months when I stopped.

And thanks puddle jumper, I'll have a look for that thread.

I'm feeding 22 month DS at just over 11 weeks pg. He was only feeding at naps and bedtimes, sometimes in the morning, but he's just had a tummy bug and fed loads during it - and now he's better he's still living the milk! Yesterday he fed several times in the day and overnight too. Hopefully he'll cut back again...

I'm still feeding DD1 (2.2 yrs) and feeding DD2 who is 7 weeks. My milk reverted to colostrum for about 2 or 3 days starting when DD was a couple of days old. I could tell by the colour of her spit up (more orangey yellow). DD1 obviously wasn't put off by the change. I had both of them feeding on me in the hospital the day DD2 was born. I think maintaining the milk supply helped DD2 at the very beginning because it was already readily available rather than her having to increase my supply. It's also useful to have DD1 around to relieve any engorgement as she's an old pro!

So soozle, you had milk all the way through your pregnancy? Thats really interesting. Is it hard feeding both? Congratulations on DD2 by the way!

Badger, are you hoping to wean your DS? Or just carry on?

I'm confused about What to do. I don't think DD is ready to wean but I don't know if I could handle feeding 2!

There may have been a time when supply was reduced - it's hard to tell. I was working full time while pregnant so DD1 only fed morning and evening during the week and there were times when she was less interested than others. Often she would snuggle up in bed with me and only pay lip service to feeding - it was as much about bonding and cuddling as actually consuming milk. I did ask her if there was still milk there and she said yes. Having said that, I don't think she ever went more than say 36/48 hours without having a decent feed.

Now that her little sister is feeding lots, DD1's interest in feeding has been firmly reignited. I like still feeding her as I hope it means she doesn't end up feel pushed out by the new arrival.

It's not particularly hard feeding both - the main challenge is to get DD1 to let the little one feed whenever necessary without her getting jealous. On the whole she's been pretty good. I just make a big fuss of her when it's her. Having two of them feeding has helped me clear a blocked duct more quickly

I'm happy to carry on Chocolate. I don't really know why I'm moaning about him wanting it more tbh, as I don't want him to stop.

*when it's her turn

I fed dc1 throughout pg with dc2 (2.4y gap between the two of them) and then tandem fed for another 2 and a bit years.

The milk stayed, as far as I could tell, the same. When the nerw baby is born its needs do override the first child's in the sense that (AFAIK) colostrum is produced. But I found bf wirth dc2 a lot more smooth and easy than with dc1, and I think the continued production of milk had something to do with that. A lot of children self-wean inpregnancy, but mine didn't.

When I was about 20 weeks with dc2 I had the following conversation with an obstetrician (had placenta praevia for a while):

Obs: If you keep feeding dc1, dc2 won't get any colostrum.
Me: How do you know that?
Obs: I looked it up.
Me:

I did find that the midwives didn't know anything about it - they were all asking me how it worked and if I was producing colostrum. They kept popping in the cubicle asking if I was that woman who was tandem feeding like I was some sort of circus act (apart from one midwife who had also tandem fed and was so excited to have found someone else like her )

See I am worried how it's going to work out if I have a repeat section and stay in hospital for a few days.

I was in hospital for one night following forceps. DD1 got a bit upset when visiting me but she was fine curling up on the bed with me and feeding. DD2 was so little and light that she was easy to hold one armed on the other side thus feeding both at the same time.

I fed DS1 until I was about 25 weeks pregnant and he was 23 months, then we weaned him as it was hurting too much and he was getting increasingly frustrated. I assumed at the time that the frustration was due to less milk or the milk turning to colostrum. I expressed colostrum for a week before the birth (planned section at 39 weeks) and it was definitely colostrum and not milk.

The breastfeeding adviser at the hospital said tandem feeding and feeding through pregnancy would be fine and that in fact the milk was likely to come in more quickly because I had been feeding until quite recently and for so long. She was right and feeding DS2 (now 7 months) is a breeze.

There is a book about tandem feeding, can get you the title if you like. It was something like "mothering your nursing toddler".

i'm so glad i found this thread! currently 11 weeks with DC2, DS1 (13 months) still a big fan of milk. had my booking in apptmnt the other day and midwife told me that there's no problem with feeding during pregnancy/newborn and toddler per se, but there is a chance of my boobs not producing colostrum. then the newborn would have full blown milk from day one, which she says might be a bit too much for a tiny stomach. she was v nice and not alarmist at all about it but didn't seem to know much about it tbh.
so i figure we just keep going and see what happens. somehow it doesnt't make sense to me to wean DS1 now just to have to deal with milk coming in in a few months time again

The tandem feeding book is Adventures in Tandem Nursing and is very good. (Mothering your nursing toddler is good too, but not specifically about tandem feeding).

Up to 30% of mothers don't notice a change in supply during pg. The majority do though. 18% reported drying up completely in one study.

In the 3rd trimester (sometimes sooner) milk turns to more-or-less colostrum. Evidence suggests that tandem feeding mothers do produce colostrum immediately post-partum. Colostrum is more readily available if you've bf before and milk yield increases rapidly after the first day, esp if you've bf'd before.

I feed a nearly 3 y.o. and a 6 week old. My supply dropped drastically in the first trimester & DS's solids intake rocketed. He reduced his number of feeds, then increased a bit again at 20-something weeks when colostrum came in.

HTH

Good info too on Kellymom's tandem nursing section.

Thanks for the links angel, I'll have to have a read of that book as can't find too much info on the Internet. I've already seen the kellymom which was really good.

I don't know if it's just my imagination but I seem to have less milk and DD has been eating loads more food than normal. I do hope my milk doesn't dry up just yet.

Xlatina, sounds like your mw knew more than mine did! Are you still bfing alot? I'm
11weeks too.

I fed Dd all through my pg, if the milk changed she didn't let on!

She stopped feeding for a week when ds was 2 weeks old though, and I thought she had weaned, but then went back to normal.

While pg we cut down to bedtime only, so there's no problem with jealously. I also make a point that ds can't have apples, ice cream etc, only milk - poor old ds!