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Cheryl
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Our baby Rachel Rita was born on March 6! She is doing well.
I have a few questions about nursing a baby and a 3 1/2 yr old.
Should I wash myself after nursing my older child? I'm afraid to give the baby germs.
Will letting an older child nurse when I'm engorged prolong the engorgement? It seems to have helped tonight, but I wonder if I will be producing too much milk later on or be more engorged tomorrow.
Nursing my older child seems strange to me, especially now that I have a newborn. My dd 3.5 seems so huge. Have you ever felt like this? I feel like I'm only doing it so that I won't hurt her feelings.
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Cheryl
Wife to Bob ('97)
Mom to Matthew 13, Joseph 11, Sarah 10, Rachel 6, Hannah almost 4 and Mary 1
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Elizabeth
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Congratulations  !
Nurse the infant first and let her have all she wants. If you do wash yourself, your pediatrician will be happier with your decision to tandem nurse  . I found I hardly got engorged when I tandem nursed. I don't think it will throw you off because you really do have an increased demand. I felt like my tandem toddler was enormous (and, especially when Nicholas was the toddler,this was true!). And I felt very antsy whenever my toddlers tandem-nursed. The first time I did it, it was really tough for me--I just felt squirmy all the time, and a bit resentful. Subsequent tandem pairs didn't affect me quite as intensely. I'm a real proponent of tandem nursing where the babies are concerned but I'm also the first one to acknowledge that it is a formidable undertaking for mom!
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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teachingmom
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Congratulations, Cheryl! Welcome baby Rachel Rita!
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alicegunther
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Congratulations on the birth of your beautiful baby girl!
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Angie Mc
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Congratulations!!!!! What a pretty name, Rachel Rita .
According to THE BREASTFEEDING ANSWER BOOK, normal hygiene is sufficient in most cases of tandem nursing. The glands around the nipple secrete an anti-bacterial fluid and babies are born with an immunity to most household (and sibling) germs. Mother's milk also contains these same immunities. Also, tandem nursing can minimize engorgement and ensure a bountiful milk supply.Here's some more tandem nursing information.
I appreciate your concern for your 3.5 yo's feelings. Many mothers have felt all sorts of, yes, squirmy feelings. Personally I was surprised by my conflicting feelings. The good news is that time took care of things for us and made our efforts worthwhile.
My prayers and best wishes are with you!
Love,
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Angie Mc
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kingvozzo
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Congratulations!
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Noreen
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Erin
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Copngratulations and welcome to Rachel Rita
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Erin
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amyable
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Congratulations!!
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mary
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Congratulations!
i tandem nursed an infant and 2 1/2 yr old. He was a huge kid beforehand and seemed even larger in comparison to my newborn. I had a hard time with the tandem nursing - i felt uncomfortable during and resentful that the nursing relationship was continuing with my toddler when i felt it was time to be over. eventually i weaned the toddler and have avoided tandem nursing since. i think if you are happy tandem nursing, terrific! if it makes you feel uncomfortable, then know that at least that some moms have felt that same way too.
with regard to your questions - i didn't wash first. i didn't have any problems with regard to supply, in fact TN probably helped take the edge off of my over production of milk.
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Kathryn UK
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Congratulations Cheryl
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Meredith
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Congratulations Cheryl, what a beautiful name for your baby girl, have a wonderful baby-moon and hope you're feeling fine!
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Meredith
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Bookswithtea
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Congratulations!
I tandem nursed a 3 1/2 yr old and a newborn (my first two). Yes, the older child looked *huge* to me. It was the weirdest thing...like I was fighting biology that was encouraging me to push him out of the baby spot.
With subsequent pregnancies, I've weaned around 6 months pg...which in our case meant our other children were weaned around 2 1/2.
Its a very personal decision. You can do it if you want to. I know lots of women who have done it successfully. But your older child will be ok if you decide to wean him/her, too.
I never worried about washing, and the many women from my old LLL group who did it never worried about washing/germs, either. Maybe if the older one had a cold or fever though, I'd be more careful? At my old LLL meetings, new moms would always ask about washing their breasts before nursing and we were told it would be a better idea to wash our hands more frequently.
Blessings,
~Books
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: March 11 2006 at 9:45am | IP Logged
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Cheryl wrote:
| Our baby Rachel Rita was born on March 6! She is doing well. |
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No experience with tandem nursing but wanted to congratulate you. That's wonderful news!
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Cay Gibson
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Rebecca
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Congratulations on you new little girl! Mine all weaned during pregnancy so I have no advice on the TN. So excited for you!
God Bless,
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Sarah
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I tandem nursed my first two for 9 months and I never washed. Be careful about washing because you could get dried out and increase cracking.
I never felt the same about nursing the older one once the baby came. I felt like it was fingernails on a chalkboard and I would just hold my breath. I could hardly bear it. I did it for him because he needed it so much. I would do it again for a child that needed it, but all the others gagged when my milk was either changing those last weeked of PG or when my milk came in. It made me sad with one of them since he still wanted to nurse and was so shocked to hate the taste.
Hang in there. If it really drives you nuts, you could try some distraction techniques. However, give it time since the babe is so new to everyone. Could the toddler be a baby helper or could you have a special book time during nursing (not that I'm promoting weaning).
As for engorgement--let the toddler take care of it. It will all even out.
CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Cheryl
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Thanks for your responses. Angie, I will read some of the mother's stories on that website when I get a chance. I have been washing myself because my older dd has been sneezing, so I'm more cautious. While I was pregnant, we were down to nursing at bedtime and sometimes when we first woke up. Last night she came in wanting to nurse during the night, so I did, but I told her that we can't keep it up because I really need some sleep. I think it's hard to balance taking care of myself with taking care of the kids.
A couple hours after I delivered Rachel, I ended up in the OR because I kept bleeding. I had a D & C, then they found that the problem was a cervical laceration. Two days later, my blood count was down to 5.4, so I had 3 units of blood put in me, which brought it up to 8.5. So I am still weak and feel dizzy occasionally. The lactation consultant at the hospital suggested I get a pump to pump and nurse because I may have trouble with my milk supply. So my little tandem nurser may actually be helping me out, but the down side is that I just don't feel like nursing two because I'm so weak.
I guess I'll just do the best I can. I love hearing that I'm not the only one doing this. I'm certainly not going to tell any of my relatives.
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Cheryl
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Mom to Matthew 13, Joseph 11, Sarah 10, Rachel 6, Hannah almost 4 and Mary 1
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Cheryl
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Sarah wrote:
| I did it for him because he needed it so much. I would do it again for a child that needed it, but all the others gagged when my milk was either changing those last weeked of PG or when my milk came in. |
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I was hoping that this was going to happen, but my dd said, "It's good!"
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Cheryl
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Angie Mc
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Cheryl wrote:
| Angie, I will read some of the mother's stories on that website when I get a chance. I have been washing myself because my older dd has been sneezing, so I'm more cautious. |
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Oh my, Cheryl. You are going through so much! My prayers and emapthy are with you.
Some more reassuring information from THE BREASTFEEDING ANSWER BOOK:
If one of the siblings is ill, it is not necessary for the mother to limit each child to one breast, because the germs that cause colds and other infections are communicated before symptoms appear. Once an illness is apparent, the siblings will have already been sharing their mother's breasts for several days.
*****
You are an awesome mom, Cheryl! Yep, hanging out here with other experienced moms who are willing to share their triumphs and challenges can be a bit more kindred than blabbing with well-intentioned but inexperienced relatives .
Love,
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Angie Mc
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Sarah
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Cheryl wrote:
| . Two days later, my blood count was down to 5.4, so I had 3 units of blood put in me, which brought it up to 8.5. So I am still weak and feel dizzy occasionally. |
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I'm sure you already know this, but be very careful standing up quickly since you can't believe how quickly you could pass out! I had a hemmorrage situation with one and ended up with a hemaglobin of 8 and it takes a lot out of you. Since you are weaker be sure to rest and EAT a lot. Red meat is your best bet to bringing that up. Sorry to sound like your mother.
Take care of yourself. And its so true about sharing with the relatives. You just don't need anyone telling you what to do right now. Afterall, we'll tell you what to do here
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Erica Sanchez
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Congratulations, Cheryl and family!! I hope you are feeling stronger soon!
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Have a beautiful and fun day!
Erica in San Diego
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: It's a Girl! and Tandem Nursing
