Tandem Nursing

As a midwives we support tandem nursing as long as you have an adequate diet. We encourage you to nurse while pregant, however we are a little more dillengent about assuring you and new baby are getting all the calories and nutients that you need. Also watch for preterm labor.

With that said you could really benefit from attending La Leache Leque meetings. You will get all the support and knowledge you need.

http://www.llli.org//

Happy nursing and have a great pregnancy.

www.tender-beginnings.com

Hello!

I tandem nursed my 1st and 2nd. During my 8th month of pregnancy and on I started getting a contractions when she would nurse. So I would explain that she could only nurse a minute. that was all that I could handle. My milk also changed back to colostrum. Did that make her want to stop? NOPE!!! she was persistent! When the baby was born I ALWAYS let the baby nurse first. and then when I switched to the other side with the baby, I would let my 1st go on the 1st breast. I tandem nursed until she was 3.25 years and he was 1.25 and then continued to nurse him until 2.5.

A few things that I would suggest is: Weaning IS EASIER at an earlier age. would I have done things differently,probably not, but I ended up have to do cold turkey with my daughter. (I was surprised how much milk she was actually drinking, but my son did not mind to drink more and help me adjust)

I only would let her nurse in private. there are too many gockers in this world!!

A bobby pillow will do wonders when you are trying to nurse them both.

If your first child decides to stop nursing I personally would let them. Tandem nursing does take a lot out of your body so PLEASE eat like they are twins (1000 extra calories)I just read that in a breast feeding book yesterday!!

H.~ Mother of three, military wife and birth doula (labor coach)

Shirley B, Your information is inaccurate, babies need a minimum of 12 months at the breast (as recommended by the AAP) however, I believe many women are beginning to recognize that extended breastfeeding is optimal for emotional, physical and mental development. Furthermore, the decision to nurse beyond infancy is both selfless and ideal. I strongly suggest you do a little more research before dispensing this type of advice.

A. M, I haven't yet experienced tandem nursing but know many women who have. My son is 20 months and we have been waiting until he was older to try to conceive. I would look into milk enhancing herbs and teas and continue to nurse on demand. It may require some effort but I believe you can make it work despite the drop in supply. Good luck to you!

Super Kudos to you for thinking of tandem nursing! I don't have a lot of experience with this myself, but it certainly is possible. I understand it helps with sibling rivalry, too. You should check out the info at the kellymom website. It's a very reputable one run by a certified lactation consultant. I wish you the very best!!

http://kellymom.com/bf/tandem/index.html

i think that the most important thing to remember with tandem nursing, is to always feed the new baby first. by the time the baby comes along, nursing will be a comfort and snack type thing, but the baby will be completely dependent on nursing. if your older child wants to nurse, she may need to wait an hour, so that her new sibling can eat first. this may be hard for her to understand, but you need to keep the most of your milk for the new baby.

Hi A., I too was in the same boat as you. My plan was to nurse my first till she was two, and 5 days after her first birthday I found out I was pregnant. I nursed her until it started to hurt. My nipples got REALLY tender during the second trimester. So I weaned her. The best advice I can give you is to do what you are comfortable with. Remember (like another mom said) if you make it until the birth nursing feed the baby first and such. But don't be too hard on yourself if you don't make it to the two year mark with your daughter. Take one day at a time and good luck.
T.

i hope it works out for you and you are able to do the tantem thing. but most woman i know, who tried nursing while pregnant had to give it up because the pregnancy hormones caused their milk supply to dry up after a few months. i'd talk to your ob or midwife to see what, if anything, can help you prevent this happening. i've heard there are herbal supplemnts you can take to help increase milk supply, but i'm not sure they are safe while you're pregnant.

Hi. I nursed my now 4 1/2 yr old daughter until she was three and I had a son when she was 2 1/2. They say your milk changes when you are about 4 months preg. My daughter never said anything. Your oldest will be getting a lot of her food from table food by that time, so I would not worry to much about that. I hurt a little if she would play with the nipple, but not when she nursed. My nipples were not nearly as sore with my second as they were with my first!

After my son was born, I continued to nurse my daughter. However, I always made sure that I nursed my son first or I did it together. If you google Tandem breastfeeding you will get some great positions. I did not get engorged because my daughter was very willing to empty a boob on request. And my milk supply was more than enough for both. I did notice that my letdown was huge and sometimes by son would choke from the amount of milk flowing!!

I had a hard time gaining weight though. I only gained 25 pounds and I had to work hard at that. I did not notice a lot of contractions. But my midwife did start checking me at 29 weeks to make sure that the nursing was no thining me out. The day I did go into labor, I could not nurse her because she made the contractions unbearable.

I slowly weaned my daughter by her third birthday because I was tired of nursing two children. I started by letting her sleep on my naked boob and talking about how much I love to cuddle with her (she was only nursing to got to nap and sleep). I felt kinda bad, but by three she really did not need it anymore.

I am still nursing my 2 yr old son and I still love the closeness that it provides. Again he only nurses now to go to nap and bed. But that is a few minutes for me and him and I love it. I will prob wean him about the same age. I am sure I will have a little guilt, like I had with my daughter, but I will survive.

My daughter and I are still really close and I think that is one great benefit of breastfeeding. Good luck.

Hi A.
Yes I nursed My oldest daughter
Until I was 5 Months pregers with my youngest daughter.
The only thing I can tell ya is that a can of Boost or Ensure helped to take the edge of my fatigue when I was Pregnat and nursing and running around after a toddler and nursing.
Enjoy this time with them as much as you can because those two daughters are now teenagers
Blessings to ya
C.

I can say that the milk you make for your current child is different for the milk you will be making for your soon-to-be child so it is not appropriate (physiologically) for you to feed your older child milk that you produce once your second child is born. I dont have experience with this but I dont think the benefits that one receives from nursing (immunity, etc) would be helpful for your first child with your second childs milk - it wont match, so to speak.

Hi A.. You might want to go to the La Leche League website and order the book: Adventures in Tandem Nursing
It should be very helpful to you.
Good luck and congratulations!
T.

I never nursed two at once, but i was in nearly the same place you are. My first child was nine months old when i got pregnant with the second one. I continued to nurse him for about four months, but he caught a cold and had trouble nursing while his nose was stuffy and already took juice in a cup, so we just quit. Then my second child was 18 months old when I got pregnant with the third. I nursed her for four months, but in the last few months my nipples got really sore (hormones, I guess) and I weaned her because I just couldn't stand it anymore. The third one nursed for almost two years. I know people who have successfully nursed twins, but none who have nursed an older child with an infant. But I've read about it, so I'm sure it's doable. Good for you for wanting to do your best for both babies!

I don't know anything about that as I had one at a time to nurse, however, I had a friend that did that straight through and when the baby was born she would nurse one of each side. She nursed straight through the entire pregnancy and I never heard anything negative or that anything was wrong. The uterous contracts when you nurse but I never heard her say that she even thought anything might be wrong. Check with your doctor and see what he says and his staff may be able to give you tips and literature to read.

Well I was in the same situation with my children. M sons are 19 months apart soI was still nursing the first while pregnant with the 2nd. I actually went to a midwife clinic instead of a regular doctor and they were real supportive of contining to nurse him. She did warn that as it got closer to due date I may have to stop because there is a chance of sending into early labor because of nursing. She also warned me as milk changed the baby may want to stop nursing. but for me it went great. I never had any signs of early labor so she never told me I needed to stop for new babys health. (Actually he was born 2 weeks late. ) zMy son continued to nurse . About 3 days before baby was born he would not nurse but about 3 days after he started again. I guess it was because of the mik change. Anyay, do ant to say he was not nursing alot. Only basically for comfort and nap, bedtime, things like that by the time I was about 6 months regnant. Trhis was his choice as he loved baby food. Anyway, after the 2nd was born I nursed both until the oldest was about 27 months old. It was successful for us. But I think you just have to keep watch on your own bay. If you have ay problems they will want you to stop nursing for the safety of the baby.

Congratulations on the new baby. And kudos for considering Tandem Nursing. If you haven't found this out already, you'll find that you'll get some bad advice in this area (I've read it here already) and probably not a lot of support.
You MUST, MUST check out kellymom.com, the premier breastfeeding site for support and info. You'll also find other tandem nursing moms there (in the forums).

Here's one link to try:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/tandem/links-nursingpregnant.html

It's already been mentioned, but diet is especially important, so here's another link on that topic:
http://www.kellymom.com/nursingtwo/faq/04momnutrition.html

Good luck and best wished to you!

Hi! I'm so glad to hear you would like to nurse your daughter till she is 2. It has been my experience that you will probably nurse her till she is 3!! :)
Both of my duaghters are nursing stay at home Moms! One of my grandsons is 2 1/2 and is still nursing.
When I was 40 years old I became pregnant again, after 13 yrs., I nursed my son and then I became pregnant again when he was 16 mos. old, I nursed him thru my pregnancy and then nursed both of them. You will have to make sure that your diet is very healthy.I talked to my Dr. and he said his wife was doing the same thing, she took vitamins and watched her diet and was fine.I would not trade my time with my children that way for anything.
I wish you great success in doing whatever you decide to do, there is no greater pleasure than staying home with your children. LIZ:)

Congratulations, A.!

I had the same time frame and nursed while pregnant, but my older child weaned herself before the new baby was born, when she was around 14 mos old, I think. I did experience nipple soreness, but with La Leche League's support, friendship and education, all was well. I can't recommend them highly enough for those who are interested. If you are, find a group that suits your style/personality, as they vary from group to group. I also knew mothers who nursed tandemly and for very extended amounts of time and did very well with it.

Whatever works for you and your family.......
Best wishes.....

Congrats on your pregnancy and for nursing! I was nursing my daughter when I got pregnant with my son (she was 6 months then). She weaned herself at 11 months, which I noticed from previous moms that my milk was changing then (no one told me that). I will say that it is much easier if they wean themselves, so you may be in for a blessing. I had to wean my son at 14 months for medical reasons (medication I had to take) and it was difficult and heart-breaking for us both. It was so much easier when it was her decision. So, if you get to tandem nurse, great. But if you don't because she decides to wean, be grateful for that time and focus on starting your new nursing relationship with your new baby. Congrats and good luck.

A great book to read is http://www.amazon.com/Tandem-Nursing-Journey-Breastfeedin...

Congratulations!! I was in the same situation when my daughter was 6 months old and we were pregnant again with our son. (They are just at 15 months apart, he was 2 weeks early!) I realized that something was different when my daughter was getting frustrated at the breast and having difficulty getting enough milk. Did a little research and took a test and well, we were pregnant!! But with the excitement, shock and reality of being pregnant again so soon after my daughter was born the reality set in that my milk supply was slowing up and slowly drying up too. I was quite disappointed when I called the lactation center and they told me to just go on ahead and giver her formula. I called the local LLL and they suggestion tandem nursing, but some people having problems with their milk drying up when they are pregnant. I was back at work and pumping became more and more of a problem and I was getting frustrated because nothing was coming out, as it used to. But I continued to pump and pumped extra while at home, so to have enough milk while I was at work. We eventually had to give her formula as well as breastmilk to help supplement, because I wasn't producing enough for her. But I made it 9 months before going exclusively formula. I was very upset and emotional when I had to make that decision, it was not an easy decision or one to come to terms with.

With all the being said, you may be able to continue to nurse your daughter up until a year maybe longer, but you may find it difficult especially if your milk dries up. Call your local LLL group and they have great resources and books that you can use to help with this. Good luck. Any questions feel free to email me.

A.