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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

bf when pregnant

30 replies

Snarf02 · 25/02/2007 10:24

hi i am 10 wks pg and still bf my 17 mth old twice a day. I still seem to have a lot of milk. Is it likely to get less as the pg progresses? I read the HIlary Flower book but in the book most women seemed to still feed on demand not just a few times a day. I have had really bad sickness much worse thatn with my daughter, am being sick every morning and sometimes later on in the day and i have nausea all day and feel so tired. Once i get past twelve wks is this likely to get better?

I am just interested to here anyone elses experience of bf when pg and also tandem feeding. I am not sure what is going to happen with bf my daughter as i am not sur ewhen we will be stopping, I dont know if i will stop it it starts to get painful or if she will wean herself later on in the pg and i dont have a problem with tandem nursing if she still wants to nurse but am worried she would then want it more than twice a day as it works out well for both of us and would not really want to feed her more than what we would do at the moment

Any comments really welcome.

OP posts:
Spidermama · 25/02/2007 10:27

I found it a godsend. I fed throughout two pregnancies and then tandem fed and it really helped with the feelings of the toddler when the baby arrived.

I had no problems at all. I just remember always giving baby first priority. I also remember tenderness of the boob which happens in pregnancy anyway, and in the early days it made bf a bit sore, but that said I would recommend it.

lori21 · 25/02/2007 10:27

Have no experience myself but have you looked at kellymom.com? I've been researching the idea 'just in case' and found it useful

nearlythree · 25/02/2007 10:28

I bfd my dd2 for 20 wks of my pg with ds before stopping. She fed morning and night but had taken to feeding to sleep during the night and we were both exhausted. I am glad I stopped as I needed to go into hospital for 2 wks prior to ds being born, and I also needed a week stay at 7 mo due to a virus - if I'd still been bf that would have been a huge issue. Dd2 was 2 and 2 mo when ds was born and I didn't want to tandem feed.

Cazwa · 25/02/2007 22:51

I am also curious about this. Ive just found out Im pg (cant be more than 5 weeks) and am currently BF my 6 and a half mth old morning and night (and the odd night feed). Im ff through the day now Im at work, just started back this week.

Now Im back at work Im worried about the exhaustion side of things. I remember really struggling last time through the first 12 weeks and I imagine its going to be 10 times worse with a 6mo in tow. A friend has said she felt like she had loads of energy once she gave up bf and Im contemplating giving up for energy reasons. I also dont fancy it when Im heavily pg from a practical point of view.

Off to look at kellymom.com....

determination · 26/02/2007 15:46

I too BFed my dd when i was pregnant.. and would have carried on BFing and possibly tandem feeding, but, dd decided to self wean..

Original poster
Snarf02 · 26/02/2007 17:41

Thanks for all your responses. Those that weaned how far in to the pg was it. Do you think it was becauase your milk changed or got less or just they were ready to give up?

OP posts:
CorrieDale · 26/02/2007 17:48

I'm still bfing at 23 weeks - just at bedtime though, coz DS is 20 months. I go through phases of it hurting like mad but it only lasts for a few days. It coincides with the days when I get period pain, and feel generally pretty hormonal. I dithered hugely over whether or not to wean him and eventually decided to see how it goes, with a view to tandem feeding. I definitely have less milk than I had. It doesn't seem to bother DS though. I expect DS will want to feed more often when the baby's born, just because he won't want to be left out - he'll even eat my breakfast grapefruit which he HATES for exactly the same reason - but I reckon just going with it is going to help him not get too jealous, and the novelty will no doubt wear off. If it doesn't and proves to be a problem - well, I'll worry about that if it happens!

Jennster · 26/02/2007 18:49

I'm 19 weeks pregnant and dd is 13 months. I found out I was pregnant REALLY early as I was expressing twice a day at work and found I was getting NOTHING. I'm sure that doesnt mean dd wasn't
getting anything.... got to go need to bath baby will be back later

Jennster · 26/02/2007 18:49

I'm 19 weeks pregnant and dd is 13 months. I found out I was pregnant REALLY early as I was expressing twice a day at work and found I was getting NOTHING. I'm sure that doesnt mean dd wasn't
getting anything.... got to go need to bath baby will be back later

Jennster · 26/02/2007 18:49

I'm 19 weeks pregnant and dd is 13 months. I found out I was pregnant REALLY early as I was expressing twice a day at work and found I was getting NOTHING. I'm sure that doesnt mean dd wasn't
getting anything.... got to go need to bath baby will be back later

Jennster · 26/02/2007 18:49

I'm 19 weeks pregnant and dd is 13 months. I found out I was pregnant REALLY early as I was expressing twice a day at work and found I was getting NOTHING. I'm sure that doesnt mean dd wasn't
getting anything.... got to go need to bath baby will be back later

Jennster · 26/02/2007 18:49

I'm 19 weeks pregnant and dd is 13 months. I found out I was pregnant REALLY early as I was expressing twice a day at work and found I was getting NOTHING. I'm sure that doesnt mean dd wasn't
getting anything.... got to go need to bath baby will be back later

worleythewisp · 26/02/2007 18:53

do you have pregnancy brain jenn??

Jennster · 26/02/2007 19:50

No a little girl who was smashing my computer demanding a bath.

Back now!

As I was saying, I went from feeding my 9month old 5 times a day to just morning and night with no problems with engorgement or feeling uncomfortable. I ended up giving formula during the day as there was no chance I had enough time or patience to express enough at work. Only last week did I drop the evening feed as she was starting to bite. Once she has had her MMR next week I'm finishing all together.

I have to add though that this pregnancy has been much harder on me than my first which I sailed through. I was very fit and active right to the end of my last pg, but the only exercise I do now is running around at work 3 days a week and walking a few miles a day with the pram. I have just got over a cold/cough/sinusitis/bug thing that lasted 7 weeks. Might be nothing to do with bf as well as being pg but I do wonder.

lori21 · 27/02/2007 10:00

Just as an aside jennster - pregnancy can cause cold / sinus problems due to the change in your blood vessels. I had this all through the first trimester and everyone at work put my tiredness down to a rather long cold as i did not tell them I was pg.

Jennster · 27/02/2007 19:01

Thanks Lori. Gosh do I know about the nasal symptoms. There was def an infection though. I was determined to try and get rid of it myself though and succumbed to antibiotics in the end. Gone within 2 days of starting them. I have nasal issues at the best of times though.

millysimmons · 07/03/2007 08:29

I'm 12 wks pregnant & exclusively bfing my 5 month old DS. Am going to try to feed throughtout then tandem feed if DS wants. Saw a BF counsellor who gave me lots of info & have the Hilary Flowers book on order. I havent suffered from sickness so far at all, had it really really bad last time so thats been fab. Boobs are a bit sore. Been told milk will change flavour later & DS may self wean depending upon if he likes the taste or not. Both sets of parents are utterly disgusted that i am still feeding but as the BF counsellor said womens bodies are designed to do this. Was worried about reduced milk a few weeks ago but had kept sticking DS on the boob to help keep up milk supply. Reduced milk isnt supposed to happen till about month 5, by which time DS will be having some solids.
This has turned out to be a bit of a mamouth email!!! Sorry!1!

procrastimater · 07/03/2007 08:47

i bf'd throughout preg with dd - now 11m - ds was 11m when i got preg and was still feeding alot at that stage but by the time i had dd i had reduced feeds to first thing in the am and at bedtime and despite beaking ds's bed once there were few problems after first trimester as any reduction in supply was in tune with ds feeding less anyway as he progressed through his 2nd year. Sensitive nips were a bit of an issue for me but that was mainly 1st tri. The benefits of tandem feeding when dd was newborn are twofold - you still get quality time with first child and you also provide them with reassurance that mummy is still there for them - helping with jealousy - I weaned completely when ds was about 21m and as it was done gradually it wasn't too traumatic.

rowan1971 · 08/03/2007 16:54

I bfd until 5 months pregnant (much to the dismay of partner and parents) and only stopped because my milk dried up, at which point DS1 started using my as a giant human dummy - basically didn't see why he shouldn't have it in his mouth all the time, now that there was no inconvenient liquid coming out of it. I weaned him (horrible experience - think I must have not been ready, and he certainly wasn't) because I couldn't get him to stop waking me up at night.

I also had terrible sickness in pregnancy. When bf2 was born, the midwives asked me if I'd been smoking. When I said 'no' they were surprised cos they said my placenta looked like that of a heavy smoker, or a seriously overdue baby. As neither of these things were the case, they decided to blame the bf-ing, in combination with failure to hold down any food for the first five months. However, no way of knowing if they were right.

Basically, if it's what you want to do and it's making your life easier - physically or emotionally - I'd carry right on. Until you want to stop.

charlottegeorgiaolivermums · 08/03/2007 17:02

I was told my mw that being pregnant changes the taste of bm and that it would be best to stop whilst pg. I stopped when dd2 was 10mths as 1 was 2mth pg and needed all the calories I ate for pg not bm. But speak to your own mw. I personally believe i did the best thing as my ds needed his own milk and the antibodies he received in the 1st few days before milk came back in.

millysimmons · 08/03/2007 18:00

BM does change taste when preggers but if LO doesnt like it then they will self wean. You need to up fluids & make sure you're eating a healthy diet but most womens bodies feed baby, make BM & feed mum. I just eat more but then again I use it as an excuse as I love food!!!

rowan1971 · 08/03/2007 18:03

it's a good point about the colostrum - does the body still make colostrum for the newborn when you bf older child up until birth? My midwife didn't have a clue.

Muminfife · 08/03/2007 18:45

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MrsApron · 08/03/2007 18:54

ditto muminfife! Must get my adventures in tandem nursing on the for sale board,

Now if only dd1 would wean...

I found in the second trimester bf not all that pleasant lots of uncomfortable frantic sucking and then she would drink form a sippy cup! Apparnelty it can be a bit salty then. I found dd1 picked up her feeds for the first 3/4 weeks then they rapidly tailed back down again. 6 months later she is morning only.

I found tandem nursing fantastic, wonderful,bloody awful, miraculous depending on what was going on. I rarely fed them both at once wasn't keen on it but still enjoyed feeding both seperately.

i did get muddled sometimes and would de;atch the baby absebt mindedly when she wasn't finished and have to stuff her back on rapidly.

Muminfife · 08/03/2007 19:09

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