Tips For Breastfeeding Your Baby And Older Child At The Same Time

If you become pregnant while breastfeeding another child, you can continue to breastfeed throughout your pregnancy, unless your doctor tells you otherwise.  Once the baby is born, you can continue to breastfeed both without any problem. This is tandem breastfeeding.

Do not fear, in tandem breastfeeding the little one will not be deprived of food, quite the opposite, since his older brother will help maintain the flow of milk. You will not have to share the milk for both of you, but you will naturally produce enough for both of you.

In order to have a successful tandem breastfeeding, you should follow the following tips :

Prepare your older child

Talk to your child about what is going to happen. All children tend to be excited about the idea of ​​having a baby brother, but sharing Mom is something else. Talk to your child about what is going to happen so that he takes it as something natural.

Also teach her to breastfeed so that later, later on, you can hold the baby on the other breast. Faced with possible jealousy, if each one has their part, it will be easier to reassure the older one. But in order to give both at the same time, the older one will have to learn to serve himself and to position himself so that you can hold and care for the little one without problems.

The priority is to breastfeed the little one

Breastfeed your newborn first and as often as needed.  A newborn breastfeeds at least every 2-3 hours during the day and night. It is important that the newborn gets all the nutrients it needs from breast milk. The older child does not need to breastfeed as often.

Whenever you are going to hit both, hit the little one first. If he wants the older one too, let the newborn have a few minutes to himself before his brother joins up. You can entertain the older one with something to give you time.

Milk will change

The taste of milk changes during pregnancy. Many children reject breastfeeding for this reason. If they still persist, the taste will change much more with the arrival of colostrum. Therefore, and for the baby to receive all the nutrients from colostrum, it would be convenient to try to prevent your older child from breastfeeding until the arrival of transitional milk, or at least not to do so until his older brother has finished feeding. .

Once the mature milk is available, the oldest will no longer have problems with the taste and you can be sure that the newborn has obtained all the nutrients it needs. 

Increase milk production

We have already commented that tandem breastfeeding increases milk production naturally. Just like when your oldest child was little, the amount of milk will adjust after a few days.

The advantage of tandem breastfeeding is that your older child will be able to help you express the milk that is causing your breast engorgement and you will not have to use a breast pump or a manual pumping technique. But keep in mind that the more you breastfeed, the more milk you will have.

In any case, if you still have a lot, feel free to express your milk if the supply is excessive. If you don’t, in addition to being very uncomfortable, you run the risk of developing mastitis.

You will find many detractors of tandem breastfeeding around you

Many people in your environment will not understand that you extend breastfeeding beyond a few months, but what few will understand is why you continue to breastfeed the older one when you already have another baby. Be prepared to receive criticism and negative comments of all kinds, but do not get carried away.

You don’t have to justify your decision to anyone. In fact, the more you try to explain, the more arguments to the contrary you will receive, many of them so absurd that they will make you feel very bad. They are your children and it is your life; therefore, it is your decision. 

The benefits of breastfeeding your child as much as you can and doing it in tandem with his sibling are many. If in your environment they do not want to see it, those who have a problem are them.

Don’t forget to take care of yourself

If you choose to breastfeed in tandem, you should take even more care of your diet, eat well and everything and drink plenty of fluids. Do not neglect the calcium intake in your diet and avoid the consumption of stimulating foods and alcohol.

Also, you should get enough rest and exercise. If breastfeeding a baby is wearisome, breastfeeding two is complicated. You must also have time for yourself, to take care of your body and your mind.