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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

Breastfeeding & Pregnant

11 replies

millysimmons · 11/01/2007 11:08

Does anyone have any experience of exclusivley breastfeeding a 3 month old & finding out they are pregnant & continuing feeding? My husband & I have decided it would be nice to have our children close together but am wanting to purely breastfeed for at least 6 months. Looking into things seems that health professionals would suggest if I was pregnant then wean & if this is the case then we would rather wait before having our second.
Would love to hear anyones experiences.
Thanks

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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morocco · 11/01/2007 11:10

not quite so close together but ds1 was around 8 months old when I got pregnant. I had a lot of cramps and bleeding and the obs suggested I stop bf as it could be causing/making it worse and I might miscarry. So I did. Just my experience, I know it's worked for lots of other people, but if bf to 6 months is very important to you, perhaps it's something to consider.

piglit · 11/01/2007 11:14

I did. I fell pg with ds2 when ds1 was 3 months old. I breastfed ds1 til he was 6 months. It's not difficult but it is incredibly tiring and you will need to rest properly. You have your unborn baby taking most of your energy as it grows and breastfeeding itself takes its toll.

HTH

DaisyMOO · 11/01/2007 11:36

I take it you're planning at the moment rather than already pregnant? I think if you're breastfeeding exclusively at least every 4 hours, then I think I'm right in saying that the chances of being fertile are pretty low

It might be worth posting this on the breastfeeding forum so more people see it.

NotQuiteCockney · 11/01/2007 11:52

Yeah, if you're doing exclusive breastfeeding, including night feeds, your odds of getting pregnant are low. But not zero.

There are quite a few people on here who have done tandem feeding, who can talk about that.

I think a one year gap is hard, though, both in terms of parenting and in terms of the toll on your body.

snugglebumnappies · 11/01/2007 14:26

Again I would think it is unlikely that you will be back in a normal cycle if your baby feeds frequently, I am still feeding DD and did not ovulate untill she was 13 months old, however as I knew my signs of ovulation planned and got pregnant that month! Now feeding a 21 month old and expecting bump to arrive in Feb. I think that if your diet is good then there should be no problems with continuing to breastfeed, that said we opted for child led weaning and she started to pick solids of our plates when she was about 5 months old so I didn't exlusivley breastfeed for a full six months. Feeding at the start of my pregnancy was fine despite vomiting however it's geting quite uncomfortable now and DD sets of a regular set of strong contractions with any prolonged feed.

Original poster

millysimmons · 11/01/2007 16:26

Thanks girls. DS has been sleeping through for about a month now so nightfeeds are gone. Also had what I would imagine was a period about this time last month- same pmt, length etc, was quite surprised as thought it was quite early & was rather hoping peiords wouldnt return for a while!!!

OP posts:

rachelhill · 12/01/2007 16:05

I'm exclusively bf a 12 week old and am ovulating even though my periods haven't returned, so I'll probably be six months gone before I realise if I get pregnant again

CorrieDale · 12/01/2007 16:10

My periods returned at 3 months too, despite the night-feeds!

Now 16 weeks pregnant and still bfing an 18 month old. Hasn't been a problem, but I wouldn't want to be excl. bfing. Now THAT would be tiring. Think I'd want to wait at least until DS had been on solids for a while before ttc.

Psychobabble · 12/01/2007 16:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BlueberryPancake · 12/01/2007 20:00

As far as I know you will need to have a very very good diet with loads of nutrients, as the foetus will first 'help' itself to the nutrients, and the breastmilk will be second, and you'll be third in line!! So you will have to have eat really really well and lots. I'm sure if you call one of the breastfeeding helplines they will be able to give you some advice - either La Leche or NCT.

I stopped breastfeeding when I found out I was pregnant, mainly because I was too tired but also because of all the 'side effects' of early pregnancy - including morning sickness. Just couldn't deal with both the pregnancy and BF at the same time...

canyoukeepasecret · 23/01/2007 11:14

If you get sore breasts in pregnancy then it is a nightmare when pregnant. My DH was 13 months when i found out i was pregnant and i decided to give up as could not bear the pain any more. But I think your commitment to exclusively breastfeeding your first for as long as possible is highly commendable and will make a big diff to their life. Think about your body recovering from the first baby and being able to breastfeed- it is possible to be pregnant and provide all nutrients to both children but take care of yourself too!

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