breastfeeding while pregnant? asks Charliegirl

[Samuel's mum]

Charliegirl wrote this on the extended nursing thread and has asked me to post it separately so it can reach a wider audience:

I am still feeding my 23 month son. Considered more of a snack, as his main reason for doing it these days is for the comfort of it. He often likes to just put his hand down my jumper if I am carrying him and have a squeeze - which I don't encourage in public but most people just smile at. He has a 'snack' before his daytime nap, one before bed and a fairly recent addition of extended snack first thing in the morning, which I am too tired to do anything about. I find all this perfectly normal but feeling a bit tired of it, however I will let him decide how long he wants to continue.

My main reason for posting here was to ask what happens if I was to get pregnant again. Would the collostrum still come through or would the new baby get by with what was already coming through?

[maggieruth]

the breastmilk changes to suit the new baby according to a book i have been reading about breastfeeding whilst pregnant.  This can mean that when the change occurs your toddler will have some loose baby stools if they feed enough!
hth!

[JacobMarksMummy]

I think (someone correct me if I am wrong) that when you are about 34-38 weeks pregnant your milk turns back into colostrum. It is prefectly okay to continue BF through this however once the baby is born your toddler will have to stop for a day or two as there will only be a few days worth of colostrum supply and you'll want to give this to your new LO. When your milk comes back in it is fine to resume as normal and will be a great help if you get engorge as you have your own little expert on hand!

Also on the same note when become pregnant you may notice a slight decrease in your supply, this can happen at anytime in the first trimester and a half of pregnancy  HTH

[Samuel's mum]

Dr Jack Newman mentions that one solution to the colostrum thing is to always make sure the newborn nurses first until satisfied and then the toddler can have leftovers! He also says that if you have a history of premature labour or are expecting a multiple birth there is a concern that hormones released may increase the chances of a premature birth. In a 'normal' pregnancy research shows that breastfeeding seems to reduce the number of pregnancies that go more than a week past the due date. Towards the end of your pregnancy you may also experience contractions during breastfeeding. Nipple tenderness is also common.

However there are lots of happy families who go onto tandem feed. This board from another site gives some experiences.

http://www.lalecheleague.org/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=22

Good Luck

P.S Deenz gives her valuable experiences in this post in the extended nursing thread.

[deenz]

Ooh, thanks for that Samuel's mum...!

I just wanted to add that I did have the nipple tenderness talked about in the early weeks of dd2's pregnancy.  It wasn't bad enough to make me want to stop bf'ing dd1 though.  I also experienced the braxton hicks contractions while nursing dd1 towards the end of my pregnancy.