What to Expect When You're Expecting & STILL Breastfeeding
Bonus! What to Expect When You're Tandem Nursing

You can get pregnant while you're nursing, but

You cannot get pregnant if you are not ovulating, and

Nursing suppresses menstruation - and therefore ovulation - in most (not all) women.  Therefore you are most likely not fertile until after you get your first period. However, a few women do ovulate before their first period. The chance of pregnancy is about 1% during the first six months postpartum as long as you have not had a menstrual cycle yet. After six months the chance of pregnancy increases to around 6% (see "Does Breastfeeding Really Space Babies?"). As long as you have not had a menstrual cycle, you may consider yourself infertile, because the first menstrual cycle is almost always anovulatory (without an egg). Again, it is possible to get pregnant, but it's just as possible to get pregnant while using a condom, which results in pregnancy about 5% of the time.

Many women find that their menstrual cycles return only after the baby is night weaned. This has happened to me twice: I night-weaned Noa at 16 months, immediately had two periods, and got pregnant. I night-weaned Colter at 22 months and got my period back the next month. Kyler is just six months old and still night nursing, so I'll update this when I get my cycle back with him.

A few women find they get their cycles back within a few months of giving birth, no matter how much they nurse. You can increase your chances of not getting your period back with the following practices. But remember that every woman's body is different in this regard, and some women will get their periods back within a couple of months even if they do everything "right."

	No bottles or pacifiers; instead using your breast for all milk and comfort nursing.
	Share your bed with your baby and let baby nurse several times at night.
	Delay introduction of solid foods.
	Read the basic principles of Breastfeeding and Child Spacing.

A very few women are infertile even if the toddler is nearly weaned. I read of one woman whose daughter was five years old and was nursing only once a day, and yet she was unable to conceive until her daughter was completely weaned. This is fairly uncommon, I believe.

Consider waiting at least a year, possibly two, between pregnancies. This allows your baby to be a baby longer and also allows your body time to recuperate and rebuild nutritional reserves depleted from pregnancy.

Especially the first three months when your breasts get so sore anyway, continuing to breastfeed will be a major act of will on your part. If your toddler has the habit of twiddling your other nipple, you may not get through it. But if you can get past the sore nipple phase it's not too bad.

Your toddler may decide to wean due to a change in your milk supply or the taste of the milk, and may or may not want to start back up after the baby is born.

Your toddler may continue to nurse just as frequently even if you completely lose your milk (my Noa did). Upping your liquid intake may increase milk production if you are drying up.

Heavy, early Braxton-Hicks contraction probably indicate dehydration. Drink a lot more water. I started getting BH that left me breathless and I was only five months pregnant (this was midsummer in the desert with a very heavy nurser). They disappeared when I started drinking more.

People will tell you that you are endangering your pregnancy. A friend who was pregnant at the same time that I was pregnant and nursing told her doctor, who informed her in no uncertain terms that I was absolutely going to lose my baby, and if I somehow managed to carry to term, I would be The First Woman in History to do so. Well, history has been made, baby! Pardon my French, but orgasm stimulates much stronger uterine contractions than does breastfeeding, so if the doc doesn't say "no sex," you don't have to worry about breastfeeding. If doc does say "no sex," then is when you think about weaning.

You can prepare your toddler to share nursing. I picked our largest stuffed toy, which happened to be a Big Bird, and talked about how the baby would "share nooka" with Noa, then demonstrated, while she was nursing. This became such a hit that every time she nursed, she first went over and picked up Big Bird, and I had to nurse them together. And I mean no faking it: I had to open my shirt and bra and position the bird properly! Noa welcomed nursing with her brother and there was never any problem with sharing.

Some midwives say that breastfeeding during pregnancy will increase gestation time. This was not true for me, as my daughter (first child) was a week late, but my two subsequent pregnancies during which I breastfed, were each about a week early, but it may be a generalization that applies to most women.

Your toddler may decide breastmilk is for babies and self-wean.

Your toddler may decide that every time the new baby nurses is a good time to nurse too. Expect a sudden weight gain if this is the case, since your milk switches to high-fat for the baby. But don't worry - all breastmilk fat is good fat and won't make your chubby baby permanently overweight. Noa was a heavy nurser from birth and gained weight so fast! She was 20 pounds at four months, and 30 pounds at a year, and the roundest, most padded baby you ever saw, wearing size 2T and 3T with the arms and legs rolled up! At 12 months her growth slowed down (not her nursing, though!) and she gained only five more pounds by her second birthday, and slimmed down quite a bit. But when she decided to nurse every time the baby nursed, she leapt from 35 pounds to 50 pounds before her third birthday, and was so fat again! However, she stayed at 50 pounds for the longest time, slimming down as she grew taller. Now at age six she is a very appropriate, slender 60 pounds.

You won't have any problems with engorgement, because your toddler is always available, with a much bigger appetite than the new baby!

You can nurse the baby first and the toddler second. This will take up a considerable amount of your time, but will ensure that baby gets first dibs.

You can designate one side for baby and one side for toddler, and nurse them one at a time or together on their exclusive sides. This also ensures that baby gets all of what he needs, but you may end up looking lopsided.

You can nurse them both at the same time, and switch sides for next time. Personally I think this is easiest and least time-consuming, as you are going to sit and nurse the newborn anyway, and this way you don't have to sit down later and nurse the toddler too. It also keeps the toddler from getting jealous that she has to wait for her turn. Best, it keeps your milk supply (and therefore your profile) even on both sides, and ensures that no one gets shorted on either foremilk or hindmilk.

You cannot nurse the toddler first and the baby second.

If you nurse them at the same time, there are several ways to position everyone.

	My favorite was on the couch, holding the baby in the traditional hold across my lap, with my daughter sitting beside me facing the back of the couch. She just leaned over to latch on, and I would put my arm around her shoulders and behind her head to support it, and to keep the baby from kicking her.
	Or put the toddler in the across-the-lap position, with baby in the "football" hold, lying with his feet to the back of the couch, and a pillow to raise him up to breast level and support your arm. His head will probably be on the toddler's abdomen, so make sure the toddler is okay with that!
	You can also put your toddler across your lap in the traditional nursing position, then put the baby across the toddler's lap in the traditional nursing position, so they are crossed. Be sure you have plenty of pillows behind your arms to support all the weight!

Nursing them both to sleep is even possible. Prop yourself up with plenty of pillows, lying on your back. You'll have more control over things if you're in a half-sitting position rather than completely flat on your back. Hold your toddler close to your side, with your arm around her to pull her close to the breast; put a pillow under your elbow on that side to support your arm and keep her from rolling away. Drape the baby across your tummy (legs between your legs or close to that position) and hold him with your arm, and put another pillow close to your side, supporting that arm and keeping baby from sliding off your tummy. Once baby is properly draped, you can actually roll a little toward your toddler, to facilitate her nursing. Stick a pillow behind your back to support your leaning.