Breastfeeding whilst you’re pregnant is definitely possible, but it does come with unique challenges. Take heart, you might be one of those lucky moms who breeze through it. At some point, it is likely you’ll experience a little discomfort, and possibly pain. There is a little to be done about it, so read on.

Physical Discomfort:

Nipple Pain - early nipple tenderness in pregnancy is very common, and there’s little you  can do about it. Ensuring you have good attachment with your older child, will lessen the pain. Other strategies you may find useful is cool packs, warm packs, and lanolin ointment.

That said, the pain is hormonal, and part of growing a new baby - generally it subsides by the 12th week. But in the meantime, local heat and cool will provide relief.

Morning Sickness: It’s fair to say, that when you can’t stomach food, nursing an insistent child is the last thing you’ll probably want to do. Some strategies, might be, nursing lying down, where you can both get a little rest.

Try and ensure your nutrition is good - eat well, small meals and often. Keeping your fluids up has been said to help too.

Anecdotally, breastfeeding has been said to relieve morning sickness. So you might be in for a bonus!

Emotional Challenges.

You may find yourself frustrated, overwhelmed, and even angry with your older child - this is normal. But it helps to communicate your feelings to an understanding listener. If this isn’t your partner or family, arrange a consultation with a qualified Lactation Consultant.

Remember your child is still young, and still learning too - being angry doesn’t help them, nor you. Addressing your feelings and talking them over with a sympathetic ear is the best approach.

Babies and children are such a universal thing, that it seems everyone has an opinion. Much of it is well meaning advice, but some is blatant and irresponsible criticism.

Well meaning advice can often be dismissed with a smile, or simply, a  “Thank you, I’ll take that on board”  (Provided you’re well informed enough to sort the good advice from the bad) and you can continue on your merry nursing way - however critiscism, can be more awkward.

Taking the time out to make sure you’re well informed of your breastfeeding rights, and knowing that what you’re doing is right, and good for your child, is the very first step to nursing confidence. There are many fantastic resources on the web - such as www.kellymom.com to help you get informed. 

Breastfeeding rights vary from country to country, but the majority of western countries, have policies and laws in place to protect the nursing mother.  In  Australia, UK and Canda, the nursing mother is allowed to breastfeed her child in public, and her right to do so is protected by law. It is illegal to ask a nursing mother to cover up and or move on.

In the US, breastfeeding laws vary from state to state.

That said, when faced with critisism, of any kind, there are a couple of ways to handle it:

• Ignore it, remembering it’s about THEM, not about You.
• Brush it off with a flippant remark - when asked “When are you going to wean him, he’s looking awfully old” - we reply with “Oh, sometime before he starts college”
• Retort with accurate and factual information (taking into account, with some critics, you’re wasting your breath!)

The key is, to remember that it’s about them. If they’re uncomfortable with your nursing, they’re the ones who ought to look away, or move rooms. You’re the one providing a newly established human being, with the best start to life.

Reaffirm how fantastic you are mentally, look at your beautiful baby, and remember, you’re wonderful!

Any breastfeeding mother of a mobile baby, will probably smile a wry smile when you mention breastfeeding acrobatics. At some stage or other - most moms feeding an older baby, have had feet near their ears, bottoms under their chin, and some wild and whacky breastfeeding positions inflicted upon them!

If it’s causing you no pain, and is working for you at home, there’s no reason that you can’t allow the occasional breast feeding acrobatic act - however, if it’s hurting, or you are uncomfortable with it - then establishing some feeding rules might make all the difference:

Clear and gentle communication, to “Nurse Gently” , followed by gentle detachment if your request isn’t followed, is the general reccomended approach.  With my son, we have to preempt acrobatics when we’re outside of the home, by almost constantly telling him to “Keep mummy covered” or “Nurse Gently”  and take “boobie” away if he doesn’t play by the rules.

It took a week of requesting, and following up with boobie removal before the little guy got the idea, but now, when he hears “Nurse Gently” he understands that it’s time to concentrate at the task at hand.

At home, I generally let him have a free for all - the ultimate feeding experience, which has resulted in bottoms in faces, and lots of giggles and  fun. (Breastfeeding is meant to be fun!)

In public, for  the sake of my modesty, we nurse “nicely”.

At some stage or another, most breastfeeding babies will bite. And it hurts. Old wisdom was to bite the child back, to teach them that biting hurts, however as infants, babies can’t distinguish between what is person, and what is chew toy.

So biting back a baby, and  causing them pain, is quite cruel, and ineffective.

Some tips for managing biting:

• When your baby bites, yelp, and gently detach them from the breast. Explain that mummys aren’t for biting, and ask them to nurse gently. (Detaching them, is enough usually to interrupt the pattern)
• Offer something cool and nice for them to chew on when they’re not feeding, like a cool flannel, or teething toy.
• Learn what preempts biting, and gently suggest they “nurse gently” before they bite. If they begin to chomp down, gently detach, and verbalise that mummys aren’t for biting.

Understanding why your baby bites might help you preempt the biting too. Some babies bite at the end of the breastfeed, when the milk is mostly gone, and they’re just playing on the breast. When you notice their suck to swallow ratio getting to more sucks to swallows, they’re getting towards the end of the feed.  Watch to see if his attachment changes, and gently detach before he bites.

Some babies bite when they’re teething- and this is very normal. Offering a substiute teething toy (to your breast) after a bite, or a near bite, with gentle explanation that “Toys are for biting”  will help  - it will take patience though.

KellyMom.com has some great tips on managing your baby’s biting here

Breastfeeding my 14 month old son, has been a journey that I have truly relished. And when he eventually weans, I’ll be sad I’m sure. But here are the reasons, I adore nursing my son.

• Nothing gets him to sleep more peacefully
• He smells sweet, and babylike, it just emenates from his skin.
• We cuddle together in bed every morning, and from the moment he could roll, he’d roll towards me as his daddy lifted him into bed.
• Boobies can fix the most persistent of tears, and tantrums
• When his batteries are running low, a quick snuggle and boobie gives him a boost again.
• We can do it anywhere, anytime, and not have to worry about lugging around expensive equipment
• Nursing him, has meant that I have to take time out just to focus on him, and it gives us a peaceful few minutes, while we just cuddle, and forget the world.
• I love how he snuggles over my pregnant belly, and his little brother or sister wriggles and kicks beneath him.
• I love that we’ve never had to worry about constipation
• My son literally glows with health - it radiates from his skin, his eyes, and his hair.
• Our nappy changes actually smell better than a bottle fed bubs!
• I’ve loved the benefits myself, my figure has returned, and I can eat like a horse, and maintain a steady weight.
• I love the satisfaction that I’m giving him the very best of foods!
• I love the sheer convenience of nursing.

I consider my decision to breastfeed to be nothing but a blessing to us, and I’m so grateful to have had  the support from my husband and friends to continue. It’s been a challenge at times,  but for the most part, simply a joy that my son and I share.

A simply beautiful video, capturing the beauty of feeding a newborn, through to the humour and antics of feeding a toddler.

How wonderful it is to see older children being nursed, normalised in a stunningly presented video.

The World Health Organisation reccomends exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, then continued feeding for 2 years or beyond. The natural weaning age of children in non industrialised societies is somewhere between 4 and 7 years of age. This demonstrates that breastfeeding an older child, is not something that is unusual, or abnormal, it’s a wonderful gift that nature gave women. The ability to nurse and nourish our young.