Now, anyone who has breastfed knows that breastfeeding is a challenging process that requires a lot of dedication, time and effort and Tandem breastfeeding takes it up a notch on the challenge! However in my opinion, if you can breastfeed one baby, chances are you are able to breastfeed two babies! One of the frequent questions I get asked is “ how can you have enough milk for both babies?” It seems to me that Many people have misconceptions about the production of breast milk. Although what you eat and drink play a big factor for milk production, how often you feed and how well you empty your breast is the key! When tandem nursing, the production of milk is even more because your body/hormones respond to the demand and produce more. Often when tandem nursing, the ages of the babies are different and that comes with different pace of feeding. One baby may have started solids so his or her breastfeeding demand might be different depending on the need. My babies are 1.5 year apart so the demands are different! My one year old eats other foods, drink juices, water and milk on top of breastfeeding and my newborn is exclusively breastfeeding. Sharing breastfeeding has benefited them so far for bonding with each other and baby girl is off charts with height and weight. She is well nourished and healthy thank God! Sure there are times it gets so hard. For example; when both babies need to be breastfed at the same time in the middle of the night or the countless times I breastfeed simultaneously during the day when out and about and both are fussy or need comfort at the same time. It really takes a lot of sacrifices and selflessness to get through at times specially when you’ve had no sleep in almost 24 hrs but the Love helps me do it with joy in my heart! As challenging tandem nursing can be, the benefit out ways in my opinion. Reasearch has shown that babies who breastfeed for over two years get maximum immunity, it helps for better bonding between siblings, there is little to none jealousy because both are getting what they want which is nurture, comfort and love from their mom! Tandem nursing/ breastfeeding requires a lot from a Mom, and it’s important to discuss it with your doctor If decided to do it! Here are lists of things to consider while tandem nursing:
1) eat well and drink well because you are in high demand of supplying nutrients out of your body and the well nourished you are the better the babies are nourished and you can cope with all the loss of sleep. I mean let’s face it, you can try and get as much sleep but with two babies in the house, Chances are you are not getting much sleep.
2) you can assign one breast per baby because it’s easy for the babies to share .
3) breastfeed the new born first specially in the first few weeks so that the new born is getting everything he/she needs! I breastfed my new born baby girl in the bed room while my mom and hubby kept our one year old playing in the living room and I then came out to breastfeed him. Although I breastfed both at the same time occasionally in the first few weeks, I made sure she got everything she needs first because he is already eating other foods!
4) wash your hands and your baby’s hands specially if you have a twiddler! My first born likes to twiddle on one breast while breastfeeding on the other so I did a lot of washing so it’s clean for my newborn.
5) If possible, pump in between breastfeeding so you can use it when you need help from others. This is the advice I need to take for myself;)
6) sleep when both babies sleep at the same time. Which by the way rarely happens around here specially during the day and it’s hard to ignore the cleaning, dish washing, cooking and everything in between you try to do while they are napping because you know you won’t be able to do it while they are up. The struggle is real and I’m still working on that. Reality is that things won’t be perfect but at least babies are happy and well taken care of!
1) eat well and drink well because you are in high demand of supplying nutrients out of your body and the well nourished you are the better the babies are nourished and you can cope with all the loss of sleep. I mean let’s face it, you can try and get as much sleep but with two babies in the house, Chances are you are not getting much sleep.
2) you can assign one breast per baby because it’s easy for the babies to share .
3) breastfeed the new born first specially in the first few weeks so that the new born is getting everything he/she needs! I breastfed my new born baby girl in the bed room while my mom and hubby kept our one year old playing in the living room and I then came out to breastfeed him. Although I breastfed both at the same time occasionally in the first few weeks, I made sure she got everything she needs first because he is already eating other foods!
4) wash your hands and your baby’s hands specially if you have a twiddler! My first born likes to twiddle on one breast while breastfeeding on the other so I did a lot of washing so it’s clean for my newborn.
5) If possible, pump in between breastfeeding so you can use it when you need help from others. This is the advice I need to take for myself;)
6) sleep when both babies sleep at the same time. Which by the way rarely happens around here specially during the day and it’s hard to ignore the cleaning, dish washing, cooking and everything in between you try to do while they are napping because you know you won’t be able to do it while they are up. The struggle is real and I’m still working on that. Reality is that things won’t be perfect but at least babies are happy and well taken care of!
Having a new born is not easy, breastfeeding is not easy and tandem breastfeeding is definitely not easy! But it’s the most beautiful thing to be able to nurture your babies and see them flourish. The way I see it, they are not going to be babies for a longtime and your self sacrifice to make sure they are taken care of is worth it. I tell myself that these are the most beautiful moments that I want to keep close to my heart and wouldn’t trade it for anything. I know these are the memories, the good ol days I will be missing someday in the future so I’m embracing and cherishing every moment, the love, the cuddles, the sleepless nights, the hard times, the good times and most of all these beautiful angels I get to care for and can’t believe are mine! No better place I’d rather be!!! Hope this helped someone out there in the same journey and I would love to hear your experience of tandem nursing or if you like me to cover a specific topic about tandem nursing so let me know in the comment below.
Peace, Love and Joy!
Maereg
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