Tandem Nursing
Tandem nursing, breastfeeding two siblings, can be a wonderful experience but also challenging at times. In some cultures, tandem nursing is taboo. You might even say it is taboo in the Western world. However, moms will do whatever is necessary to take care of their children's needs. Author Norma Jane Bumgarner mentions in her book, Mothering Your Nursing Toddler, that one mom in East Bhutan decided to keep nursing her baby when she conceived at 4 months postpartum, because the baby refused to wean. It is taboo in her country to tandem nurse, but she felt she needed to continue nursing for the welfare of her baby.
There are many benefits to tandem nursing. It can help the older child adjust to the birth of the new baby and reduce sibling rivalry. It can help prevent or alleviate engorgement in the mom. Some moms are able to nurse both children at the same time at nap time, and then all three get some rest. Nursing two at the same time can decrease the overall amount of time needed for nursing. Another advantage of tandem nursing is that if one nursling has difficulty handling a strong milk flow, the other one can help out!
Some challenges of tandem nursing include: negative feelings towards the older nursing child, knowing whether to nurse both at the same time or separately, nipple soreness from the newborn baby not latching correctly, worries about nutrition while tandem nursing, worries about cross-contamination, worries about having enough milk, and responding to critics.
It can take some time to work through your feelings about nursing a toddler and a baby. If your toddler is not close to weaning on his own, you might consider not making any sudden decisions to wean and waiting a few weeks and then reassessing. Time is also needed to figure out the logistics of whether to nurse the children at the same time or separately. Ask your husband for help, and try out different arrangements. Also, consider creating a nursing corner with water, snacks, pillows, and toddler toys. With regards cross-contamination...your breast milk has anti-bacterial qualities which help reduce cross-contamination between siblings. The main problem to be aware of is thrush. If one of you gets thrush, you will need to treat all three of you and be extra cautious. Most moms nursing two have plenty of milk. Unless you have underlying health concerns, your supply should adjust. It can be difficult when others disapprove of your choice to tandem nurse. Seek privacy when needing to nurse and get together with like-minded friends for support. The Catholic Nursing Mothers League has a Facebook group specifically for those who practice ecological breastfeeding. Several members have experience with tandem nursing.
As you can see, many of the concerns mentioned above are the same concerns almost all nursing moms have when they bring home a new baby. However, the joys of tandem nursing are much greater than the challenges! Most tandem nursing moms agree that it is definitely worth it!
Great resources on tandem nursing:
(1) Mothering Your Nursing Toddler
(2) Ask Dr. Sears: Tandem Nursing and Nutrition
(3) Breastfeeding While Pregnant
(4) A Mom’s Experience Ecologically Breastfeeding and Tandem Nursing
(5) Feed My Sheep
There are many benefits to tandem nursing. It can help the older child adjust to the birth of the new baby and reduce sibling rivalry. It can help prevent or alleviate engorgement in the mom. Some moms are able to nurse both children at the same time at nap time, and then all three get some rest. Nursing two at the same time can decrease the overall amount of time needed for nursing. Another advantage of tandem nursing is that if one nursling has difficulty handling a strong milk flow, the other one can help out!
Some challenges of tandem nursing include: negative feelings towards the older nursing child, knowing whether to nurse both at the same time or separately, nipple soreness from the newborn baby not latching correctly, worries about nutrition while tandem nursing, worries about cross-contamination, worries about having enough milk, and responding to critics.
It can take some time to work through your feelings about nursing a toddler and a baby. If your toddler is not close to weaning on his own, you might consider not making any sudden decisions to wean and waiting a few weeks and then reassessing. Time is also needed to figure out the logistics of whether to nurse the children at the same time or separately. Ask your husband for help, and try out different arrangements. Also, consider creating a nursing corner with water, snacks, pillows, and toddler toys. With regards cross-contamination...your breast milk has anti-bacterial qualities which help reduce cross-contamination between siblings. The main problem to be aware of is thrush. If one of you gets thrush, you will need to treat all three of you and be extra cautious. Most moms nursing two have plenty of milk. Unless you have underlying health concerns, your supply should adjust. It can be difficult when others disapprove of your choice to tandem nurse. Seek privacy when needing to nurse and get together with like-minded friends for support. The Catholic Nursing Mothers League has a Facebook group specifically for those who practice ecological breastfeeding. Several members have experience with tandem nursing.
As you can see, many of the concerns mentioned above are the same concerns almost all nursing moms have when they bring home a new baby. However, the joys of tandem nursing are much greater than the challenges! Most tandem nursing moms agree that it is definitely worth it!
Great resources on tandem nursing:
(1) Mothering Your Nursing Toddler
(2) Ask Dr. Sears: Tandem Nursing and Nutrition
(3) Breastfeeding While Pregnant
(4) A Mom’s Experience Ecologically Breastfeeding and Tandem Nursing
(5) Feed My Sheep
The mention of the mother in Bhutan reminded me of a mother I met in New York. Her story:
ReplyDeleteHow many mothers would spoon-feed breastmilk to their premature baby for two months until the baby was able to suckle from the breast? This premature baby never had formula. How many working mothers would run home three times a day to breastfeed their baby? This mother did it all and “ran for the gold.” Here is her story. Post would not accept long story. If interested, go to http://nfpandmore.org/wordpress/?p=102.