just found out am pregnant with #2 - any advice on breastfeeding during pregnancy?

[vnmum]

as title says ive just found out im pregnant with #2, due 11 dec i think if my dates are correct. DS is 16 months and still breastfeeding on demand during the day, i am trying to night wean him at the moment as i need my sleep.

has anyone any advice on feeding during pregnancy and tandem feeding. i am hoping to carry on feeding DS but know my supply might drop but im looking for advice on coping, nutrition etc if anyone knows or has first hand experience.

i live in germany so cant get to any LLL meetings and BF a toddler here is seen as very weird. i am going to read "adventures in tandem nursing" too but just looking for people with first handed experience really

Hi vnmum, first of all, congratulations!

dd1 was a year old when I became pregnant with dd2, and was still feeding lots, day and night.

I didn't have a supply problem (as far as I could tell), but I did find that feeding got a bit uncomfortable. Apart from that, I didn't notice (or do) anything different.

dd1 self weaned completely when she was about 19 months (and I was 7 months pregnant). I was a bit surprised but it was her choice. I think self weaning is relatively common during pregnancy - I read this somewhere.

So I never got the chance to tandem feed!

Anyway - it wasn't a big hassle and nothing to stress about. I would just play it by ear I think.

I first realised I might be pregnant when breastfeeding my 20 month-old beacme uncomfortbale By about 20 weeks my supply had dropped a lot and I think it was pretty much back to being colostrum. I know lots of toddler lose interest at this point but dd is a boobie-addict and kept going regardless! I found that in the last month or so bf brought on quite painful ctx but I still managed to go 12 days past my due date One thing I noticed was that my milk came in very quickly once ds3 was born - about 16 hours rather than 3 days as happened with the others! I don't know whether this was because I already had a milk supply or because I had an unmedicated birth, but it was quite different from what I had experienced previously.

Tandem nursing is/was fine. DD does have a limit on how often I will nurse for my own sanity. When ds3 was born she was still feeding 2 or 3 times a day but this has gradually decreased as time has gone on. DS is now 18 months and feeding quite frequently and dd is 4 next month and only feeds once every few weeks! When they feed at the same time it feels like I'm a mother-dog or something with a litter of puppies scrabbling at me and each other! It's been a good experience on balance, I'd recommend it, but I do think it's a good idea to get the older child used to being told 'no' occasionally when they want to nurse or I think it could become quite overwhelming. Good luck!

1/3 of babies will wean during the first trimester and another third will wean during the last trimester so be prepared for the fact that ds may not still be feeding when the baby comes... and be prepared for the fact that you might be quite relieved!

dd weaned herself at 1 year when i was about 3 months pregnant... she'd lost interest pretty much as soon as i got pregnant though and it was me instigating the few feeds she did take.

congratulations on the pregnancy and good luck with it all!

hi i am 17 wks pg and just stopped bf 19 mth old last week. I wanted to carry on for longer really but found it suddenly got too painful at about 15 wks and had an open mind about bf in pg either i would tandem feed if she carried on, she would wean or i would stop. It was both of us that stopped really, i dropped the morning feed that she always asked for and then within a week one night she did not ask for boob (dont think there was much milk left) and so i did not offer, feel sad but quite relieved as for me it just suddenly got really painful and i was not enjoying it any more. I think my supply was fine during the first trimenster even though i was sick every day for four weeks and had awful nausea and did not eat a very good diet. I tried to eat as much as i could (most of it crips and chocolate!)and drank lots of water. I am pleased that i did carry on through pg but for me am now relieved i have a break before next one arrives but i do miss it.

Congrats on your pg

Congrats VN mum. I would recommend reading adventures in tandem feeding. I am BF on demand a 6 months old baby, he's just started solids & am now 4 months preggers so been really important to me to do it.
Main thing I have noticed is its very tiering.....I have my lie down in the afternoon & feed DS at the same time. He hasnt been affected so far & although sometimes nipples are more sensitive its been bareable.
I drink so much water now its untold! Hard when preggers & you want to wee all the time anyhow!! I also am eating lots& lots, having something every few hours. Have found it I dont then I get quite dizzy. Its also really important to rest up as much as possible.
I am loving it & really hope that DS wants to continue but am prepared incase he self weans.
Most people I have spoken to have told me you cant be preggers & nurse at the same time but this is not true at all & many many women do it every year, just not that many in europe. Now when people say that to me I just smile & say oh yes you can & leave it at that. Some people think that LO inside wont get what they need but they do, then your nursling then you!! my mw was fine with it & on the plus side i am hoping it will mean i wont go so overdue! there is also no evidence to show you will have a low birthweight baby, something someone somewhere usefully told me!!
Cant think of anything else at the moment but probably will later/
Good luck

congratulations!
lots of good advice on here. just wanted to add my story. I fed through my second pregnancy and tandem fed until my dd1 self weaned.
I think my supply did dry up a little in the first trimester because dd1 used to complain that "not working!" but she persisted and carried on as I say to the end of the pg and beyond.
I found establishing bf a piece of cake tbh. dd1 was old enough to understand that dd2 needed to go frist, because she only had milk whereas she had lots of other things to eat. I didn't get any problems with soreness or anything either. (I had stopped feeding on one side, and had a little tenderness in that nipple for a while)
imo tandem feeding is the dog's bolleaux it certainly eased the transition for dd1 imo to being a big sister. we had no jealousy AT ALL and on the rare occasions when I was persuaded to feed them both together - well those were golden moments and actually having a little weep at the memory. dd1 used to stroke dd2's little fuzzy head....
bes of luck

thanks everyone, its nice to know there are people on here who've done it.

i am only about 5 weeks pg at mo but already i am really thirsty, hungry and tired but im just eating and drinking lots and trying to rest when i can.

i do have a question with regards to milk if my supply does dwindle. how much should DS be getting at his age if my supply goes and how will i know how much he is getting off me and how much i need to top him up with?(it would be soya formula as he is dairy allergic, therefore i am abit paranoid about getting him enough calcium seen as he's a fussy eater and doesnt eat much veg no matter how hard i try)

i am hoping to be moving back to the uk soon so i hope the midwife i get there will also be supportive, the one i will have here when i book in is a friend and a BFC so is very supportive of it

vn, sounds like you will have good support in UK which is a help. I spoke to a bfc as soon as I was pregnant & cause ds is so young i really want to keep bfing as long as possible so was worried about milk dwindling. Some people in adventures of tandem feeding say it didnt affect them at all, just had a quick look in the book & it said as many asa 30% dont have a decrease. I think the key is not to obsess too much over supply issues, its something i am guilty of, eg worrying if I will dry up, but its not really a relaxig passtime so not very helpful!!
You sound like you're doing all the right things so far.