Tandem Feeding on one breast - Help!

[jenniejennie]

DD is now four weeks old and I have been attempting to tandem feed her and DS who is 2.4yo.

I am only feeding on one side as the other side was cracked, bleeding, split and in agony. I've been expressing on the sore side once a day for the last three weeks but the bleeding and agonising pain continued. For the last few days I have ben managing to feed the new baby once a day instead of expressing but it is still painful and not going very well.

DS is now classicly obsessed with feeding and asking for it all the time. Im trying to feed baby first and then him but he is asking so often that I feed awful saying no and we end up walking round the house with him screaming for hours asking to feed. OH gets up at 5am with him and he just screams downstairs "want to see mummy" until I get up. When I do he just screams to feed.

I know his behaviour is normal but its just made more complicated by the fact im only feeding on one side so I feel as though he is drinking all her milk.

Baby seems to be getting bigger and bigger but wasnt weighed last time HV came over so I cant confirm it. Im not worried about her weight so guess I shouldnt worry its just that its such an odd situation and Im guessing there wont be many of you out there who have tandem fed on one side so I just dont know if what I am doing is ok.

If anyone has any advice then it would be very welcome. I dont want to stop feeding DS yet as I wanted him to self wean and I think stopping just after new baby is born would be so awful for him emotionally.

I don't have any advice (only have 1 DC) but didn't want you to go unanswered

As an aside, I met someone last week who successfully b/f triplets until they all self weaned at different times after 18 months.

I'm sure that if your baby is content, has enough wet and pooey nappies and is growing, she is getting enough.

Good luck and hopefully someone more knowledgeable will be around soon.

Thanks Mummyberry, I know that as long as she is growing then she is ok, there is just this feeling of doubt in my mind.

She has been a bit unsettled at times and I have know idea if she is just cluster feeding, or not getting enough or what. Just little doubts combined with the exhaustion of feeding a newborn and an obsessed toddler!

I think under these circumstances might be prudent to get your DD weighed every couple of weeks if you have a niggle because your DS's milk intake might be a bit erratic (ie volume might vary per day) and might be harder for your DD to regulate her milk esp on one side.

Also if you are only pumping once a day you might find that the supply significantly drops such that it will be hard work to even it out when its better.

Could you put toddler on the "bad" side? Presumably his latch has been OK so it shouldn't irritate it anymore than the pump?

MumNWLondon Yes I agree with getting her weighed, I can tell she is getting very heavy but I should confirm it at baby clinic, then I wouldnt have any nagging doubts.

I was only pumping once a day as the nipple was so cracked and shreaded to bits that I wanted it to heal. I have fed baby on sore side twice today, supply is low but am hoping I can start to increase it now that the cracks are almost better.

Morloth Toddler wont feed on sore side now supply is low. He only fed of the good side for the last year or so. Once milk came in managed to convince him to feed on sore side but since I have been expressing boob has gone all small and he wont feed on it, tries but nipple is really small and he refuses to try and latch on. I guess it doesnt feel right to him. He is more gentle than baby but he also feeds for much longer and its hard to get him to stop feeding if it becomes too painful.

Oh so complicated.

Why didnt I read adventures in tandem feeding before new baby arrived . Have now ordered on Amazon..... Dont expect it goes into wierd specific issues like this