Adventures in Tandem Nursing: Breastfeeding During Pregnancy and Beyond

I bought this book when I became pregnant and was not ready to wean my toddler. I wanted to make sure that it was not unsafe to continue nursing during pregnancy. I did not personally know anyone who nursed through pregnancy or has tandem nursed, so I did some internet research. What I found was confusing and upsetting, but I still did not want to wean my toddler before we were both ready.This book is informative, while being honest about the need for more studies on breastfeeding in general, which I find refreshing. At the same time, it sites studies in a clear, organized way.This book addresses a range of feelings and emotions associated with nursing, including feeling frustrated. I found this tremendously helpful and timely, as I was starting to feel an occasional, inexplicable irritation that really surprised me.I feel reassured that I am not doing something irresponsible in continuing to nurse my toddler. I am a few months from delivery now, and I do not know what our path will be. However, I feel validated in whatever way things go for us.I am happy to say that my doctor, who is a professor at a major medical university, is supportive of my decision. His ideal was for me to wean by about 28 weeks, but he is definitely not against my continuing to nurse. He considers it my decision, and there has been absolutely no attempt to make me feel weird about it. The statistic he quoted to me was that probably about 1 in 100 women actually experience the kind of uterine contraction that would be a problem. Please know that I am not a medical professional in any way, and this is my understanding of what he told me.An update: Our toddler is nearly 4 and our baby is now 16 months old.Let me preface this with saying that no one loves breast feeding more than I do. Seriously! I really hope that it becomes more encouraged, supported and the norm in the future.I was very surprised that tandem nursing didn't seem to work out for us. In hindsight, I wish I had called the La Leche League and sought more support for the issues that came up like my hormones remaining out of whack for a while and a young, very (understandably) angry and aggressive older sibling toddler who only wanted to nurse only when the baby was ready and needed to. I offered or left the window open when the baby was done but she didn't ask for it and I ended up not reminding her just to see if she might be weaning herself. I think she may have been but I'll always wonder.I think tandem nursing is a great thing, and well worth doing if you can. It is a great guide no matter where your journey takes you, especially if you nurse through pregnancy and do end up tandem nursing.My advice is to seek support if you have a hard time and really try to work out problems through LLL counseling before deciding it won't work.I highly recommend another book by this author: "ADVENTURES IN GENTLE DISCIPLINE: A Parent-to-Parent Guide". Good luck to all!

I decided to buy this book for myself last year on my birthday. I was pregnant again, had a one-and-a-half-year-old I was breastfeeding, and I didn't want to stop nursing. I figured I could do just fine without it, but the book would be valuable information, and I really wanted to read what it had to say.It was one of my best decisions. I'm one of those people who likes to over-plan everything, and I loved the value and the quantity of information in this. I did feel tense whenever I read a chapter about weaning (or a mother's story about deciding to wean instead of tandem breastfeeding), but I think many mothers might feel the reverse about the happy success stories, if their desires or experiences were different. The cartoons made me laugh; the pictures of mothers tandem breastfeeding made me feel all warm and fuzzy; and the pictures about positioning were great for envisioning what the words were describing.It might have been nice if the book had had a chapter about nursing two babies, or at least a newborn and an older child very close in age -- it was so very detailed in everything else, even talking about adopting a second nursling. You'd think that breastfeeding a newborn and a one-year-old might be a more common situation to cause moms to look at this book for aid!Information about nursing twins would have been really handy . . . because I was carrying two babies! Still, in a twin pregnancy, the information in this book became even more valuable for me. That information about positioning, nutrition in breastfeeding while pregnant, even those few stories about moms feeding three: those took on new meaning. Careful about milk supply, I did some research and invested in fenugreek (this was another extremely wise decision). Despite the book's mild discouragement about continuing nursing while pregnant with twins, I continued nursing becuase my daughter and I didn't want to stop it, and I felt no issues and no signs of preterm labor. I was glad to read what the book had to say about it, including warning signs: these were particularly helpful in setting my mind at ease.My twins were delivered early (for a completely unrelated complication), and they were stuck in the hospital for a six-and-a-half-week NICU stay. Breastfeeding my daughter became even more important, as it helped me through my heartbreak of not being able to see my babies all day every day. I felt like "At least *one* of my children can nurse today."When it's an up day, I blissfully think about the beautiful stories where things were working. When it's a down day, I wryly remember the stories in this book about difficult times. Even in a really bad, low milk supply day, I take strength remembering we all go through this, and it's okay.Could I have handled it without this book? Yes, I'm sure of it. Am I happier because I have it? Very much so. I feel like it gave me peace of mind, which I needed, and helped me prepare mentally for the difficulties and joys awaiting me. It gave me this sense that I was not alone, and this confirmation that I really was okay in my dreams.

This book has a lot of great information you can dip in and out of,I would give it 5stars but my wife says there are mistakes in the challenges section. She had seen Zainab Yate talk about her research at the Lactation Consultant Great Britian Conference and it was Ms Yate who set up the aversion resource site. It saved her breastfeeding relationship. She said she has never heard of an Anna Brauch who the author credits.

Explains everything you have questions about, and so many things you didn't think to ask! There are very few resources out there like this (actually I think this is the only book I found specifically about tandem nursing).I tandem nursed my two kids for about eight months, beginning when they were 17 months and newborn. I never anticipated that this would happen, but after reading about the health and emotional benefits of extended nursing, I had already decided to breastfeed my first until two years old. When I became pregnant I felt terrible having to give up breastfeeding my oldest, until I did a little research and discovered that it is completely healthy and safe to continue through pregnancy and beyond! After my first family doctor told me that breastfeeding while pregnant would take essential nutrients away from the growing fetus, I panicked and did a LOT more research. After multiple calls to government and private organizations (such as La Leche League), as well as hours of reading (this book being one of them!) and online research, I concluded that she didn't know what she was talking about, and found a new doctor. Several months later I had a perfectly healthy child, who now years later is intelligent, emotionally mature for his age, and rarely ill.The hardest part for me (after this book answered all my questions and helped to solidify my convictions) was dealing with the questions and concerns of other people. My best advice is to answer with a few facts about why you chose tandem (and/or extended) nursing, followed by a little humour. When someone like you comes along who tandem nurses their kids for optimal health/emotional well-being/insert-your-reasons, it's easy for people to feel defensive and judgemental (after all, we all want to believe we did the BEST for our kids). I think that defending my breastfeeding choices was great early training for how to stand up for my kids and my choices.This book was a lifeline (along with The Baby Book and Attachment Parenting by William & Martha Sears) for me when I felt like the only person on the planet on a two-on-one nursing plan!

man ist nicht allein.... das vermittelt einem dieses Buch auf köstlich amüsante und sehr gut recherchiertes Buch.Es ist zwar in Englisch - aber auch nur mit einem reinem Schulenglisch leicht zu verstehen.Es hat so nette Bilder - das es sogar meine Töchter gerne durchblättern.Mit vielen wissenswerten Hintergründen (medizinisch, kulturell) und vielen Beispielen und Erfahrungsberichten.Es macht einem Mut wirklich mehrere Kinder gleich zeitig lange zu stillen.Schön, dass dieses Thema so toll zu einem Buch verfasst wurde.SEHR zum EMPFEHLEN!mfg Markus

Extremely helpful! Pregnant? Planning to tandem nurse? This book as amazing info and is very helpful!!

Excellent book. Must read for any HCP working with bf Mums and very good read for any mums planning to tandem feed. Sadly a lot of misinformation out there.