pregnant + breastfeeding - experiences plz

[RosyRosie]

I am strongly considering getting pregnant as soon as is feasible after this one comes out. Yes, I know various bad things may happen and I won't feel like it, which is fine, I just won't then. BUT, say I sail through quite happily, I think it's a good option for various reasons.

So what I'm after here is experiences from people that have done this, getting 'back in' within sort of, a year of birth. Did you plan it, did you survive, would you do it differently next time round and so on.

I want sensible feedback please, not just the usual hysteria OH MY GOD stuff. Many thanks :D

Oh i should add, I do plan to breastfeed for quite a while - how likely is it I'll be able to get pregnant while doing this?

Hello

I breastfed my son exclusively until we did baby led weaning at just before 6 months. I got my periods back around 8 months, but they weren't really regular until 9-10 months.

I then got pregnant when my son was 11 months, but sadly miscarried when I was 7 weeks. But I then got pregnant again a couple of months later (when DS was 15 months) and am now 25+4.

We continued breastfeeding until I was about 20 weeks, when DS self-weaned and I realised my milk had dried up (he weaned himself off over several weeks, by the time he finally weaned we were down to one feed every 2-3 days). He was 19 months and I was happy to have breastfed for so long (though would have happily fed for longer, but was thinking I'd like to wean before baby no 2 arrived in spring).

Hello

I got pg when DD2 was 9 months. We weren't 'trying'' but hadn't used and contraception since tbe birth.I had one period between pregnancies which was 2 weeks before I conceived and was still BFing 4-6 times per day at that point. Was all still a big shock as we have fertility issues. Am now 36 weeks pg and DD is 17 months. I continued to BF until she was 1 and I was 13 weeks pg but it was getting pretty sore by then and my milk was definitely drying up.

As for whether you will survive - ask me this time next year! What I would say though is that being heavily pg and looking after a baby/ small toddler is really hard. My eldest
is 5 and the age ago between her and my (current) youngest was much easier. If I had been able to plan things (didn't feel able to do that due to the fertility thing) I would have liked another 3.5 year gap between DC2 and DC3 as at least then the eldest is a bit more independent. Am just delighted to have fallen pg easily this time though. Keep telling myself that it will all be ok in a year or so!

I got pregnant when DS was 18 months. I was still bfing (albeit only a few times a night as I'd gone back to work when he was 15 months) although he was exclusively bfed until 6 mos, my periods had come back (and been regular) after 3 months...

Bfing was quite hard during the first few weeks of being pregnant as my boobs were quite sore, but on the other hand I didn't feel anywhere near as nauseous as I had with DS (apparently bfing while pregnant can help with nausea!). Over the following months, DS cut down on feeds slowly, and finally stopped altogether when he was 24 mos (this coincided with him getting a big boy bed for his birthday) but tbh, I think my milksupply had pretty much dried up by then.

Anyway - don't know if that's of any help... I've actually found the general being pregnant with a toddler in the house hard work, mainly because I seem to be having complications and have been signed off work for weeks... Only you can't get signed off from mothering-duties :) but really can't say that bfing while pregnant was an issue at all.

34 weeks tomorrow, so will shortly find out what going from one to two is like :)

Also, wanted to add that like greenleafytrees, we also had fertility issues. In fact, we'd had to have IVF to have DS. So we weren't trying, though weren't using contraception and I did know when I was fertile. I would never have thought I'd get pregnant naturally at all, let alone twice in a few months while also breastfeeding!

An MN friend had twins and was starting to wean when she fell pregnant (the twins were 5 months). She had her DD about 8 weeks ago and I think she's coping amazingly well all things considered! (She also has a DD who's about 11).

I have a RL friend who was still BFing a lot but started TTCing when her DS was about 8 months. She fell pregnant on the second cycle after starting to TTC. She's now about 16 weeks I think and BFing once a day.

Good luck!

Hello, I have experience of breastfeeding a toddler while pregnant on tw seperate occasions.
In my experience, my pregnant body made me reject my nursing infants, massively.
Breastfeeding began to feel like I was being innappropriately touched by a dirty old man, or something.
I felt aggitated, eventually angry and sickened, by my childrens' want of the breast.
I wish I had uit breastfeeding sooner as I feel it damaged my bond with ds1 with how much I grew to hate it.
The same happened with DS2, only this time I knew when to stop thankfully, and I stopped at 18 months (in early pregnancy) ane without breastfeeding I can lovingly cuddle my mum.

Although I liked the idea before, breastfeeding and pregnancy are not compatable with my body.

what is up with my typing? lol Jelly brain!

I an lovingly cuddle my toddler now, he's not crawing at my tender breasts and is weaned. Is what I meant to say x

Hi, I'm breastfeeding my 20 month DS and am 36 weeks pregnant. Didn't plan for this to be the situation but feel strongly that he isn't ready to wean yet. I've just started reading Adventures in Tandem Nursing which is really helpful and has a lot of info about nursing whilst pregnant. I can sympathise with the above about the agitation and pain but stupidly battled through! Feels much more comfortable now I'm in 3rd trimester. Am nervous about what happens when the new baby arrives as DS is still keen to breast feed several times a day/night

I had the experience of my ds1 self-weaning when I became pregnant with dd. I was not intending to stop, I was even looking up tandam feeding at the time. ds1 was 15 months when dd was born. It was when I was about 8 weeks pregnant or so, that my milk changed and my ds1 hated the taste!!!!. He would go for the boob eagerly and latch on, but at the first mouthful he would throw his head back and spit out the milk.

After 3 days, of this I had to stop as I was worried about ds1 not feeding, and I was not able for expressing from my pregnant sore boobs anymore.

I was sad at first, but then I realised that it would mean I would not have to try to tandam feed, and that I was bonding with my ds1 in a different way.

My period came back with dd after only 6 weeks and that was with exclusive breastfeeding day and night. With both the boys my periods came back around the 4 month mark, while breastfeeding. So breastfeeding does not necessarily stop anyone being fertile (I know that for some their periods are delayed with breastfeeding.) My sister also got pregnant while exclusively breastfeeding.

When ds2 arrived I wanted to repeat the two children close together thing, did not happen for me as I had repeated miscarriages, but this was due to my age rather than the breastfeeding. (the miscarriages continued even after I stopped breastfeeding at 15 months).

I would say that two children close together and breastfeeding is possible and ok. Hope it works out for you.

brilliant thanks people - so glad to hear that the nausea was reduced as that is my biggest worry, it was only 6weeks in the end but felt like the longest 6wks of my life. i know it's not a given that it won't come back the second time round but...at least i have that glimmer of hope!!

i have a 19mo ds and am 14 weeks pregnant. i intended to bf until ds is 2, then when i got pregnant i thought i would stop a couple of months before the next one is due (which would have meant ds would be about 22/23mo), but cut out the daytime feeds. but then i got morning sickness so much worse than last time, and ds at night liked to do gymnastics over me in the bed as he switched from side to side- not great when you're feeling queasy in your belly! so i decided to stop the night time feeds too, which i am doing slowly. ds now takes hardly anything from me, i take him off after about 1 minute, and he has that to go to sleep at night, once in the night, and once in the morning (morning is a little longer actually, that's going to be hardest to cut out). its also helped because now i've been able to get him out of our bed and into his cot for most of the night as well.

i don't want to sound negative, as there are many stories of being pregnant and bf, and i planned to do both, it just didn't work out as right for me in the end. you may need to play it by ear too as just see how you (and your current dc) respond.

also my milk definitely changed when i got pregnant. ds is a boobmonster and i always knew stopping bfing would be difficult. but in the end it was much much easier than i thoought it would be to cut down the feeds, and i can only attribute that to a change in my milk (which i can feel too so i know it to be the case).