New baby has arrived and toddler has gone breast crazy again... help!

[alittleteapot]

I breastfed my dd for a long time, until I got pregnant again really. She had been down to one or two short feeds a day for a long time and as my milk pretty much dried up during pregnancy we were down to very short comfort feeds at bedtime. Now the new baby's here and my milk has come in she's gone mad for it again. I don't mind her having a bedtime feed in fact I think it will help with the transition to having a sibling, but I can't be feeding them both all day! but neither have i the energy for the tantrum that ensues if i refuse her a quick go. we're explaining and she's understanding that the baby needs lots of milk because can't have food. any other tips on dealing with this?

[verylittlecarrot]

oooh - I have NO tips at all (unhelpful) but just noticed that you've had your baby!!!!!

Congratulations! And yikes. I remember us posting at the beginning of the year on the magic bf TTC thread. I can't believe you've had your baby already.

How old is your toddler?

[backofbeyond]

Thank you! Yes - time has flown. I wonder if there are any other magic thread babies yet - I think I was the first. My toddler is two and a quarter and generally coping v well with the new arrival. Did the magic thread work for you?

[alittleteapot]

Oops, hi Carrot, that was me after random name change...

[StealthPolarBear]

DS (2y5m) has started demanding feeds during the day again now DD has arrived, I have just tried to say no and stick to it. Tried telling him about all the lovely food he can have that she can't. His morning feed also started becoming a huge one but we're working on that

[theyoungvisiter]

I found this too. My Ds had been down to 1 feed a day but went practically back to exclusive bf when my milk came in.

I used to do a counting thing, where I said "you can have 5" and I'd count to five. It seemed to be accepted better than a straight no, and the novelty wore off after a while.

If your partner is around at all, then it can also help to get the toddler out the house or into another room, while the baby is having its milk, so it's not quite so "in yer face" that the baby is having milk.

Eventually we worked back to "no milk in the day" and that was fine.

It did get better very quickly for us, I think it was just a boundary testing thing.

[verylittlecarrot]

Alittleteapot - yes, magicbaby due early Feb

I think Mawbroon is due not long after me. Can't remember who else from the magic thread got lucky, but I think there were more.

[IMoveTheStarsForNoOne]

All I want to say is feeding you 2yo will bring these inevitable post-sibling problems, but the reality is that I'm jealous of you ladies who did the LTBF, and TTC, adn new baby.

[TruthSweet]

It will get better - I promise! DD1 fed like a newborn (and in fact more frequently than newborn DD2) for about 2 weeks then went back to her pre-baby pattern. Then got we all got a cold and DD1 gave up food in favour of bfing but after that she again went back to pre-baby feeds .
She continued to gradually drop down until recently when she self weaned at 3.6 years.
The tandem feeding really helped with my two DDs bonding and I didn't even physically tandem feed for more than 2 months as I got all touched out feeding two at a time.
Just get through the early days when the novelty of milk is at it's peak and your older DC will get bored of it and go back to their regular patterns but in the mean time enjoy the benefits (toddler nursing is better at relieving engorgement/not having to worry about entertaining toddler whilst DC2 is nursing ALL the time/a great way to lose lots of weight ).

[chinuptime]

Thanks all. The novelty's already wearing off slightly I think. Also discovered she's teething her back molars so that must be adding to the attraction. theyoungvisitor I've also been doing a counting thing and it works really well. She negotiates a bit but not ridiculously.