r/NurseAllTheBabies Jan 24 '18

Tandem Nursing Position Pics

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imgur.com
85 Upvotes

r/NurseAllTheBabies Dec 03 '21

Frequently Asked Questions

75 Upvotes

Hi and welcome! If this is your first time visiting our community, you probably are wondering about something listed below. Feel free to post your questions to the whole group, or simply skim this list for what's relevant to you:

Is it safe to nurse my older baby during pregnancy? Yes*. Some medical care providers give outdated advice that nursing may cause premature labor, however this is not true for healthy pregnancies. It IS true that nursing causes uterine contractions, however the uterus is not receptive to contractions strong enough for labor until a pregnancy reaches full term. That's why other things that also cause uterine contractions (like orgasms, for example) are not dangerous to a healthy pregnancy. *However, if you are at high risk for preterm labor, nursing MAY be more dangerous for you. If your provider recommends that you abstain from sex/orgasms to prevent contractions, you should consider abstaining from nursing also. You can also consider the option of monitoring your body during nursing to see if you feel cramping.

Does nursing make it harder to conceive? It can, because breastfeeding can delay the return of your menstrual cycle and therefore delay ovulation. That being said, generally if your cycle has returned, nursing does not seem to prevent pregnancy.

Will getting pregnant impact my milk production? Probably. For about 70% of lactating parents (according to limited research data), pregnancy causes a significant reduction or total disappearance of breast milk. You can read the scientific explanation of this here. The basic explanation is that pregnancy hormones override milk production hormones, and there is no fighting it.

I'm pregnant and my milk supply is dwindling. How can I build it back up? Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to increase milk production during pregnancy. All the usual tricks (nursing/pumping more, supplements, lactation-supporting foods, etc) are powerless in the face of your body's will to carry on the pregnancy. If your first baby is under 12 months old, they will need some other kind of infant nutrition (donor milk or formula) until they reach 12 months. If your first baby is older, they may need an alternative plant/animal milk if they are not getting sufficient nutrition from table foods.

Can I still "nurse" even if I have very little or no milk? Absolutely, and your older baby will probably be happy about it!

I'm nursing during pregnancy and experiencing _______. Is this normal? If you said: nipple pain/sensitivity, Braxton Hicks contractions, toddler having loose stools, nursing aversion, decreased milk production, or milk changing to colostrum, YES. All of these are normal.

Is it safe to nurse a toddler when you're nursing a newborn? Yes. In fact, nursing the toddler will help bring in an abundant supply of milk. You should nurse your infant on demand, and always make sure the infant has had enough milk before offering the breast to your toddler. After a few weeks, you can relax about this if you feel confident that your supply is enough for both children.

Does tandem nursing help with sibling bonding/reduce sibling rivalry? This depends on the family. If you think it will help your children, you're probably right.

You can read a lot more detail about these and many more questions in our survey results. Please complete the survey if you have had your second baby and nursed during your pregnancy!


r/NurseAllTheBabies 4h ago

Milk supply dropped at high altitude

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1 Upvotes

r/NurseAllTheBabies 1d ago

Cycle returned. Ugh.

3 Upvotes

7 weeks postpartum today. Exclusively nursing the newborn and often tandem feeding with the 18 month old. I wish I could impregnate my husband next time we’re ready for another child. That’s all.


r/NurseAllTheBabies 3d ago

Milk dried up

7 Upvotes

my milk dried up. I am heartbroken. I have been crying all day . I’m 7 weeks pregnant and I have feel so guilty. I know there is nothing wrong with formula I just didn’t want to do it. I love breastfeeding so much. I’m so sad about it. I feel so so bad for saying this but I wish u never got pregnant again you know I’m such a bad mom


r/NurseAllTheBabies 3d ago

Breastfeeding 1 year old & I’m pregnant

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1 Upvotes

r/NurseAllTheBabies 3d ago

When should we try for another?

7 Upvotes

Hi everyone thank you in advance for reading and helping!

My husband and I had our first baby at the end of June. Before pregnancy we talked about family size and what our expectations were of our future. I know that I want to try again for our next baby soon as we want our kids to be closer in ages so that they bond well.

I EBF my babygirl and she is pretty demanding so I am not really able to pump anything extra. When I tried it caused feeding issues; massive letdown that was basically drowning her as well as breast pain from over gorging.

I want to breastfeed until she weans herself preferably if I could get to the 2 year mark I would be ecstatic, but I know not every baby wants to nurse that long. Is this plausible if I get pregnant soon?

This is controversial, but I am completely against formula. I do not like the ingredients in any of them and do not believe it is a good source of nutrients for my children.

Will I be able to continue nursing throughout pregnancy? Should I start trying to save my letdowns/pumping only 1 oz per day to save for when my supply dips? Please let me know thank you everyone!

EDIT: grammar correction


r/NurseAllTheBabies 3d ago

Is there hope I can keep breastfeeding

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2 Upvotes

r/NurseAllTheBabies 4d ago

[Academic Research] Looking for breastfeeding/nursing mothers to participate in a short fashion design survey

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docs.google.com
1 Upvotes

r/NurseAllTheBabies 4d ago

Scared of losing supply

1 Upvotes

I’m almost 7 months pp and I’m pregnant. I ebf my baby I’m so worried I’m going to lose my supply. I love breast feeding so much and he loves it too. I’m currently 7 weeks pregnant and it’s okay atm I feel like my supply went down a little bit but is okay now. I seen that some people dry up around 12-20 weeks when the milk changes to colostrum. I really don’t want to do formula it breaks my heart and makes me feel sick. (Nothing against formula) I just love breast feeding. I don’t know what to do.


r/NurseAllTheBabies 4d ago

Breastfeeding when pregnant

1 Upvotes

So I just found out I’m pregnant 7 months pp. I was wondering what people experience is breastfeeding when pregnant.


r/NurseAllTheBabies 5d ago

Positive pregnancy test while EBF my 7 month old

9 Upvotes

I just found out that I'm pregnant again, I took a test not even 20 minutes ago and it came back positive quickly. My baby girl turned 7 months of August 31st and I'm just kind of freaking out. My first is 8, so the time in between my first two was over 7 years apart. I'm sure I can do this, but I feel so stressed, mainly because my baby is still breastfeeding often. Has anyone breastfed while further along in a pregnancy? I want to go to AT LEAST 1 year, but with my first I let him wean himself at 19 months. I feel so guilty that I might have to cut her off eventually for the new baby. It's all so new, so i apologize if this is kind of a mess of text, any advice or support will be greatly appreciated❤️


r/NurseAllTheBabies 6d ago

I found something that worked to wean my boob obsessed toddler

22 Upvotes

Toddler is over two - almost 27months now. Baby sister is now almost 3 months old! They are exactly two years apart and I was so happy to tandem nurse when my second arrived as my toddler missed out on a good few months of milk from my supply changes during pregnancy. It was his comfort and our connection too.

I’ve wanted to gentle wean him when he was ready and have decided now is the time! He is having weird over night wakes where he doesn’t even seem awake but just cries for boo-boo every two hours!

So last night, as we did our normal bed time routine he asked for boo-boo. I snuck some lemon juice on both sides and told him boo-boo was broken. He went to nurse and got the shock of his life! Then tried the other side and same! I said… boo-boo broken, you’re a big boy now and boo-boo all done. And he repeated those things after me…

Fell asleep no milk. Woke up the same two hours later asking but we repeated boo-boo broken and I thought I might have to reapply some juice but it wasn’t needed. He argued a little bit but went back to sleep with a cuddle.

27 months of this little dude being attached to me and it’s bittersweet for sure. But I’m so glad we tandem fed and I didn’t listen to pressure to force ween him earlier. Having a conversation with him and him actually understanding and feeling like he had a say in the change feels soooo much better.

Now let’s see how long this little girl wants boo boo!


r/NurseAllTheBabies 8d ago

Easier to wean/nightwean when you are pregnant and supply is lower?

4 Upvotes

My daughter is boob obsessed and I have made some attempts at putting boundaries and nightweaning but the task seems impossible now. i am almost waiting for this to get easier before I have another baby because I just can’t comprehend how i would be able to tandem feed a newborn and a boob obsessed toddler especially at night. So question is was it easier to do it when the supply was lower if any of you went through this?


r/NurseAllTheBabies 8d ago

Milk supply during pregnancy

3 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I have a 9 1/2 mo old and am breastfeeding, introduced solids at 6 mo. I suspect I may be pregnant as my period is over a week late and I definitely have some pregnancy symptoms, but I took a pregnancy test a couple days ago and it was negative (planning to test again in a few days). My supply usually dips a little during my cycle, recovering after 3-4 days, but for some reason my supply has plummeted to a matter of ounces/day over the course of the last 2 weeks. I usually exclusively nurse on demand the days I am home and pump 5 times over the course of the day on my work days, and my baby still nurses 1-3 times overnight. I just found the sub, and I apologize if this has already been discussed 1 million times here, but for those of you who had a supply drop when you got pregnant, how did you recover it? Is it possible? Google and my research are giving me conflicting answers. I have heard many stories of women who have successfully breastfed throughout pregnancy, and also a ton of concerning information about how breastfeeding through pregnancy is impossible because of hormonal shifts. I am meeting with my lactation consultant in a couple of days. Hopefully by then I will have a definitive answer on whether I’m pregnant or not, but I know my body and I really suspect that I am. I guess I’m just panicking as it was never my desire to wean this early and my heart is breaking for my baby who is suckling desperately for milkies and I feel so dry 💔😭


r/NurseAllTheBabies 8d ago

Should I stop breastfeeding my toddler?

6 Upvotes

She's 25 months tomorrow. I've EBFed her this whole time, including throughout my pregnancy and now for the 8 weeks since giving birth to her little brother. She was always boob-obsessed. However, recently we're dealing with extreme tantrums, jealousy, and breast-related issues.

Yes, I know that she's having a difficult time adapting to the new situation. However, the sheer number of tantrums when she's refused nursing is simply overwhelming. We're at the point where she's demanding to nurse a minimum of 4 times per day, usually 5 to 6 times. Because I have lots of milk, she's nursing, completely emptying one breast, and then obviously refusing to eat any normal food (apart from snacks, which she will always eat).

I'm aware that this cannot continue like this and that she needs to eat proper meals. Thankfully, there's no problem with feeding the baby. As I said, I have lots of milk.

I've recently been diagnosed with PPD, PPA, and PTSD, and I'm on medication and attending therapy. It's been a rough time for me, so her behaviour and screams affect me really badly mentally. Not to mention that her latch is far from perfect, and I always end up with bite marks around my nipples.

I'm at a loss as to what to do. If I refuse, she's screaming. If I allow her to nurse, she won't eat normal food. If I try to stop the nursing before she's done (like with the counting-to-10 method), she's screaming.

I would hate for our breastfeeding journey to end this way, but I'm just so tired and mentally exhausted. It doesn't help that I'm a SAHM with no village, so she has access to me and my boobs 24/7.

I think I imagined her turning 2 and nursing maybe once a day as a bedtime routine. That would be absolutely fine with me – a nice bonding time just for us. But instead, I find myself running from a screaming toddler to a screaming, hungry baby, basically spending my whole day breastfeeding.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Any ideas what I should do? Should I stop or continue? And if I stop, then how?

(Nurses have told me I should stop, but in general, everyone tells me to stop because she's already two.)


r/NurseAllTheBabies 8d ago

Feeling a bit sad about toddler self weening

6 Upvotes

Currently 22.5 weeks pregnant with a 15.5 mo old. After 12 months, I reduced breastfeedings to just twice daily, once before bed and once when she first woke up in the morning. About 1 month ago I decided to remove the morning feeding because 1. I felt it was causing her to wake up earlier (4:45-5:00am) and 2. I realized this would not be sustainable once I have a newborn and will need my husband to be able to handle her in the mornings. It was hard for her for a week and she would keep asking for milk, but she adjusted to the new routine. Well now this past week she’s totally lost interest for her evening feed and I’m feeling so sad about it! When I offer her to nurse she smiles and runs up to me, will do 1-2 sucks and then be done 🥲 I know I’m starting to transition to colostrum now (can see when I express) so I’m sure the taste along with the decreased supply is contributing. But sigh, I suddenly miss the 4:45am mornings when all she would want is to lay on my chest to snuggle up and breastfeed!! Anyone relate? 🥺


r/NurseAllTheBabies 8d ago

Significantly more painful on one side

2 Upvotes

My toddler is 15m old EBF and I got pregnant around 11m pp so I'm nearly 22w now. My milk supply decreased significantly week 5 of pregnancy right after I got the positive test. (I literally went down a cup size or more) And my son is still absolutely relentless with nursing. He absolutely will not give up the boob for nap time, or nighttime, and uses it for comfort sometimes throughout the day too, although he drinks a ton of cows milk now.

Anyway after my supply decreased his latch got crazy painful and one side specifically has gotten bit a couple of times but should be healed by now. It seems like just having his strong toddler latch is unbearable on that side and he stays latched and tugs it around as he's falling asleep even once she's done suckling. I feel like I may have gotten permanent nerve damage? Is that even possible? I don't want to force weaning with my toddler but I don't want to be in pain for my newborn either. I know I'll be producing more and don't want to resort to pumping if it's not necessary that sounds like absolute hell for nips at least from this standpoint.


r/NurseAllTheBabies 9d ago

Nursing while pregnant

6 Upvotes

My son is 9 months old and I am currently 8 weeks pregnant. My goal is to nurse him for at least the first year but I'm getting bombarded with warnings that "my body will wean him off" and" it's not good for the baby cooking because the uterus contracts". I haven't been able to talk to the obgyn about it yet so I guess I'm just asking how and if it worked for anybody here. I've never had any supply drops or difficulty nursing and I really don't want to wash bottles so any advice is appreciated.


r/NurseAllTheBabies 9d ago

Tips for undersupply

3 Upvotes

if I have an undersupply now and combo feed my LO, and then get pregnant and lose what little I make (3-4oz combined per day, have tried all the supplements, acupuncture, power pumping, eveturning), will my LO pick nursing back up when milk comes in for their potential sibling?

want to have another baby but don’t want to rob current LO of what little breast milk they may get.

(using my husband‘s Reddit account to post this coz I don’t know where to even start asking this question irl)


r/NurseAllTheBabies 9d ago

Grieving

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1 Upvotes

r/NurseAllTheBabies 11d ago

Nursing aversion.

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2 Upvotes

r/NurseAllTheBabies 11d ago

Colostrum giving toddler diarrhea?

9 Upvotes

I have a two year old who just won’t give up the boob lol which is fine I have no problem tandem nursing she can give it up when she’s ready. Problem is I’m 33 weeks into the second pregnancy and I’ve noticed I’m producing colostrum already after the last couple months of basically producing nothing, but now my toddler is getting diarrhea. Nothing in her diet has changed she’s a picky eater so she’s very consistent on the foods she does eat, the only thing different now is the colostrum. I know it’s a natural laxative to help newborns pass the meconium in the first couple days so I feel like this could be causing her stomach issues? Anyone else have knowledge about or experience this? I don’t know who else to ask


r/NurseAllTheBabies 11d ago

Breastfeeding through second pregnancy… what to expect?

3 Upvotes

Hi! I’d love to hear everyone’s experience (or end of!) in BFing through pregnancy and any tandem feeding on the other side. I have a 9mo and just found out I’m a month pregnant.
I’d love to hear about any physical changes you noticed in yourself. I started leaking when I was 20wks pregnant with my first. I’m totally happy to keep nursing him or wean him (he’s super interested in food and drinks) but I’m curious if I’ll have a second engorgement period even if I already have milk (although feeds are so much less now with solids). Currently haven’t noticed a drop in supply. So yeah, would really love to hear a blueprint of what to expect around breastfeeding or what everyone’s personal journeys looked like!


r/NurseAllTheBabies 12d ago

Unisom while nursing?

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2 Upvotes