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Jess
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| Posted: March 13 2009 at 1:21pm | IP Logged
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I feel like I am starting to obsess a little about this 
My dd just turned 2 and it still nursing for most of her nutrition. She doesn't eat many solids (we are taking her to an OT because of sensory issues) so really she is relying on me for sustinance. I am 13 weeks pg and I have read that many women lose their milk in the second trimester. I have never nursed through a pregnancy before so I don't know if I will or not. So I was wondering if most of you who nurse through a pregnancy lose your milk and the baby just nurses for comfort and eats for nutrition? Or does your milk supply stay good? Is there any way to up my chances of my milk staying?
Any info you have would be helpful.
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Jess
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mama to dd(13), dd(11), ds(9), dd(6), and dd (2), and baby girl born Sept 14!
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SaraP
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| Posted: March 13 2009 at 6:48pm | IP Logged
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My first two children are only 16 months apart and I don't think the older was eating any solids at all when I became pregnant with the younger, but I maintained a good supply all through that pregnancy.
The second and third times I have nursed through pregnancy the older child has been 2 or 2.5 when I became pregnant again and both were eating plenty of solids. One of those weaned himself a few months into the pregnancy, but at that point I did still have some supply. The other nursed through the entire pregnancy, but there stopped being milk around 20 or 24 weeks.
As for maintaining supply, the only advice I can think of is to eat and drink A LOT. During the first nursing pregnancy I ate HUGE amounts - easily over 4000 calories a day - and still didn't gain an unreasonable amount of weight.
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SaraP
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| Posted: March 13 2009 at 6:55pm | IP Logged
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I just saw this other post of yours and wanted to point out that it may not be possible to night wean and still maintain a milk supply through pregnancy. Frequent nursing is what maintains supply and night nursing does even more to boost supply than nursing during the day does, so if you get to where you have a 6 or 8 or 10 hour stretch overnight where she isn't nursing at all that may cause you to stop producing during the day as well.
Of course there is no way to know for sure until you try, but it's something to keep in mind.
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teachingmyown
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| Posted: March 13 2009 at 9:58pm | IP Logged
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I nursed all the way through one pregnancy, with my fourth. The next four pregnancies my milk dried up. I do think though that it was from letting myself get run down. I do think if you are careful about your nutrition and hydration that it is quite possible to maintain a supply to nourish your toddler.
The child that I nursed through the pregnancy and then tandem nursed with the baby slept pretty well through the night. In fact, when I was newly pregnant I was working a couple of night shifts a week, so I know he was able to go without nursing. My point is that even without nursing all night, I was able to keep my milk supply.
Lots of women tandem nurse, so it can definitely be done.
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monique
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| Posted: March 14 2009 at 3:45pm | IP Logged
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In my experience there is a wide range of what can happen when a mother get pregnant and is still nursing. Some women do dry up fairly early other women don't notice a change at all. So I think it just might have to be a wait and see what happens. If your milk does decrease the baby will more then likely start eating and drinking other foods.
I agree with the information about eating well and staying hydrated.
Good luck and congratulations on your new little blessing. 
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Jess
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| Posted: March 14 2009 at 6:53pm | IP Logged
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Thank you everyone! You have been so helpful. My mom is living with us now and she is making me so nervous about this. I am trying to relax and just see what happens. I will really try to make sure I am eating enough and drinking enough and hopefully my supply will stay up. My dd is doing so well at night. She slept from 10:30 to 6:20 last night.
I guess it is just a wait and see like Monique said.
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Jess
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: March 14 2009 at 7:08pm | IP Logged
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And sometimes it's not so much a reduction as a change in flavor.. that seems to be what happens for me.. my supply goes down because the nursling isn't nursing as much as long because the milk just isn't "right". 
The one I did tandem nurse even thought so apparently.. she'd nurse just long enough to get a good taste and then stop.. for about the last month or two of the pregnancy.. she'd test about every couple of days.. and then once baby was born she was thrilled that the milk was good again
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MaryM
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| Posted: March 14 2009 at 9:58pm | IP Logged
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As the individual posts/experiences above indicate, experiences vary. Most mothers who are nursing through pregnancy do notice some decrease in milk supply by mid-pregnancy, but sometimes as early as the first month. Because milk production is hormonally controlled, the decrease in milk production usually occurs despite continued or increased nursing frequency. Though the majority of women experience a decrease in supply, there will be some that don’t. There are also changes in composition of the milk as Jodie mentioned. By mid-pregnancy the mature milk is making gradual changes to colostrum and the taste is different.
It's hard to predict what will happen with an individual nursing pair during a pregnancy. Some little ones will find the change in taste and/or the decrease in flow rate and volume discouraging and may stop nursing. Other little ones who rely more on nursing for comfort or other reasons seem to take the changes in taste/volume in stride and continue nursing.
This article has information about the basics of milk production and the hormonal process of pregnancy that prepares the body for lactation of a newborn. It doesn't specifically address the issue of nursing during pregnancy but you can see from the info how a woman’s body and milk changes in preparation for the new baby.
Some may also find that supply increases again toward the end of pregnancy as colostrum production really kicks in.
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Jody
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| Posted: March 18 2009 at 11:13pm | IP Logged
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I have nursed 9 out of my 10 babies and all 9 have tandem nursed. All of them relied on me for most of their nutrition and they nursed repeatedly through the night.
My milk supply did decrease some but I continued to nurse on demand and the littles were happy.
None of them liked the change in taste at all but nursed regardless.  Then once the new baby was born they loved it! What could be better...a new baby and yummy nummies?
My supply increased again after the baby came. There's oodles of milk then.
I think if you keep nursing your milk supply will be there but it is different for each person and it is a wait and see. Just don't be too anxious or worried about it. I had a friend who ate and drank very well but was really stressing about her milk supply and she ended up losing it. But the next time around she was much more relaxed and she did fine and is tandem nursing now.
I'll be praying that all goes well.
Peace,
Jody
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: losing milk during pregnancy
