Tandem Nursing - Is baby getting enough?

[littlebearbear]

Hello everyone, just a quick questions about tandem nursing.  My 2.5yo DD and 12 day old DS are nursing what feels like 24/7.  I feel like I haven't gotten off of the couch/out of bed since he came home.  I am doing fine with it, the hardest part is keeping up with how HUNGRY I am!  

My question is, how do you know that baby is getting enough?  He was 7lb 12oz at birth, 7lb 4oz when we left the hospital 24 hours later, and then up to 7lb 6oz 72 hrs after birth at our family practice office.  He was a little jaundiced, but our physician was not concerned since he is peeing pooing and nursing like crazy.  Per my adult scale here at home, he is about 8lb.  He is gulping like crazy and I am letting down multiple times.  I am not leaking, and I no longer feel really full, except in the morning.  I am trying to trust that my body will make enough, since they both seem satisfied, and DD says that there is lots of milk - but I just want to make sure she isn't taking too much?  I always try to nurse him first, but since I literally have one or both of them attached all the time, it is almost too difficult to determine who left off where.  I've read Adventures in Tandem Breastfeeding - but was wondering if there is anything else I should be doing that anyone would recommend?

Thank you!

[Peggy O'Mara]

It sounds like your baby is getting enough because of weight gain, but plenty of wet diapers a day is the thing to look for. You're right to nurse the baby first and maybe DD will nurse less once she gets used to the new supply. I encouraged my daughter to nurse less during the day once the baby came by asking her to nurse only when she went to sleep. So, she would just shut her eyes and think that was sleeping. But, we try.

As for you, I know what you mean! I used to make myself a drink every morning that really helped when I was tandem nursing. I call it Baby Nog and it has 1 cup milk, 1 raw egg, 1 TBL Brewer's Yeast, 1 TBL Blackstrap Molasses, 1 Tablespoon Honey. Make it to taste. We had our own chickens then so I was confident about the eggs. And, drink plenty of water. 

Good luck, hon.