Breastfeeding #1 or open to #2?

[RAR]

We were blessed with our first child about four months ago, and despite ecological breastfeeding, our fertility is back. We want to be open to #2, but I know there are challenges associated with breastfeeding during pregnancy. Does anyone know *how common *these challenges are, or how often they cause a woman to stop breastfeeding?

Any thoughts on whether trying to have an extended breastfeeding relationship with a current child is a valid reason to postone a next pregnancy?

Thanks!!

 

[Truly_Beloved]

Check these out:

llli.org/NB/NBtandem.html

kellymom.com/bf/tandem/index.html

For personal thoughts, I’ll offer my experience, too.

My fertility returned around 15 months after the birth of my first baby, so my husband and I were open to the possibility of another baby. Our daughter was just beginning to really get into solid food, so I was confident that we could nourish her without formula, should my milk dry up.

God blessed us with Baby #2 during that first postpartum cycle. My milk dried up a few months later, but my little girl still nursed. I currently nurse both children, who will be 3 and 1 years old in January. Because my little guy is only 9 months old, I would try to delay another pregnancy until he is at least 15 months old, should my fertility return soon. I might even want to delay another baby until 18-24 months, because he is not an “emotional” nurser, and I would be afraid he would wean himself if my milk dried up.

My fertility is nowhere in sight, so far, but when I think about another baby, I just melt. I hope God blesses us again, and I hope He does it when my son is at least 18-24 months old, so that he gets at least 2 years of breastmilk. Giving my children breastmilk is really important to me – I don’t think it’s a selfish reason to postpone pregnancy.

 

[RitaM]

I got pregnant three months after my first child was born, and I was breastfeeding exclusively. I continued to breast feed until I was about 4 months pregnant (baby was 7 months old). I switched to formula because breastfeeding had become a little painful during the pregnancy, and I didn’t feel like I had enough milk (baby wanted more and more nursing and was very fussy). I also found out that I had developed an iron deficiency, which was easily remedied by diet and iron supplements.

It wasn’t a big deal to me, but if you’re absolutely opposed to using formula, you might want to use NFP for a little while in the event that getting pregnant again soon might lead to an end to breastfeeding or a burden on your own health. That seems like a good enough reason as far as I’m concerned.