Can I Continue Breastfeeding When I Just Found Out I Am Pregnant?

Updated on March 15, 2013
C.F. asks from South Jordan, UT
14 answers

I want to keep nursing my 10.5 month old. We found out last night we are pregnant again (a lot sooner than planned.) Can I continue to nurse or will it be too much of a tool on my body and the new growing baby?

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D.K.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Absolutely you can continue nursing. Many women even continue nursing once the new baby is born - both the toddler and infant.

4 moms found this helpful
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J.B.

answers from Boston on

Yes, absolutely. Some women are able to breastfeed throughout the entire pregnancy and even tandem feed after. When I got pregnant with my youngest I had a 13-month-old who was still nursing. He self-weaned at around 18 months old, when I was 5 months along. The milk flavor may change later in your pregnancy, causing your baby to self wean, but you should be able to go until at least a year old or longer, until whenever you or the baby decide that you're done.

ETA: Congratulations! Two close apart is a lot of work but it's been a wonderful experience for us. My little guys are 7 & 8 (almost 9) now and they still choose to sleep in the same bed every night and spend most of their time together.

3 moms found this helpful
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M.B.

answers from Austin on

Yep... you can continue breastfeeding......

Be sure to continue to eat healthy as you will now be supporting the growing baby inside you, as well as the one you are still nursing....

The taste of the milk may change a bit, and your baby may wean itself..... or, you may successfully bf for a while during the early stages of pregnancy...

http://www.babycenter.com/404_is-it-safe-to-breastfeed-du...

If I remember correctly, I was still nursing my first one just at night when I got pregnant with my second.....

2 moms found this helpful

J.O.

answers from Boise on

Yes, and you can breastfeed both if that's something your interested in after the new baby comes.

2 moms found this helpful

M.D.

answers from Washington DC on

I did. My first nursed until she was 15 months old and by then I was several months along with #2. I stopped nursing her because I was so tired and my doctor told me my body was trying to do too much. I also was not interested in tandum nursing.

Listen to your body :).

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M.A.

answers from Salt Lake City on

I also continued to nurse two of my babies once I found out I was pregnant. Once my belly started to get bigger it wasn't very comfortable to have the older baby/toddler pushing on my belly, but it was also around that time that they called it quits. I was happy that they were the ones who decided they were done and not me telling them they were done. As long as you get enough calories there is no medical reason you can't or shouldn't nurse while pregnant. It's perfectly safe. Congrats on the pregnancy!

1 mom found this helpful
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A.V.

answers from Washington DC on

You can give it a try and see. Many women successfully nurse through pregnancy and then tandem nurse after.

1 mom found this helpful
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L.O.

answers from Detroit on

my kids are 18 months apart.. as soon as i got pregnant my milk production went way way down.. my daughter was 10 months and she wanted to be done nursing anyway..(she never loved nursing)

so weboth called it quits. the dr recommended that I quit.. so all my energy could go to the baby growing inside.

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C.D.

answers from Atlanta on

I agree with your last two posts. You sure can. Be sure to eat healthy as stated and lots of rest and water

Congratulations!

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K.O.

answers from Atlanta on

Many doctors don't like it (I'm not completely sure why) but it is fine. There's a book called adventures in Tandem nursing that had a lot of information in it on pregnant nursing and a lot of personal stories.

I did nurse while I was pregnant once because my baby was only 10 months old and refused a bottle. I intended to nurse her until 15-18 months. However, around 10 weeks, my milk production dropped drastically. My nursling didn't nurse for comfort (only for nutrition) so there was no way I could get production back up with stimulation. I stopped nursing at that point.

I.X.

answers from Los Angeles on

Many dr.s will frown on this. but I think its fine IF you are diligent about a nutrient dense diet and keep empty calories to a bare minimum. My OBGYN was okay with it but asked me to be done by 20 weeks. My pediatrician just rolled his eyes at me. I didn't worry about it because mine was really just comfort sucking. at 10 months yours is still really eating, so again, keep your diet impeccably nutritious. In the end my nipples hurt to bad to continue.

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C.M.

answers from Denver on

you can definitely keep nursing as long as you like. in my experience (i got pregnant with our second when my first was 9 months old) nursing became painful because of increased nipple sensitivity and that combined with not wanting to tandem nurse once the baby was born led me to wean my first at about 13 months. but lots of moms nurse right on through the pregnancy and continue nursing both kids once the baby is born. totally up to you! i did deliberately reduce the amount i nursed as she got closer to 12 months so that it would be easier to stop when i was ready. being pregnant is a good incentive to move away from nursing for comfort and instead find other ways to comfort your baby! good luck and congratulations!

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K.F.

answers from Portland on

I was also pregnant with #2 when my first was 10 months old and we nursed until he was 13 months. At that point I was so nauseous that I couldn't eat enough for 3 people! It is fine to continue as long as you still feel good and are getting the calories you need to feed everyone.

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H.?.

answers from Boise on

Yes, you can! I never did because my babies were born 3-4+ years apart, but my mother tandem nursed some of her babies (she had 7). I know that it is hard, your milk supply will dwindle during pregnancy and your nipples will be sensitive, but it is possible to keep nursing. Best of luck!

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