Pregnant And Breastfeeding Support Thread

[Peek-a-boo]

At what stages have people found the mlik drops?

Mine dropped right away, but then held steady at the new lower level for a while (with DD, who was 15 months at the time) as long as I was night feeding.  When I skipped a few night feeds, my supply dropped further and my breasts got sensitive.

What got me both times that I was pregnant and breastfeeding was that eventually my breasts became SO sensitive that I couldn't bear to nurse anymore--too painful.  As they were toddlers, I weaned at that point.  With an infant, I would have tried to persevere.  The night feeds which kept my supply up also seemed to stave off the sensitivity.  

When I was pregnant with #2, bfing #1, I only made it to about 8 weeks.  When pregnant with #3, bfing #2, I made it to about 12-13 weeks.  

[Peek-a-boo]

This herbal supplement for increasing supply specifically says it's safe during pregnancy:  http://www.amazon.com/Motherlove-Herbal-Company-Alcohol-liquid/dp/B000JZ1ZE6

I read a recommendation for it in a different breastfeeding forum. 

[bug_blues70]

wow, thanks for the info about the supplement! I'll definitely look into it and almost surely try it!!

[bug_blues70]

Oh really? that is a shame. I am terrified my milk will drop my LO loves his boob but sure they will love a sibling more. At least they have had the first good few months worth.

I have never really investigated formula to be honest so not the right person to ask. It may be worth putting something on the bottle feeding board? Apparently aptimil is closest to BM but I don't know really.

At what stages have people found the mlik drops?

Hey, I just saw you joined the board for March/April 2011 due dates!! Congratulations!! And good luck with your milk supply!!!

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

Glad you like the formula, bug blues!  I hope your DD does, too!

[bug_blues70]

well, she doesn't purse her lips and refuse it (unless she was famished) like she did for the Similac, so I'm thinking it's at least tolerable for her!!

[Khalam's Mama]

Thanks for the congrats BB70. Glad you found an acceptable formula.
It is hard to tell at the moment what is happening with my supply since DS has been suckling all day and all night becaus ehe has been ill and off his food. There still seems to be milk there even when they feel really empty if I hand express a few drops so I hope it is ok. I wlll also look at that suppliment. I was starting to take fenugreek before I was TTC but have stopped that now.
DS doesn't usually feed at night, but maybe if there is a NF left over from this illness I won't actively get rid of it if it will help my supply. I really wanted to do 2yrs BFing with DS.
I am supposed to be going away for 3 nights in october so I hope that will not affect my supply too much. Any tips?
I read on here that pumping can increase the risk of miscarrage but my HV denied this when I asked her about it. What do you guys think? What sort of evidence is there?

[bug_blues70]

Well, I've been pumping - I have to b/c I work pt and also b/c I need to pump once after she goes to bed and before her nightly feed.  Also, sometimes during the day, she won't nurse anymore, depending on her mood, and I pump then too. I'd hate to tell you to pump and then you have a m/c b/c of pumping or even some other reason, but I personally do it simply b/c it doesn't make logical sense to me that you can nurse, but not pump. Especially if nursing is supposed to be more efficient and produces more hormones than a pump. I think the rule of thumb for nursing is if your m/w or ob (what is an hv?) has prohibited sex, you shouldn't nurse. But if you don't have a high risk pg or aren't prohibited from sex, then you can nurse. And IMO, if a person can nurse, a person can pump. That's just my opinion though. If I were you and had to be away for 3 days, I'd be really, really nervous not to pump. For me, my body is just itching to stop making milk and waiting for any opportunity to lower it's supply. That's' why I try not to go even more than 4 hours w/o pumping or nursing, even at night.

There's another post on here from a long time ago about taking liquid chlorophyll to help with supply during pg. My m/w said it's safe for use in pg, and I've read all over the internet it's used a lot during pg for anemia. I started taking it a few days ago and it hasn't seemed to help much, but maybe it would help you. I'm also ordering some of that More Milk Two to try that a pp suggested.

Good luck with your supply, I hope it stays... at least enough to keep bf. Even I - with my measly supply - am still bf for now, even though I'm having to supplement. I don't think it's common to have it dry up completely (although I've read some posts where it has, and I think that's where I'm headed).  Good luck! Let me know how it goes!!

[tigerlilly905]

Hi Ladies,

I'm not preggers yet, but hope to be soon, so will definitely be following this thread!  Getting a little nervous reading about all the drops in milk supply... but I'll cross that bridge if/when that comes I guess... Congrats to you all on your upcoming little bundles Hopefully I can join the preg&bfing club soon too

[bug_blues70]

Yay Tigerlilly! You are like me!! I was pg at 3.5 months pp... are you really thinking about starting to try soon? That's awesome! It's nice to see someone else that wants them so close! I wanted mine close together and so I tried, and since I got pg I've been wondering if I wasn't just a little bit insane! Well, actually I only really regretted it at first because of the drop in milk supply and problems that came from that, including the feeling of loss (the bf relationship) and guilt (taking the bf away from LO#1). Now I'm getting excited about it again. But I always feel a bit silly telling people that yes, I actually tried to get pg so soon after my first!! lol

I definitely do NOT want to sound preachy or know-it-all, but I really wish someone had said this to me before I got pg, so take it for what it's worth or just ignore it if you prefer : If you are going to do it, one thing I would say is really consider seriously how important bf is to you and how long you want to bf for minimum, and how you feel about formula. I had no idea my supply would drop so far and I wanted so badly to exclusively bf for at least 6 months, and then continue thru at least the first year. That is just a far away dream for me now I'm lucky to still be bf at all, so I'll count my blessings, but I have to supplement about half and I just hate formula. A drop in supply isn't always a big deal for people who have LOs over a year because they don't really *need* the breastmilk, but my LO was still getting 100% of her nourishment from breastmilk. And where some people are lucky and don't notice a drop, some people like me drop drastically and can't do a damn thing about it, no matter what we try. Also, just so you know (something else I didn't until too late): even if your supply doesn't drop, starting at 16-20 weeks you'll have to start supplementing anyway if your LO is still under a year. At this time your milk turns into colostrum and doesn't have all the fat and same contents as breast milk. Oh and also, another thing I wish I'd have done: store up as much breast milk as possible before I got pg, so that I could supplement with that instead of formula.

I'm not trying to talk you out of it, I think it's cool as hell and I think it would be awesome if you did have them so close together!! They'll be best buddies!! Good luck to you in getting pregnant and good luck with your breastfeeding LO!! And good luck keeping your supply up if you do get pregnant - or maybe you'll be lucky and won't have any problem at all! When you get pregnant, we'll definitely have to keep in touch since we'll both be going through the same thing with our LOs being so young!!!

[tigerlilly905]

Hi bug_blues! (and all!) Thanks, but don’t get too excited… I’m not preggers just yet   But we are hopeful!  I thought I was… about 3.5 wks ago I had spotting for 2 days, then nothing… took quite a few tests that were BFN… then 2 days ago AF returned for the first time since DS was born!  I EBF my son, he’s been STTN for the past month so I think AF returning is due to the lack of NF.  DH and I have always wanted our babies close together, and with all the help I’ve had from the BW books and now this site I’m feeling pretty confident about our choice… That’s not to say it’s going to happen right away, but we’re hoping in the next 6 months or so…

Thank you so much for all your advice.. I REALLY appreciate it! I don’t think you sound preachy at all – you’re sharing your experience/knowledge, nothing wrong with that.

I really do love BFing and consider it a gift that I can… had a little challenge when DS was born.  He came out HUNGRY… and the colostrum that I did have didn’t seem to satisfy him, so for the first 48hrs we were skin to skin and he was on my breast almost the entire time… I was just praying for my milk to come in, because if one more nurse offered me formula to “make things easier” I was going to loose it!! In between feeds, I pumped/fed/pumped/fed (and used SNS to give him whatever colostrum I could collect), and finally my milk came in full force the beginning of day 3!! HUGE sigh of relief! Since then, we haven’t had a problem with supply.

Since we’ve had intentions of conceiving early, I have been pumping and storing milk since we introduced the bottle to DS at 5 weeks.  I do have quite a bit frozen (about ˝ my deep freezer), but think I might work a little harder at storing more just in case.  I’m fortunate enough to have a good supply… when I first started pumping in the AM (after DS feeds) I got 3-5 oz… then it was up to 7oz… now I can get anywhere between 7-13oz!?!  I think it’s because the DF is done by bottle, I have from 7pm-7am to produce milk, and I always make sure I pump in the morning… DS usually takes the 7oz I pump at the DF (he’s a little tank)… and that leaves the other 5-6oz for me to freeze.   I sincerely hope it keeps up if/when I do become pg…  I know so many people have trouble, but I guess we’re all different.  I’m trying to stay optimistic about it all, but I think it’s important to be aware of the possible snags so I’ll be better equipped to deal with them.

I would like to BF DS as long as possible… I haven’t decided how I feel about tandem nursing… I’m considering possibly weaning DS from the breast and continuing to pump and give him expressed BM by bottle or cup a few months before baby #2 comes along, and then continuing to give both babies my milk, just having baby #2 breastfeed and #1 will continue from cup or bottle… Again, that’s my thoughts right now.. but who knows, I’m really just starting to educate myself about the whole process, so appreciate any advice or opinions others have.  Who knows though, maybe I will have to use formula. 

I’m thankful to see some of you ladies here have chosen the organic formula.  If I were to have to go the route of formula, that’s what I’d choose.  DH and I just recently switched to all organic for our produce and can’t believe the difference.   Some things are a bit more expensive, but it’s a small price to pay for the health of our family.  I’m also interested to hear how any of you ladies do with the Herbal Supplement to increase milk supply.  (Motherlove I believe).  Please let me know how it works, I’m very curious… and would definitely give it a try if I noticed a drop.

I realized milk changed throughout pg but didn’t know you’d have to supplement by 16-20 wks regardless… maybe that will be when the frozen milk comes in handy??

DH and I will of course gladly accept any pregnancy regardless of when it comes about.  However, I’ve found since AF has returned, it’s been on my mind that much more… I really didn’t expect AF, and just figured we’d keep doing the BD until something happened… now I actually have a cycle to try and time things.

Thanks again so much for your advice! I really hope things improve for you, but it sounds like you’re doing everything you can for baby 1, baby2 and  yourself! That’s a lot of people to take care of – so try and give yourself a bit of a break .  As long as you’re nourishing your body and doing everything you can for your l/o’s, sometimes there’s nothing more you can do.

Sry for the long read! LOL! Looking forward to following along with you ladies, and hopefully I’ll have good baby news soon too!

Cheers, Rebecca 

[bug_blues70]

Wow, you are so much smarter than me!!! I knew I wanted them close together, but storing milk didn't even cross my mind!! That's amazing that you have so much stored up! I produced a lot of milk too (the m/w called me a dairy queen at my 3 day appt) but I wasn't smart enough to store it, I guess cuz I took it for granted and didn't realize pg would change it so much.  And hey - if you're already overproducing so much, maybe when it drops it will just drop to about where it needs to be!!

You wouldn't have to supplement at 20 weeks if your LO is over a year, because his nutrition will mainly be coming from solids at that point. It's only if he's under a year. This is what the either the LLLI rep or the lactation consultant I talked to told me (I can't remember which).

And I'll definitely let you know about the Motherlove More Milk Two (the one that's safe during pg). I ordered some and expect it next week. I also tried liquid chlorophyll and it didn't seem to do much for my milk supply, although I'm glad I took it. I think I might have been a bit anemic or something b/c I used to get cold all the time and I would have to sleep with a heated mattress pad *and* a heating pad while DH and Ellen (my LO) were comfortable, if not hot. Since I started taking the chlorophyll, I haven't once been cold during the day, and I don't sleep with the heating pads anymore.

Well, good luck getting pg!! I'm excited for you!

[tigerlilly905]

Thanks again bug_blues! I'm excited for you too!! Even though it's a little tough right now, you must be excited to have your little ones close together!  Hopefully we can share lots of preg stories soon! But even if it takes a while for me to get pg I'll look forward to your updates for sure!

[Khalam's Mama]

I am finding I am starving/weak with need for food all the time. Is this mormal pg and BF? I am eating every two hrs and I have lost a couple lbs so I don't think I am over eating. I lost 7lb when I was 1st pg with DS but I thought because I was having lots of nausea. Also I just can't drink enough but it is very hot here. Milk seems ok though.

[Peek-a-boo]

I am finding I am starving/weak with need for food all the time. Is this mormal pg and BF? I am eating every two hrs and I have lost a couple lbs so I don't think I am over eating. I lost 7lb when I was 1st pg with DS but I thought because I was having lots of nausea. Also I just can't drink enough but it is very hot here. Milk seems ok though.

Yes, I think it's normal.  You're  nourishing 3 people!