Breast milk drying up because pregnant?

[Borovets123]

Hi
Hoping someone might have a similar situation and be able to help. I have a 6 month old who was born 2 months prem and has been exclusively breastfed since birth. I found out a month ago I am pregnant again (that’s for another thread maybe of how I cope with this!)

But since I found out she has stopped sleeping through the night but this also coincided with:

• her first cold - she was waking up coughing and couldn’t sleep so I was feeding her incase she had a dry throat and also comforting her
• hitting 4 months adjusted which I understand to be sleep regression

I’ve recently introduced a formula bottle before bed as she usually has an EBM bottle with her medication however I am getting very little supply, maybe like 30ml and so decided to switch as I worried she wasn’t getting enough. She also didn’t put any weight on in the month of jan. She has woke up consistently since the middle of jan at least once a night and at most three times, whereas previously she slept through. She has a small breastfeed and then goes right back to sleep.

2 questions:

• could my milk be drying up due to the pregnancy? She hasn’t been weaned yet so apart from the formula bottle at night is solely breastfed
• has anyone experienced a change In sleeping patterns like this? Is this now a habit I need to break?

any help or advice would be appreciated! I want the best for her and notice on formula she seems a more content baby so I worry is she just always hungry 😕 also any advice on such a small age gap would be appreciated too! thanks x

I think this is a situation where you should seek advice from your baby’s doctor, especially in light of the fact she didn’t gain any weight last month. - Is there anyone following up her progress, like a pediatrician from the hospital where she maybe spent time in NICU? If not, definitely get a gp or health visitor appointment.
Pregnancy can affect milk supply. But a 5month old/3 month old adjusted preemie not gaining weight for a month needs investigating. It could be a supply issue linked to pregnancy but it could be something else and I’d want professional advice about her overall nutritional intake. They might want to talk about things like introducing solids earlier/later than planned or using an extra high calorie formula. - Get a medical opinion and don’t count on getting good advice on mumsnet.

a baby her age not sleeping through the night is normal. Don’t do anything to try to make her sleep all night. I’d be trying to feed her more when she wakes in the night.

@LittleLegoWoman thanks for reply.
sorry to be clear I’m not looking for advice on mumsnet on her weight gain, she is monitored regularly and since introducing formula she has put weight on and they also suggested maybe early weaning. Maybe that wasn’t clear. I just wondered if there was a link with the pregnancy and milk supply as this seemed to be the same month.

@LittleLegoWoman i didn’t realise the other comment was from the same person. I have thought this but she has slept through previously for around a month so wondered if there was a connection as to why she isn’t now.

Yes, your supply is very likely being affected by your pregnancy I'm afraid. Increased oestrogen levels suppress lactation (that's why the combined pill isn't recommended if you're breastfeeding). It does vary from person to person - some Mums lose their supply almost as soon as they become pregnant again, for others it will be maintained further into pregnancy - but ultimately mature milk is replaced by colostrum for the new baby. Unfortunately because this is hormonally driven the usual advice on increasing supply by feeding more often etc doesn't work, and some of the other remedies such as fenugreek should not be used in pregnancy.
Generally it is quite safe to breastfeed throughout pregnancy and some older babies continue to "dry feed" for comfort even when there is little or no milk to be had, but others will lose interest completely. However, the hormone oxytocin that is released during feeding can stimulate uterine contractions, which isn't an issue for most people but as you've had a prem baby before, it would probably be wise for you to seek professional advice on the matter.
Despite the rather twee title and lots of American terminology, the book Adventures in Tandem Nursing by Hilary Flowers published by LLL is worth a read - there's lots of useful info on breastfeeding in pregnancy as well as tandem feeding so useful even if you don't plan to feed both babies together.
Congratulations and I hope all goes well.

ny supply didn’t drop during pregnancy but my child was older. I did fully wean before I was 30 weeks pregnant because I’d had enough but the child was not far off 3!