Tandem Nursing

We got pregnant with Mary Faith when Gracie was 8 months old and still nursing for nutritional needs. I nursed her exclusively until she was 6 months old (no water, no other food) and she always loved it. Initially I planned to nurse her for the first year and then I would see. As I did more reading and became more skilled at nursing I decided to let Gracie self wean. I had no desire to wean Gracie on my terms and as a stay at home mom had no reason to wean her. As my pregnancy progressed so did Gracie's nursing. Some months she nursed more, some months she nursed less, but she showed no interest in weaning. As the last few weeks of my pregnancy closed in Gracie started nursing more and more. It was more for comfort than for milk--I didn't have much if any milk, she was probably getting small amounts of colostrum--and that was ok with me. I've loved nursing Gracie since she was born, and still love it. It provides a closeness and a comfort that is special to the two of us. Now that Mary Faith is here she needs that special closeness more than ever.

Frequently Asked Questions:

I thought you couldn't get pregnant while nursing...weren't you nursing Gracie when you got pregnant with Mary Faith?
You can get pregnant while nursing :) If you have questions I'll be happy to send you an email with information about pregnancy & nursing.

Do you nurse both the girls at the same time?
Sometimes, it just depends on how we are all feeling. If I am nursing Mary Faith and Gracie is upset or jealous she will nurse at times.

Will you make enough milk?
Yes. Nursing works on a supply/demand setting :) The more demand the more supply!

Do you get tired of nursing, are you nursing all the time?
I love nursing, but there are moments when I would like to have a little space to myself and when I feel like that I take some time to myself. I really do love nursing, which makes it easy for me to tandem nurse. I love looking down and seeing Gracie with her hand on Mary Faith's head while I'm nursing both of them at the same time. Right now even I wasn't tandem nursing it would feel like I'm nursing all the time because I feed Mary Faith every 2 hours around the clock. Sometimes during the day she will go for 3 hours, and then I try to relax and have some computer time.

Are you the only one who tandem nurses?
No :) I know several people who tandem nurse. They are great support sources!

Here is a link where you can find information about tandem nursing:
http://kellymom.com/nursingtwo/resources/tandem-faq.pdf

Feel free to ask me any questions about Tandem nursing that you would like! This is what works for our family and we support what works for your family :)