My Journey to tandem nursing. part 1

So Baby #3 is rocking the uterus as I type..  I love this babe already of course.. and little does this fetus know how lucky he/she is  for letting me mess up 2 kids before his/her arrival.  Well I mainly messed up with DD#1  I rocked the parenting stuff with DD#2  .. but there's always room for improvement. 

So my plan is to rock the boob all throughout this pregnancy thus keeping the insatiable one DD#2 happy .. and rock the double feature on my rack when Kidlet #3 arrives.

Now, when I imagined my future as a mom I didn't picture kids attached to me at the chest.. I really didn't I didn't really know what to expect and I certainly did not expect to be nursing 2 but so far that's the plan.                                                                                                  

Though this certainly gives one bragging rights I'm not gonna lie and it gets you into the tandem nursing club,  {haha I can totally see someone reading that hanging onto that sentence and going SEE I TOLD YOU! these bitches only do this crap for bragging rights (ah hyuch!)}  I'm doing this because the chubster isn't near done..  if she were done now I'd be more than happy to get a break from the little suckling but:

photo by paiphotography.com

1. She's not done!  She still needs me to comfort herself to sleep, to get her drink on at night, to snack and to occasionally say hey .. you still there? Gimme some boobie love if you got a minute.  And well.. she's boss!  Not like it's like this forever!  besides I can use this as guilt tripping ammo in the future..  "what do you mean you want to go to move to another state? BUT I Nursed you for X years!! Why???"

2. In a way I feel like I am maximizing the amount of babying I can give her.. DD#1 had a good 4 years of being the center of our universe and poor DD#2 will only get 19 months.. It's the least I can do AND I want her to feel included so I want to baby her along with the baby because well.. she'll still be a baby.. a toddler baby.

3. My goal originally was a year, that went quick.. then I learned the WHO says 2 years and well who am I to argue with the WHO..   haha..

And well... this decision has needed me to do some research.  Ahh the boring part of every blog where the statistics and facts are listed..  but wait don't skip to the bottom I'm not gonna bore you with facts and stats.. I'm gonna answer some questions I had.. that well other people probably do too whether they are looking into tandem/pregnancy nursing or have family members asking about it.  I know my mom asked me how in the world the baby would get colostrum... so here it goes. 

Is it dangerous? Will it suck you dry? Will it rob fetus of nutrients? Will you miscarry.

The answer is No.

If your pregnancy is relatively normal, and you're eating right, taking care of yourself you should be fine and both babies will still be getting what they need

Read more about it here http://www.kellymom.com/nursingtwo/faq/01safety.html

Will my milk change?

Yes, temporarily for many the supply will decrease, the milk will switch to colostrum at the end of the pregnancy and before your regular super milk comes back.  The Milk might change in taste and some babies wont mind though some could..

Will my older baby drink all the new baby's colostrum?

No, Your body is wise.. your older baby cannot "use up" all the colostrum and will have no choice but to enjoy it until little brother or sister gets its benefits and your body says to make regular milk.   The only thing is older baby might get looser stools while drinking colostrum depending on frequency of nursing but will go back to normal once milk comes in.  

Will I make enough for both?

Of course! Our bodies are super awesome and they will adjust to the increased demand..  with persistence and practice you'll be a milk factory in no time! :)

For more info read here http://www.kellymom.com/nursingtwo/faq/16milkchanges.html

And well.. those were the questions I had to look up so far.. But this is not my only post on the subject.. I am sure I have a lot to learn on the subject and so far so good..

My only complaints were in the first couple of weeks Nursing felt like sandpaper on the good ol' nips.. but after a while it went away..  and it is certainly easier to feel touched out nowadays most likely due to hormones and such.

Stay tuned for more on the subject..  Did you nurse through pregnancy? what was your experience? Any advice for a novice? :)