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Home > Breastfeeding > Nursing During Pregnancy & Tandem Nursing > Tandem Survey Tandem Nursing Survey:
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| Some general reasons given for tandem nursing | # moms |
| Older child not ready to wean | 
[73] |
| Older child not ready to wean & mom mentions commitment to child-led weaning |
[37] |
| Closely spaced siblings / older child too young to wean |
[35] |
| Did not want to deprive older child of benefits of breastfeeding |
[20] |
| Sibling bonding / less rivalry or jealousy / easier transition after birth |
[27] |
| Benefits to mom - more rest & relaxation, bonding, keeping breastfeeding in the parenting "toolbox" (for calming tantrums, etc.) |
[10] |
| Strong support from friends/community/family |
[7] |
| Mom hopes tandem nursing will help minimize early postpartum problems |
[4] |
| Mom previously weaned during pregnancy & regretted it |
[4] |
Why did you decide to tandem nurse?
| 148 | Because my older daughterwasn't anywhere near being ready to wean from the breast yet and I wasn't prepared to do something so unsettling to her (ie. encourage weaning) when something even more unsettling was about to happen (her sister arriving!). |
| 147 | My older child had just turned 4yo and she showed no desire to stop nursing. |
| 146 | My children were spaced close in age and I did not feel that the older child was ready to wean. I have 3 children the first two are 17 months apart and the second two are 21 months apart. |
| 145 | The elder still needed to nurse when the next came, for each pair. I am committed to meeting their needs so continued to nurse when the need persisted. |
| 144 | My daughter wasn't done nursing when I decided to get pregnant.
She was two.
She wasn't done when I gave birth to her brother. She was three. After the birth, I thought she might stop, because she went for few days without nursing. I was wrong. She still needed the closeness and comfort. She would see me nurse the baby and want to join in. She wanted me to nurse "two babies", to feel like she was also my special baby and as important to me as she could see her brother was. It was pleasant seeing the two of them bond over my chest. It was easier to nurse tandem than to force her to wean. I was tired. After a while, I started to enjoy it. |
| 143 | My son wasnt ready to wean and I wasnt willing to force him to stop. |
| 142 | I believed in child-led weaning and didn't want my first daughter to feel "pushed out" by the new baby. |
| 141 | I believe in child led weaning. I didn't plan my 3rd pregnancy, so I didn't think it was fair to push my daughter (who was 18 months old at the time) to wean before she was ready because of it. |
| 140 | I didn't decide to tandem nurse, it just kind of happened. My son nursed through my entire pregnancy and was down to nursing just 1-2 time a week prior to my daughter's birth. The combination of a new sibling, Daddy returning from Iraq and moving home (after six months of living with Grandma and Grandpa) was stressful and nursing grounded him with familiarity. He's regularly nursing twice a day (three months after his sister's birth) and we're just taking it one day at a time. |
| 139 | I decided to continue nursing when I was pregnant because I felt that my older daughter (my second child) was too young to wean and I was stubborn and didn't want her to have formula. My older daughter was also very small for her age and I knew she would grow better once my milk came back in with the new baby. |
| 138 | I was not ready to wean my 16 month old. |
| 137 | I was open to the idea, and it just evolved. Son #1 was almost weaned by son #2's birth but he soon regained an avid interest in nursing and continued for another 8 months or so. |
| 136 | My son was in no way ready to wean and still nurses more than his little sister some days. |
| 135 | I decided to tandem nurse because I didn't see a point in weaning my son while pregnant. He was 6 months old when I became pregnant with his sister. Everyone was telling me to wean him but I thought it would be best to give him breastmilk until his toddler years. Plus he wouldn't touch formula with a 2 inch pole! LOL!! |
| 134 | When I became pregnant with #2. Pregnancy was not a reason to wean. |
| 133 | My 2.5 yo wasn't ready to wean when I was pregnant with my second son. I had already tandem nursed, so it was a simple decision to do it again between child #2 and child #3. |
| 132 | I didn't feel like weaning. My son nursed rather infrequently and I felt it was a valuable tool. I still enjoyed it so I didn't see a reason to stop. |
| 131 | Older child not ready to wean. |
| 130 | My son was 2.9 years old and still a avid nurser. I had no reason to stop. |
| 129 | When we got pregnant with our fourth child, our third one, Xander, was still nursing strong and not showing any signs of wanting to stop. He was 21 1/2 mos when we found out, and he took it hard. I really think that continuing to meet his nursing needs helped soothe him and ease his concerns that he would be displaced by his new baby brother. He's been a "right-side nurser" for a long while now, so I would tell him over and over that he get's his milkies there, and his baby brother would get his milkies over on the other side. We also got a great book from the library called "Toddler Two" so instead of calling him "Big Baby" and his little brother-to-be "Little Baby" he was happy to call himself a Toddler. I guess deciding to Tandem was a way to ensure we were meeting his emotional needs to not be pushed into more independence than he could handle..it lets him keep at his own pace. |
| 128 | My older child was 26 months old when my younger was born. He was uninclined to wean on his own, and I ended up deciding that I wouldn't require him to -- it was providing him comfort, and I also worried that weaning him (but nursing his sibling) would add to any resentment he might feel for the baby. |
| 127 | Because my daughter was not yet ready to wean when I became pregnant with my son. She did not wean during my pregnancy and so tandem nursing was the next natural step. |
| 126 | My older daughter and I were not ready to end our nursing relationship yet, so I continued through my pregnancy. Also, I was hoping that tandem nursing would help foster a bond between my daughter and her younger sister and reduce any jealousy my older daughter might feel toward the baby. |
| 125 | My firstborn son adores nursing and didn't self-wean during my pregnancy, even when my supply seemed completely gone. Once my second son was born, son #1 was very happy to see the return of "milky". We feel he will self wean when he's ready. |
| 124 | I couldn't imagine weaning my daughter. She seemed to need it so desperately and was nursing many times per day and night. I wasn't so much a descision as a necessity. |
| 123 | My first child was very young when I became pregnant, only 4 months old. I enjoyed breastfeeding and had no plans to wean her, I wanted to nurse her as long as she wanted. |
| 122 | I am not sure if I 100% tandem nursed...I weaned my older child for two months (one month prior to the birth of my second child and continued not breastfeeding the older child for one month to make sure my newborn was gaining properly) because I had no information available on whether this would negatively affect my newborns weight gain and I wasn't sure how the newborn was supposed to get colostrum if I didn't stop breastfeeding. However I was not completely ready to stop the breastfeeding with my older child (18 months older than my new baby) partly because I felt guilty about having two children so close together and didn't want my older child to miss out on the physical closeness of breastfeeding. My girls each weaned themselves around age 5-6 which is not to say they were at the breast every minute but I notice that each child would come home from school and want to nurse for a few minutes as a way of unwinding. Even after weaning, my older daughter would sometimes climb into my lap, lift my shirt and just lay with her cheek on my breast. |
| 121 | I didn't really decide to tandem nurse, it just happened. When I became pregnant, I hoped that my older daughter would continue to nurse. She did, with just as much enthusiasm as she always had, right up until my second daughter was born. She still is going strong. |
| 120 | By nursing both my infant and my toddler I was giving them both the best as far as nurtrition and also help my toddler with the transition of being the youngest to a big sister. |
| 119 | My first child was only 11 months old when I became pregnant with number 2 - she was no way ready to wean then... and as pregnancy progressed she showed no sign of giving up (although she did cut down to twice a day). I read up on it and decided that I would give it a go and hope for 'non-jealousy benefits' and not too many of the down sides. |
| 118 | I was/am commited to extended breastfeeding. My oldest child
was 14 months old when I became pregnant with my second. Neither
of us were ready to quit. After she was born he was a life saver
as my milk came in very heavy and the newborn just couldn't
keep up with it all. When I became pregnant with the third, the first one weaned and continued to try to breastfeed the second but this time around I was very sore and lost my milk. I wanted to let her nurse again when the new baby was born but things haven't worked out for that. I still let her have it every once in awhile if she is severely stressed. |
| 117 | My 3rd child was going to be about 23 months when #4 was born, so I decided to let her continue nursing throughout the pregnancy and for as long as desired after the baby was born. |
| 116 | I wanted to keep my daughter included as much as possible as we all dealt with the change a new baby would bring. I know many women who have tandem nursed, and it seemed like something I would not only tolerate but would enjoy. |
| 115 | I have a couple of reasons...with my first set it was because
my son was only 7 months, and I couldn't imagine weaning him
so early. I felt like I owed him more than the baby I was growing...he
was here first. LOL I know that sounds mean, but it was truely
how I felt. With the second set I knew my daughter wasn't ready to wean...she has a very strong personality, and I also didn't want her to associate the new baby with losing something she loved. This time I am doing it because I can't imagine not. LOL I discovered child led weaning (sort of practised it anyway, but now truely believe in it), and will tandem nurse until they are reading to stop on their own. :) |
| 114 | Because the older baby didn't seem ready to wean. I wanted a child-led weaning process. |
| 113 | My older son, who was two when I became pregnant, did not seem ready to wean, and I found that as a pregnant mom with a full-time job outside the home, I really appreciated the time to just lie down with my two year old and nurse and doze. I did not have a problem with sore nipples while pregnant. When my younger son was born, I did not want to wean my 2 year, nine month old during such a big disruption in his life. |
| 112 | My son was 2 when the next baby was born and I knew he still needed it - for comfort, closeness, napping. |
| 111 | I thought my son (6 months old when I found out I was pregnant) was way to young to wean. I wanted him to have the best. I continued to nurse him through pregnancy and tandem nursing was a great way for the two of them to bond. |
| 110 | I really couldn't see weaning my older daughter. She very obviously didn't want to wean yet. So, I figured, why not? |
| 109 | My older child was not ready to wean and I felt it would help ME relieve engorgement and help keep jealousy at bay. |
| 108 | My 16 mo old son was not ready to wean & quite frankly
neither was I... my goal was 18 mo originally. But despite family
objections, my husband and I agreed that maybe for our son,
2 yrs would be better. When we found out we were pregnant, we never waivered because although this child was the first of my children that I nursed, I had 3 teenagers and my pregnancies had all been uneventful. |
| 107 | My son was only 2 and not ready to wean. |
| 106 | Because my boy wasn't ready to wean and he just did it about 3 times a day, so I decided to try. |
| 105 | My eldest was 15 months when I learned I was pregnant again. I had already committed to natural weaning and decided to follow my daughter's lead. If she weaned before the baby was born that would be fine, but if not, we'd tandem nurse and that would be fine too. As it happened, my older daughter did not wean during pregnancy and I am now nursing her along with her now 5 month old little sister. |
| 104 | I want both children to have the very best nutrition. We are allergic to dairy and soy and they now have plenty of human milk. |
| 103 | My second son was premature and had digestive problems. He simply was not ready to stop getting his nutrition from breast milk. |
| 102 | I knew my 12 month old wasn't ready to wean when I became pregnant the second time. I figured he'd probably wean during my pregnancy. I night-weaned him a few months into my pregnancy but he kept right on nursing as much as he could. I really needed the "tool" of nursing to manage him during much of my pregancy (i.e. guaranteed naptime for me too!) and before I knew it my due date was near. I felt two months prior to the birth wouldn't be quite enough time to wean him without damage. I definitely didn't want to bring a new baby into his life AND take away his "mo" (that's his word for nursing) at the same time. So I figured he'd nurse a lot after the baby came but would slow down on his own eventually. |
| 101 | I found out I was pregnant with #2, less than a month after my oldest's first birthday. He was not ready to wean, and I wasn't either. I continued nursing throughout my pregnancy. Slowed down about 32 weeks, when I began having pre-term labor issues. My ob was very supportive and urged me to keep nursing, and educated me on tandem nursing :) My oldest needed it so much still. My youngest was born and the rest is history. My youngest turns 1 July 18th, and my oldest will be 3 in October. And yes, we're still nursing ;) |
| 100 | Because I want my children to wean when they want to; I was still nursing my first child when I became pregnant and he continues to nurse. He is 3 years old, she is 5 months. |
| 99 | My eldest son is a big nurser and it was still really important to him. I had so many difficulties with thrush and mastitis, that when we finally we successfully breastfeeding I didn't want to stop him prematurely. It just felt right and I am committed to it. |
| 98 | My first daughter was 2yrs 3 months old when I gave birth to my second. Although she was almost completely weaned I encouraged her to hang on to the occasional nursing. When my second was born it was the most wonderful bonding experience for my two girls. It was such a relief for me to be able to latch them both on when times were stressful, i.e. when they were both screaming. It immediately calmed them both down and we could all recoupe and start over calm and in control. My first daughter did not nurse for very long after her sister was born as I did not encourage her any longer, but also did not discourage her. It was just her time to wean. She still occasionally asks for "one sip" and sometimes I say yes and sometimes I say later (and of course she forgets). I find that I do look back as the weeks pass and miss those requests for just one more sip though as they get fewer and farther between. |
| 97 | Before I had children. I was tandem nursed, and remember nursing, so I just figured if one was still nursing when I had another, I would do the same. |
| 96 | Because my son was only 7 months old when I got pregnant with our daughter. I knew I wanted to nurse him at least a year, and he just didn't seem ready to wean yet. So I tandem nursed for a few months. |
| 95 | My son wasn't ready to wean when I became pregnant again. I had weaned during pregnancy previously and regretted doing so. |
| 94 | My daughter was 17 months old when my son was born, and she didn't seem ready to wean. |
| 93 | I became pregnant when my son was 7 months old. I had wanted to nurse him until he was at least a year old. So, I continued. I thought that he would wean himself toward the end of the pregnancy, but he didn't. Now, my two sons nurse together. |
| 92 | My daughter was only 2yrs 9mos when my son was born and I was not going to hurry her off of breastmilk. I was very happy with our nursing relationship and she was as well. She was also excited to learn the the new baby would nurse like she did and that they would sometimes do it together. |
| 91 | I attempted to lead my daughter toward weaning lovingly, but she just wasn't interested in quitting. She told me that she was going to share with the baby "when he came out", there are two after all! I was able to wean her for a couple months leading up to my due date promising she could nurse soon. After her brother arrived she happily started up again at age 3 (no surprise to me). The baby is six months old now and she is slowing down although still asks when she's feeling sad, tired or in need of extra loving. |
| 90 | Did not feel that my older son was ready to wean, so we just kept feeding. |
| 89 | I read this survey! I had been researching the topic early on in my pregnancy and was pondering it when I read this and decided then and there that I would give it a try. |
| 88 | My son wasn't ready to wean and I didn't want to force him. |
| 87 | My daughter still greatly enjoyed nursing, so I saw no reason to stop her because I was expecting. Additionally, it was some of the only quiet time my very active girl gave me. What better way to relax than to curl up with my girl? |
| 86 | The first time I was pregnant while nursing, my nursling was only 20 months old and NEEDED to continue to nurse. She is a very high needs child and nursing gives her so much comfort. It was just natural to me to keep nursing her, regardless of whether I was pregnant or not. The second time I was pregnant, there again was no question. I couldn't see depriving my older child of something she needed so much just because I was pregnant. (Although my pregnancies were not completely trouble-free, at no time did nursing contribute to any of the pregnancy problems I experienced. I even had preterm labor in my third pregnancy, but my OB-GYN said as long as I did not have contractions while nursing, which I didn't until 37 weeks, I could continue nursing.) |
| 85 | I believed in child led weaning. |
| 84 | Because my older son clearly was not ready to wean (he was 2 yrs 2 mo at the time of the baby's birth). |
| 83 | I felt it was the best thing I could do for my close together babies, less jealousy, less tension. |
| 82 | I planned to let my first child wean on her own, and she was still nursing when I became pregnant with a second child. My first daughter was almost three when I got pregnant. |
| 81 | Because the older wasn't old enough. |
| 80 | I didn't... my daughter did! While the rest of the world - or so it seems - is appalled when they hear she is still nursing at 3 1/2 (will be 4 in May), it doesn't seem like a big deal to me. I have a 3 month old as well. My daughter only nurses at night, and sometimes goes without. She gets mad when the milk isn't there - and I have to save some for her brother. [Editor's note: Here is more information on milk supply.] |
| 79 | I believe completely in child led weaning and my older child was not ready to wean when I got pregnant, during pregnancy or after the new baby was born. |
| 78 | When I got pregnant my son was 14 months old and still enthusiastically nursing. I didn't want to wean, and even if I did, I had no idea how to go about it! I nursed him to sleep (still do), and was so tired and out of sorts during my pregnancy that I didn't want to try to change that. During my pregnancy, he almost weaned on his own, then I went out of town and when I returned he started up with vigor! I decided he really still needed the comfort from nursing and I wasn't ready to let go of the closeness either. I was also hoping that it would bring the baby and he closer, they are 23 months apart, and I anticipated some jealousy. |
| 77 | My older child was not ready to wean yet. |
| 76 | Because my daughter still needed the comfort of nursing after her brother was born. Since she nursed throughout my pregnancy I didn't want to cut her off as soon as he was born. |
| 75 | For several reasons. It is quite common in my community/family. I am a firm believer in the virtues of breastfeeding and self-weaning of children. It is known to have better bonding amongst siblings. Finally, I do not have the heart to deprive a child of his/her 'due' so long as I can help it. |
| 74 | Because I decided to let my second child self wean, and when I became pregnant, and despite my salty and non existant supply, he seemed to need to nurse yet, so I let him continue. There was a time during pregnancy when I felt the need to wean, because sometimes my nipples were so sore, and I began resenting him while he nursed, but I decided to respect the need of my older nursling to continue nursing. |
| 73 | I didn't... I have had 5 children and from the first one had wanted to breastfeed for 2 years. Never made it with the first 4... the first 3 only breastfeed for weeks, the 4th for a year... so when #5 was still nursing at 17 mos when I finally got my fertility back... I just kept nursing him... then I conceived... and he just didn't wean... I thought he was weaned right before his birthday when I was about 20 weeks pregnant, but then after 6 days of no breastfeed he started up again as if nothing happened... and since my colostrum came back he's increased nursing from 1-2 times a day to 3-4 times... I'm actually not tandem feeding YET.. I'm 39 weeks and still anticipating how this will work. |
| 72 | I never really consciously decided to do it. I believe that children will let you know what they need (within reason of course) and to that end, I just continued to nurse my daughter until SHE was ready to wean. |
| 71 | Because I felt that my older son was not ready to wean at 18 months nor was I. I saw it as a benefit to continue because it would help both boys bond and share special time together. I am a firm believer in self weaning and I wanted to give BOTH sons the opportunity to self wean. |
| 70 | For me, it is just a part of mothering. I practice child led
weaning and am currently tri-andem nursing. I don't mind it.
The only thing that bothers me is if everyone isn't feeling
well, they all need to nurse and um, there are more of them
than there are breasts... LOL
I had my #2 baby at 1 lb, 1 oz. heavier than his brother and nursed throughout that pregnancy with no problem. For my third pregnancy, I was tandem nursing AND this baby was a full 10# baby with a totally healthy pregnancy... so its not THAT amazing of a deal to nurse while expecting. |
| 69 | My older daughter was nowhere near ready to wean and I was committed to meeting her needs as long as I was able to. |
| 68 | I believe in child-led weaning and my son isn't showing signs of weaning before my twins arrive. |
| 67 | I didn't feel that it was fair to cut off my second son so early. He was only 6 months old when we got pregnant again. I think the fact our family doctor was from the Middle East and knew it to be the norm where he was from really helped. He actually cheered us on telling us how good what we were doing was for both children. |
| 66 | I want my toddler to wean when she is ready. So, I continued to nurse while I was pregnant and now have a 6 week old. |
| 65 | My son was almost 2 when I got pregnant and was down to nursing at naptime and bedtime only (with the occassional comfort nursing from those toddler bumps & bruises). I expected him to wean while I was pregnant but decided to let him make that decision. I know my milk supply went to very low or none early in my pregnancy. I always have hydration problems and lose weight while pregnant so I doubt he was getting much, if any, milk. But I decided he needed it for comfort so I let him decide when he was done. He never acted like anything was strange at all - never commented on milk supply, etc. He didn't wean while I was pg. I had my daughter when my son was 29 mos old. My son still didn't talk about the return of supply but he did ask to nurse more often after his sister was born, for a while. |
| 64 | I had repeated bouts of infective mastitis with my first born, probably exacerbated by over-supply. Having got through this trial I was reluctant to stop in case I faced the same start-up problems. I thought it would be handy to have a second feeder to deal with the oversupply after the birth of my second child. My first child, though getting plenty of milk, didn't put on weight and barely slept - he couldn't drink enough to get down to the good sleep inducing "fat milk". I'd read of the love created between two infants at the breast and I hoped it would help their sibling bond. I probably would have stopped though, if my first born had shown any inclination to stop. He didn't. He remained firmly attached, throughout all the breastmilk changes of the pregnancy. |
| 63 | I really didn't consider it a "decision". I became pregnant with my second child when my first child was only 10 months old and weaning him did not even cross my mind. It would not have seemed right or fair to deprive my firstborn of something we both enjoyed very much and he still needed. He was only 19 months when his brother was born and still seemed like a baby to me. I wanted *both* of my children to be able to nurse for as long as they needed to. |
| 62 | I decided to tandem nurse because my (less than 2 years when I got pregnant) first child was high-need and I didn't want to give it up for her sake. |
| 61 | My toddler was not done nursing and he seemed to need it still. I didn't want to deny him something that I felt was necessary for his well being, so when I became pregnant, I continued on this path. I've always believed in child led weaning. He continued to nurse through pregnancy and still does to this day (my baby is over 2 yrs old). |
| 60 | I had worked so hard to establish breastfeeding with my 1st child and the bond we had was wonderful. I knew other mums tandem feeding and figured either he would wean or he wouldn't, and he didn't til his brother was 15 months old. He's now 14 and seeing me tandem feed his younger brother and sister. This time around the gap is closer between baby 3 and 4, and the 3 yr old would be devastated without his milkies! |
| 59 | I didn't want to wean my older daughter just because I was pregnant. I was also hoping tandem nursing would ease the transition of having a new baby in the house. |
| 58 | My older child wasn't ready to wean yet. |
| 57 | My daughter was forcibly weaned during my pregnancy (I dried up) and she was only 18 months old. As my milk came in after the birth of my second child I decided tandem nursing would be a wonderful gift to her. |
| 56 | I did not decide when my firstborn would eat, walk, or talk, so I felt I could not make the decision for him as to when he should wean. |
| 55 | I decided to tandem nurse because my son didn't want to wean yet, and I still like nursing him to bed at night. |
| 54 | I had committed to child-led weaning and knew it's perfectly safe to nurse through pregnancy and then tandem nurse. |
| 53 | I felt my oldest was too young to wean and wanted her to nurse till at least age two. They were 20 months apart. |
| 52 | Baby 1 was still nursing - it wasn't even questioned. Now, I have people ask me about nursing during my pregnancy (mostly other pregnant nursing mommies) and of course all the grandparents involved now voice their objections because at the time they thought that it would harm me or Baby 2. |
| 51 | Because my toddler wasn't ready to wean when we discovered (joyfully) that we were pregnant again. |
| 50 | My firstborn seemed to be very dependant on nursing and I felt he was not yet ready to wean. |
| 49 | When I became pg with #4, #3 was 10 months. I didn't know you could nurse through a pregnancy. Without knowing any better I followed my doctor's orders and weaned him at 13 months old. I felt so bad. Fast forward...I became pg with #5 when #4 was 8 months old. I did not want to wean her. I knew she was nowhere near ready and she was also a high needs baby. I attended LLL and was given information on nursing while pregnant. I'm so glad I found out information, it was a great relief! I also switched to a midwife! :o) She nursed til she was 4yrs old so I did a year of triandem nursing when #6 came along (yes I tandemed nursed through a pregnancy)! |
| 48 | Because my oldest was not ready to wean yet. |
| 46 | My 3 year old asked if she could nurse one day and I said yes, and since then (about 3 months) she nurses 2-3 times a day. |
| 47 | At 2.5, my older child was clearly not close to weaning and I wanted her to be able to wean naturally. She was still nursing 6+ times a day and several times at night. Since both children are adopted, it was also difficult to guess when the baby would be arriving. |
| 45 | Older nurslings just were not ready. |
| 44 | My daughter wasn't ready to wean when I got pregnant when she was 8 mo, and at 17 mo, she is even less ready to wean now that baby is here (11 days old). |
| 43 | Our oldest daughter was clearly not ready to wean. We had several life changes between 15 months and 28 months and we decided it was better for her to continue nursing rather than force weaning. Of course, I wanted to nurse our new baby, so here we are tandem nursing! (Never imagined this...) |
| 42 | My adopted baby Lact-Aid Trainer-fed formula only for 5 months, when I added table food along with Lact-Aid feedings, would only be 10 months old when I gave birth. I couldn't wait to give my adopted baby colostrum and real breast-feeding and breastmilk. The adopted baby sputtered at the first let-down! Wow, look at this bonus! Just flows out! |
| 41 | My oldest loved to nurse. It was so easy and helped with the sibling bond. I can't imagine doing it any other way. |
| 40 | My son was around 17 months old when I was again pregnant with baby number 4 [baby is not yet born]. This one has been doing very good compared to the others. Tandem nursing has helped Philip become closer to his other siblings while they were inside the womb. Anyway, Philip does not want to let go of his security blanket which is me. I am no longer making much milk, but the nursing is what soothes him the most. |
| 39 | Was there a choice? Elizabeth was only going to be two when her brother was born. |
| 38 | No reason to let the older child wean because of the new baby! |
| 37 | I just did not consider it fair to rob my older son of this comfort while I was pregnant, and felt the same when the baby came. |
| 36 | My son, who had weaned, wanted to nurse again. I couldn't think of a reason to tell him no. And he remembered how to latch correctly, so it didn't hurt me. He actually helped keep my milk supply up at times. |
| 35 | My oldest son isn't ready to wean yet. And it just seemed right. |
| 34 | I did not make a conscious decision... it just fell into place. |
| 33 | My daughter was only 20 months when baby #2 was born. |
| 32 | I thought my son was too young to wean when I become unexpectedly pregnant and I also thought he was too young to wean at 17 months when my daughter was born. |
| 31 | I got pregnant when my son was 8-9 months old and he wasn't on solids yet. I knew that I would not have weaned him if I wasn't pregnant, so we kept going. My midwife was very supportive, and most people assured me he would wean himself. They obviously did not know my son. He quickly got accustomed to eating solids since my milk was going bye-bye, but that didn't stop him. Daughter was born, a whole pound heavier than my first (so there- all you skeptics :) ). |
| 30 | I had given birth to my second baby five months before finding out that I was pregnant with my 3rd! There is only 13.5 months between them. I wasn't ready to wean my second baby because of the pregnancy and didn't want to rob her of the nutritional and psychological benefits of breastfeeding. So I kept nursing her. I was able to nurse her 3 months into the pregnancy before I experienced cramping and bleeding. I was told, in order to give the unborn baby a chance, to stop nursing. So with a broken heart I did. I weaned Hana cold turkey and cried the entire time thinking if I miscarried, I'd continue to nurse her anyways. But the unborn baby proved strong, we got through the bleeding and everything went normal again. About a month after that Hana expressed interest in my breasts again and she comfort nursed a few times a day despite the fact my milk had dried up from the incident. She comfort nursed until I went to the hospital to have Amaya by section (3rd c section). When I got home Hana had no interest in my breasts or the baby. I still wanted to to reap the benefits of nursing and for six weeks I worked at getting her back to breast. It worked! I was then tandem nursing. |
| 29 | I got pregnant when my first child was 6 months old, and neither of us were ready to wean. I nursed her throughout my pregnancy-supplementing with one 8 oz bottle of formula per day, when my supply diminished a bit. |
| 28 | Daughter #1 was 14 months when I became pregnant. She was still very young, and very attached to the breast, so I did not want to deprive her of nursing. |
| 27 | Because I believe in child lead weaning. My son has not weaned yet and I just so happened to get pregnant... if he hasn't self weaned by the time his sibling is born then both will be nursing/tandem nursing. |
| 26 | My daughter was 15 months when I became pregnant again. She was still breast feeding and didn't want to stop. So we just continued during my pregnancy and even now she's still feeding. |
| 25 | My son was 11 months when I conceived with my 2nd child... I knew a few other people who also tandem nursed. I asked myself if I had not gotten pregnant would I have weaned him this early? The answer was NO. My child was also on a diet of NO SOLIDS at the time so he was a little lead into weaning early in one way. |
| 24 | My toddler was not ready to wean on his own, and I wasn't ready to push him -- so we tried it out. |
| 23 | My son wasn't ready to stop breastfeeding. He has always absolutely LOVED his milk, and I've loved breastfeeding him. When I became pregnant for the second time, my husband and I discussed it and decided to just keep on breastfeeding our toddler and see where it led. |
| 22 | With my first child, my doctor said that I would have to stop nursing. My daughter was only 4 mo old and I expected to nurse her at least a year. SO.....I went to the local library and La Leche League, (this was before I learned how to use the internet) and collected all the information I could about being pregnant and nursing and tandem nursing. I took this information back to my doctor and have been happily pregnant and nursing ever since! |
| 21 | I opted to follow child led weaning and my oldest son showed no signs of weaning when I was pregnant. I had to discourage him from nursing due to my soreness, but he adamantly refused to give up nursing in the morning and sometimes once or twice more during the day. Night-weaning was hard, but my husband took that on and they made it through. Nursing was clearly important to my son, so I wouldn't take it away from him. Also, it benefited me; his morning nursing session allowed me to sleep in later, and allowed me to settle him at other times of the day when nothing else worked. Toddlers can be aggressive, egocentric, and impatient, and certainly my toddler is no exception to these common personality traits. But when nursing is involved, he is compassionate, considerate, and patient to both me and his new brother. |
| 20 | I became pregnant again when my daughter was 4 months old. I had planned to nurse her for a year. After I thought about it I could not see how I could wean her and then start to nurse another baby 2 months later. I did not want her to feel rejected. |
| 19 | I was still nursing my daughter (#1) when we decided to conceive #2 (our son). Since I didn't have a need or the desire to wean her, I went and did research on tandem nursing. Not surprisingly (at least to me) I wanted to try tandem nursing if she didn't wean on her own. |
| 18 | Because I didn't see any other way to keep the older one happy while nursing the little one. |
| 17 | My last two children were born so close together I didn't really see an option. My son was 9 months old when I became pregnant and I wanted him to self wean, so being that he was 17 months old when my daughter arrived, he's still nursing. She's 3 months, he's 20 months. He's starting to wean now though I'm afraid, but still nurses at least once a day. |
| 16 | Daughter was only 4 months when I became pregnant, I found out when I she was 6 months old. We had a very strong bond through nursing. I knew I was going to at least nurse as long as she wanted during the pregnancy, I didn't want to break that bond that we had and I believe child led weaning is what is best for children. I had a real hard time deciding what to do, wean or tandem nurse, but what helped was talking to another tandem nursing mom and just taking one day at a time and not making any decisions, but to let my daughter tell me what she needed. |
| 15 | It just happened! I was so totally devoted to nursing my little one, that I just couldn't wean when the second one came along! |
| 14 | I'd read about tandem nursing while researching nursing beyond the first year. My daughter was (is) very attached to nursing so I knew that she wouldn't self-wean any time soon, at the same time, I knew I wanted another child so I knew I would be tandem nursing. I decided to tandem nurse because my older child needs to nurse but I didn't want to wait until she self-weaned to have another baby. I knew I would tandem nurse even before I knew that I definitely wanted another child! |
| 13 | I was very open to the idea of tandem nursing because I'd heard it has some great benefits for both children. Also, I wanted to let my older nursing child self-wean, but didn't want to wait for that to happen before we conceived again. |
| 12 | My firstborn was just 6 months old when I discovered that I was pregnant again. I never considered weaning him. He was still very much a baby and needed to keep nursing. He nursed until one month before his fourth birthday, and weaned while I was expecting my third child so I was tandem nursing or tandem nursing and pregnant until then. After getting off to a start like that, I never considered *not* tandem nursing my third and fourth children! |
| 11 | We wanted to space our children close together, but didn't want to wait until our oldest had weaned. Breastmilk is the birthright of all babies, which includes nursing until they are ready to wean. I will not force my children to wean. |
| 10 | My first child was only 8 months old when I got pregnant again. I intended to let him wean when he was ready. He wasn't ready to wean, so we kept nursing. |
| 9 | Well, it wasn't really a conscious decision at the time. My daughter was only 7.5 months old when I conceived #2, so she was 16.5 months when my second was born. She was still actively nursing many times a day, and I wasn't about to try to tell her that in addition to a new sister she'd have to share me with, that her favorite way of being close to me (not to mention a serious nutritional need at that age) was going to go too! :) |
| 8 | I want to let my children self-wean. I got pregnant when my 1st child night-weaned himself at 29 months, I had not had a period in between (except for 1 isolated case due to us being unavoidably separated for one night). I believe that a 'normal' length of nursing for a child is between 2.5 to 7 years, and don't want to deprive them of their right to nurse. |
| 7 | I became pregnant with my daughter before my son and I were ready to wean. I had read about nursing during pregnancy and tandem nursing. I knew that it was safe for me to continue nursing through my pregnancy so I decided to keep nursing my son and see what happened. I was open to whatever he needed. He obviously still had a very strong need to nurse, as he continued nursing through a point in my pregnancy that I had basically no milk. Because I could tell that it was very important to him, I decided to tandem nurse. I also liked the stories I had read about tandem nursing minimizing jealousy between the siblings and making the transition from being the baby to being the big brother or sister easier for the older child. |
| 6 | My older child was not ready to wean when my youngest was born. |
| 5 | Not really a conscious choice, but just me being flexible and going with the flow..... I always said I'd let my babies nurse as long as they wanted, so when I got pregnant with my second child, I just kind of let the first continue nursing as much as he wanted and needed. Now that my second baby is here, we're all tandem nursing together, but not out of a conscious decision but just because that's what the babies decided they wanted... |
| 4 | I was his only "security blanket"
and I didn't want him to give it up until |
| 3 | I knew my older child was not ready to wean. She needs the touch. |
| 2 | I didn't really decide - I fell into it. I did not want to wean my 17 month old when I became pregnant with number 2. |
| 1 | My older child & I were not ready to end our nursing relationship when I got pregnant with my second child. I did some reading about nursing during pregnancy and tandem nursing and decided it was best for all of us. I was hoping it would help my older child to adjust to the new baby better, too. |
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