Tandem Logistics

[quantumleap]

DD is just two (like, four days ago!), and nursed all through my pregnancy. DS is one week old. DD's frequency has increased, I think due to both needing the time with me and because there's actually milk again. DS is a super lazy nurser, and I'm massively engorged, and I just can't seem to get any consensus on which child should nurse on which side and in which order. Neither child needs to nurse on both sides in a single feeding to be satisfied. I'm not really concerned about dd, but I want  to make sure ds is getting the appropriate balance of fore/hind milk.

So, who goes where, and when?

Thanks

[annettemarie]

I am going to move this out to the main breastfeeding forum, as per the Breastfeeding Challenges guidelines.

[Springshowers]

I would love info on this too as I'll be in the same boat in 8.5 months!!!!

[Llyra]

I've never tandemed an infant and a toddler. But I tandemed twins, and I think in your position, I'd treat them like many mamas of twins do-- assign each child a side, for the whole day. At the end of the day, switch each child to the other side, for that whole day. That's what I did with my twins, and they did fine that way. The exception I think would be if the toddler was nursing infrequently, or sleeping through the night, because I wouldn't want there to be too little demand on that side. In that case, I'd assign sides during the day, and then let the infant have both sides during the night. Once they were a few weeks old, actually, I stopped switching altogether, and assigned each one a side permanently-- they kept that arrangement into toddlerhood.

I wouldn't worry too much about foremilk and hindmilk. There were plenty of times where I needed my right hand for something, so I just let both twins have the same side, and saved the other side for later, or where one kiddo got a side, and then the other was super-hungry and took both, like twenty minutes later. And all sorts of other chaotic situations. Anyway, they all grew and thrived just fine.

[Marissamom]

I'm not there yet, but I wouldn't worry too much about it unless your DS is having green poo (too much foremilk) or seems to not be getting enough.