Tandem feeding - any tips?

[NiceCupOfTeaAndASitDown]

Anyone else done it? DS is 21 months and DD 12 days. Obviously newborns feed All the time but DS is asking all the time too and had epic meltdowns if I say no/shouts "milk!" if I ask him to wait. I can just about feed them both together and he's very affectionate and gentle with her at the moment but he's such a fidget and seems enormous in comparison... How do you do it? Do you say yes every time and hope he goes back to 3 feeds a day by himself or be a bit firmer?

I've told him there's no milk at nighttime (he night-weaned at 15 months) but other than that have let him feed (albeit with a bit of a delay while I finish with DD) any other time he's asked.

I'm not looking to wean him until 2-2.5 ish and hopefully following his lead but at the moment I feel like a dairy cow! It feels like I'm breastfeeding constantly. This is particularly difficult as I got mastitis when my milk came in and my boobs are still sore and a bit lumpy. I don't know anyone in RL even feeding a toddler DS's age let alone feeding two babies. Will it get easier as DD gets better at it or do I just need to (pardon the pun) suck it up?!

[Sulfur]

I tandem-fed my youngest two for well over a year. The elder of the two,was almost three when her sister was born, so could be told no, if I didn't want to feed her.

Obviously the baby gets priority. I found it easier to feed lying down if feeding together.

[EauRouge]

I'm still tandeming. My eldest regressed quite a lot when DD2 was born. From what I've heard this is pretty normal. DD1 barely touched solids for about 2 weeks! She also got pretty chubby from all the colostrum. The first few weeks were really tough for me, not helped by enormous oversupply problem. It does get easier though! And I lost the baby weight really quickly

[NiceCupOfTeaAndASitDown]

*eaurouge - that's what I need to hear wrt baby weight, that'll cheer me up if it happens. DS has had colostrum from 26 weeks but since my milk has come in he's put on 3cm round his tummy and feels a lot heavier.

Yes I think he has regressed in some ways, I expected this and have been happy for him to act like a baby if he wants, his speech has come on hugely the last few weeks so hopefully that should ease frustration a little.

I'm not sure if he understands the whole waiting thing yet, sometimes he says he must wait but usually carries on shouting for milk and whinging, it's all good fun :)

[AngelDog]

Sounds normal to me.

I'm bf'ing 2.10 y.o. DS1 and 3 week old DS2. DS1 actually didn't ask for extra feeds for the first few days, and even volunteered to finish if DS2 needed milk. I was very . Then he started asking lots more. He doesn't want milk as often as DS2, but when he does, he feeds for a good 20 minutes or so which I find really annoying. And his latch is seriously uncomfortable (maybe partly because DS2's feeding isn't quite right so I'm a bit sore). 'Dairy cow' is definitely a good description.

IMO it's probably early days for being firm unless you're desperate. DS1 has been having lots of meltdowns, night waking and other behavioural issues since DS2 was born, but they've really improved the last few days. He is as keen as ever on bf, but is coping better when I choose to end feeds before he wants to.

[AngelDog]

And I'm sure my baby weight is dropping off - I've a much bigger post-partum belly than last time but it seems to be shrinking. OTOH DS1 seems to be so heavy I can barely lift him now, whereas I could a month ago.