Elizabeth, New Richmond

I am still nursing both of my boys and have a new baby due in April. My oldest son is almost weaned at 3 ½ years and my second son is 2 years old. I began tandem nursing when my second boy was a newborn and my first boy was 20 months. I feel breastfeeding is the right thing to do and I told myself I would do it no matter what.  During pregnancy, my supply has dropped and that is aggravating. Having healthy babies with a great bond is a benefit of tandem nursing. I feel sad about my oldest being in the process of weaning.

Peyton, Amelia

My son (N) was born when my daughter (K) was two years old. I tandem nursed until my daughter was 2 ½ years and my son was 6 months. I had said that I would let my daughter self-wean unless there was a compelling medical reason that I couldn’t, and when I got pregnant I don’t think that it ever occurred to me to stop nursing her. I was committed to nursing N, so it just kind of happened. A benefit of tandem nursing was being able to comfort K. There was some serious life upheaval around the time that N was born and shortly after, so her ability to nurse and reassure herself that her mommy was still there helped with that a lot. She also seemed to get a kick out of sharing the nipple with her baby brother whom she dearly loves. I ended up having some really nasty touch aversion because I wasn’t taking care of myself very well, and wasn’t having a lot of parenting support due to my husband’s job situation. I ended up weaning K because of it. Reading “Adventures in Tandem Nursing” really helped me. I felt HUGELY guilty when I chose to wean K at 2 ½, but my touch aversion faded quickly after she weaned.  N is still nursing strong, though he has slowed a bit since he has started solid foods.