TTC/Pregnancy while Breastfeeding and Tandem Nursing: Information and Support

[liz0012]

Thanks for the reply. I was thinking maybe I would keep our morning and night nursing sessions till after baby is here but then I get nervous thinking about how can I put two kids to bed at once since my hubby works ALL the time.

 

[BunnyN]

LO is hard settle so I'm thinking that it's probably just easier to get her to sleep by feeding her which works better than anything else. I know that it's going to be hard sometimes when they both want something at the same time but thats going to happen with or without BFing. LO was very demanding as a baby but is finally getting to the age where she is a bit more patient. I can tell her to wait a couple of mins for a feed and she is more or less okay with that. As a baby she went into complete meltdown if it took me more than 5 seconds to get her latched on, lol. By the time #2 is here she will be 18months so I'm counting on her being old enough to wait her turn. It's harder for you because they will be closer in age. I have seen a huge difference in LO between 8 months and 13 months though. She is so much more independant and better at comunicating what she wants and it's possible to reason with her and explain her things to some degree.

 

[BunnyN]

How is your supply now Misspriss?

Hope everyone is well.

 

[misspriss]

I will see how it is after Monday, I only pump on weekdays. LO seems to get plenty, although sometimes he pulls off and switches, which he never used to do.

 

[misspriss]

So far it is not looking good, this is only my first pump of the day but it used to always be my largest and I'm not getting much. I'm going to replace my valve thingies and see if those are just getting worn out at a bad time, they are probably due to be replaced soon anyway. I hope that is it. Also LO nursed LOT late in the AM (made me late for work!) so I am hoping it is just that and/or the valve thingies.

 

[babyjo]

misspriss i'm so sorry for your loss. I hope your hormones settle and your supply is restored soon.

I'm starting to worry about breastfeeding while pregnant because i am currently beyond tired and ms hasn't kicked in yet (I had ms from 6 weeks last time and i'm currently 5 weeks). I normally go for a daily run and it usually gives me extra energy......not today......not going try that again until i feel stronger. LO has a cold so has been nursing like a newborn. BunnyN how on earth are you coping with ms ontop of it all? My supply has dropped despite LO nursing a lot and wants to switch sides very very very often too. I'm hoping the tiredness eases. Any of you BF pregnant mums exercising too? It's too much for me at the moment.

TTCers: baby dust to you all. Anyone close to testing? good luck

 

[BunnyN]

The ms is awful but I haven't found BFing at the same time that bad. It doesn't make me feel worse like some ladies. It can be kind of a relief when she wants to feed because it's easier than entertaining her or putting down to sleep another way. The only thing I struggle with is drinking enough water because it's hard to keep down and I feel like I need more than normal with being pregnant and feeding.

I'm afraid exercising has gone out of the window. I spend 80% of the time lying down because when I move around too much I throw up. I do try a gentle walk in the evening when I tend to be at my best but I'd hardly call that "exersise". Hoping I will manage to catch up a bit when the sickness passes, before my bump starts getting in the way.

I bet you will find feeding doesn't feel so hard when LO is better. It is always draining when they are sick and feeding all the time.

 

[misspriss]

Please I really hope someone can help

My log:

I record all my pumping output, and have the spreadsheet set up to color anything outside of normal parameters red. My supply normally drops post-Ov, and it dropped even more after my BFP, but it has not recovered since the miscarriage.

I replaced the valves on my pumping set this AM with brand new ones, hoping that would help. But this morning's pumping session was just as dismal as yesterdays. I pumped for 30 minutes, with breast massage, plenty of water...its disheartening. I am wondering if I should just try dropping my first session all together, but dropping a session when you are having issues seems counterproductive.

I'm so upset right now and I don't know what to do, it is such a cruel joke to me that I would lose my baby and now my supply is vanishing before my eyes.

 

[BunnyN]

So sorry you are still having problems with suply. All I can say is that just because it has dropped doesn't mean that you will loose all your supply. I'm sure you will still be able to feed LO for a long time yet. Supply does tend to drop naturally over time as toddlers eat more solid food. Maybe it's partly that you are seeing and it was just with more of a bump than normal because it came at the same time as your pregnancy. I can't really advise you on pumping because I was rubbish at it. The most success I had was in a warm bath, might be worth a try? You must be under a huge amount of emotional stress because of your loss which can take it's toll too. Don't want to speek out of place but there is no chance you could be pregnant again is there? I got pregnant again just two weeks after my chemical.

 

[misspriss]

Thanks.

He hasn't been eating any more solids, possibly less actually (teething, day trips, company over, many distractions).

I pump at the office (the whole reason I pump, we still BF at home) so I doubt a warm bath would work! (That was quite the funny mental image). It is also how I can measure his intake during the day with my output. The lines are a little blurred because he drinks one bottle fresh milk and two frozen every day (to rotate through my stash) and I put two in the freezer, but the ones I'm putting in the freezer are generally slightly less than the ones I'm taking out. It's okay I guess, the frozen milk is kind of taking over the freezer.

I don't feel like I'm under exceptional stress, last week yes but this week I'm much better. I was actually really confident about pumping today (new valves) and I just *knew* I'd have at least 2 oz, maybe 3....so I don't think it is mental.

And no, no chance....I tested twice to make sure there wasn't some weird fluke thing and I was still pregnant, they were both BFNs (which is good because I take some BF safe but not PG safe meds). And we haven't had a chance to DTD since...

I've been trying to find a reason, not enough water, parts worn out, etc etc, but I think it may just be permanently reduced. Some people have lower flow after AF comes back (which I did, but that could be age too), I guess I just can't pump as much.

 

[Feronia]

Hi everyone, I’m about 6 weeks pregnant and still nursing my 18 month old. My supply is soooo much lower than it was, and I feel really bad because my daughter is a big nurser. I am taking some pregnancy-safe herbs in tea form (red raspberry leaf, alfalfa, and nettle leaf) to try to raise my supply, and it seems to be helping slightly. I really hope my daughter continues to nurse so I can tandem feed.

For those of you trying to get pregnant, I got pregnant on accident on my second PP cycle. I only had a 7 day luteal phase, too! I was drinking vitex tea and taking 75 mg of B6 complex in order to regulate my cycles in preparation for charting, and it seemed to help too much… lol. We weren’t actually going to have a second until our first was at least 8, if at all!

 

[Reba]

misspriss I'm so sorry for your loss

I'm wondering if any of you ladies do BBT?
We're NTNP and I'm temping because my cycles were wonky before LO and I'd just like to know that they're either not ok or ok.

Right now I'm 14DPO which is a REALLY long LP for me. I've tested twice and both negative. My temp remains high though. Could breastfeeding be raising my temp falsely?

Thoughts?

 

[Feronia]

Breastfeeding should have no affect on your BBT. If anything, breastfeeding raises prolactin levels which can decrease progesterone, which leads to lower temperatures. A 14-day LP with a high temp is a very good sign!

I BBT charted even though we were doing it in order to avoid.

 

[BunnyN]

It sounds like you have thought it out well. Lol, yes the warm bath at work might not quite work . Do you notice a difference in his feeding to suggest he is noticing less supply, or is it just the pumping? How long have you had af back for, was it not long before your BFP? It does seem like maybe the change is hormonal for you. I haven't really noticed a difference in supply from af or being pregnant so far but LO is totally crazy about solid food and I don't think she really drinks a huge volume of milk any more. She still feeds quite often but a lot of the time she is not really working on getting milk, she just likes to suck.

I really wish there was something more I could say but I think you have been through the whole thing in your mind already. Maybe someone else with simmilar experience will have something to say. The problem with BFing and pregnancy is that it's not hugely common so beyond the basics it's a lot of guess work. If you were asking about latching problems in a newborn or a brand of formula you'd have dozens of answers but to find someone in your specific situation with a simmilar experience is bound to be hard.

 

[misspriss]

Thanks for trying BunnyN, he nurses the exact same at home. I have noticed him switching sides on his own, like he's run dry on one side. He didn't start doing that until after my BFP. I just wonder if he is running out, or he's figured out if he switches he gets a faster flow and it's just him learning. I've had AF back since December, so about 6 months.

I appreciate you trying to help though!

 

[Nikki_d72]

Hi Misspriss, I just wanted to jump in quickly to say that I had massive issues with my supply last cycle and really honestly had no milk at all for over a week - I couldn't even get more than a teaspoon from both breasts hand expressing and I can always get milk that way for breakfasts etc for DS no problem. He was starting to reject the breast and self-wean, I was so upset and desperate, and I wasn't even pregnant.
I've still not figured out why this happened (I'm 42 so worried I might be perimenopausal) but after 3 weeks of putting him to the breast as much as he will, letting him suck as long as he wants, pumping (I don't usually), lots of porridge and calcium/magnesium supplements my supply has come back. I wouldn't say it's gushing, I'll have to keep working at it but it's good enough to have him gulping for a short while (he wasn't swallowing at all) and he even burped a couple of times after a feed - I've never been so happy to hear a burp haha!

So don't lose heart and try not to panic, but I know how scary it is to think your supply is vanishing before your eyes, I think the more you panic the worse it gets - it definitely has been affecting my letdown, it takes aaages now and before this scare it was quite fast and easy to trigger. Now I have to try to make myself relax and visualise it letting down, it's quite hard to do though! Your body may be preparing to ovulate again too, which may impact supply a wee bit again - would you maybe try the calcium magnesium supplements? I think some women take them every cycle from around OV to AF, I know I will be from now on.

I hope you get your production back, I'm sure you will - just keep in mind some women can relactate after complete weaning, even years later, so you can do this, it may take a little time but you can get it back.

I hope everyone else is well, sorry I'm not replying to you all, am pushed for time but wanted to let Misspriss know all is not lost xx

 

[misspriss]

Thanks Nikki!

I am happy that DS still seems to be getting plenty. It did occur to me this morning that DS has taken up quite a late morning feed (he has made me come into work later than usual twice) and I wonder if he is just taking all of that first morning milk. I used to have a ton in the morning, but I understand that my supply is more established now so I probably don't have all the extra that I used to.

I was listening to him nurse this morning, I can hear the milk coming out and him swallowing it, he is getting plenty while nursing. I guess it may just be the pumping. I suppose as long as he gets plenty while nursing it should be fine. Maybe I should just drop the first pumping of the day, since it seems to be causing me so much stress anyway? I don't know, it's hard to drop a pumping session, makes me worried I will screw up my supply.

 

[too_scared]

I need encouragement from the ladies who are further along or have had their babies already. I'm 14+3 and my nipples are on fire. They hurt SO bad. I've heard around 16 weeks is the most painful but does it really get better after that?

Also, what about milk supply? If it's gone is it gone now until new baby comes? My supply is so low right now and my guy nurses every hour all night long. I feel like he's just comfort nursing and not getting anything and it feels like he's just making me raw. Last night I actually had to give him water and a snack at 3 because he was upset and nursing and not getting anything We try to give him milk before bed and a snack but he barely drinks milk because it's new to him. He had maybe 3 oz of whole milk last night before bed.

Please help. I would love any encouragement you can share.

 

[BunnyN]

Too scared- Poor you, every hr at night is rough. Sorry I can't help from personal experience because I'm not that far along. I did noticed LO would want to feed more at night when she had salty food to eat or it was hot so realised it was partly thirst related. I started giving her water when she wakes at night and she loves it. She only really has one night feed now even when she wakes up more times. I think the water helps with that.

Reba- how long have you had your cycles back?

 

[BunnyN]

Feronia- welcome nice to have another pregnant breastfeeder to add experience to our group!

Misspriss- I have a friend who recently cut down to only night and morning feeds. She still had plenty of milk at those times even though she doesn't feed in the day anymore so that could work for you. I guess it depends how important you feel having pumped milk is for during the day.