Should you breastfeed while pregnant? That is a debatable question, depending on who you ask. The short answer is, IT IS YOUR CHOICE. Here is my experience.

The “Experts”

Doctors

Depending on who you ask, you will get a “continue to breastfeed” or a “stop once you get pregnant.” My obgyn suggested I stop breastfeeding once I got pregnant because I needed to save the milk for the baby. Breast milk is natural. It will never run out, as long as you are consistently nursing. Saving milk for the baby is ridiculous. My milk did not go anywhere. She soon realized it would take me longer to stop. Therefore, she gave me a deadline of a month before I was due with my daughter. I eventually stopped, just 2 weeks before giving birth! You can see my post HERE on weaning toddler.

I will say the nurse practitioner at my obgyn did encourage me to keep nursing if I wanted to. She understood because she too was a nursing mom.

Family and Friends

Family and friends can be just as annoying as your own doctor. It is almost like your being judged for nursing your toddler. At first it’s great that your nursing but as baby approaches age 1, you are expected to just stop nursing immediately. Guess what? It is not as easy as people make it seem!

Why I Stopped Nursing

I stopped nursing my toddler because by the third trimester I was feeling super uncomfortable. My nipples were sore and my stomach was just in the way. I could not nurse my toddler comfortably. I was also cramping at times. Another reason was I wanted my toddler to learn to become a bit more independent since baby would take up more of my time.

Benefits

It was great that I stopped nursing right before giving birth at just 2 weeks. Therefore, my breasts were sore for a few days, if that. And my milk was already in. The only downside was my milk was just overflowing, which was hard for my daughter to manage. A good tip for when milk comes in too fast is to lay back so baby can control how much milk she is taking in.

Your Choice

To conclude what I mentioned above. It is your choice, in the end. Do what makes you comfortable. Finish when you are ready to let it go. After a year old, it is not about the need to nurse but more of a bonding experience for mom and baby. Once it is over, it is bittersweet. You are free and finally own your breasts! But you will also miss it. My toddler and I do lots of hugs and kisses in place of nursing now.

Did you continue to nurse or stop during pregnancy?