breastfeeding through pregnancy/tandem nursing
this is a great topic, so I started a discussion for it!
Have you read the book; Adventures in Tandem Nursing by Hillary Flower? The book discusses breastfeeding through pregnancy as well as tandem breastfeeding.
For many moms, as the milk changes to colostrum and decreases in quantity, it becomes uncomfortable to nurse during pregnancy. A whole bag of mixed feelings can come along with that. It can be really challenging. The physical discomfort usually disappears as soon as the milk 'comes in' again after the birth of the newborn. Some moms feel so 'touched out' from what seems like nursing all day! Some moms really appreciate the time with the toddler nursing to reconnect, calm tantrums, get to sleep, etc...
Some moms experience negative feelings toward their toddler wanting to nurse after the baby is born and 'protective' feelings about the newborn.
It can be really important to love and care for ourselves through these feelings; accept them and work through them toward a solution that fits our family. Support from other mothers who have experienced this can be realy helpful.
One of my favorite nursing stories is when my older two kids were nursing at the same time. The oldest was 2 at the time and my daughter was a newborn. The two year old picked up his head and said; "I love my baby sister" then smiled at her and went back to nursing. He would also play with her fingers, rub her back or head, and just cuddle her while they were both nursing.
Have you read the book; Adventures in Tandem Nursing by Hillary Flower? The book discusses breastfeeding through pregnancy as well as tandem breastfeeding.
For many moms, as the milk changes to colostrum and decreases in quantity, it becomes uncomfortable to nurse during pregnancy. A whole bag of mixed feelings can come along with that. It can be really challenging. The physical discomfort usually disappears as soon as the milk 'comes in' again after the birth of the newborn. Some moms feel so 'touched out' from what seems like nursing all day! Some moms really appreciate the time with the toddler nursing to reconnect, calm tantrums, get to sleep, etc...
Some moms experience negative feelings toward their toddler wanting to nurse after the baby is born and 'protective' feelings about the newborn.
It can be really important to love and care for ourselves through these feelings; accept them and work through them toward a solution that fits our family. Support from other mothers who have experienced this can be realy helpful.
One of my favorite nursing stories is when my older two kids were nursing at the same time. The oldest was 2 at the time and my daughter was a newborn. The two year old picked up his head and said; "I love my baby sister" then smiled at her and went back to nursing. He would also play with her fingers, rub her back or head, and just cuddle her while they were both nursing.
Tags: breastfeeding, nursing, pregnancy, tandem, through
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Bergerman on -
Thanks for posting this! I was thinking about this book today. I've never read it. Nursing hasn't been too bad so far during pregnancy. I've actually had less nipple sensitivity during this pregnancy than the first one. Several cycles ago, before I was pregnant I had big time sensitivity and thought, if this is what its going to be like, there is NO WAY I'm nursing while pregnant. Thankfully, it has not been the case.
I don't know if this will make a difference but during my 1st pregnancy, I started leaking from my breasts at week 12 (or was it 15?). I leaked on and off throughout the whole pregnancy, mostly just when I was sleeping on my side and they were compressed. If this pregnancy is the same, I may not decrease in quantity.
Depending on how this birth goes, I could see myself nursing 2 and having a cute story like yours! That's precious!!
My fears I guess are that:
1) my supply WILL decrease before my dd is ready to wean
2) I will be someone who feels touched out from constant nursing if I tandem nurse
3) I'll have another c-section (planning NOT to) and having to nurse a toddler seems crazy in that situation
4) if I DON'T tandem nurse, I'll re-experience all the breastfeeding problems I did with my 1st (bleeding, cracked nipples by day 3, engorgement, plugged ducts, mastitis, and thrush in the first 3 months.)
I know that it's possible that none of this will happen, especially the last one. But I did already have a mastitis episode a week ago (my 4th time) but I think I wasn't well rested and a bit stressed from traveling. -
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Permalink Reply by Bonnie P on -
Yes, thanks for the post, Emily!
I'm 6 weeks pregnant and my son just had his first birthday yesterday! I still LOVE nursing him and had hoped to go until 2 years. Now that I'm pregnant, that would mean tandem nursing, which I have mixed feelings about. One of my main fears is that my son will become jealous and strike out at the baby while he/she's nursing. I also am dreading having to educate my family on yet again another issue. Sigh... They're already up in arms that I'm breastfeeding past 1 year and they don't know I'm pregnant yet, but when they do, I know what their thoughts will be on nursing while pregnant never mind tandem nursing! I find it especially hard to talk about these issues with my mother-in-law who is a very strong, opinionated woman. If we could just continue on without her knowing, that'd be great, but I don't want to have to tip toe around her or live a lie just so that I don't have to explain myself. I guess I really should read that book and arm myself with some literature!
Jennifer, like you I also had a c-section with my first and although my plan is to have a vbac, I know that unexpected things do arise and it might be necessary to have another. I don't think nursing a toddler after that sounds pleasant either!
As for nursing while pregnant, so far I've had some pretty major nipple sensitivity, but it seems to be calming down again at this point. As the baby grows, I'm wondering what kind of new positions my son and I will have to resort to. Won't my big belly get in the way? So far the only positions he really likes are the cradle hold and side lying.
Anyways, thanks again for starting this discussion and posting that information! -
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Permalink Reply by Emily Healy on -
Tanya Lieberman of the Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog added a podcast with Hilary Flower to her website this week.
Here is the link: http://breastfeeding.blog.motherwear.com/2009/09/podcast-tandem-nur...
hopefully that link works.
Peace,
Emily -
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Permalink Reply by Nani deBuys on -
Thank you so much for this. I need to read this book. We are beginning our journey into tandem nursing soon, as I am expecting with my due date being near my youngest sons second birthday. I have been a bit nervous but my midwives have been so amazing and supportive. I just don't want to rush anything with my youngest <3 he is still my baby too :)
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