Tandem Nursing Moms- Question

Well I didn't tandem nurse two of my kids but I did have to tandem nurse my daughter and my nephew for a few days once. I know that sounds super weird but my sister and her husband had to go out of town to a funeral when her father in law died. They didn't want to take their little kids cause of what a sad stressful time it was. We had kids the same age and we were both nursing our 11 month olds so I watched her kids and nursed mine and hers while they were gone. For the most part I nursed them one at a time. Like for naps I would nurse my nephew, put him to bed, then do my daughter and put her to bed. But first thing in the morning they liked to nurse at the same time so I just laid on the bed and they nursed one on each side. It was super sweet. They would look at eachother and hold hands! How cute is that? so anyways just cause you tandem nurse doesn't mean you always have to nurse them at the same time. you might find it easier to do it one at a time for bedtimes.

Ya! Good for you! I tandem Nursed my DD and DS. It was really wonderful, but really hard too. It just seemed like my boobs were always out! I tandem nursed them at the same time, so my toddler nursed everytime my newborn did, and that was a little overwhelming. My toddler was much more attatched to nursing than my baby and when I weaned her at 2 1/2, my baby boy was ready to wean too. He was so used to nursing with his sister that he didn't know what it was like to nurse without her, so he didn't ask anymore, but I pushed him to nurse until 14 months. The great thing about Tandem Nursing is you don't have to find something for your toddler to do while you are nursing your baby. For naps I would tell my dd to wait for her turn to nurse and then nurse the baby in the rocking chair. Lay him in bed, then lay down with my toddler and nurse her to sleep. It worked out well for us. I couldn't get comfortable nursing them both in bed, I have no idea how people do it! Def find a La Leche League if you can, they are awesome! Good luck!

I'm a tandem nurser and have been for 2 years now. I'm nursing a 4 yo and a 2 yo. When my second son was born I was so thankful for nursing. It really helped my then 2 year old to cope with his new baby brother. We'd just snuggle up on the couch and I'd nurse both at the same time or nurse the baby first. At times there was a lot of whining, "I want Mama's milk!!!" or he'd jump up and down on the couch begging for it. But if I hadn't nursed my toddler at the time I think I would have resorted to giving him unhealthy foods or candy to keep him calm. All he really wanted was Mom's affection and attention. I didn't have a lot of outside help, so I just pulled him nearer to me (instead of doing timeouts for bad behavior or yelling at him). So he nursed lots and got all the extra nutrition and tons of comfort and cuddling. Tandem nursing just made parenting easier for me.

This isn't to say it was super easy all the time. There were lots of times I felt overwhelmed, but I realized it was temporary and just took things day by day. By the time the baby arrived I had night-weaned my first son. He then slept with Dad in one bed and the baby and I slept in another bedroom. We tried to make it work in the same room, but the baby's crying or fussing was too disruptive to my first son at night. My first son stopped napping around the time the baby was born. I know other tandem nursing mothers (all met at La Leche League meetings) who all snuggled in bed together and nursed both to sleep either at the same time or separately. You'll just have to experiment to see what works for your family.

"Adventures in Tandem Nursing" by Hilary Flower is a great book to read. It will certainly give you confidence and help you trouble shoot any problems. I know that I had some plugged ducts while tandem nursing and anytime I got that I just had my toddler nurse extra to help clear it up.

My older son is so nurturing and maybe it's because he learned that with me. At 4 now he'll tandem nurse a stuffed animal and a rubber snake...too funny...but so beautiful to see him being compassionate and gentle. Perhaps he'd still be this way without extended nursing. I have no way of knowing, but I have no regrets about those early months of intensive nursing of both of my boys.

Definitely check out a LLL meeting. The one in Evanston has a few tandem nursing mothers. I've since left the Chicago area, but you're welcome to private message me if you want to chat more about nursing.

Good luck to you and congrats!!
J.

I tandem nursed 3 and 4. I tried nursing them at the same time and didn't like it, so I followed the advice in Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, and always let the baby nurse first, then the toddler. The baby would often empty one breast and then start on the second, but not finish, so the toddler got the rest of that breast and often didn't want any more. I found that my kids dropped most of their regular nursing sessions between the ages of 2 and 3, so the toddler didn't nurse nearly as often as the baby. To this day those two are the closest of any of my kids, like two peas in a pod :)

Good luck!

I tandem nursed number 3 and 4 and i would have the bigger kid latch on first and have him hold the little one so they could nurse at the same time. I always nursed on demand for the baby and the bigger kid not as often. Good Luck and congrats!
J.

Hi M. P ;-)

I'll be honest.. I didn't know what tandem nursing was..! Once I read your whole note I figured it out, but it was a new concept to me. I googled it quickly and found this site that has several images of moms "tandem nursing".. they looked pretty comfortable to me!

Congratulations on your baby in progress.. :-) Hopefully other moms who are actually doing tandem nursing will chime in!

Here is the link to the photos I found: http://www.breastfeeding.com/art_gallery/Mom_photos_XXII....

hugs,
A. R.N., Energy Medicine Practitioner

I was about to give you advice but realized we are due at the same time so you must have the pregnancy nursing down. good luck and i look forward to reading the responses!

I read a book recommended to me by my lactation consultant http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Tandem-Nursing-Breastfee...

and in there it says to not worry about nursing order , unless you have milk supply issues baby is going to get what it needs!

Call La Leche League.
Good luck!!

Hi M., I did tandem nurse, way back when! My husband worked & needed his sleep so I set up the girls room with a twin size & a full size beds both with side-rails. Then I went to which ever baby was in need of me. I remember it was really no big deal....My 3rd baby never even slept in a crib, the twin size with the side-rail was always just fine for her. Daytime nursing I remember newborn 1st & my then (almost) 2 yr old was perfectly happy to share with the baby, & I remember she would say then I get a turn. Good for you for tandem nursing!

I tandem nursed my 1st and 2nd. The older one was almost 3. Sometimes I nursed them at the same time and they were head to head and would hold hands. It was really cute. But I found tandem nursing (and nursing while pregnant) demanding enough that I didn't do it with #2 and #3. Rest and diet are really important so that you keep up your energy.
Definitely nurse the baby first so they get what they need.