breastfeeding and pregnant

[eth37]

I have posted this in pregnancy too, but wondered if you had any words of wisdom over here?
My DS is 7 months and feeds A LOT, sometimes every 2 hours in the night still (it's become a bad habit and his way of getting to sleep) and rarely longer than 4 hours in the day. He doesn't eat massive amounts of solids yet. Anyway, I haven't had a period since he was born, rarely actually manage to have sex, and took a while to conceive DS. SOMEHOW I am pregnant... Only about 4 weeks I think, but still. I am too embarrassed to go to the gp as there will be a 16 month age gap and I don't want a lecture about how BFing is not an effective form of contraception (which I now realise...) but don't know what to do about BFing! I am back at work soon and have been trying to wean him (in vain) so I only feed him at night and first thing. This is not working as he is not keen on bottles/cups etc. Sooooo, does BFing pose any threat to the pregnancy? Will my milk change etc? Have others got experience they can share?! Please!! And be gentle....I am still in shock and feeling very strange about it to be honest.... Thank you.
PS I really want to continue BFing

Breastfeeding is fine when you are pregnant! I'm 29 weeks pregnant and still feeding my 2 and a half year old... It might help you to get in touch with a La Leche League or NCT breastfeeding group near you so that you can meet other breastfeeding women (and certainly women who have breastfed while pregnant) for some support and information. There's also a really good book on Tandem Nursing as two will learn to share!
Congratulations on your pregnancy though!

Also at 7 months we had only just started introducing food to ds and so it maybe that your ds is making up for what he isn't getting in milk during the day by cluster feeding at night, however, I was off work for a year and so appreciate your situation is different if you are going back to work soon, but you should also seek some advice about managing this so you can get more sleep too!

Congratulations! As Gillian says, you're fine to carry on BF

If/when you get "the lecture" (which my GP warned me I'd get if I got pregnant BF without any other method of contraception... though I haven't!), you can point out that no form of contraception is 100% reliable. And statistically speaking, exclusive BF of babies under 6 months is as effective as most brands of the Pill.

You're just one in a hundred lucky

PPs are right, breastfeeding during pregnancy is considered safe for all three of you!

Most mothers find that their supply drops at some point during pregnancy, often at around 12 weeks but it varies hugely. You may also find that your nipples become very sensitive and/or painful while nursing him. This doesn't happen to every mother (I escaped!) but it is common. Paying extra attention to latch can help to alleviate this somewhat.

To share my experiences...DD1 was 23mths when I got pregnant. Honestly, nursing while pregnant was fine, a few times I got an antsy 'getoffgetoffgetoff' feeling, but I was able to breathe through it as nursing was clearly so important to her.

My supply dropped at around 20weeks and she cut down to three feeds a day (she is very unusually into her milk!) which went back up again when my colostrum arrives 10 weeks later. I have now been tandem nursing for 15mths and counting, I feel that it helped me to transition to mothering two and I am sure that it helped DD1 to bond with her new sister.

Awwwww moment When my milk came in 48 hrs after DD2 was born, DD1 nursed, jumped off in surprise, kissed the baby and said 'oh, thank you DD2, you brought my milk back'