Breastfeeding a baby & a toddler?

[becandabub]

I was thinking about this during my pregsomnia earlier & wondered - is it possible to keep breastfeeding throughout pregnancy? We want to have our babies close together but I don't want to have to stop feeding our first so that will be a consideration. Ideally I'd like to feed her till she's at least two - which might also require something like at least 6 months feeding a li'l bub & a toddler at the same time. Can it be done?

[Stumbleine]

Hi there it is possible to breastfeed throughout pregnancy. I was able to breastfeed well in to the second trimester. Unfortunately my milk changed fully to colostrum and my daughter woke up one morning and refused the breast completely and no matter what I tried she wouldn't take it anymore Since giving birth to my son 6 weeks ago she has watched me breastfeed but is completely uninterested in doing it herself - I tried and she cracked up laughing and pinched my nipple heh oh well btw she was 14 months when he was born, so was 5 months when we fell pregnant (planned).

[Stumbleine]

By the way this is called tandem feeding this is a helpful article: https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/tandem.htmlI would just prepare yourself that your toddler may wean due to the taste and reduction in supply

[becandabub]

Thank you!! How funny about your little girl, what a cheeky monkey!!

[headoverfeet]

completely possible though how your body and child reacts to the change in hormones and milk is where you take a gamble, I've managed to nurse and go onto tandem nursing twice but it wasn't easy! I think if nursing for an extended time is important to you you need to weigh up the cons/pros and really make a conscious decision.

[becandabub]

Thank you! Did you do anything special to keep up your supply or were you just lucky? Breastfeeding our babies till they are at least two is very important to me, but so is having the little munchkins not too far apart (if I'm getting up to one baby, why not get up to two?! ) so I will definitely need to weigh everything up.

[trishalishous]

im bf while pregnant, and intend to tandem feed.
the only drawback is my colostrum giving dd messy nappies

[becandabub]

im bf while pregnant, and intend to tandem feed.
the only drawback is my colostrum giving dd messy nappies

Does that mean an older bub gets all they need from colostrum? I was worried that my little one wouldn't get everything they need or wouldn't get enough. Obviously a factor is how old the first bub is when we conceive the next one!

[Stumbleine]

My milk switched to colostrum when my DD was only 7 months old and her paediatritian was happy for her to maintain exclusive breastfeeding because she had started baby led weaning at 6 months and was eating a good variety of vegetables, meat and dairy products. I would check with your first child's doctor but if they are getting a good mixture of solids I don't see why it would be a problem She weaned at 11.5 months because my supply changed significantly over the course of a week - I suspect I wasn't eating enough to maintain bfing and pregnancy plus she didn't seem to enjoy the taste as much.

[becandabub]

My milk switched to colostrum when my DD was only 7 months old and her paediatritian was happy for her to maintain exclusive breastfeeding because she had started baby led weaning at 6 months and was eating a good variety of vegetables, meat and dairy products. I would check with your first child's doctor but if they are getting a good mixture of solids I don't see why it would be a problem She weaned at 11.5 months because my supply changed significantly over the course of a week - I suspect I wasn't eating enough to maintain bfing and pregnancy plus she didn't seem to enjoy the taste as much.

Oh thanks so much for sharing your story. Thats a good lesson for me to learn - I do sometimes struggle to eat enough & I'm not willing a lot of the time to use high calorie substitutes but might need to rethink that when I'm in this situation.