Concerns about tandem nursing new baby and preschooler

[monkeybum]

My son is 2 1/2, will have just turned 3 when baby #2 is born. He still nurses before bed, once during the night and sometimes when he wakes up in the a.m., (and more often if he's sick). I am concerned about how I will possibly manage nursing two babies if he has not weaned by the time #2 is born.

- Won't he take all the baby's milk? (my biggest worry)
- Won't his germs (he's in daycare) transfer to baby if they share a breast?
- Do I nurse him first so baby doesn't get bombarded with milk? (Had issues when he was a baby with too much milk, it was EVERYWHERE constantly, gallons of it, he choked at the beginning of nursings and spit up after every session) or do I nurse baby first so baby gets colostrum?
- My son LOVES his 'nummies', once my milk is back in full supply, he will probably gorge himself, should I be concerned if a 3 year old fills up on nummies rather than food, (sometimes an issue on weekends now)?

Anyone BTDT?

Kathy.

[Loveon]

Won't he take all the baby's milk? (my biggest worry) No, you may have too much milk as I did...your body tends to over-accomodate in this situation. Just make sure the nb gets his fill of colostrum.-
Won't his germs (he's in daycare) transfer to baby if they share a breast? The germs may transfer regardless, but because he's nursing he gets those live white blood cells to build immunity. We're all sick in this house because of my son's preschool.-
Do I nurse him first so baby doesn't get bombarded with milk?
(Had issues when he was a baby with too much milk, it was EVERYWHERE constantly, gallons of it, he choked at the beginning of nursings and spit up after every session) or do I nurse baby first so baby gets colostrum? That may bot be a bad idea, because I nursed the nb first and he was always pulling away out of the line of overproductive fire.-
My son LOVES his 'nummies', once my milk is back in full supply, he will probably gorge himself, should I be concerned if a 3 year old fills up on nummies rather than food, (sometimes an issue on weekends now)? No, my son ate normally, but he enjoyed the "boo" as he calls them...until he self-weaned. He started feeling like he wanted to be a big boy and left my "boo" for the baby.
Just my experiences, your experiece may vary.

[blsilva]

I tandem nursed my 2 boys- ds1 wqas 2y9mo when ds2 was born. This was my experience:
- Won't he take all the baby's milk? (my biggest worry)
Absolutely not, so stop worrying about this one now. Your body will produce enough milk to exclusively breastfeed both of them- it would produce enough for twins, right?
- Won't his germs (he's in daycare) transfer to baby if they share a breast?
My oldest was sick quite often when we were tandem nursing, and, believe it or not, ds2 rarely got sick at all.
- Do I nurse him first so baby doesn't get bombarded with milk? (Had issues when he was a baby with too much milk, it was EVERYWHERE constantly, gallons of it, he choked at the beginning of nursings and spit up after every session) or do I nurse baby first so baby gets colostrum?
I nursed the baby first, but, if you are having trouble with oversupply, it would be ok to nurse your oldest first, as long as your baby is getting enough after him. THere were times when youngest wasn't nursing enough (he had juandice, and needed to nurse a lot), so I'd latch them both on at the same time, then, when ds1 would nurse, the letdown in the other breast would encourage ds2 to nurse too. Its amazing how many uses you can find for your nursing older child.
- My son LOVES his 'nummies', once my milk is back in full supply, he will probably gorge himself, should I be concerned if a 3 year old fills up on nummies rather than food, (sometimes an issue on weekends now)?
My oldest did want to nurse more often when the new baby came, and that lasted a couple months. He still ate food, though not as much, but, once things settled down a little and he felt a little more secure, he began to go back to his previous nursing pattern. In the meantime, the breastmilk is still a good source of nutrition- definitely enough to keep him going.
There are a lot of great things about tandem nursing- milk comes in quicker, bonding, etc. For me, the hardest part about tandem nursing is being there for both children at the same time. Be sure to have support- someone to help distract or hold one of the children for you, or get you water and food- you'll need lots of both. I was eating a ton and lost 20 lbs when I tandem nursed.

[whoamama]

I have tandem nursed twice. In my experience, there will be tons and tons of milk, because more suckling=increased production. I never fussed about who nursed when or where or in what order. As for germs, your infant will benefit by getting antibodies to the stuff your breast is exposed to by the older child.
Take pictures, this time is fleeting and you will feel so proud when you see them later.