Breastfeeding whilst pregnant - give me the low down!

[LaTrucha]

I am just pregnant and am still bf my 14 month-old DD. She's still really into it and has at least 4-5 good feeds a day. I am loathe to stop as I find it so easy, especially when she's sick or teething. I don't think it's necessary either, is it? (or are there sometimes when it is?)

So, what can I expect?

I have an added concern in that I had hyperemesis from about week 7 of my first pregnancy right up to her birth.

I know there are lots of threads on this, but all my searches turn up thousands of other subjects as 'breastfeeding' and 'pregnant' are such common words on MN!

Thanks for your help.

Come on pregnant bfers! I know you're out there!

I bf ds2 until roughly half way through pg with ds3 when he stopped of his own accord. It was a gradual tailing off and then he used to come back and ask to 'feed' but really just suck a tiny bit on my nipple and I don't think he was getting any milk. Then he stopped being able to suck properly (using his tongue) and now, about a year on (ds3 is 8m and ds2 is 4) he probably finds it funny that he ever did it.

Feeding while pg was generally okay but the worst bit was just before he started to tail off, when my nipples were really quite sore. I started to resent him feeding and would really have to grit my teeth as it was bothering me a fair bit. We had already agreed to cut down to two feeds a day (morning and evening) and then one (he chose to keep the morning one). but on top of thatI would also ask him not to feed for too long. I didn't want to tell him to stop completely as I wanted that to be his decision. I was prepared to tandem feed but tbh I am quite glad that he decided to stop before ds3 was born! But your dd is younger so I don't know how it would go in your case.

There's a section on www.kellymom.com about breastfeeding while pregnant, plus I got lots of info and support from the Nursing Mums group on msn groups (now on Multiply) but it's not as active as it used to be. The La Leche League helpline will offer support, and might be especially good if you don't know anyone in rl doing the same as you.

Hope some other mumsnetters come along to offer support.

Thanks mummypig.

It would be great if it could just tail off TBH. I'm not dead-set on her feeding any more. I've just said to myself that I'm happy she bf for a year and now she can stop when she wants.

I guess if I have hyperemesis, I may have to try and get her to quit though.

Anyone else just tail off?

Good pages on Kellymom - thanks.

I did it, am 4 foot 11 and still had a 9 pounder!! toddler fed alot too!!

Hi! I am currently tandem feeding my DD (3 yrs) and DS (16 mths) and am 'a little bit'(!) pregnant with my third. I am really pleased that I continued to feed my DD throughout my second pregnancy but - like mummypig - had really sore nipples for a while! I think it became quite uncomfortable towards the end of the first trimester, can't remember how long it went on for. Otherwise, the main problem was a real reduction in supply. I'm eight weeks pg now and my milk has reduced significantly again. I have been quite sick with this pregnancy so far and it can be tough, especially if you can't keep anything down. Perhaps you should go with the flow as it were!

Thinking back, I guess it would be fairly painless to gradually wean your DD if that's what you wanted/needed to do. I think it's likely you will experience a change in quantity or taste and your daughter may not be as interested as she once was...

I wish you all the best and hope you have a better pregnancy.

I'm 30 weeks pregnant and feeding DS who is 2.4 years. In the beginning my nipples were sore and I considered weaning him off. I'm glad I kept going, as I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and breastfeeding has really helped control my blood sugar, as it lowers it naturally.

My nipples are starting to get quite sore again but DS has recently upped his milk intake considerably now that I'm around more on maternity leave. I think it has helped him emotionally to know that we are having a baby but he can still have breastmilk if he wants it. In fact, he has told me the baby can have my right breast and he'll have the left one!

Thanks for responding. I think we'll just see how it goes. I'm really, really tired right now, and having a lie-down to bf is proivng a very good excuse for me!