How to Tandem Nurse a Toddler and a Baby at the Same Time

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By aheart4home
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Research shows that breastfeeding is beneficial at least until a child's second birthday, but what do you do when you become pregnant before your child turns two? In many cases it is completely fine to continue to breastfeed your toddler throughout your pregnancy and them to tandem nurse. Tandem nursing simply means to nurse two children at the same time. Please, check with your doctor or midwife and do your own research so that you can make an informed decision.

I became pregnant with our second child when our daughter was only 8 months old. My husband and I did some research and decided that I would continue nursing our daughter.

For the first month after our son was born, I would nurse each child individually because tandem nursing was a bit awkward with a fragile newborn. Now that he is a bit bigger I enjoy being able to nurse them at the same time.

Since our daughter (now 20 months old) only nurses at nap time and bedtime I usually end a nursing session with two sleeping children. This allows me to catch up on housework or even rest myself.

Another added bonus of tandem nursing is the sibling bonding that occurs while nursing. Typically, our children end up holding hands. Our daughter often tries to help burp the baby and even hums to him (yes, while she's nursing). As a mom, these moments are priceless.

The following steps are how I accomplish nursing both children at the same time. I hope you will find them helpful on your adventures in tandem nursing.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

a comfortable place to sit
pillows

Step 1

Sit in a comfortable place. A chair with arms is best.
Step 2

Hold you baby with their head on the shoulder of the side they will be nursing on.
Step 3

Place a pillow across the arm of the chair on the opposite side. This is where your toddler will be nursing.
Step 4

Place your toddler in a semi-laying position across your lap with their head on the pillow at the same level as your breast.
Step 5

Supporting your baby's head, lower them into a football hold position (face looking up at you and feet going under your arm).
Step 6

Hold the baby's head level with your breast with one hand. Use the other hand to help the baby latch on.
Step 7

Allow the toddler to latch on (you may want to do this first if your toddler still requires help latching on).
Step 8

Now that both children are latched on, sit back and enjoy your forced relaxation :)

Tips & Warnings

Have someone help you maneuver the children the first couple of times you try this. After a few successful tries you'll be able to do it on your own.
If you have had problems with preterm labor, please consult your doctor or midwife before nursing during pregnancy.
Make sure you fully support your baby's head at all times.

Comments

lj2002 said

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on 12/22/2009 I love your article on tandem nursing! I'm nursing a baby and a toddler and I'm so glad. My toddler just was not ready to wean while I was pregnant and I didn't want to force him. I really think it's helped with his acceptance of his new sibling.

amylaine said

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on 4/29/2009 I ended up ending the nursing process when I was pregnant with my second son and my first son was 9 months. I wish I would have known more. Your article was great.