Breastfeeding 15 Month Old Twins Seems to Make Them Miserable When I Am Around

You didn't say if this work situation was new or not. I think they may be having trouble with you schedule and just miss you. They don't know how to be close to you without nursing.

First, I suggest staying available to them when ever you are around. That means play with them, hold them, sit on the floor. Don't try to get other things done and leave them begging and crying for your attention.
Second, designate one spot in your house as your nursing spot. A chair, a bed, where ever it is most convienient, but only one spot. When you are at home, never nurse them anywhere else. When you are playing and they want to nurse, take them to the specified spot and nurse. They will get bored and will want to go back to the playroom. You can instead offer to hold them while still playing in the play area.

Leaving them more will make the problem worse, not better.

I don't think that your twins' behavior has anything to do with the breastfeeding. Honestly. If you weren't nursing them then they would be focusing on something different when you're around, but it wouldn't change the underlying need - whatever it is.

I also think that you being gone more would make the situation worse. They seem like they need you very much right now and if you were gone more then it would just make that need even stronger when you were around less. Children do tend to be better behaved for non-parents because with their parents they are comfortable enough to be needy and frustrated and clingy.

One thing that I try to do (my almost 2.5 year old daughter is still nursing and I'm also nursing my 9 month old so I know how difficult and how rewarding tandem-nursing can be) is to keep my daughters busy. They nurse more when we're at home. If we go out somewhere then they get interested in our surroundings or other people or playing on the playground. They nurse MUCH more frequently when we're at home or if we get in a rut without doing different activities frequently enough.

So, I think you should try to find out what their underlying need is so that you can fulfill it. They might need more variety, they might need more of a routine, they might need to be cuddled more frequently, or they might need something totally different. Please don't think that your babies don't need you though. I'm certain that it's not that they are happier with their CP. They're just not comfortable enough to show their strong emotions around her/him. It's a very common thing.

Best wishes!
~B.

What an amazing accomplishment, still nursing twins at 15 months. You must be so proud of yourself.

It can be hard to nurse our babies for so long. My daughter is 27 months and we are still nursing. It is not her, me, or even her 7 month old brother that make this difficult but the people around us. Tandem nursing is a beautiful thing. You are giving your children a wonderful gift.

My daughter goes through phases where she wants to nurse all the time and then she only nurses sometimes. When I was working outside the home she definitely wanted to nurse more. I found myself coming home from work and immediately doing house work. The laundry, dishes, dinner, all needed to be done. This took me away from my children even more causing even more trouble. My daughter would throw fits and refuse to go to bed. She wanted to stay up all night just to be with me.

What finally helped us was implementing a daily routine. A family schedule that was the same every day even when I was not home. The time I was at home was spent enjoying my children, playing games, going to the park, reading books, and juts having fun. It seemed to help everyone. My infant is eating more at meals times and sleeping longer at night. My toddler is so busy during the day she does not ask to nurse as often and is happy to go to bed at night. My house work is easier as it is done more regularly.

I believe we set the stage for how our children will behave and feel about life. I was stressed about not being home with them and felt I would never have enough time to do it all. It is a difficult job to be a mother, wife, and employee. As soon as I relaxed and felt better about my position in it all everything worked out.

Don’t give up on what you believe is best for your children and your family. This too will pass.

Wow- I am truly not alone! I am almost one week off of nursing my 16 month old son and things are already showing signs of improvement in our household. My little fella would be in a great mood whenever I wasn't around and as soon I show up, it's instant whining and pulling at my shirt then I would nurse and he would be fine. As soon as I would show up at daycare, no matter what my son was in the middle of, he would see me and pitch a whining fit until I would nurse- and heaven forbid I try and wait until we got home! (lol!) So it's now Thursday, and he didn't whine at all this morning after he woke up; it has been helpful to make sure that he doesn't see my bare breasts while WE are weening. Good luck to us both!

Please know.. most children behave better for the babysitter/grandma/auntie, ect. It sounds like they are pushing you just to test the boundries.