Tandem breastfeeding

Best to wean fully. Then you know your new baby is getting all the colostrum and good early milk he/she needs. Your first baby has had its turn and the precious milk she needs. 22months is good going well done you. Bxxx

At 22 months I would say wean. Out of curiosity, if you didn’t have baby #2 till what age would you keep it going?

I am going against the grain, and going to say carry on feeding IF you are comfortable. It's absolutely wonderful bonding for baby and toddler 🥰 great for engorgement and BFing may come in handy to help your toddler feel close to you as she adjusts to being a big sister. I am 30 weeks pregnant and have a 20 month still feeding, it's hard and I expect it to carry on being hard until baby 2 is here but I am holding on to the points I made above! I always believed that him weaning, should be his choice, not because another child wants it. That being said, it's important that baby goes first and when baby is having second breast, toddler can go on the one baby 2 has just fed from (only if there are potential supply issues). Whatever you decide, you have done amazingly to feed till now 😊 x

My toddler continued to dry nurse throughout my pregnancy as my milk dried up around 16 weeks, he only really had it once a day at nap time. I wanted to wean but hoped it would naturally happen when baby was born (by which time my son would be 2.5). The first few days after baby was born my toddler did have a few feeds, a couple of times he helped himself while baby was on the other boob, and other times he had a feed on his own while my husband was with the baby, it was nice to have that one on one time together and helped him feel not left out. My baby is now 2 months old and my toddler has naturally lost interest, he might have one feed a week if he needs a nap but it’s been well over a week now so not sure if he’s finished for good now. On one hand I’m a bit sad but I am relieved as I was starting to get an aversion feeding him. Funny to think he was once such a booby monster and I wondered how we’d ever stop! 😆

This is entirely up to you. Plenty of people tandem feed their toddlers and babies. It isn't odd, your toddler isn't "too old". This is a relationship between you and her and you'll have to see if you wish for it to continue. To reassure you, she won't drink all baby's milk, your breasts having just had a baby will go back into increasing supply mode and since you will have two nurslings it will increase to be able to match the demand. You will probably find milk is more plentiful this time around because your cells have already been primed to produce milk. Your toddler nursing will also help with your supply. If you're finding nursing two difficult or you'd like to put some limits it's okay to put limits eg. Let baby have milk first then you or we'll have milk before bed time etc I didn't tandem as my son self weaned when I was pregnant. Would I have on, don't know. Maybe if he had been a younger child I would have but we were nearing our end when he stopped anyway. Well done to you x

I planned to try tandem feeding but my milk dried up completely when I was about 20 weeks pregnant and feeding became sooo painful! My son was 2.5yrs and hardly feeding at all really but he weaned himself off those last few feeds as the milk changed and then stopped. I'm breastfeeding my second baby and i was worried my eldest would want to start again once he saw the baby feeding but he hasn't - I think weaning when he did worked out well as it's given him enough of a break to forget about it.

Obviously it will be different for everyone but it’s been so much easier for me this time. With my first it took a while to get a deep latch so there was a bit of pain for a while (he did have neck tension from a traumatic delivery) he also had reflux and was always on the small side. This time baby’s latch was great from the start and I had no pain, he doesn’t have reflux and he is so much chunkier than my first was! I think it helps that I’m quite experienced with breastfeeding now so it’s easier, but it does depend on baby as well (eg whether they have issues like tongue tie, reflux, allergies etc). If you want to try tandem feeding then go for it, there are many benefits to breastfeeding toddlers and there will be enough milk for 2 (I’ve read your body knows which baby is feeding so makes milk for their needs but not sure how true this is!). You may find your toddler loses interest too, I worried mine would be jealous but he has been so good and understands that baby comes first

@Clarissa good point, my toddler was helpful in helping to reduce the engorgement during the first few days as baby obviously only drank small amounts at a time

I breastfeed my whole pregnancy and then my baby and toddler drink together some time it’s hard but still it’s nice bonding with both other wise older feel leftovers don’t worry about milk if they drink more milk come more

Hi! My boy is 2y7m and my baby is due any day. I decided not to wean him as I've always believed it should be his decision, but also, this is such a big change for him that to have that closeness and bond with me still will hopefully make things easier. Your toddler absolutely won't eat all the babies milk! Milk supply is built on supply and demand and you will absolutely make enough for both. It can be a good idea to prioritise the baby latching and feeding and the feed toddler later, but many people will latch both together. Toddlers can also be very helpful when it comes to engorgement and block ducts! Here is some information regarding tandem feeding that may interest you.https://laleche.org.uk/tandem-nursing/